Acura - Advance? Not so fast...

These last few months have been unkind to almost everyone- businesses and individuals alike- all over the globe. One glance at the news would quickly indicate that the automotive industry continues to be one of the hardest hit by the global recession as companies seek mergers or partnerships to improve profitability, billions in government aid to patch up loose ends, and in some instances end up filing for bankruptcy if the first two options fall through. Seeing automotive sales numbers showing a 20%, 30%, or 40% decline over 2008 sales figures seems eerily ordinary as the months pass- we’re getting used to it now. Some experts say that this economic downturn has been a long time coming and is a much needed reality check on how the American consumer spends and saves (or the lack thereof). The same could technically apply to corporations as those with historically stronger fiscal policies are sweating a little less than others, if only slightly so. Chrysler has finally filed for Chapter 11 and GM has been teetering on the brink of doing the same since February, while Ford has miraculously remained unscathed despite the turmoil. There are some “glimmers of hope” though, as our president might say: Subaru just posted its first dip in sales volume so far this year, and Hyundai/Kia recently outpaced Nissan as the 6th largest automotive company by volume. Even considering this news, it is hardly a cake walk in the automotive market right now.

Luxury brands have also been hit harder than mainstream ones- especially the Japanese marques that are somewhat light on new products this year. BMW is enjoying strong 5 Series sales and the updated 3 Series remains strong while the new 7 Series should lure loyal buyers back to the showroom. Mercedes is still riding high on the new C Class with the brand new E set to arrive next month. Audi recently redesigned the A4 and A6 while the A5 and S5 remain hot-ticket items, as does the brand new Q5 crossover. Things are not great for the Germans, but they certainly are not bad either.

Infiniti and Lexus are launching convertible variants of their popular entry level models, the G37 and IS, though Infiniti’s version is undoubtedly better executed and designed than the frumpy ISc. Lexus will also bring the HS 250h hybrid sedan to market later in the year and Infiniti is rumored to show the redesigned M before January rolls around. Meanwhile Acura has hung all of their hopes of success on the beak of the 2009 TL. While Infiniti and Lexus are indeed light on new products, Acura is the company that is truly in danger- for a variety of reasons. Increasing competition is one factor and an aging product line is another, but as the years pass by it seems to me that Acura is becoming something of a menace unto itself. Here is why:

One of the main reasons that Acura has struggled so badly in recent years is because they lack any sense of direction, where they belong, or who their target market should be. Between Lexus and Infiniti (Let alone Mercedes, BMW, and Audi) they really don't fit in and have struggled endlessly to define their brand and or any core competency. To this day they still lack any definition or clarity as a marque...SH-AWD is probably the only thing that is noteworthy about the entire brand.

Honda has tried several times, to no avail, to make the Acura brand "different" and quirky (like Honda), but upscale. They are determined to do it their way- the way of rebadging and part-sharing at every point possible- to a fault, really. Lexus and Infiniti have both had to break away from that mentality and consider their success relative to Acura ever since they did. Clearly, Honda is determined to make a compelling business case for Acura as a premium brand while using as many pieces from their own corporate parts bin as possible. Unfortunately, this line of thinking has illustrated its flaws time and time again.

Cars like the NSX, Legend, and S2000 have shown that Honda is one of the engineering powerhouses of the automotive industry, but then we are given cars that are as deficient as the TL or RDX. Why? Especially when they are one of the most cash-rich companies in the business and could easily afford the required investment to actually make competitive luxury cars? Why?

