Quote:
Originally Posted by ChrisK
Think about this. Every large business probably already has their 5 year or so plan set and in place. They will tweak it a bit, but the road map and plan are already laid out. When did Soichiro Honda die? I believe it was 1989. When did Honda and Acura seemingly loose their vision and way? Mid 90s.
Seriously. Think about what these bone head management at Honda/Acura have done since the passing of Soichiro Honda. They changed the Legend name to RL for better brand name recognition. Nothing has a catchy name anymore and is just a simple 3 letters like everyone else in the business. They left the NSX to die by not updating it in a timely manner, and not bringing out the 2nd generation. Now they are desperately trying to bring out a successor to the NSX, but every concept attempt falls short and too late compared to the competition. The drop the mid engine. In the meantime. The Porsche Cayman goes on sale, the Audi R8 goes on sale, The Nissan GTR goes on sale, and even the Lexus LF-A is about ready to go on sale. What does Acura have? Well, they are back to the drawing board because they still can't find the right direction to go with the new NSX that should have come out back in 2000.
Anyway, brand perception plays a huge role in the general public. In the late 80s to early and perhaps mid 90s Acura's brand perception was still competitive with Lexus. Problem is, Acura's brand perception then went stagnant or down hill and Lexus brand perception and image took off. Now, Acura to many is considered an entry level luxury brand with their top model selling at $50K. I think the RL is an over all better car than the Lexus GS350, but for $50K most will choose the Lexus GS350.
The TV, Newspaper and Radio ads don't create the brand perception. People get a feel for it by the buzz around the brand. When regular people on the street here the name Acura, they think they make good cars. When people on the street here the name Lexus, BMW, or Mercedes, they think you have made it and are impressed. Not saying that is the correct, but just how people feel. That is why my insurance agent (Women in here mid 40s) gets more excited when I brought in my BMW 3 series than when I brought in my NSX. I said its just a 3 series. She said but its a BMW.
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That is a great point.
That's been the problem for a long time. Acura has no catered to that clientèle in a long time. Their Name still carries clout to some people, but the Caliper has tarnished to most. It hasn't received the care and Attention (so to speak) that the Oval L has.
And speaking of people who say that. I'm pretty friendly with my neighbors. One morning i left and a few of them were either coming in or leaving out with me. we struck up conversation and something came up about My car. One of the ladies said made a comment about my late Acura (totaled in aug 2006) I said something to the effect of "it's only temporary" the other lady said "well it'll all work out...You'll be in a new Lexus soon!"
I felt a mortified look form on my face. She just laughed as we all parted ways
. It's Lexus' brand image that has some people hooked. Why? I'm not too sure. It's not that the cars are Far and Above anything else on the road, it's just the fact that people talk about LEXUS all the time. You create buzz by good marketing. People get curious and go check it out. You hear about something, someone gets it, it then becomes talk at the water cooler. However i don't think RWD comes up in conversation..."did you see Jane's new car? It's a Lexus right? Yea! it's got
REAR WHEEL DRIVE"
Acura probably just needs some Individualized cars. Do they need a car above the RL? If they want to be a Top Tier luxury car maker, i'd say so. They're trying to be there, so they need to do something different. I don't think they need to Build RWD cars, but they need to build a powerful engine, and stick it in something big.
Their mid-sized car is, for the lack of a better word, Mediocre in performance. Even if it is a better car (by far) over its competition. Power, even to women, is a sign of "status". doesn't matter where it comes from, but if she gasses it up, and she gets moving really fast, she'll think it's stately.
Going by my Aunt's reaction, to her E500 and GX470, it's not about how nice it was to her, it was about the combination of acceleration and luxury. She test drove the Cayenne S, X5, GX470, and something else.
and just as an Addendum, she regrets buying the E500. She said she should have just gotten the S-Class instead of wasting it on an S-Class wanna be.