The latest iteration of the Acura RL — which was introduced in 2004 — packed so many new gizmos and features that it cost about $6,000 more than its predecessor. At $50,000 the car comes pretty much fully loaded. The problem? Fully loaded is the only way you can order an RL. “It’s at a price point in foreign territory for us,” Mike McGrath, chairman of the Acura dealer council, said at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention. “Maybe Acura doesn’t have the brand image [to sell a vehicle at that price].” McGrath’s proposed solution is to offer a model “with less content.” Acura needs something “in the low to mid-40s,” he said.
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02/22, 5:08 PM
posted by:
nick
YEAH NOT SURPRISED, TOYOTA TRIES TOO HARD TO KEEP IT’S LEXUS IMAGE ALMOST AT PAR OF MERCEDES, AND BMW, EURO BRANDS ETC. BY COMAPARING EACH CAR INDIVIDUAL W/ THE OTHER BRANDS, I.E. THE IS TO THE 3 AND C, GS TO 5 AND E,LS TO S AND 7 AND SO ON (WHO KNOWS WHERE THE ES COMES IN!?)… BUT HONDA PLEEESE DON’T EVEN TRYYYY… KEEP IT WHAT YOU DO BEST, “ACURA – THE MOST AFFORDABLE LUXURY CAR.”
02/22, 5:38 PM
posted by:
JoJohn
When will they change the grill on those acuras, that is the single reason acuras don’t sell, the grill is the worst on the market, and the rest of the car design depends a lot on the grill.
02/22, 7:01 PM
posted by:
Garris
I have to say I’m a bit happy to see Acura not get away with this. The RL is just the type of thing that Detroit does and get slammed on. In a market teeming with great RWD, V8-V10 high performance machines, Honda takes a FWD platform, sticks on AWD, throws in a high output V6, and says, “See? It’s virtually the same thing!” Think Zephyr, Saab 9-2, Jaguar X-Type…
Glad to see Acura not be able to get away with it either…
02/22, 8:25 PM
posted by:
Moody
#1 – It is a very affordable luxury car, if you look at it competing with the 5-series and the E-series
#2 – I think the grill looks fine… what I really hate is the Mercedes grill and the grill on the Challenger concept… ugh…
#3 – Yeah, except that the RL is actually fun to drive, apparently… Also, I honestly don’t know what you’re doing slamming the 9-2X; it’s a rebadged WRX, so it’s got all the performance niceties of a Subaru with the luxury of a Saab. Also, it has a four-banger, not a V6, and it’s (basing this one what i know of the WRX) it’s one of the best driving AWD cars around.
02/23, 3:46 AM
posted by:
Sotrain
Its also one of the absolute most reliable cars on the road too, which is far more than any German automakers can say right now.
02/27, 3:58 PM
posted by:
JoJohn
If I’m so wrong about the grill being ugly and the overall design of the car being sub-par, why don’t acuras sell??? I see tons of beamers, mercs, and on and on but I hardly see acuras – they are the most reliable, but reliable and hohum/on the verge of ugly doesn’t sell in the premium car market – look at the lexus LS, how many of those do you see? simply put, it’s ugly, or vanilla at best, you pay that much for a car your going to get something that looks halfway hot. You may like the acura, taste is somewhat subjective (although no one could argue that the passat, volvo s80, or the porsche 911 looks ugly), but the numbers don’t lie, acura has continually lost market share because of their lame designs (The mdx is a decent looking car from them I’ll concede).