Acura RL- A rare flop

Funny how they're spinning this...Sales of RL up over 200%...From what? ZERO?

Dealers tell us this thing is the most dissapointing Acura's in a long time...

Press release

Torrance, Calif. -- Record May sales of 18,685 vehicles gave Acura its third best sales month ever and surpassed the previous May record set in 2004 by 9.1 percent based on daily selling rate, the division announced today. It is the 19th consecutive record setting month for Acura. Year-to-date Acura sales rose to 86,201 up 8.7 percent compared to 2004.

The TL performance luxury sedan was the top-selling model, with sales of 7,032 units, up 6.1 percent over last year and leading Acura to its fourth best total car sales month ever. Year-to-date TL sales reached 32,142 units. Demand for the all-new RL luxury performance sedan continued to grow with sales of 1,404, up 225.7 percent compared to 2004. Year-to-date RL sales of 6,867 surpassed last year's total by 191.8 percent. TSX sales of 3,367 units were up 1.7 percent compared to 2004.

"The sedan is making a comeback, and that's reflected in the continued strong sales of the TL, RL and TSX," said Dick Colliver, executive vice president, sales. "We've set sales records every month this year and in an unpredictable economic environment, that's a testament to the strength and depth of our product line."

Additional Acura information and downloadable high-resolution images are available at www.acuranews.com.

Monthly percentages are based on 24 selling days for this month versus 26 days for last May.

MercBasher - 6/9/2005 11:18:21 PM

+1 Boost

Whose buying all the Acuras? - they are very rare in Southern Texas. So some part of the country is buying a disproportionately large amount of Acura sedans - is it California or the North East?

The RL is underperforming versus the GS300/430 and M35/45. It looks too small on the street, and I bet buyers who want Acura can't justify the price difference between the boring RL and good value TL.

dbrebel - 6/16/2005 9:27:46 AM

+1 Boost

Hmmm... as much as Autospies and all of the RWD German car bigots relish their constant bashing of the RL, Car and Driver rated it ahead of almost all the competition except for the M45. So if the RL is so good at being average, I guess that means that the A6, 530i, STS, S-type, S430 and E350 are good at being below average.

And in my area, the Lexus, BMW and Acura dealers are right across the street from each other, and there's not a single RL on the used car lots of the Lexus and BMW dealers. I drive by there all the time, and I've yet to see even one since the RL was introduced.

dbrebel - 6/16/2005 10:49:17 AM

+1 Boost

Admittedly, the lack of full power in the RL's passenger seat was a real miscalculation, but rumor has it that Acura plans to correct that for 2006 when it adds several new features, with the most noteable being a collision-avoidance system.

So, what other features (or lack of features) beyond that one oversight make the RL feel like it's not a luxury car? Be fair now and compare it to its true competition, which would be the mid-luxury sedans with V6 power that I referenced in my earlier... an A8 that's minimally 1/3 more expensive or a lot more isn't a fair benchmark. It would seem that if you were seriously in the market for a car in the RL's class, the Audi A6 would have been your choice. Since you chose the much bigger and much more expensive A8, it makes me question that you were ever seriously in the market for an RL or a direct competitor.