Acura unlikely, for now
BY BYRON MATHIOUDAKIS | 15th Aug 2006
Speaking at the launch of the fourth-generation Legend luxury sedan last week, senior director Lindsay Smalley said that a local release of the North America-only nameplate is off the table for now.
He cited insufficient predicted sales versus the costs of setting up and running a separate Acura line in Australia.
"The policy of Honda distributing through the Acura network requires certain volume to sustain it," Mr Smalley told GoAuto last week.
"You need to invest in dealerships, in signing, staffing and everything like that. You will need very high levels of Acura sales and we don't anticipate that in Australia," he added.
However, Mr Smalley did indicate that Honda Australia might still be interested some time in the foreseeable future.
"The Acura brand is an issue on our agenda, certainly at the moment," he revealed.
There has been speculation for some time that Honda Australia would eventually follow Toyota's footsteps with Lexus by releasing a range of luxury sedans, SUVs and sports cars under the Acura banner.
The timing of new model releases for appropriate Acura product is crucial for deciding if or when this would occur.
Right now Acura in America is expanding its range to include a number of new models that might tip the balance in Acura's favour for Australia.
Chief among these is the just-released RDX, a posh version of Honda's upcoming third-generation CR-V compact SUV.
With its bespoke looks and cabin appointments, the BMW X3 rival delivers 179kW of power and 352Nm of torque from an all-new turbocharged 2.3-litre twin-cam i-VTEC four-cylinder engine.
The RDX also uses a development of SH-AWD - Honda's Super Handling All Wheel Drive 4WD system - that has just debuted in the new Legend in Australia.
A similar set-up underpins the still-secret, next-generation MDX due in America by year's end.
The 'MDX Concept' from April's New York motor show provides very close clues as to the appearance of this luxury mid-sized SUV, which grows significantly as it aims for the BMW X5's sales jugular.
Honda may also look at bringing in the Acura version of the next-generation Accord Euro due in 2008, which is expected to be based, yet again, on the smaller and sportier Japanese-market Accord sedan.
In America the Accord Euro has been a hot seller since its 2004 release as the TSX, virtually ensuring its elevated place when the big model change comes in.
Like the RDX's relationship to its CR-V donor, the 'Acura' Accord Euro/TSX may score its own unique styling, as well as that 179kW 2.3-litre turbo engine.
Boosting the appeal of the RDX, MDX II and the next TSX is the news that Honda/Acura is working hard on diesel-powered variants.
Honda Motor has already announced that it would expand into new diesel engines in four and six-cylinder sizes, for medium and large-sized vehicles, including SUVs as well as sedans and coupes.
Two years ago Honda released its first-ever in-house diesel, the 2.2-litre i-CDTi, in the European-edition Accord (Euro). Now CR-V, the Renault Scenic-style FR-V and new-generation Civic hatchback are also recipients of this acclaimed unit.
The company also said that more small vehicles will employ hybrid technology, besides it existing Civic Hybrid, opening up a possibility of an Acura hybrid to take on the super-successful Toyota Prius.
A fuel-cell vehicle based on the FCX concept car will be marketed by Honda - probably in Japan and America only for now - within the next three years.
Ironically, it was Honda that blazed a trail for Toyota's Lexus, as well as the Nissan Infiniti network, to set up upmarket brands in America.
Acura was launched as a 1986 model year range of luxury cars that was made up of the first-generation Legend sedan, as well as the Mk1 Integra sedan and hatchback range.
Its success soon spread to Japanese-market Accord variants such as the Vigor (unseen in Australia) during the early 1990s.
Acura spread to luxury SUVs in the early 2000s with the Canadian-manufactured MDX, a model that has sold in only modest numbers in Australia since the middle of 2003.
| Acura legend | |
| RL | New Legend |
| TSX | Accord Euro |
| TL | 'Big' Accord-based sedan |
| RSX | Integra |
| RDX | New CR-V III-based luxury compact SUV |