Autoblog

psarhjinian @ Jan 21st 2008 10:57AM

Nah, RWD isn't needed: look at Audi. The A8 is just as much a capable luxury sedan as the 7 or S unless you discount things like the AMG or B7, in which case the difference is power, not drive wheels.

The problem with the RL is twofold:
* It's anonymous. I like this aspect of it--you can buy a silver RL and not look like every other ratracer out there--but it's lack of presence a real hinderance in this market.
* It doesn't offer a ridiculous engine. The RL's six is nice, but offering something higher-power is sort of a merit badge for this class. Even a heavily-blown six would be ok.

The RL is really more of a competitor for the E/5/A6/GS, not the 7/S/A8/LS. It does that role fairly well, but it's also an example of Honda's being stretched too thin. It's important to remember than Honda is, by a good margin, one of the smaller Japanese makes (it's at least fourth, behind Toyota, Nissan and Mitsubishi) and despite it's financial health, it really doesn't have the resources to field a home-run in every single class.

Personally, I don't think they should try. Acura had it's best years when it was still peddling Integras and RSXs. They sold a lot of them, it got them a good fan base, and, most importantly, it got people back into the showroom to buy TLs and MDXs when they got a real job and/or had kids. Dropping the RSX made it hard for new buyers to "get into" Acura at a low price point. The ultralux market is pretty saturated, but the near-lux is pretty much a no-man's-land except for VW. If Honda doesn't keep paying attention to this market, it might risk having it swiped by the currently-surging Mazda and/or an upcoming Saab.