Article-Acura takes dead aim... at mediocrity
#1
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Article-Acura takes dead aim... at mediocrity
http://www.autoextremist.com/
What I said 11 years ago
What I said 11 years ago
Acura takes dead aim... at mediocrity.
By Peter M. De Lorenzo
(Posted 12/12, 5:00 p.m.) Detroit. Thirteen months ago I wrote a column (“That’s all you got, Mr. Ito?” - 11/10/2010) about the future of Acura. Flailing and failing, Acura had totally lost its mojo and its raison d’etre, and its leader, Takanobu Ito, pretty much had nothing to offer other than this: “We are having a lot of discussions about Acura and which way it should be going. And what we confirmed is that the brand direction should be smart premium, not top tier… We agreed that smart premium is what we should be targeting with Acura, not the upper-segment vehicles such as Lexus or Mercedes-Benz. We must apply advanced technologies which make our vehicle more fun to drive, achieve a more comfortable drive and high environmental performance. "
Last week, Acura executives took the media under the tent ahead of the upcoming Detroit Auto Show, confirming Ito’s leanings from a year ago. Mark Rechtin, reporting for Automotive News, says Acura will settle for offering mid-level premium vehicles that favor fuel economy over performance, even though the company plans on unveiling an environmentally friendly successor to the NSX sports car in Detroit.
To justify their position, Acura executives went on to mock modern day luxury cars as being examples of technical overkill. And much is revealed in the following quotes.
Mike Accavitti, the former head of Dodge who became American Honda's vice president of marketing in August, describes the current luxury market as "too much machine and not enough humanity. Our overweight bodies require overweight engines and more safety systems to protect them. Some of these cars the average driver just can't control. We have been increasing performance beyond the ability of the driver, or we have complicated the driving process."
Gary Evert, division director for advanced automotive planning at Acura R&D, said, "Technology is only as good as the driver. The vehicle almost always has more capability than the driver can handle. Anything outside the customer's understanding is waste."
Sales chief Jeff Conrad insisted that Acura was returning to its original product philosophy, as reported by Rechtin, which revolves around elegant engineering and class-leading fuel economy. And that they would no longer pursue the best-in-class entries from the top-tier automakers.
And Vicki Poponi, American Honda assistant vice president for product planning, added, "Our engineering ego was getting in the way."
Really? That’s hard to fathom because I don’t think anyone in this business would actually accuse Acura of having some sort of engineering ego. Acura has been so far off the radar screen of the “great cars” discussion for so long that the company occupies a strange existence in a netherworld between irrelevance and inconsequence. How can you possibly cultivate an ego around that?
I’m sure the new NSX concept set to be revealed in Detroit will be cool and buzz worthy, but Acura executives are already telegraphing the fact that they view enthusiasts as inconsequential and not really what they’re aiming for, so why bother? Since fewer than 20 percent of Acura’s target buyers in generation Y care about high performance, according to its internal research, why indeed?
Showing a zoomy concept when you plan on backing it up with “smart luxury” as Acura executives are referring to it is a fool’s errand, at best.
Everything these Acura executives are saying indicates to me that the sickness that seems to have swallowed Honda whole over the last half decade or so has completely obliterated any hope for Acura. Dismissing technical excellence as “waste” suggests to me that the executives within Honda assigned to Acura not only have the disease, they’ve had their brains reprogrammed as well.
I wonder if a PA announcement comes over the loudspeaker at Acura headquarters every morning with the following: “Ladies and gentlemen, we don’t care what the powers that be in the automotive world are achieving or aspiring to, because we only aspire to be good enough. After all, it’s much easier to succeed when the target is set low enough. So get to work.”
Calculated mediocrity will never win in this business. Ever. And for Honda and Acura executives to come out – with guns blazing, no less – suggesting that this is their path to righteousness and success is an insult to everyone out their busting their guts to do the best and be the best.
Here is a car company announcing to the world that good enough is indeed good enough, in an automotive world where “good enough” was forever made obsolete with the bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler.
This would all be laughable if it weren’t so patently absurd and pathetic.
As I said a year ago, I’m not looking for Honda to build over-the-top and overpriced offerings for Acura at every turn. I am, however, looking for each and every Acura model that hits the street to offer a level of distinctive driving differentiation and appeal that you just can’t get in the Honda showroom, or anywhere else, for that matter.
