Acura News - January 28, 2012

New Brand Strategy 

Acura is looking towards a new brand strategy called Man Machine Synergy. This philosophy is a branch of Honda's motto: man maximum, machine minimum. According to Honda Canada, this means, "when man and machine connect, the extraordinary happens." This strategy was actually developed during the 2008 economic crisis that forced Acura to refocus on its plans including cancelling the NSX sportscar. Furthermore, the idea of Man Machine Synergy is to use technology to enable and enhance and make Acura a prestigious and desired brand by matching the wants and needs of buyers with products along with an overall premium experience at the dealership. Acura will be following 6 business principles, 1. using Honda origin to deliver value, 2. offer products with a farsighted vision and social benefits, 3. deliver an overwhelmingly beautiful design, 4. develop strategies to communicate brand image, 5. offer superior customer car and 6. work within a stable and sustainable business model. Acura's goal remains to become a Tier-One luxury automaker but will do so by sticking to the core brand values of Acura and not chasing other manufacturers. 

A new Concierge Experience was briefly noted but was not elaborated upon. Acura's 25th Anniversary was celebrated last year commemorating Acura's 25 years in business.

RL To Debut in New York 

Acura has confirmed that the next-generation RL will premiere at the New York International Auto show in April. The car will continue to use a V6 but will not have an innovative Hybrid AWD system called Sport Hybrid SH-AWD. The system makes use of two electric motors in the rear individually powering each wheel mated to a 7-speech dual clutch transmission and an engine with direct injection. Acura Canada says that the result of this combination is V8 power with 4-cylinder economy. The new RL's looks will be fairly similar to the current model but will have a more rear-drive design and large rear fenders and a similar Hoifmeister kink akin to the ILX. Interior dimensions will increase. Acura Canada says the result of this will be a 7-Series interior with a 5-Series exterior. 

One thing to note however, the RL will NOT come standard with Sport Hybrid SH-AWD meaning another drive configuration will be available as well. Rumors point out to the tried-and-tested FWD configuration.