• We should now be fully online following an overnight outage. Apologies for any inconvenience, we do not expect there to be any further issues.

Acura tastes failure -- RL

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
NFS4

NFS4

No Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
72,636
47
91
Teehee

It's getting pwned by the GS, Infiniti M, 5-Series and E-Class...hell, even the A6
ORLANDO, Fla. -- When Acura redesigned its flagship RL in 2004, it loaded on the goodies: all-wheel drive, navigation system, 10-speaker stereo and radar that warns drivers of an impending crash.

It has a price tag to match: $49,915 with shipping, about $6,000 more than the previous-generation RL.

Oops.

Now Acura has concluded that its slow-selling flagship needs help.

The division is considering a lower-content version of the car, some dealers say. Sales chief Dick Colliver told Automotive News that the RL's content will change next year but gave no details. He acknowledged that the RL "hasn't performed to expectations."

The RL lacks a V-8 engine, an amenity expected by many luxury buyers.

"It's at a price point in foreign territory for us," Mike McGrath, chairman of the Acura dealer council, said at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention here. "Maybe Acura doesn't have the brand image" to sell a vehicle at that price.

McGrath said the dealer council has recommended a model with less content. "It only comes one way: loaded," he said. "We need something in the low to mid-40s."

The redesigned RL was introduced in October 2004. In 2005 it substantially outsold the previous-generation model. But sales have slipped. In the four months ending January 31, Acura sold 4,899 RLs, down 25.6 percent year-over-year.
Click to expand...
 
KLin

KLin

Lifer
Feb 29, 2000
30,430
747
126
If I'm going to spend 50 G's on a luxury car, I want it to have a v8.
 
Ryan

Ryan

Lifer
Oct 31, 2000
27,519
2
81
I have to say that Honda botched it from the beginning by pricing it too high - it should be priced at about 40-42K. I don't think they knew that the Infiniti M35/45 would offer such value, virtually stealing all of their potential buyers.

 
theeedude

theeedude

Lifer
Feb 5, 2006
35,787
6,197
126
Wait, you mean consumers are smart enough to see through the marketing and realize that Acura is trying to sell them a luxed up AWD Accord for 50K?
No pain, no gain. If Acura doesn't want to put in the effort to develop a v8 and rwd sedan platform, it doesn't deserve to be successful in this market.
 
J

jumpr

Golden Member
Jan 2, 2006
1,045
5
81
If I were in the market for a >$50K luxury sedan, Acura wouldn't be on my list.

BMW, M-B and Audi FTW.
 
mugs

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
Originally posted by: senseamp
Wait, you mean consumers are smart enough to see through the marketing and realize that Acura is trying to sell them a luxed up AWD Accord for 50K?
No pain, no gain. If Acura doesn't want to put in the effort to develop a v8 and rwd sedan platform, it doesn't deserve to be successful in this market.
Click to expand...

Haha... and an LS 430 is just a "luxed up" Camry, right?

What is any luxury car anyway? Just a car with luxury features. :confused:
 
Ryan

Ryan

Lifer
Oct 31, 2000
27,519
2
81
Originally posted by: senseamp
Wait, you mean consumers are smart enough to see through the marketing and realize that Acura is trying to sell them a luxed up AWD Accord for 50K?
No pain, no gain. If Acura doesn't want to put in the effort to develop a v8 and rwd sedan platform, it doesn't deserve to be successful in this market.
Click to expand...

Haha - then how do you explain the HORRIBLE failure of the VW Phaeton if all it requires is to have RWD and a V8 to be successful?
 
D

DVK916

Banned
Dec 12, 2005
2,765
0
0
Taking stuff away and lowering the price isn't going to help much. They should lower the price and not remove features. For 50K I can get a M35 with whole extras than the RL.
 
Ryan

Ryan

Lifer
Oct 31, 2000
27,519
2
81
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: senseamp
Wait, you mean consumers are smart enough to see through the marketing and realize that Acura is trying to sell them a luxed up AWD Accord for 50K?
No pain, no gain. If Acura doesn't want to put in the effort to develop a v8 and rwd sedan platform, it doesn't deserve to be successful in this market.
Click to expand...

Haha... and an LS 430 is just a "luxed up" Camry, right?
Click to expand...

Well - to be fair, the RL is built off of a derivative of Honda's global Accord platform. That said - the cars share NOTHING in common with each other, and the RL is definitly a great car (Great engine, AWD, beautiful interior that's one of the best in it's class, etc).

The Acura dealers are right - by making EVERYTHING standard that is optional for most other manufacturers, they have outpriced the market.
 
JulesMaximus

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,584
984
126
Originally posted by: jumpr
If I were in the market for a >$50K luxury sedan, Acura wouldn't be on my list.

BMW, M-B and Audi FTW.
Click to expand...

A few years ago BMW and M-B would have been on my list but not today. BMWs look like ass and reliability is a problem with both makes. Audi is about as plain looking as they get and they have never been reliable.

Infiniti and Lexus FTW!!!
 
Ryan

Ryan

Lifer
Oct 31, 2000
27,519
2
81
Originally posted by: DVK916
Taking stuff away and lowering the price isn't going to help much. They should lower the price and not remove features. For 50K I can get a M35 with whole extras than the RL.
Click to expand...

Actually - the M35 AWD sedan costs more than the RL if you match it with the same STANDARD features as the RL.
 
theeedude

theeedude

Lifer
Feb 5, 2006
35,787
6,197
126
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: senseamp
Wait, you mean consumers are smart enough to see through the marketing and realize that Acura is trying to sell them a luxed up AWD Accord for 50K?
No pain, no gain. If Acura doesn't want to put in the effort to develop a v8 and rwd sedan platform, it doesn't deserve to be successful in this market.
Click to expand...

Haha... and an LS 430 is just a "luxed up" Camry, right?

What is any luxury car anyway? Just a car with luxury features. :confused:
Click to expand...

LS430 is RWD and V8, and it looks totally different from Camry.
RL is V6, Front biased AWD, so it looks and drives like an Accord. You can laugh all you want, but people obviously don't think the RL is worth the extra money, or it would be selling well.
If you think a luxury car is just about luxury features, then Acura should have no problem selling the RL, and all the other manufacturers who spend money on powerful engines, rear drive balanced chassis, distinctive styling, building up their performance reputations, etc. are just wasting their money. Obviously that's not the case, cars aren't just a sum of their features. When it comes down to it, and RL does not have twice as many features or twice as good features as a loaded Accord, so it has to do more to justify it's double pricetag, and it doesn't.
 
A

andylawcc

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
18,183
3
81
I really like the RL, too bad it's too expensive. I for one really don't care if it has a V8 or not.
 
JulesMaximus

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,584
984
126
It would be nice to pick up a low mileage used one in a year or two for under $30k. Kind of like the previous Infiniti M45. I've seen a few low mileage used ones around here for high $27-29k. Too bad they are fairly fugly and they drink premium gas like a fullsize heavy duty truck.
 
D

DVK916

Banned
Dec 12, 2005
2,765
0
0
Originally posted by: Ryan
Originally posted by: DVK916
Taking stuff away and lowering the price isn't going to help much. They should lower the price and not remove features. For 50K I can get a M35 with whole extras than the RL.
Click to expand...

Actually - the M45 AWD sedan costs more than the RL if you match it with the same STANDARD features as the RL.
Click to expand...

I said the M35 not the M45.

The M45 is a V8.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom