Acura's brand image and sales

[Doc C]

Thought this was interesting.


Acura wants a stronger image



BY KATHY JACKSON
AUTOWEEK

February 5, 2006


DETROIT - Overshadowed by Lexus, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, Acura needs a stronger identity, says Dick Colliver, executive vice president of sales at American Honda Motor Co.

"We're not on all the shopping lists we'd like to be," he said at the recent Detroit auto show. "So we have to bring the right product."

To elevate Acura's presence, Honda Motor Co. will open a design studio for Acura near Honda's U.S. headquarters in Torrance, Calif., in 2007. Acura and Honda designers now share a studio.

Although Acura has enjoyed healthy sales in recent years, data from Compete Inc. in Boston illustrate Acura's problem. Compete, a marketing research firm, says the $33,000 Acura TL, the brand's best seller, was cross-shopped with the Honda Accord more than any other model the past year.

"Ideally, they'd like to see that be Infiniti or Lexus," says Lincoln Merrihew, who heads the automotive division at Compete. "There's too much overlap between Honda and Acura. That's more to the detriment of Acura."

Colliver said the new studio's designers will create only Acura products. They also will work with the ad agency and Acura product planners so that everyone is in sync on where the brand needs to go.

In addition to fresh styling, Colliver said, the company wants to position Acura as a luxury brand with unique technology and performance.

"We're not chasing Lexus. It is not our intent to be everything to everybody," he said. "We will stress performance and advanced technology. This is part of our long-term goal to separate Acura from Honda - to develop Acura as a global brand."

Acura is sold only in this country. It was launched in 1986, the first Asian luxury brand sold in the United States. It plans to start sales in Japan in 2008.

U.S. sales of Acuras last year were 209,610, up 5.4 percent from 2004 and up 46.9 percent from 2000. For comparison, Lexus posted U.S. sales of 302,895 last year.

Colliver said it will probably be about 2010 before the world sees the first Acura created at the design center, but he gave some hints about where the brand is headed.

The executive said the company still has no plans to offer a V-8 engine but is leaning toward all-wheel drive. Today, only the MDX sport utility vehicle and the RL sedan are equipped with all-wheel drive. The new RDX, a small SUV that goes on sale this summer, also will have all-wheel drive and is equipped with Acura's first turbocharged engine.

The NSX sports car, which will be redesigned before the end of the decade, will be powered by a 10-cylinder engine. "The new NSX gives us an opportunity to expand with the 10-cylinder," Colliver said.

He also said the company wants to appeal to more male customers.

 

[WillErickson]

Interesting. One small error in the article, Acuras also exist in Canada. In comparing Acura to Lexus, Lexus also has more models than Acura. Acura has just 1 SUV, while Lexus has 3.

 

[zahntech]

Acura does not Compete with BMW or Infiniti for 2 reasons :1 not enough HP..:2 not enough REAR WHEEL DRIVE!....somebody that is shopping a BMW 330 or an Infiniti G35 or m45 is not even going to consider a low HP, front wheel drive car.

Honda/Acura lost the pure Luxury game when they refused to make a V8 powerd true Luxury car....when will they learn??

 

[Joel]

The NSX sports car, which will be redesigned before the end of the decade, will be powered by a 10-cylinder engine. "The new NSX gives us an opportunity to expand with the 10-cylinder," Colliver said.

He also said the company wants to appeal to more male customers.

They're hesitant to make 8 cylinders even for the NSX and now they're blabbing about a 10? I'll believe it when it's here. Until then, I'd chalk this one up to wishful thinking.

 

[Russ]

Interesting. One small error in the article, Acuras also exist in Canada. In comparing Acura to Lexus, Lexus also has more models than Acura. Acura has just 1 SUV, while Lexus has 3.

I'm pretty certain Acura also exists as a brand in Hong Kong.

 

[dawggpie]

V8, RWD and a high performance line like ///M and AMG. I don't see how they can expect to compete with their current line up. Not to mention, most of their cars have rather bland styling and there's no distinct brand look like BMW and Mercedes have. A lot of people buy BMW, Mercedes and even Lexus because of their high end luxury status. Acura doesn't command that same feeling. They need some high end SL55, M6, 745iL, S class type cars to convince people that they're in the same ballpark.

 

[NetViper]

Acura needs to up the brand... but they also need to up their service... at least here in savannah. It is freaking crap. I will not buy another one while I live here. Lexus it is.

 

[Doc C]

Infiniti has stepped up their game a lot in recent years. The G35 and M45 are very good cars. Now that they'll have the Skyline Gt-R in their lineup, they will be tough to deny. I'm not wanting this to be an Acura vs. Infiniti post, my only point is that Infiniti was once a stagnant brand with no exciting cars, and now suddenly they are head to head with BMW and their 3 series. I realize they may not be all the way to that level, but they have definitely fired some shots across the bow of BMW. Acura seems to be in the same funk Infiniti was in. The new RL is a good car, but Lexus and Infiniti have it so outgunned, not to mention BMW. Acura has always had the supercar at the top of their lineup, and with Lexus' LF-A and the GT-R coming, it seems they are trying to steal Acura's thunder there as well. Again, not that these will be better or worse than the new NSX (or whatever it's called!!) but they will just be choices for the public to have they haven't had before. Some person that's had a GS430 or an M45 and had a great time driving it will most likely be excited to buy a super car from that same marque. I had an SC430 before my NSX. It was a GREAT car. If Acura doesn't hurry up and get its a$$ in gear, I'll be the first to test drive/buy an LF-A. I love my NSX, and it is the last link to the days when Acura was a leader and not a follower. They seem to want to be the "green" company so bad, but Toyota has bested them in that regard. I realize that Honda has hybrid technology, but Toyota is selling its hybrid technology to almost all car companies on the planet. So,Toyota gets the "green" association, and yet it builds bigger and bigger V-8s and a supposed V-10 in the LF-A. Don't get me wrong, I'm not an earth muffin who gets worried everytime a cow farts, I'm just making an observation. Just seems like Toyota has better technology, WAY better marketing, and a better long term vision of the future than Honda. Just my $.02. Let the flames begin.