And the message I’m hearing from Acura executives is that’s notgonnahappen. It’s not even close to happening, in fact.
Showing up and being present and accounted for isn’t going to cut it for Acura, but that’s exactly what they’re hell-bent on doing. And I don’t get it. Mediocrity isn’t bliss. And there are legions of car executives and car companies that have learned that painful lesson the hardest way possible.
Acura - and Honda - need to make us believe that they actually have a pulse instead of confirming our suspicions that they’re receding into a black hole while becoming something unrecognizable and unfathomable, akin to a mewling morass of mediocrity masquerading as a real car company.
And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.
By Peter M. De Lorenzo
(Posted 12/12, 5:00 p.m.) Detroit. Thirteen months ago I wrote a column (“That’s all you got, Mr. Ito?” - 11/10/2010) about the future of Acura. Flailing and failing, Acura had totally lost its mojo and its raison d’etre, and its leader, Takanobu Ito, pretty much had nothing to offer other than this: “We are having a lot of discussions about Acura and which way it should be going. And what we confirmed is that the brand direction should be smart premium, not top tier… We agreed that smart premium is what we should be targeting with Acura, not the upper-segment vehicles such as Lexus or Mercedes-Benz. We must apply advanced technologies which make our vehicle more fun to drive, achieve a more comfortable drive and high environmental performance. "
Last week, Acura executives took the media under the tent ahead of the upcoming Detroit Auto Show, confirming Ito’s leanings from a year ago. Mark Rechtin, reporting for Automotive News, says Acura will settle for offering mid-level premium vehicles that favor fuel economy over performance, even though the company plans on unveiling an environmentally friendly successor to the NSX sports car in Detroit.
To justify their position, Acura executives went on to mock modern day luxury cars as being examples of technical overkill. And much is revealed in the following quotes.
Mike Accavitti, the former head of Dodge who became American Honda's vice president of marketing in August, describes the current luxury market as "too much machine and not enough humanity. Our overweight bodies require overweight engines and more safety systems to protect them. Some of these cars the average driver just can't control. We have been increasing performance beyond the ability of the driver, or we have complicated the driving process."
Gary Evert, division director for advanced automotive planning at Acura R&D, said, "Technology is only as good as the driver. The vehicle almost always has more capability than the driver can handle. Anything outside the customer's understanding is waste."
Sales chief Jeff Conrad insisted that Acura was returning to its original product philosophy, as reported by Rechtin, which revolves around elegant engineering and class-leading fuel economy. And that they would no longer pursue the best-in-class entries from the top-tier automakers.
And Vicki Poponi, American Honda assistant vice president for product planning, added, "Our engineering ego was getting in the way."
Really? That’s hard to fathom because I don’t think anyone in this business would actually accuse Acura of having some sort of engineering ego. Acura has been so far off the radar screen of the “great cars” discussion for so long that the company occupies a strange existence in a netherworld between irrelevance and inconsequence. How can you possibly cultivate an ego around that?
I’m sure the new NSX concept set to be revealed in Detroit will be cool and buzz worthy, but Acura executives are already telegraphing the fact that they view enthusiasts as inconsequential and not really what they’re aiming for, so why bother? Since fewer than 20 percent of Acura’s target buyers in generation Y care about high performance, according to its internal research, why indeed?
Showing a zoomy concept when you plan on backing it up with “smart luxury” as Acura executives are referring to it is a fool’s errand, at best.
Everything these Acura executives are saying indicates to me that the sickness that seems to have swallowed Honda whole over the last half decade or so has completely obliterated any hope for Acura. Dismissing technical excellence as “waste” suggests to me that the executives within Honda assigned to Acura not only have the disease, they’ve had their brains reprogrammed as well.
I wonder if a PA announcement comes over the loudspeaker at Acura headquarters every morning with the following: “Ladies and gentlemen, we don’t care what the powers that be in the automotive world are achieving or aspiring to, because we only aspire to be good enough. After all, it’s much easier to succeed when the target is set low enough. So get to work.”
Calculated mediocrity will never win in this business. Ever. And for Honda and Acura executives to come out – with guns blazing, no less – suggesting that this is their path to righteousness and success is an insult to everyone out their busting their guts to do the best and be the best.
Here is a car company announcing to the world that good enough is indeed good enough, in an automotive world where “good enough” was forever made obsolete with the bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler.
This would all be laughable if it weren’t so patently absurd and pathetic.
