Where does the Acura brand place?

[NetViper]

I have been reading all about Cadillacs new machines and how they are now a strong compeitor to MB, BMW and Lexus. No mention of Acura at all. So I am wonder, where does the Acura brand place? Is it on the same level as Lexus? Or BMW? or is more like Lincoln? I guess Infinity is a good comparison.

Personally, I have always looked at Acura the same as Lexus, which is maybe a little below BMW and MB. But lately I see Lexus often compared to BMW and beating them and I never really see it with Acura. Maybe it is because they do not offer a V8 and they are left out of a lot of magazines comparisions.

So where exact does Acura line up with its competitors?

 

[NsXMas]

As much as I hate to say it, I think Acura really plays in a niche role, and not really competes with the other luxury brands. It's probably because of the bland styling of the luxury "Accords" and no serious, high end luxo-mobiles.

If I needed a serious people mover, Acura is not the first place I'd look.

 

[polar]

I think infiniti had already surpassed acura and catching up with lexus recently, by looking at what kind of product they offer.
infiniti may not sell as much as acura, but I think they've built a very solid brand status in recent years with product like the G35, FX or QX.
If acura wants to be in the same league, they should offer some V8 in the line up and probably should let RSX sold under Honda brand.

 

[CDX_NSX]

Honda/Acura has been pretty stagnant development-wise over the last few years. This has allowed virtually every other player to surpass them. Honda/Acura used to be a leader, unfortunately, they're now a follower.
With the launch of the '05 RL, I'm hoping that it is a sign of Honda's return to their focus on innovation to bring the Acura name out of the middle-of-the-way niche market, and back into serious contention with the likes of Lexus and BMW.