Monday, March
27th, 2006 will mark the second decade since Acura was launched as the first Japanese luxury brand in America.
According to retired GM executive George Spauling and Post and Courier writer, Acura was also a
first among automakers as a new division with its own dealership network since Ford's launch of Lincoln/Mercury back in
1945.
Honda had turned to a company, Namelab, to come up with a name for the new division. The first vehicle,
the now legendary Acura Legend (pictured), was dubbed a "better BMW" by Motor Trend. Later, the NSX would
receive the "Top Ten Performance Cars" award from the magazine. Success? The company sold its two millionth
vehicle by 2002.
With Acura's moves in California and Japan, it will be
interesting to see what the next twenty years hold for Honda's successful offspring.
[Charleston Post and Courier]
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First Drive: 2008 MINI Cooper S JCW
In the Autoblog Garage:2009 Nissan GT-R
North American Exclusive First Drive: Alfa MiTo
First Drive: 2009 Kia Borrego
In The Autoblog Garage: 2008 Mercedes SLK55 AMG
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
iQuack @ Mar 26th 2006 4:30PM
Too bad Acrua dropped the Legend name which was so much better than the ridiculous "RL" silliness. Also, too bad that the RL is overpriced and not enough better than the TL (another stupid name for a great car) to justify the extra money.
I'm not convinced that the world really needs AWD except where traction is important in snow country. AWD is complicated, heavy, uneconomical, and useful only part of the time--and perhaps none of the time for drivers in mild climates.
Richard Warren @ Mar 26th 2006 5:26PM
Well the writer forgot about another launch of an individual dealer group, that lasted less than 1 year Edsel.
Most remember Edsel as being a dual, but the original concept was to be a single point.
Brother Justin @ Mar 26th 2006 5:34PM
iQuack, what a perfect name. Let me just make a remark or two. "not enough better" great English!! Also I like saying "I have a TL" instead of saying it's a Legend or Vigor. The letter sequence has a more mature status.
The RL is a little more car than most people want. But look for the items in that car to show up in the TL and TSX in a few years.
As for the AWD, it's a plus NO matter where you live. AWD isn't just needed for SNOW. It's great to have in the rain as well dry roads. With the roads in America becoming older, the technology given to us by car makers is a big plus.
The AWD that on the RL is one of the best systems out there. And soon will so up in moderate price range vehicles such as the new RDX due out in a couple of months.
Don't be so damn MAD at the World!!!
Max @ Mar 26th 2006 5:46PM
My parents bought a Legend in November of 1986. It was definetly a new idea at the time. While the car was still thoroughly Honda, the new nameplate made the car something more than just a larger Accord.
European Vacation @ Mar 26th 2006 6:04PM
Many people know that Honda mean good quality cars that could last you some good years.
JGN @ Mar 26th 2006 6:38PM
I miss the Legend, Acura really needs to bring the Legend back. The RL is a nice car but it just doesn't cut it.
The 2nd Gen Legends are still among the best looking cars on the road, I just don't know why they gave up on that design path.
Fooman @ Mar 26th 2006 6:52PM
My family bought one of the first 10 acura Legends from Tustin Acura the first dealership. I drove that 86 legend for years such a great car. I now drive a 95 Legend coupe(last year they made it) with 180k on it and looks and drives like new. I everyonce in awhile get asked what it is. No one believes me that the car is 10 years old, the styling still looks fresh, and teh interior is perfect. Of course the lack of a cd player and keyless entry is a little period with the 15inch stock upgrade rims.
I too am a little dissapointed by current Acura styling it seems way to conservative, hopefully with the split from Honda R&D they will again look like the Japanese BMW. You want a Benze get a lexus, you want a drivers car go Acura or infinti.
JinFX @ Mar 26th 2006 8:03PM
doesnt the second legend look like R34?
Mick @ Mar 26th 2006 8:09PM
I "accidentally" bought a 1st generation Legend a month or two ago - I say accidentally because I had had an accident with my previous car and needed a quick replacement. Truth to tell, I had barely even heard the name Legend, especially inasmuch as I wasn't even in the U.S. in late 80's.
Anyway, I saw this old car sitting on an Acura dealer's lot for less than 3 grand, I needed some wheels fast, so I bought the car. It was kind of surprising to see such an old car on an Acura lot, but I figured that if it was on the Acura dealer's lot it shouldn't be a total POS, what with his wanting to protect his reputation and all. What a surprise the car has turned out to be. In spite of the fact that it is 19 years old - and darn well has its share of quirks (alarm goes off when using the key to open the passenger's door! the transmission is clunky before it warms up; etc.) - it is a good, comfortable, solid, well designed and engineered car. Those old leather seats are great, and the audio tuning and volume controls are large, tactile, and well placed. The sunroof is huge, and has an integrateed pop-up, wind deflector. But the biggest surprise is the engine. When I put the pedal to the metal the 2.7 liter really moves the car. Fantastic mid-range torque.
I especially like that the car is anonymous looking. It looks like a really old Honda Accord or something and doesn't flaunt its quality. I sure miss my previous car which I had for more than 11 years, but I think I've gotten a really good car in its place. (The car cost almost $28,000 nineteen years ago!) This may be the last car I ever own.