As I said a year ago, I’m not looking for Honda to build over-the-top and overpriced offerings for Acura at every turn. I am, however, looking for each and every Acura model that hits the street to offer a level of distinctive driving differentiation and appeal that you just can’t get in the Honda showroom, or anywhere else, for that matter.
And the message I’m hearing from Acura executives is that’s notgonnahappen. It’s not even close to happening, in fact.
Showing up and being present and accounted for isn’t going to cut it for Acura, but that’s exactly what they’re hell-bent on doing. And I don’t get it. Mediocrity isn’t bliss. And there are legions of car executives and car companies that have learned that painful lesson the hardest way possible.
Acura - and Honda - need to make us believe that they actually have a pulse instead of confirming our suspicions that they’re receding into a black hole while becoming something unrecognizable and unfathomable, akin to a mewling morass of mediocrity masquerading as a real car company.
And that’s the High-Octane Truth for this week.
#6
Moderator
iTrader: (16)
This "smart premium" is also affecting Lincoln whose identity is almost nonexistent due to it being too similar to Ford (as Acura is to Honda). Clearly if they all want to seek upscale-esque stature while offering tech and luxury then that's fine. But a true successful model if either so chose to follow has to be said of Toyota/Lexus. Platforms and technology sharing aside, their line-ups are diverse and purposely focused. A good business model that offers something for everyone while not necessarily being just a gussied up Honda or Ford
#7
Lexus Champion
"we have complicated the driving process"
This is one thing I absolutely agree with. Actually I think Honda is saying some good things, the problem is Honda has somehow completely forgotten how to make a great car. Talk is cheap, and that is all Honda seems to be doing these days, how about shut yer yapper and get on with making Acura something worth owning over a Honda, not to mention a Lexus or BMW.
Internal politics is killing Acura/Honda by the looks of things.
This is one thing I absolutely agree with. Actually I think Honda is saying some good things, the problem is Honda has somehow completely forgotten how to make a great car. Talk is cheap, and that is all Honda seems to be doing these days, how about shut yer yapper and get on with making Acura something worth owning over a Honda, not to mention a Lexus or BMW.
Internal politics is killing Acura/Honda by the looks of things.
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#10
Unfortunately, this appears to be more talk from Honda. If Honda actually believed in a non-complicated driving process, the CRZ would not exist.
#11
Moderator
iTrader: (8)
the author is the one bashing acura
we're just agreeing with them
how can anyone in this day and age defend honda/acura?
there's nothing in the acura line up that I find appealing.
I have totally written honda and acura off my list and have moved hyundai and kia up.
Even all their talk about the upcoming NSX is just fluff. This is the only time I hope acura proves us wrong
we're just agreeing with them
how can anyone in this day and age defend honda/acura?
there's nothing in the acura line up that I find appealing.
I have totally written honda and acura off my list and have moved hyundai and kia up.
Even all their talk about the upcoming NSX is just fluff. This is the only time I hope acura proves us wrong
Last edited by J.P.; 12-19-11 at 05:54 PM. Reason: edited
#12
Guest
Posts: n/a
My apologies to those with extremely low expectations for posting an article someone else wrote. You know I don't write these articles and maybe fans of sub-par and average should be upset at Acura/Honda for having such a mediocre attitude and lineup with seemingly some fans willing to accept being behind the times instead of attacking people who post the news especially when they post news on a vast variety of topics. There is TONS of news about it, it is no secret Acura is a joke. Surely if they actually were not mediocre and were some sort of real luxury brand and were something truly aspirational and class leading well the articles written would be vastly different.
If some people love mediocre, that is great. Don't be upset if ones values aligns with mediocre instead of aspiring to be the best they can be. Some of us attempt in life to be the very best we can be in our short life spans and prefer products that align with those views, from cars, to clothes to people.
My apologies to anyone if my starting a thread and linking it to an source offends anyone.
Here is the contact info for the author
http://www.autoextremist.com/contact-ae/
Here Honda/Acura's contact info to tell them how you feel
http://www.acura.com/CustomerServices.aspx?context=help
For further assistance, feel free to contact Acura Client Services. You can reach us through the following ways:
By Phone(800) 382-2238 toll free
Monday through Friday
6:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Pacific Standard Time
By Fax(310) 783-3535
By MailAcura Client Services
1919 Torrance Blvd.
Torrance, CA
90501-2746
If some people love mediocre, that is great. Don't be upset if ones values aligns with mediocre instead of aspiring to be the best they can be. Some of us attempt in life to be the very best we can be in our short life spans and prefer products that align with those views, from cars, to clothes to people.
