The GREAT Debate: Should Acura RESURRECT The Legend As An SUV?

Honda's luxury division, Acura, seems to be heading in a weird place. This isn't a huge surprise, however. When I think of luxury brands that aren't quite Tier 1 but have a loyal following, it seems that their sales figures are skewing towards sport-utility vehicles.

Yes, on a systemic basis this is happening to everyone but when you look at the likes of Acura and Volvo, the bulk of their volume is being moved through SUV sales meanwhile their product portfolio is weighted towards four-door cars. 

Seems a bit silly, no?

Having said that, we've been pretty open about our desire for Acura to get back to its old ways. Building great products that shock the industry. It's pretty safe to say that hasn't happened since the first-gen MDX and before that it was the first and only Legend. 

Agent 001 and I were recently having a car-related discussion and were sharing our love for the Legend. Given the blossoming sales figures of the company's SUVs, it seems like if Acura were to really give the marque a jolt to life it would come via a jaw-dropping SUV that would blow the competition out of the water. And, what better way to do so than bring back the Legend nameplate? 

That said, what say you, Spies? Should Acura RESURRECT the Legend as an SUV?

MDarringer - 8/21/2017 8:28:27 AM

-10 Boost

Acura has never made cars that shocked the industry--cars that made the industry double over with derisive laughter, yes.

Using the Legend name for a crossover would be a bit lame.

Yes they need more crossovers, but lose the ___DX names because it's too close to ___RV at Honda.

TomM - 8/21/2017 10:59:48 AM

+4 Boost

Lets see - the legend was a sedan. So - they would not be resurrecting the Legend - they would be producing a new SUV - and NAMING it the Legend. THe problem is - the Legend is a really old name now - and has not been used for 22 years. It has given up some of its name recognition already.

The "conversions" of many higher end car manufacturers to using Alphanumerics to describe their cars had now created an goobledygook of different combinations of letters - the whole purpose of which was to create a need to mention the BRAND of the car - rather than a named model. However - the naming conventions have simply gone off the deep end - to the point that no one knows what kind of a car a combination of letters and numbers COULD indicate -except for the real enthusiasts - and THEY want the old names back. I really would rather have a Cadillac Seville - instead of a "CT6". Of course - TVRs original models were the One, Two And Three - but at least this had a significance - being the number of days you could drive the car between service appointments.

cidflekken - 8/21/2017 12:06:16 PM

+2 Boost

Have we really not moved past this, yet?

The problem with Acura's flagship has nothing to do with the name. First, it's about execution. Acura tried to make the RL a competitor for the LS and failed. Then they tried to make it a competitor to the 5 Series and failed again with an anonymously-styled car. Then the beak.
And now the RLX is here with non-compelling styling, just average performance, and a pricetag about $10k above where it should be.

cidflekken - 8/21/2017 12:09:44 PM

+3 Boost

In addition, if Acura truly wants to be something, they need to fire all the bean counters in the company and offer desirable products. That means matching the Germans and Lexus on performance, luxury, with better styling at a $10k price advantage.

carloslassiter - 8/21/2017 1:29:05 PM

+3 Boost

What, no call for a new Vigor?