Acura was first with the Legend. Soon thereafter, Lexus and Infiniti came on board. Mazda was supposed to bring in the "Avanti?" but never did and called it the Mazda Millenia instead.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Chazmo
[B]I think you've got this order of events wrong, not sure tho.

 

I hope you're not implying that Acura service is in some way better than Honda, in my experience, just the opposite has been true. Acura service merely costs MUCH more, but there is no measurable improvement in quality. I think it all comes down to the individual dealer/service department, some are good, and as we all know, some are to be avoided, regardless of vehicle make.

 

Yes true, I'm sure of this as I worked for an Acura dealership toward the end of 1986 and into 1987. The first Acura's were actually introduced as '86 1/2 models, as they were too late to make the usual fall '86 new model introduction period.

 

I stand corrected. . .

1986 - Acura Legend Launched

1990 - Lexus LS400 and Infiniti Q45 Launched

Very cool. . .

 

Here she is. . .the glorious '86 Acura Legend!


Amazingly, this car still has a retail value of $3,800!

1987. . .and the introduction of the Coupe!



1988. . .


1989. . .


1990. . .


After that, the archive skips to 1998!

 

I think we are in the decadence of capitalism. We are governed by insurance companies (won't go into that here) and big int'l. corps whose goal is to produce more for less and to ignore the consumer. AHM demonstrates that perfectly. It's easily compared to the economic and social overextension and thinning of resources that dismantled most empires in the history of western civilization.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by airgate
[B]

Actually, it was Toyota who first launched Lexus in a pursuit to challenge the likes of Mercedes-Benz.

 

Amazingly... it's worth 8,000 more than my del sol

 

this is a great thread, but after reading the first few posts, im getting kinda antsy to reply... im just so gosh darn mad people dont understand what honda is all about... more on that later

my quote thingy is screwin up... but there was a certain turbo-love that posted somewhere in this thread, saying that Honda should slap a turbo on an S2k and get more torque..

first of all, merely slapping a turbo on that car would not result in more torque... well, it probably would, but you'd also be blowing head gaskets everytime you start the car. moreover, the s2000 is all about horsepower through rpms... you cannot produce a streetable 9krpm car that runs with forced induction - not and sell it for 32k msrp anyway. its definitely possible - as tuners have done it time and time again - but not practical. and it probably wouldn't pass ULEV status either. forced induction is a whole different ball game than NA. if you want a turbo car, go stop by nissan or toyota. im sure they can hook you up.
btw, you don't simply bolt a turbo onto an M5 or M3 either, do you?

as for the WRX being a purist car... ahem ahem... the only reason the WRX seems to be more of a drivers car is because its so easy to drive fast. they shine at auto-x's, but only because their AWD pulls them out no matter how ham-fisted you are; albeit being hamfisted shouldn't be too much of a problem as a mere 225hp being directed through 4 wheels isnt really enough to get the car sideways - only crazy driving.

anyway, the s2000 is much like a viper. other than the all-motor path, the only similarity b/w the two is that they need a SKILLED driver to drive them on the limit. its a car that bites you in the ass before you hear the bark.

and honda is a conservative company. they are non-conformist, if you will. im sure others have already said this, but honda prefers conservative, sometimes unexciting styling rather than radical design (a la pontiac). the essence of honda is performance, and if you've ever taken a stock Accord or Civic (non-R, mind you) to a trackday. you'd be quite pleased, as they dont fall apart when driven hard.

and please, saying honda is not a performance-minded company is worse than saying GM has more advanced technology than Honda and BMW combined. Look back in the record books: i believe honda won 15/16 races in F1 '88, thus beginning 6 consecutive world titles. then in bikes, they win here, there, everywhere, even while you're asleep they're adding trophies to their fireplace mantle. and here in the states, CART has been dominated by Hondas, and IRL is surely to be stirred a little with the intro of Honda next year. Honda, despite their boring, uninspiring, grandma-car image, has one of the richest motorsport heritages of ALL companies. it ranks among ferrari and bmw, and that's not bad company.

what have i missed? im sure my mini-rant may be a little confusing... im just blabbering and blabbering, after getting all roused up by whomever started this thread.

simply put, honda is NOT digging its grave. if you think they are, you've wholly got honda misunderstood.



as for all those stats, its kinda like mitsu saying they're "the fastest growing japanese car company". whoopdeedoo, they're still not half the size of Honda. and like saturn celebrated their 10yr anniversary a while back. whoopdeedoo again, honda's 50...err 52... and they gave us the S2000




"Your soul is measured by how many times your heart is deeply stirred" -Soichiro Honda

"You're not putting that Jap engine in my car." -Mr. Ford in the late 70s I believe.