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How Honda Will Fix Acura - 2013 Tokyo Motor Show

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#1 ·
How Honda Will Fix Acura - 2013 Tokyo Motor Show
By Scott Evans | November 19, 2013

During a roundtable discussion with journalists at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, American Honda Motor Company CEO Tetsuo Iwamura said that his biggest challenge in the next five years will be fixing Acura. In a surprisingly candid explanation, Iwamura said Acura’s brand image needs to be raised and acknowledged it’s not as strong globally as rivals Lexus and Infiniti (which have their own issues in global markets). Rather than try to expand Acura beyond its current markets in the U.S. and China, Iwamura said the priority is to grow the brand in those markets and make it as strong as possible. Only once the brand is strong enough in its core markets will Honda expand it into more markets, he said.

Growing Acura in the U.S. hinges on improving sales and market share of its sedans. The plan to fix Acura began with getting its SUVs right, Iwamura said, and as a result, the MDX and RDX are seeing big sales increases. Now the focus shifts to the brand’s sedan lineup.

Read more: http://wot.motortrend.com/1311_how_honda_will_fix_acura_2013_tokyo_motor_show.html#ixzz2l8tLxHxv
 
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#4 ·
Acura presents a...familiar problem: not nearly enough separation from the mainstream brand.

There's nothing in the showroom that isn't an Accord or Civic derivation. The sedans, the CUVs, whatever...all basically available for a sizable discount at your Honda dealer, and without the chrome beak.

The upcoming NSX should shake things up a little, again, but they lost everything they'd gained in beating Lexus/Infiniti to the punch when they had no real competitors for the longstanding luxury icons: the S-Class and the 7-Series. Plus, at the other end, they had a well-liked small coupe/sedan in the Integra which has never really been replaced. The Integra could have more aggressive styling and some sportiness that was attractive to younger buyers.
 
#5 ·
Acura presents a...familiar problem: not nearly enough separation from the mainstream brand.

There's nothing in the showroom that isn't an Accord or Civic derivation. The sedans, the CUVs, whatever...all basically available for a sizable discount at your Honda dealer, and without the chrome beak.

The upcoming NSX should shake things up a little, again, but they lost everything they'd gained in beating Lexus/Infiniti to the punch when they had no real competitors for the longstanding luxury icons: the S-Class and the 7-Series. Plus, at the other end, they had a well-liked small coupe/sedan in the Integra which has never really been replaced. The Integra could have more aggressive styling and some sportiness that was attractive to younger buyers.
They really stagnated when it came to advancing the brand. Like you pointed out, they had the Integra bringing in young buyers and they never matured the brand, it never became more than really nice Hondas. It's been downhill pretty much after the second generation cars which I liked, everything after that was Toyota level blah. Sad.
 
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