98CoupeV6

Acura Admits its RL is a Flop

Syracuse, NY - February 22nd -- Autoweek is reporting that Acura has admitted that it has failed with the US market version of the Acura RL and will seek to make changes to the model to increase sales. While the RL is a technological marvel and certainly the most heavily contented car you can buy for under $50,000, its lack of prestige and engine power have sent sales through the floor since its introduction last year.

RL sales are down 25% from their 'new car' pace since introduced last fall, and dealers are putting increasing pressure on the parent company to make significant changes to the model before it becomes the slow selling laughingstock that was the previous generation RL. Not only is the RL lacking a V8, it approaches $50,000. Not only is that $6,000 more than the old RL, it's a full $15,000 more than a loaded TL. "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. "It only comes one way: loaded. We need something in the low to mid-40s."

So what are the problem with the RL, besides its high price and no way to buy a 'base' version? They are many, and its slow sales were easily predictable.

Acura AccordWhile the TL and TSX feature sharp creases and a design coherence, the RL comes off as a rounded bar of soap. The grille doesn't match its Acura siblings, and it does not look like a $50,000 automobile. Its styling is far from ugly, but lacks the visual impact of the Infiniti M and BMW 5-Series. The styling does not set it apart from the rest of its class, and does not help with the RL's other misgivings. The fix? Nothing substanial can be done with this for now. Acura can redo the grille and bumpers and slap on some 18" wheels, but the body shape will have to remain the same through its life cycle.

Only a SixThe TL and RSX have class leading horsepower, while the RL makes due with the company's J-series V6. While it produces more power than any of its competitor's V6's, those looking for engine power likely would have already gotten a Benz, Bimmer, Infiniti or Lexus V8 anyway. Whether the RL has 250 or 300 horsepower probably doesn't even matter; the fact that it has no V8 and well under 300 ft-lbs of torque does. The fix? A V8, and now! But Honda is very resistant to a V8 and cancelled its last V8 development project more than 5 years ago.

Honey, what's an Acura?Once seen in the 1980's as the premier Japanese competitor to Mercedes-Benz and BMW, Acura has slipped off the scale due to completelely forgettable models and engines in the 1990's. They have rebounded greatly with the home runs that are the TSX and TL, but the RL was simply aimed too high. It is aimed at a market that is already set on German sedan greatness, or requires massive engine power or coddling luxury. The RL has a little of both but neither in spades. In order to overcome its deficit in power and luxury Honda chose to pack the RL with technological features, which appeals to a very small segment. Acura simply does not have the brand cachet that Lexus does to take sales away from the Germans, and does not have the engine power and styling that the Infiniti M45 does. The fix? Well, the fix was the RL. That didn't go well apparently.

Is this a decathlon athlete or a luxury car?Unlike its competition, the RL has no clear mission. It has the amazing Honda ability to be good at everything, but yet excels at nothing. While the M45 is a clear sports sedan, and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class has superior luxury, the RL has the luxury of a $30,000 Lexus and the performance of a $30,000 BMW. Nothing at all says $50,000 about this car, except its array of technology. But really, how many people would take LED backlighting in the door handles and floor instead of a V8 or rich leather? Not many. The fix? Sorry Honda, you misstepped on this one. When automotive writers say that a car has no 'soul', they're talking about cars like the RL. Like a damn good minivan, it tries to be good at everything yet ends up falling short of expectations.

gwestbound

Autoweek today reported Acura RL sales have tanked. Acura is considering stripping features out of the car and reducing the price. In my view Acura got greedy and overpriced it, and it's biting them in the ass. This stellar example of automotive marketing lunacy ranks with Acura abandoning the famous Legend name for its most prestigious model, and squandering the nearly insurmountable lead it had in the premium Japanese car market. It will destroy RL resale value and alienate current and future customers.

Acura has to decide what market the RL is in. If it wants to compete with the Lexus LS, it has to build a first class, large, V8-powered car and price it significantly lower until it achieves similar cachet. If it thinks it's a BMW 5-Series, Audi A6 or a Mercedes E-Class challenger it has to design and produce a better car than those and price it accordingly. It cannot build a tarted-up Honda Accord, put a fancy interior in it, and ask for twice the money. As it has learned to its chagrin, there aren't enough rich, stupid people out there who will pay serious money for a smallish car with a high-winding, low torque six-cylinder engine that consumes prodigious quantities of premium gasoline, an unresponsive transmission, a dodgy suspension, and a huge turning circle. This dog don't hunt. The RL is at best marginally superior to the TL, and costs $15,000 more!

The Autoweek article may be accessed here.
http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl...221002/1024/L- - - - - ATESTNEWS

reno96teg

the RL is a gorgeous car.. it's problem is that it's waaaay overpriced.

boopie

If only it had a larger engine.... but I think its funny how luxury cars have so much horsepower, or that the people who buy them even think they need it...

300 hp RL? what a weak ass car

I'm gonna need the 500 hp mercedes

M Type X

300 hp and AWD is respectable. For the price, though, it's too close to many V8 cars. It'd being compared to the wrong crowd.

95AccordV6

Lacking an option of RWD also turns me off. The extra weight of the SH-AWD would only exacerbate the weakness of the V6 engine. May be Honda really should stick with small and mid-sized cars.

hondatech

Wow, I'm shocked people are agreeing with the article. maybe I'm jaded because I work on them but I disagree. I think it looks good, drives awesome and has plenty of power. Do you really need a 500+hp car? Honda doesn't make v8's because they don't think it's needed and it's trying to make cleaner cars not gas guzzlers. I would love a V8 too but honestly the 6 is fast enough for me. I don't need to race people all day or whatever. It's not an integra. The AWD in the car is amazing, it's stuck to the ground in high speed cornering, speaking from exprience. Sure it's expensive, when aren't Honda's expensive? I can agree with that, AHM seems to think money is free flowing over here.

M Type X

Good car. Priced too high. You got free money? Mail it to Michigan.

lil jonny everythi

i agree with the statement about not havin a rwd option, it just costs a lot less to build a frame for a front wheel drive car, look at most of the american market in the past 10 years...

lil jonny everythi

agree 100%, but manufacturers like how they can build a cheaper frame and then raising prices anyway, it started with the uni-body cars in the 80s that would twist like a pop can if you had real power and no frame connecters, and now only the higher classes of people can afford to go buy a corvette, s2000, or a BMW M5 brand new off the lot