The year was 1986, I was all of 12-years old, sitting in the backseat of my parents 1985 Nissan Maxima station wagon, my parents where car shopping, looking for a vehicle for my father. We had visited several different dealerships, I was especially excited because he was considering a Nissan Pulsar, the car itself wasn't that great, but it had pop-up headlights, and that alone made it cool to my then 12-year old self.
I remember going to a Ford dealer, not really sure what vehicle my parents where looking at there, or intending to look at, but there it was, in the flesh, a car I had only previously read about in my most recent Car & Driver magazine, the brand new Acura Legend. My mother, who normally would drive when out as a family, parked right next to it, I was immediately enthralled, I exited our car as soon as it was parked, and quickly took to looking at the Acura. Not only was it the brand new Legend, but a 5-speed manual version at that. It was spectacular, I quite literally drooled over the car, and promptly suggested to my parents we visit the Acura dealer, if not for the Legend, but I knew the Integra would make a great choice for my dad, and perhaps in a few short years, a great first car for me.
Sadly, my dad did not end up getting an Integra, we never even bothered looking at once. He didn't get the aforementioned Pulsar either, instead he settled on a Sentra, a base Sentra, that didn't even have a tachometer. Granted, it was a 5-speed, but absent even a tachometer, even I struggled to find the logic in the decision. To add insult to injury, he chose a a creamy beige that matched the color of my mother's Maxima. Could any color have been worse? Thus was the life of my 12-year old self, the creamy beige summing up the vehicle choices of my parents, a base Sentra destined perhaps to be my first vehicle, the Acura I drooled over in our search for a new car but a mere memory.
Fast forward to adulthood, and my dentist who happens to a good friend of mine, is an Acura purists. He has owned multiple first and second generation Acura Legends. His current fleet of vehicles includes a brand new Mercedes G63, a BMW X5M, a '87 Chevy Tracker, and 2
Acura Legend sedans, one of which is a manual. Granted both Legends currently in his fleet are second generation sedans, but the very fact that he holds fast on these cars speaks to what Acura once was, a truly aspirational brand.
It's been almost a year now since I first saw the new Integra in the wild. If it weren't for the fact that I had to take several glances to confirm it was in fact the Integra, I would have never known. From almost every angle it looks like a Civic hatchback. Handsome it may be, but not distinct in any form or fashion. Acura used to mean something, a sportier Honda with cache perhaps. But now, I don't know. Is it a performance line, is it supposed to by luxury. Does technology define what Acura is supposed to stand for, or efficiency, looking at the current Acura lineup, I struggle to define what Acura is supposed to signify.
I harken back to the '86 Legend in the parking lot I drooled over as a 12-year old kid, it was cool, even if it was just a dressed up Accord. It mattered, and people bought it because of that. The same could be said of the Integra, people bought it because it stood out, it was unique, it was different from the Civic, and because of that it became a quasi-status symbol, a statement of having arrived. In some ways, it stood as the anti BMW/Mercedes choice, the efficiency combined with sportiness coupled with a competitive price made Acura cool in a way that only Acura could be.
And because of that, Acura actually mattered to its customer base. It mattered in the marketplace, and it mattered because it chose to be different. Consider how radical the original NSX was, and how that defiant approach created great cars that people aspired to own and drive. Sadly, Acura is no longer defined by anything meaningful, and a warmed over Civic that was simply badge engineered, or a competent, and yet immediately forgettable Integra Type R does not serve to create a brand identity that is long since past.
So what can Acura do? The truth is, I really don't know. Sadly, many manufacturers have lost their unique brand identity meaning Acura is not alone on this front. In a time when people are trying to set themselves apart from the crowd, Acura (and in fairness others i.e. BMW, Mercedes) are trying to be all things to all people. I believe that when one aspires to please everyone with a solution, you end up pleasing no one, and that is where Acura finds itself at the moment.
Acura may have offer a competent line of vehicles, but there is nothing compelling or cohesive about those offerings that creates the "I've got to have that" feeling from buyers, and although the Integra Type R may serve to restart that feeling amongst buyers, similar performance and features can be found in the Civic Type R effectively diluting the very thing that makes the Integra special.
Despite the fact that my wife would tell you that I am always right, the truth is, I'm not. I present this to you, the AutoSpies community, and ask you, what do you think it would take to make Acura matter again. I think the answers matter, and honestly, if I am an executive working for Acura, I'd be sitting up and paying attention to what this community of car lovers thinks, because ultimately, if Acura is going to stand for something, it is us, that car loving community that will spend our hard earned money to purchase the vehicles. Much like that 12- year old kid gazing at that '86 Legend, Acura must once again become aspirational to its buyers, and not just a means to an end.