Acura - Filling Niches?

Acura's sales are down, and rather than try to be all cars to all buyers, filling niches is more the game plan. Product planning manager John Watts intimated that Acura's looking at segments with a narrower appeal, such as the now-defunct CL, and the possibility of a retractable hardtop vehicle, too. There's talk of a new 8 or 10 cylinder powerplant in the offing. The NSX is supposedly getting a V10, which could then propagate through to other Acura cars. Analysts have noted that there's a need for a flagship sedan above the RL to offer RWD and larger engines.

[Source] AutoBlog.com

Redefining Acura in 2008

"Our goal is to move Acura into a Tier 1 luxury brand," John Mendel, who was promoted to executive vice president of automobile operations of American Honda Motor Co. this year. "Next year at this time, you will have a pretty good idea of the direction we're heading," Mendel assures. "You will not see a big bang — as if suddenly it was this and now it isn't. Rather, you'll start to see vehicles roll out in the 2008 calendar year with not so much styling differences but technology and philosophy differences." Mendel notes the new RDX and redesigned MDX hint at the future direction of Acura. Mendel would only say that as with all future Acura and Honda models, more distinction will exist between the Honda Accord, upon which the TL has been based, and the new TL. "If you like what we did with the Accord, wait till you see what we do with the TL," he said. Acura recently opened its first U.S. design studio and now has separate R&D operations in Japan.



[Source] Edmunds.com

New Features for 2008 Acuras

So what changes did Acura make to their 2008 lineup?
New technology for the 2008 RL is:

• AcuraLink™ real-time traffic expands to 76 metropolitan areas - an increase of 32 markets

The TL receives the following changes for 2008:

• Two new exterior colors: Polished Metal Metallic paint and Bold Beige Metallic
• Parchment added to all TL interior trim of when paired with exterior color of White Diamond Pearl or Carbon Bronze Pearl
• Acura Navigation System with Voice Recognition™ now available in Hawaii
• AcuraLink™ real-time traffic expands to 76 metropolitan areas - an increase of 32 markets
• Updated vehicle security immobilizer system

For 2008 the TSX receives the following technology upgrades:

• Acura Navigation System with Voice Recognition™ now available in Hawaii

The RDX receives the following upgrades for 2008:

• Bluetooth® HandsFreeLink® wireless telephone interface with steering wheel mounted controls (formerly only available with Tech Package)
• Personalized settings via 8-inch Multi -Information Display (MID)
• Dual-position memory for driver's seat and mirrors
• Automatic dimming rear view mirror
• AcuraLink™ real-time traffic expands to 76 metropolitan areas - an increase of 32 markets
• Acura Navigation System with Voice Recognition™ now works in Hawaii
• New exterior color: Polished Metal Metallic

MDX includes the following new features for 2008:

• Automatic dimming rear view mirror
• Acura Navigation System with Voice Recognition™ now available in Hawaii
• AcuraLink™ real-time traffic expands to 76 metropolitan areas - an increase of 32 markets
• New exterior paint color: Sterling Gray Metallic
• Taupe added to all MDX interior trim of when paired with exterior color of Aspen White Pearl

[Source] AcuraNews.com

Glimpse Of Next Gen (2009) Acura TSX?

Honda revealed the next Honda Accord Tourer concept at the 2007 Frankfurt auto show. The automaker plans to build this European station wagon by middle of next year. It will feature the 2.0 and 2.4-liter gas engines, as well as Honda's 2.2-liter diesel, as options when it goes into production. Honda says we'll see the final version at the Geneva auto show.

What does this Honda station wagon have to do with Acura you may be thinking. The current Acura TSX is just a rebadged European Honda Accord. The styling of this concept car resembles the Honda Sports 4, which is rumored to be the next Acura TSX. Plus, look at that grill! It screams, "ACURA!"

Honda Performance Development (HPD) Rundown

Honda figures prominently in both the ALMS and the IRL. The Acura LMP2 cars debutted this year and are currently running second in the manufacturer standings to the Porsche RS Spyders. In line with Acura's place as a sport luxury brand, they decided it was worthwhile to compete in the more technological and competitive ALMS against the likes of Audi, Porsche and all the brands in the GT classes. The new ALMS V-8 was designed completely in-house at HPD with no outsiders involved. The Acura engine is also the first Honda race engine completely designed outside of Japan, with all the work having been done in California.



The Highcroft team has focused on chassis development while the Fernandez team with the proven Lola chassis has been the primary engine development team. Andretti-Green gets all the benefits of the other two. The result of all this work was that the Acura won the LMP2 class at the Sebring opener and has run competitively all year long.



For 2008, Acura is planning a major revision of the Acura chassis targeted at further performance improvements and more importantly the serviceability of the car. The current car is difficult to repair during a race and that needs to be improved, especially for longer races.

Over on the IRL side, Honda is currently the sole supplier of engines since Toyota and GM dropped out at the end of the 2005 season. One aspect of the lack of competition is that Honda doesn't have to stress their engines to the limit. In spite of the cars being as fast as ever, they haven't had a single in-race engine failure in 2007. The current engine is a 3.5L V-8 that runs on 100 percent ethanol.

[Source] Autoblog.com