Obviously a large part of Acura's failure is Honda's fault. They have always given the brand limited resources to retool and reformat hand-me-down platforms while repeatedly shutting the door to anything over 6 cylinders or chasses that aren’t derived directly from a Honda product. Every vehicle in the Acura lineup is an Accord derivative of some type, and while there is nothing wrong with that, there are explicit limitations- namely power and performance- to this method of building a car. Competitors build three, four, five, or more dedicated platforms for specific vehicles while Acura builds one that sees fit in an I4 family sedan that sells 350,000 units a year, all the way up to a "premium branded" 300HP AWD 7-seater utility vehicle. Yes, this is smart business engineering, but not necessarily a smart way to engineer or position a premium automotive brand. By design limitations, the platform that underpins the uber-successful Accord just cannot be truly willing and able to rival the 5 or 3 Series in terms of dynamics, refinement, and overall performance. Here the flawed logic that “Honda hand-me-downs are sufficient” rears its ugly head.

These deficiencies might be forgivable if Acura cars were engineering marvels (like the NSX and Legend) or if they had high feature content and remarkable quality. At least do something great, right? Wrong. Their cars use many of the same plastics, paint, trim pieces and technology as their lesser brethren and are often times deficient in many other ways in comparison to their competitors. Every other luxury brand has or is about to have a hybrid model...Acura has not so much as a hybrid concept that we know of. 6 and 7 speed automatics are the standard while some brands offer 8 speeds- Acura uses a 5 speed. The list goes on.

At the end of the day you are left with a car that is based off a Honda platform, uses several parts that are found on many other Honda cars, and that offers a minimal amount of unique content over that same Honda. At the same time, because of all of these inherent characteristics their cars are not as well built, fun to drive, powerful, or cutting edge as products from competing brands i.e. Lexus, Infiniti, BMW, etc. because of the lack of resources.

Do not get me wrong- Acuras are still nice cars that do plenty of things well - and for a couple thousand people a year that is enough to sign on the dotted line and grab the keys. Many buyers of premium brands want more than just nice cars that do things well- they want performance, handling, quality, unique designs and technology- all things that come with a level of engineering and investment that Honda has not, and evidently will not, put into Acura. It's sad, really. It seems as though Acura will have to completely fail for Honda to realize that the company will require significantly more time and investment to be suited for success. At that point though, a company as money-minded as Honda might consider scrapping the brand all together. Or might they just be content selling rebadged and retooled Accords for the rest of time? Who knows?

Often times we make fun of GM or Ford for penny pinching, but the Acura brand is the single greatest testament to automotive bean counting that any of us have seen or know. Seriously.


In a time where luxury consumers are increasingly discerning and ever more frugal with their dollars, will they spend them on Tier 3, in-between brands like Acura? Conversely, does Honda’s approach make Acura the sensible luxury choice, thus setting them up for success in a market such as this? The sales numbers seem to say “no” but time will ultimately tell and unfortunately for Honda, these times are not too forgiving.


Food for thought…

How will cars like the Hyundai Genesis affect Acura and other brands that trail the “top dogs” in the luxury arena? Do they have reason to be concerned?

Infiniti, Audi, Buick, and Jaguar have shown significant progress in building or rebuilding their brands and capturing market share while many industry critics say that Acura has been relatively flat. How does this bode for the company?

Quick Take: 2010 Lexus HS 250h

I recently saw the new Lexus HS 250h at the Atlanta Auto Show and figured I would share my opinions on Lexus’ only all-new product for this model year. The car I saw was Smokey Granite Mica with black leather interior which looked somewhat better than the silver seen in most of the press photos. Please don’t get the wrong idea by that previous statement however, because I remain completely disappointed in this car and Lexus’ efforts…or the very lack thereof. I struggle with the reality that this is what they came up with for the world's first dedicated luxury hybrid- it's utterly pathetic. Recall the splash that the Prius made, partially because it was something completely different and unlike any car before it- a true revelation in the automotive world if I have ever seen one. The LS 600hL, RX 400h, RX 450h, and GS 450h were or are all standouts for some reason while this HS seems like a “D” on Lexus’ straight-A hybrid report card... and I will tell you why.

