Filed under: Trends
Honda, Acura to part ways in research & development
In
continued development of Acura’s own identity, parent company Honda Motor Corp. has announced it is splitting the
two brands' research and development teams. Both teams currently work loosely in three separate technical centers in Japan. But starting at the beginning of April, there will be five new teams specialized in airplane engines, automotive, basic technology, motorcycles, and power products.
The news comes on the heels of January's announcement that Acura will receive a new California design studio.
[Source: AutoWeek]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Gunnar Heinrich 10:12AM (3/09/2006)
Could Acura really survive on its own without Honda's financial backing? That's hard to say. These are perilous times for the vanilla luxury brand.
http://www.automobilesdeluxe.blogspot.com
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ANR 10:23AM (3/09/2006)
@ Gunnar, It's not that Acura is leaving Honda, it's that their R&D will be seperate. That means that Acura won't depend on Honda for finding results for new cars, or they may get more freedom to create their cars.
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Tony 10:32AM (3/09/2006)
In my opinion this can only be a good thing for Acura. It should allow them more freedom in design which will help to seperate the brands and allow Acura to develop it's own more unique identity.
I'm just hoping that a nice coupe comes out of all this.
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Corey W. 10:35AM (3/09/2006)
All this is saying is that the design teams now work separately, the company structure will still be the same, decisions on approved designs, production releases....etc. Is still the same.
I'm not even sure why this is being announced, it's almost borderline, marketing fluff, maybe to push the idea, these cars are designed and built in the good ole US of A.
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Hank 10:46AM (3/09/2006)
I think it's a move to put more distance between the two, so as to lessen the idea that Acuras are glorified Hondas (which they are, and which is not a bad thing).
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J 11:39AM (3/09/2006)
I don't know how many times I've heard people say:
"I really like [almost any acura sedan] but damn, it looks like an accord." Maybe this will give acura some destinct styling.
I'm also assuming that any real cutting edge motor related work will still be done at honda, this be more for acura-specific components. They are not going to spend millions of dollars for two places to research the same stuff.
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Takeo 12:05PM (3/09/2006)
Yeah but maybe now Acura will finally get a RWD platform like everyone else in the market.
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jimbo 12:52PM (3/09/2006)
Just a little propaganda from Honda to try and make the Acura name more exclusive and give the consumer the illusion of getting a much more upscale vehicle.
Let's face it, nearly all of the platforms, underpinnings and powertrains are straight from the Honda parts bin and always will be. We are not all that gullible.
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Meek 1:09PM (3/09/2006)
jimbo, Acura's are more upscale than Honda. It's not like they are selling the same models under the different names in the same market. That would be stupid.
Also, what Honda parts bin held those Turbocharged Acura RDX engines, and the SH-AWD powertrain? Who forgot to put those on the Hondas?
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Tiger 1:32PM (3/09/2006)
Maybe Acura will finally come out with a V-8.
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Mike O. 1:40PM (3/09/2006)
#9
SH-AWD is used on the Honda Legend in Japan.
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Chris 1:49PM (3/09/2006)
#11 Mike...the Honda Legend IS the Acura RL. It was designed for both markets and is the same car. Since they don't have Acura in Japan (obviously) they need to put it under the Honda brand.
I don't understand what difference the "platform" makes...I think a lot of you that get hung up over it have no idea what a "platform" actually is. As long as the substructure is rigid and the basic engineering is there, there's no harm done in commonizing simple chassis components to save money. The RL may be on the Accord's Global Midsize Platform, but you won't see aluminum control arms on the Accord or any of the other RL's tricks. They don't take an Accord and work their way up to an RL by adding in BS features.
www.honda-acura.net
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Takeo 2:36PM (3/09/2006)
Jimbo, you could say the same out of anything coming out of Lincoln or Cadillac. Chrysler's offerings are parts-bined out of Merc-Benze's line. That's not an insult if the base car is good. The last time I checked the Accord was an industry leading car, as is the TL.
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jimbo 9:18PM (3/09/2006)
Takeo,
That's all fine and dandy, but this article is not an annoncement for any of the automakers you name above divorcing themselves from their base model brands. This article is about Acura supposedly seperating itself from Honda. If it wasn't for Honda they would have not much more than body panels looking for something to bolt them to.
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Mike O. 5:37PM (3/10/2006)
#12
The whole point of my post was to simple prove that SH-AWD is not an Acura exclusive technology. Secondly, I do know that the Acura RL and the Honda Legend are the same car, with the RL being a rebadged Legend.
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