Acura - 20 Years of Honda Luxury

In March 2006, the Honda Motor CompanyOver time, the various model names were
celebrated an important milestone: the 20thdropped and replaced by vehicles with 2 or 3
anniversary of their luxury brand, Acura. Createdletter designations. The Vigor became the TL, the
to give Honda aficionados an opulent make thatLegend became the RL, and the Integra the RSX.
they could be proud of, Acura has successfullyToday, the MDX SUV, RSX sport compact, and
expanded the company's reach far beyond moreTSX sedan, join the three other models to
prosaic models such as the Civic and the Accord.comprise the current Acura line up. A slightly
Today, Acura is a very different brand than thesmaller SUV, the RDX, will be joining Acura's line
company that was birthed in 1986. Let's take aup later in 2006.
glimpse at Acura's past, their present line up, andThe future of Acura looks bright despite strong
what the next 20 years may bring for thisworldwide competition. Although Honda jumped
esteemed Japanese automaker.into the market a few years before Nissan rolled
Back in 1981, Honda saw an opportunity openingout it Infiniti division and Toyota its Lexus line,
up for itself that no one in Honda's headquartersAcura has trailed its Japanese competitors for
wanted to miss out on: building and selling luxuryover a decade now. Some critics have contended
cars to American consumers. Mercedes and BMWthat this misstep has hurt Acura, while others see
were both gaining traction in the U.S. as Americanit as a typical conservative Honda decision to
luxury brands Cadillac and Lincoln sputtered andexpand the Honda brand instead.
lost market share. Honda was already receivingFuture changes for Acura are sketchy, but model
widespread consumer acceptance and criticalchanges will likely include the introduction of diesel
acclaim for the three models it was then selling inpowered vehicles and more hybrid offerings.
the U.S., so the decision to market moreSome auto critics have suggested that Honda has
expensive and upscale cars was viewed as athe capacity of outflanking BMW and Mercedes by
strong possibility.producing super luxury sedans and sports cars.
When Honda management decided to go with theRenowned Honda quality combined with European
upscale brand, they did this knowing that the carsstyling, luxury, and engineering have fueled Acura's
would eventually have to stand apart from Hondasuccess so far. An expansion of this theme to
in order to command the higher prices. Simplyeven larger and/or sportier models could vault
selling up market Hondas as Acuras would notAcura forward.
work. Instead, each car was outfitted and retunedTruly, Acura has helped reshape the original
to compete directly against the leading luxury carsperception that many motorists had about the
of that time.Japanese brands, by delivering vehicles that are
The first two models to be sold as Acuras werehigh in luxury, tops in engineering, and strong in
the Legend, a V6 powered sedan and coupe, andrefinement. If the last 20 years have proved
the Integra, which was essentially a three dooranything it is that enthusiasts can expect much
coupe based on a Honda Civic platform. Later, themore from Acura over the next two decades.
NSX two seat roadster was brought out to battleKudos to the Honda Motor Company for
Porsche and the Vigor sedan was introduced to filldeveloping a brand that has been so well received.
the gap between the Integra and the Legend.