Question Of The Day: Will Acura Ever Become Cool Again?

They're not there at the moment. The future is always uncertain when it comes to human decisions and actions.

Wind the clock back to the 1980s and ask someone, "Hey, you know that Hyundai Pony? Do you think anything will ever become of that company?" Yes, Acura is far from a 1980's Pony, but my point is that Acura, though not very exciting now, might become a noteworthy brand in days to come.

NOT if they keep using Accords, Civics, CRVs and Pilots for the basis of everything. Think NSX for everything, i.e. something unique to "Acura". Acura as it stands along with Lincoln is a joke outside of the NSX. Infinit isn't too far behind them. Never thought I'd say it, but Lexus and Cadillac have made far greater strides and are much closer to sitting at the table with Audi, BMW and the Mercedes-Benz.

"Will they ever be cool again?" Not if 009 has any say in it. J/K..sorta.

I've always said, when Acura offers the right products at the right prices, buyers will come. Clearly that's indicated by the incredible success of the MDX, RDX, and now the TLX. If you really look at the big picture and see that Acura was #5 in luxury retail sales last year behind Benz, BMW, Lexus, and Audi (Cadillac had more fleet sales), that's impressive considering they really were relying on 3 core models. The updated ILX may change that the same way the A3 changed things (i.e., saved) Audi last year.

Acura is likely working on a sub-compact SUV now that they've trademarked the CDX name. And various engineers have hinted that they are working on higher-performance variants to their models again, which, hopefully, will help them get the "cool" back. Now, hopefully they fired the designers and marketers of the RLX because that was an abysmal failure. Outside of the botched introduction of the FWD model, the delay of the SH-AWD model, the promotion for the car, or, as of recent, the lack thereof, has been baffling. Hopefully that means they're rushing a re-work of the car, ala 2012 Civic and 2013 ILX, but we will see.

Cool is as cool does. Acura hasn't done nearly enough cool stuff to be cool again. It's been too risk averse when it really has nothing to loose considering its small market share. Be leading edge (to get attention) or be left behind. Based on what I've see other than new NSX the odds are long it will ever be cool again without a major rethinking of brand core values, image and design.

Honda's glory days have always been when the company is participating in F1.

Guess what's happening this year?

I would never count them out.

The answer is NO. Just like the last NSX, the new one is priced too much more than the rest of the line to have any effect. The NSX needed to be priced like a Corvette.

This NSX--like the last one--will be another "could have been" footnote.

Cool would be a new Intrgra. Cool would be a Subaru WRX competitor. Cool would be a Mini Cooper competitor. Cool would be an RWD Mustang competitor.

The NSX is 100% masturbation

Surprise, surprise. More Acura bashing by Agent009. Outside of Tesla right now, you could argue that every luxury carmaker has lost its "cool" appeal. BMW and Mercedes vehicles are all looking the same and have not shown great growth in their styling. Audi has made a bit of a comeback in the coolness factor, but Lexus, Infiniti, and others are not making a "cool" statement.

Agent009-Was your favorite car destroyed by an Acura at some point in your life? Did an Acura vehicle demolish one of your pets? Your obsession with them is worse than a teenage girl obsessed with One Direction.

All a matter of perspective. I've seen several of the new TLXs around the hood and I really like it. I am getting older though so, taste changes. Think about Dodge. While they still have some lame offerings, they have come a long way in a very short time. No reason Acura couldn't pull a similar shift and look "cool" again.

There is no money in being cool anymore. Back when Acura was a hot Japanese import, I always remembered the young 20 somethings rolling around in them with loud exhaust and other mods. Nowadays those 20 somethings cannot afford cars like they used to. Acura moved to the same position in the market everyone else is fighting for because that is where the money is.

I think Acura should look to the past to move to a brighter future. They should bring back the nameplates that made them popular, and bring the spirit of those cars as well.

Are we 12? Cars don't need to be cool.