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(From Motor Trend)
How Honda Will Fix Acura - 2013 Tokyo Motor Show
During a roundtable discussion with journalists at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, American Honda Motor Company CEO Tetsuo Iwamura said that his biggest challenge in the next five years will be fixing Acura.
In a surprisingly candid explanation, Iwamura said Acura’s brand image needs to be raised and acknowledged it’s not as strong globally as rivals Lexus and Infiniti (which have their own issues in global markets). Rather than try to expand Acura beyond its current markets in the U.S. and China, Iwamura said the priority is to grow the brand in those markets and make it as strong as possible. Only once the brand is strong enough in its core markets will Honda expand it into more markets, he said.
Growing Acura in the U.S. hinges on improving sales and market share of its sedans. The plan to fix Acura began with getting its SUVs right, Iwamura said, and as a result, the MDX and RDX are seeing big sales increases. Now the focus shifts to the brand’s sedan lineup. Iwamura admitted that ILX sales have not been as strong as the company predicted and that the RLX needs to perform better. He expressed optimism that the new 2014 RLX Sport Hybrid model (pictured), which promises V-8 performance with four-cylinder fuel economy, would help bring in more customers.
Much of Acura’s sedan revival, though, hinges on the new TLX sedan, which replaces the current TSX and TL sedans. That will whittle the lineup down to three distinct cars: one compact, one midsize, and one full-size. Iwamura confirmed that the all-new TLX will debut in the spring. The 2014 Acura RLX Sport Hybrid debuts at the 2013 Los Angeles auto show and is pictured below. Acura has updated its previous EPA fuel economy estimates to 28/32 mpg city/highway, and 30 mpg combined.
Acura sales are up 5.6 percent through the first 10 months of 2013. MDX and RDX have carried the brand, with the two vehicles combined accounting for nearly 60 percent of sales. ILX, TSX, and TL made up most of the rest, with RLX a small contributor and ZDX sales statistically insignificant. RDX sales are up 64 percent for the year, and although MDX sales are down 4.7 percent, that can be attributed to the changeover to the all-new model. Sales of the RLX and ILX are both up owing to low sales last year, as the old RLX was phased out and the ILX was just getting its start in the market. TL and TSX sales are down 28 percent and 38 percent, respectively.
How do you think Honda should improve the Acura brand?
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[quote=“Big Boss”"]
2014 Acura RLX Sport Hybrid SH-AWD: One V-6, Three Electric Motors, 32 mpg [2013 L.A. Auto Show]
When Acura first introduced the 2014 RLX sedan as its replacement for the RL, the brand only released the front-wheel-drive version, promising that a sportier all-wheel-drive model was on its way. That promise has finally been fulfilled at the 2013 L.A. auto show, where Acura is debuting the Sport Hybrid Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive–equipped RLX. It also released more info on the car, which is due to go on sale this spring.
Okay, so that name is a bit of a mouthful, but the gear that comes along with it is just as complex. As we’ve previously reported after driving a Sport Hybrid SH-AWD–equipped Honda prototype, the RLX gets a trio of electric motors—two on the rear axle and one integrated into the 3.5-liter V-6’s seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission—versus the front-drive RLX’s solitary V-6 and six-speed automatic. Total system power stands at around 370 horsepower (final figures are forthcoming), with the V-6 contributing 310 ponies, the front electric motor providing 47 horsepower, and each rear motor contributes 36 more. Each rear wheel is powered by a dedicated electric motor, and the RLX’s brain can distribute torque between the two for rear-axle torque vectoring. Of course, on the hybrid side of things, the front motor recuperates braking energy to recharge the RLX’s lithium-ion battery, and an engine stop-start system minimizes fuel use at stops.
While Acura claims the RLX’s Sport Hybrid setup will be capable of 0-to-60-mph sprints “comparable with competitors’ V-8–powered machines,” perhaps the car’s most important performance measurement has to do with fuel economy. The regular, front-drive RLX is EPA-rated for 20 mpg in the city and 31 on the highway; Acura has revealed that the RLX Sport Hybrid musters an impressive 28/32 mpg. Although the hybrid’s highway efficiency isn’t that much higher than the front-drive RLX’s, the city figure is a whopping 8 mpg better. That’s huge, and all the more impressive given the added weight of the electric motors and battery.
Aside from better urban fuel economy, the RLX Sport Hybrid SH-AWD model also gets Acura’s first electronic push-button gear selector and a new head-up display. The latter projects hybrid-system information, navigation instructions, trip functions, and alerts from the driver-assistance systems onto the windshield ahead of the driver. Like the regular RLX, the Sport Hybrid SH-AWD gets Acura’s Jewel Eye LED headlights, two giant instrument panel displays, and a host of safety technologies.
Final pricing has yet to be announced, but figure on the RLX Sport Hybrid requiring a couple-thousand-dollar premium over the front-drive RLX. One thing’s for sure: We’re looking forward to driving this unique sedan, especially given the similarities between its powertrain and the running gear in the upcoming NSX.
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[quote=“Big Boss”"]
Acura ZDX Sales
2009-79
2010-3,259
2011-1,564
2012-775
2013-337 (Year to date)
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[quote=“Big Boss”"]
Acura RLX Sales
2013-3,780 (Acura began combining the RL and RLX sales in May 2013)
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