Honda CEO: Acura’s direction will be ‘smart premium,’ not top tier

Posted: Nov 08, 2010
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2011 Acura ZDX

Acura has no V8 engine, no halo sports car and is no where close becoming a top tier luxury brand – and it looks like things are going to stay that way.

In an interview with Automotive News, Honda Motor CEO Takanobu Ito said that there are a lot of discussions going on inside the company about Acura and why way it should be going. He said that executives have so far decided that the brand’s “direction should be smart premium, not top tier.”

“Among the technologies we have at Honda, we must apply those that symbolize our advanced performance technology and environmental technology,” Ito said. “We call this ‘smart.’ We agreed that smart premium is what we should be targeting with Acura, not the upper-segment vehicles such as Lexus or Mercedes-Benz. We must apply advanced technologies which make our vehicle more fun to drive, achieve a more comfortable drive and high environmental performance.”

- By: Omar Rana

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)


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  • Anonymous

    I give up on Acura. All I hear is sorry hyrbid with a heavy battery pack. No V8, sports car, fun economical small car, and too much badge engineering. I hope this brand dies as I declare Acura the new Saab; at least Saabs are handsome looking and owned by a crazy Dutch super car make.

  • Ric James

    Agree, Honda and Acura are going downhill.. I think all of a sudden people will stop buying both brands and the company will find itself in trouble. I for one bought my LAST Honda in 2009 and will move to Nissan or Mazda as they have a more complete line up (because they still make a sports car and their sedans are also great).