I think it's all in the styling of the car. The RL doesn't appeal to those that want to show off their newfound wealth. young professionals are, unfortunately, all about the bling, and an RL doesn't say blang blang. the RL, like the NSX, is more for the people that are comfortable with their wealth and don't have a need to show it off. honda's philosophy is more about efficient, solid, timeless, non-pretentious(sp?) design. thats one of the things I like about hondas, its just that it will not work for luxury vehicles, unless there are a lot of smart rich people, and it doesn't seem like there are too many.
Honda is also anti-V8. it's like they hate eveything about the V8 concept, what it stands for, and the stigma behind it. thats why the next NSX is planned to be a V10, they skipped V8 altogether. honda is like the punk child of the car world, never wanting to conform to the traditional standards, and more focused on making a point with all their cars. machine-minimum, man-maximum, thats one of their design slogans. honda engineers are idealists to the fullest extent, and proud of it.