Anonymous @ Mar 26th 2006 9:23PM
I dunno if this was the same in the states, but in the JDM market, the generation that includes the 1995 legend came with a version of the NSX's V6 engine, in both 4 door and coupe form. It's a really awsome car (and this is coming from someone who is not a big fan of Honda)and I like the looks of this generation the best, have no idea why the current RL has a crap name and looks like crap.
Peter @ Mar 26th 2006 10:21PM
I'm not thrilled with the trend toward alphanumeric naming. Even so, it's basically universal among high-end brands, so there's no point in complaining.
pauln @ Mar 27th 2006 2:14AM
As much as I have a lot of respect for Honda and for Acura in earlier days, Acura has somewhat lost their way. Not that they're not "good" cars, but the premium marketplace has become so much more competitive since they got into it. In my opinion, one of the big reasons Acura and the first Legend was such a hit is because it was a perfect alternative to the Audi 5000/100, that had just been destroyed by CBS's 60 minutes. The Audi had sold very well in late 70's and early 80's, and Acura became a conceptionally similar and attractive alternative. But we can all see what's happened to the premium field since then. I'm afraid the RL is going to be a quiet little dud, like its predecessor (what was it called??RL??when was the last time you saw one??) Too bad.
ohh_yay @ Mar 27th 2006 4:08AM
20 years of upscale motoring?
Yeah please, Acura is a disgrace to the premier Asian auto community.
Lexus has done a much better job both in sales and in cars, in comparison to quality, status and style.
Even Infiniti, a marque that for long had lost its way, is off on a huge offenseive only trailing BMW, with grate cars such as the G35 & M45.
Acura, is lost amidst blunders such as the RL, and I don't know anyone who can figure out the difference between the TL & the TSX. Not to mention that supercar, that is what a decade old? The NSX is a joke.
Acura its time to smell the coffee (as Infiniti once had to) and wake up and put some hard effort into buildling cars. Not all is lost, Honda is still churning out good cars on the same platforms!
Wake up Acura !
DJ @ Mar 27th 2006 8:58AM
Happy Birthday, Acura!
As the owner of the very first Acura Integra (a silver 5-door) registered in Nebraska in 1986, I have many great memories of that car. Acura wasn't even sold in the state at the time and the closest dealer was in Lenexa, a suburb of Kansas City. I put nearly 90,000 miles on it in the first 2 years and never had a single problem. The best part was during the first few months when people would pull up next to me, especially Honda owners, and ask what it was. The biggest mistake was thinking that after that car, I needed and SUV and bought a Chevy Blazer.
Geigs @ Mar 27th 2006 9:28AM
Originally, it was supposed to be pronounced "Ah-coor-ah," but the general public kept mispronouncing it. Also, the Legend was comparable in drivetrain and engine to the Maxima, but added 10 grand for an unknown premium label and it worked. Happy 20th.
Howard Kerr @ Mar 27th 2006 9:42AM
Having owned a couple of Honda Civics, I also bought my (first?) Acura by "accident". It's a '92 Integra that for some reason was a low mileage used car on the lot of my Honda mechanic. If I had bought this car new, it would now have a lot more than 145,000 miles on it. I agree with nearly everyone here that the alphabetic names used by Acura sound stupid. And as a car nut who can name most cars and tell you the year they were built with a glance (I can't do German cars, though)...I can't quite keep Acuras lineup straight. Is the TL and the TSX(?) the same car? But at least they did get rid of the Vigor name. (It sounds like the name for a cheap anti-impotence drug.)
dave @ Mar 27th 2006 10:43AM
Ahhh, memories ... my dad handed down his '87 Legend V6L down to me in 1994, with about 78k on it. I proceeded to put another 112k on it before anything ever went wrong with it (well, anything that I wasn't directly responsible for ...).
As for the argument about naming conventions, I always feel like car names (with few exceptions) sound silly (I feel the same way about saying song names out loud), so I'm all for the alphanumeric designations. From a more objective standpoint, and as someone here pointed out, it's the mark of the luxury faction of the industry--luxury cars have alphanumerics as names as one more way to separate themselves from the more plebian transportation. However accurate or inaccurate, it says "I'm a serious car for serious people," in a way that some made-up word like "Elantra" and "Maxima" can't. Cynics can point to the utter silliness in most car names (I think even Sienfeld had a routine about it), whereas alphanumerics are very cut-and-dry. 3=small, 5=medium, 7=large; bigger number or letter higher in the alphabet=bigger, better car. It may lack heart, but at least it's simple and straightforward.
Richard Warren @ Mar 27th 2006 11:38AM
Our dealership was one of the early Acura dealerships. That first model Legend was a great car.
I prefer the names VS the alpha numeric trend. "Legend" had a nice ring to it.
John Nicholas @ Mar 27th 2006 11:41AM
I assumed that the alphanumeric names were to simplify dealing with names in a global marketplace and the difficulty in determining how a name works in various languages. (i.e. Chevy Nova in Spanish urban legend)
Doug @ Mar 27th 2006 1:05PM
Just bought a TSX from Acura last week, no mention of the birthday from the dealership, probably because there is some amazing tsx sale going on now . . . the car is fantastic, my first acura - we could not be happier, happy bday!