VTEXTC

Here's another vote for the Honda nameplate.

What is Acura anyway? Having grown up in England where I only knew of Honda, I was somewhat surprised, if not dismayed upon having moved to Canada to notice an "upscale" version of Honda badged as Acura. Is the company trying to decieve poorly educated North American consumers that Acura is "better" than Honda? The cars are the same, and often come from the same company.

Product proliferation, not to mention the marketing that accompanies it costs a lot of money; costs that are displaced to the consumer. Take the TSX for instance. While most cars generally cost less money on this side of the pond, the same is not true for Acura products. In the UK for instance, the average Civic retails for about 13,000GBP. That translates to $30,000CAD. Here, the average cost of a new Civic is what....oh.....$22,000 CAD?

The same is not true for the TSX. The average Accord in the UK retails for about 16,000GBP. That translates to about $36,000CAD; the same as what an "Acura" TSX costs here. Why not just badge the darn cars as Hondas, cut down on dealer costs, give everyone a 4 year warranty and keep things consistent, thereby saving the consumer money?

Asif

wolffy_k2

The reason for "Acura" is for one thing..........$$$$ money. It is a marketing sceem that Honda has made for the people in the US. They could call it the Honda CL or Honda TL but the price would drop probably close to $5000. It is the easiest thing to do in marketing and thats what sells..........THE NAME. Do want to be seen wearing a Wal-Mart watch or a Gucci watch. Personally I dont car but most people want to be seen as more exclusive brand name. Check out my honda Dude check out my Acura. Its all a name. Dont flame me for saying "honda " becuase I have loved honda since my first Civic. But now I own a Acura RSX-S. Not for the name but the looks, fun and reliability and the cost. I would love a S2000 but the money for me was not there at the time.

Nathan

Triple-H

I was a Honda fan before Acura was even born. I'm so happy Honda released the car under their own name! If it came out under the Acura name it would weigh more because they would have felt the need to add more luxury.

For those who want Acura quality service why not just take your car to the Acura dealer? For years my mechanic worked at the Acura garage and he did all the maintenance on my '90 CRX-Si at the time it was still my track car. The Acura dealer did any TSB stuff and warranty stuff, no problem. And yes, it was always nice picking up a freshly washed and detailed car when the work was done.

Now days, my service is done at a small rural Honda dealer, that I drive way out of my way to get to. I have been with them going on my 8th year, and I just love them. There are a few great Honda dealers out there.

bbs

I have been very unhappy with the quality of service at my Acura dealer (and happy at Honda).

ralper

I've used my local Honda dealer for years to service our Accords and have always been happy. I am treated well by our Acura dealer as well. So far I'm happy with both.

kutter

Well I cannot say anything about the warranty since my Honda dealer gives a 5 year/100,000 mile warranty on all new Honda purchases. I will say this about them though, it was the first time I bought a car where I did not feel as if I had to fight with someone the entire time. This may be due in part to the fact that I knew that I was going to pay close to or at retail going in, they do not deal much down here in south Florida.

My dealer has so far been very easy to work with. When I drop it off for service I get it back clean and vacuumed, it may not be detailed, but I am still pretty happy with them.

HI SPEEDR

When I bring my wife's Acura TL-S to the dealer for service, I get Starbuck's coffee and my choice of muffins plus excellent service. When I bring my S in to Honda, I get crappy coffee as bad as my mother-in-law makes and no muffin, plus they're always oil drops on the car I have to clean off. I always have to remind the service manager to tell the tech not to run the bumper into the curb stop when he brings the car back out. With Acura, if the car is there more than 3 hours, they give you a car free to use. With Honda service f a h g e t a b o u t i t. It seems to me that if you're going to make the best car, why not offer the best service?

Ranger

... I guess I could care less really ... although our other two autos are Acuras (MDX and a GS-R beater). Don't forget though, that "Acura" is an American brand only. At least I believe that to be the case. How 'bout it you Canadians and Down Under boys ... is it badged a Honda NSX? Best to all. JGP

VTEXTC

The Honda/Acura distinctions are the same for Canada as they are in the US. Hence, we also have an "Acura" NSX. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe Acura exists in Aussie-land.

Asif

The Professor

About 12 years ago, the US Congress legislated against the Japanese manufacturers' trying to establish luxury car lines here. Since Honda was not allowed to sell such cars, "Acura" came into being to sell them. The same thing went on with Toyota and Lexus, Nissan and Infinity.