My apologies to anyone if my starting a thread and linking it to an source offends anyone.
Here is the contact info for the author
http://www.autoextremist.com/contact-ae/
Here Honda/Acura's contact info to tell them how you feel
http://www.acura.com/CustomerServices.aspx?context=help
For further assistance, feel free to contact Acura Client Services. You can reach us through the following ways:
By Phone(800) 382-2238 toll free
Monday through Friday
6:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Pacific Standard Time
By Fax(310) 783-3535
By MailAcura Client Services
1919 Torrance Blvd.
Torrance, CA
90501-2746
#13
Boardroom Thug
This is not the place to talk about other members, if you do not have something to share about the article posted just skip the thread all together rather than post personal comments.
#14
What I think of Acura in the US today:
TSX: Never was ugly, but the base engine needs a tune as the current car is not exactly a featherweight. Available V6 makes it nose-heavy and is probably too much engine for this platform. Also, the wagon doesn't get a V6. Rest of the car is great, although the Nav could be more modern. 8/10
TL: The debut in 2009 really turned buyers off, but the TL finally escaped ugly with the 2012 facelift. Like the TSX, a great car and actually a very competitive sports sedan despite the base model being FWD. Journos usually rave about the SH-AWD 3.7, but that one costs. Very good interior except the nav is a little old-school. 8/10
RL: Powertrain and body styling are hopelessly out of date. The cabin is undersized to compete with the Euros. I don't think Honda absolutely needs to put a V8 in the Legend/RL, but the powertrain needs to be at least innovative and more fuel-efficient to attract luxury buyers. Needs a new body. 3/10
MDX: Despite its aging design, the MDX still manages to look decent and have good tech features and a rich cabin. Powertrain is adequate, although Honda really needs to put more cogs in the gearboxes to improve city pick-up and hwy fuel economy. 7/10
RDX: This smaller model has aged well. Features and interior quality are excellent as usual with Acura, but turbo engine is thirsty and that is a big no-no in the compact CUV segment. Facelift and more MPGs are needed to attract buyers. 6/10
ZDX: On another planet, this could have been a great flagship but it's priced too high, the powertrain doesn't provide competitive performance, and the cabin is too impractical to compete with the more desirable BMW X6 (rear seat is hopeless). Features and interior quality are great as usual with Acura, but the concept was executed poorly and the car only manages to look good--nothing else. 5/10
I think Acura has improved from 2009, but still needs work. And a worthy flagship.
TSX: Never was ugly, but the base engine needs a tune as the current car is not exactly a featherweight. Available V6 makes it nose-heavy and is probably too much engine for this platform. Also, the wagon doesn't get a V6. Rest of the car is great, although the Nav could be more modern. 8/10
TL: The debut in 2009 really turned buyers off, but the TL finally escaped ugly with the 2012 facelift. Like the TSX, a great car and actually a very competitive sports sedan despite the base model being FWD. Journos usually rave about the SH-AWD 3.7, but that one costs. Very good interior except the nav is a little old-school. 8/10
RL: Powertrain and body styling are hopelessly out of date. The cabin is undersized to compete with the Euros. I don't think Honda absolutely needs to put a V8 in the Legend/RL, but the powertrain needs to be at least innovative and more fuel-efficient to attract luxury buyers. Needs a new body. 3/10
MDX: Despite its aging design, the MDX still manages to look decent and have good tech features and a rich cabin. Powertrain is adequate, although Honda really needs to put more cogs in the gearboxes to improve city pick-up and hwy fuel economy. 7/10
RDX: This smaller model has aged well. Features and interior quality are excellent as usual with Acura, but turbo engine is thirsty and that is a big no-no in the compact CUV segment. Facelift and more MPGs are needed to attract buyers. 6/10
ZDX: On another planet, this could have been a great flagship but it's priced too high, the powertrain doesn't provide competitive performance, and the cabin is too impractical to compete with the more desirable BMW X6 (rear seat is hopeless). Features and interior quality are great as usual with Acura, but the concept was executed poorly and the car only manages to look good--nothing else. 5/10
I think Acura has improved from 2009, but still needs work. And a worthy flagship.