Stepping back, the exterior styling of the HS 250h appears bland and reminiscent of an economy car- most obviously the previous generation Toyota Corolla. The rear admittedly looks much better in the metal than it does in photos but the long overhangs, tacky body molding, plastic-y front grill, and dinky looking wheels really do nothing to help this poor car. Another glaring oddity of the HS is the solid 6 inches of wheel gap between the top of the tire and the body above. Was this supposed to be a crossover?

Opening the door and taking a look at the interior is equally as uninspiring. Immediately noticeable the deforestation in the interior of this Lexus- wood is scarce- a trend that started with the 2007 ES and brand new RX. Several companies have toyed with painted plastic and aluminum trim accents in recent years, many of which look attractive, but chalk me up as one guy who thinks his luxury cars should have more wood trim than say, a Corolla. The only wood trim I saw on this car was a small patch on each door that surrounds the window and door lock controls. Speaking of door panels…who designed these? They are completely flat and devoid of any detail or shape. Lexus seems to think that adding a dash of color at the top of the panel is a sufficient contrast or detail, but this is one area where the Corolla is actually better looking. Ouch.

Mechanically, the HS 250h uses the hybrid system lifted from the Toyota Camry sedan but with a few minor tweaks- one of which is an Atkinson cycle to improve efficiency. The new Lexus rides on the European Toyota Avensis platform which looks to slot somewhere between the IS and ES in overall size. While I don’t much care for the interior or exterior design the drivetrain is probably the biggest pitfall. Lexus should have done something more innovative with the HS 250h’s powerplant. Lifting the hybrid system out of the Camry with a tweak here or there is a let-down, to say the least. This car could have been a technological showcase for Lexus, much like the Prius was for Toyota. Looking at the whole, I fail to see what is so great about something that truly is and looks like a conglomerate of many other, less expensive and less sophisticated pieces, by Lexus standards.

I really could swallow, maybe even like, the Lexus HS 250h if there was something about this car that was redeeming, but unfortunately there isn't. At the heart of its hybrid system is Toyota’s 2.4L 2AZ-FE 4 cylinder engine...an engine that debuted in the 2002 Camry and has seen work in the Highlander, Matrix, Corolla, Rav4 and Scion tC and xB over the years. I have driven previous Camrys that had this engine and know first-hand that it is a loud and buzzy powerplant so I hope that Lexus has made some tweaks to bring it up to their standards. Furthermore, Toyota released the brand new 2AR-FE 2.5L 4-cylinder that is miles ahead of the archaic 2AZ so why was that not used for this brand new Lexus, the world's first dedicated luxury hybrid? We are now in the age of direct injection, a technology that Lexus implemented late 2005 with its redesigned GS and IS models. While we are on the topic of engine innovations, Toyota’s Valvematic technology is allegedly just around the corner and has already been implemented in other international markets with great success. With a company that has been as innovative as Lexus in recent years, I am forced tow wonder why the HS goes without any of these technologies? Where is the gas saving/hybrid innovation in the world's first luxury hybrid?

It is theoretical but if the HS 250h has been endowed with the more powerful, more efficient 2.5L AR 4 cylinder engine and direct injection (let alone Valvemetic), the car would have easily been packing a combined output of 200-215hp and probably 43-45mpg combined. That is what is so frustrating about this car- what it could have been.

Taking a guess at what this car will cost and then considering what you are really getting with the HS 250h, I must admit that I would rather have a Camry hybrid and pocket the extra cash. It’s better looking and has the same hybrid technology, plus costs thousands of dollars less. If I wanted to stay with the Lexus brand I would just buy an IS 250 and take a 5mpg penalty in combined driving- it's more than worth it.

If you have not picked up on it by now, I hate this new Lexus. I think it is a poor mockup of what could have been a great idea. Consider the effect that an upmarket Prius-type automobile could have had on the luxury car world- it could have been great. Sadly, Lexus has failed to capitalize on what could have been a moment that was just as game-changing as when the brand was introduced twenty years ago. The HS 250h is the car that could have changed the game, but failed. Badly.