 

[zahntech]

No flames here, I agree completely!!..Acura Has totally screwed themselves by sitting back and doing very little to keep them in the market....The New RL really only competes with Audis and does anybody think that the Audi cool aid drinkers are going to switch to Acura?..no way..The RL gadget car is high-tech but has a limited market....Toyota is going to be bigger than GM because of what Doc said...they built Green cars for the tree huggers and the V8 SUVs for everybody else...Honda seems to be drifting aimlessly for the last 7 years...they built a great reputation with the Legend and Integra but then they let it slide:frown: ....Hopefully they can get back in the game.

 

[Juice]

I think what is lost here is the original intent of the Acura brand. Acura never set out to achieve the goal of stealing away AMG or M3 customers, and it shows. Acura was a pet project aimed at the US market segment to gauge public acceptance of a high end department from Honda. Times have changed and, thanks to GM and Ford's lack of commitment to product refinement, Japanese brands are now viewed as superior products in the US.

Then Acura made one of the worst mistakes a company can make. In an effort to evolve image branding, they opted to drop their car naming program for car designation in order to further separate themselves from Honda and create a European image. Suddenly, the beloved Legend became the RL, but an absolute lack of evolution was placed into the product. The buyers became confused as to where Acura was going with their products. Instead of competing with Merc and BMW, suddenly they were competing with Lincoln and Cadilac (who were both in the dumps at the time). For the past 5 years, Acura has been trying to refine their market.

Enter Takeo Fukui. He is here for a reason, and he knows it. If Acura can't change their image to meet the desire of the investors, Honda will see a similar shake up to that of Nissan. And Fukui understands that threat. He has ~ 12 years to get Acura on auto pilot. He also realizes the best way to do this is to bring Honda's racing heritage back into the fold. We will see how well of a job he does.

The biggest problem here stems from Acura's marketing dept, not to mention Honda's marketing in general. These jokers need fired, and yesterday. Aside from a gun shy styling department, Acura's marketing department is the sorriest piece of crap that company has. These guys can actually make an exciting car look boring. I bet they could make and Enzo look like a businessman's daily commuter for practicality. Fire them, and fire them all. Period.

On a final note, Acura needs to have direct control over the performance of its dealerships and service centers. This is what the return buyers experience, and most aren't impressed. There is a lack of concern and a lack of enthusiasm at Acura floor sales, and it is impacting Acura's long term plan. NetViper is 100% right about this. I would rather perform dental surgery on myself than take my Acuras to the local service centers. Because Acura has no direct control over the dealerships, the commitment to service and customer satisfaction does not exist at dealerships like it exists within Honda Corp itself.

 

[Doc C]

The biggest problem here stems from Acura's marketing dept, not to mention Honda's marketing in general. These jokers need fired, and yesterday.

ABSOLUTELY!!!! I totally agree with your entire post!! Zahntech too!! I remember hearing about when Infiniti launched in 1990, they had an ad campaign for the Q45. In this ad campaign, they never showed the car!! No one knew what the hell they were selling. Many industry analysts said they thought that was HUGE in giving Lexus a lead from the beginning of both of those marques. Infiniti fired the ad agency, but severe damage was already done. Acura seemed unstoppable in the late 80s with the Legend and Integra. They should fire their marketing team faster than a children's party clown with Turret's syndrome. I must admit that my Acura dealer has been quite good with service on my NSX. But, Lexus is amazing! I took my '05 LX in for service Thursday. It was expensive, but they gave me all the free soda, cookies etc. my wife and I could ask for, then let me have a new GS to drive all day long. I've never been offered a loaner from Acura while NSX is serviced. I drive 2.5 hours to get to the dealership, so I'm kind of stranded at the dealership. It's okay, but it would be nice to go to the mall etc. while waiting. I'm pulling for Acura, I think everyone on here is, but they are making it difficult to be their #1 fan with their latest products and service, compared to other luxury auto makers.

 

[nchopp]

You know, I've long been a fan of the Q45, but until the G35 Coupe and M45 came out, it was the only Infiniti I really liked. They're doing an amazing job of gauging their market and developing the cars they need to fill niches. Until the M45 you were either spending $30,000 on a V-6 powered I35 or G35, or spending $55,000 on a V-8 powered Q45. They were entirely missing the $40,000 luxury car segment, but with the M45 they're moving in a lot quicker. To be honest, the only Acura car that's ever attracted my interest is the NSX - but my level of interest in it makes up for the lack of interest in other Acuras.