Is Acura's ILX a loser? Or doing its Civic duty?

[jpd80]

Is Acura's ILX a loser? Or doing its Civic duty?

 

Automotive News

April 22, 2013 - 12:01 am ET

Here's a number that jumped out from our March production tables: American Honda's plant in Greensburg, Ind.,

built just 91 units of the Acura ILX entry-luxury sedan that debuted last summer. So does Honda have an out-and-out

flop on its hands?

 

Honda executives admit the ILX launch has not been fantastic. They say the vehicle is underpowered with the base

2.0-liter engine and concede that offering only a stick shift with the 2.4-liter engine was a mistake.

 

Still, sales of the Civic-based ILX had been running at a steady 2,000 a month, a bit shy of its projected rate.

So what to make of the March production plunge?

 

Resource allocation appears to be a reason. Greensburg also builds the Civic, and when Honda brought out a

heavily facelifted 2013 Civic late last year it had to crank up production to fill the pipeline.

 

In August, September and October of last year, Honda made as many ILXs as possible in Greensburg, assembling

14,557 units as the 2012 Civic was changed over to the 2013 model. That would represent half a year's worth of

ILX sales, on top of the big launch volumes the plant cranked out earlier in the year.

 

But since then Honda has dialed back ILX output in favor of the Civic. The reliance on Greensburg for the Civic has

been made even greater because one of the Alliston, Ontario, lines that builds Civics also produces the hot-selling

CR-V crossover.

 

The ILX isn't out of the woods. Supplies stood at 105 days on April 1, up from 96 a month earlier. A Honda spokesman

said to expect light ILX production for the next few months as the '13 model is phased out.

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20130422/OEM01/304229979/is-acuras-ilx-a-loser?-or-doing-its-civic-duty?#ixzz2RBGnZFk8

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Call me stupid but i think Ford could pull off this type of vehicle much better with Lincoln.

Use the extended wheelbase Escort concept s a base and add suitable Lincoln styling

with just one Engine, a 2.0 Ecoboost with 6-speed manual and 6-speed auto.

 

Crank it off at $32,000 and watch the critics' heads snap around.....

[NickF1011]

Well, Acura has the same problem as Lincoln right now in that it is trying to re-establish its luxo cred after wallowing a bit as of late. The ultra-entry-level ILX doesn't really do much to raise the bar for the brand. This is one reason I think Lincoln is wise to avoid a C-segment car for now.

[grbeck]

The old Integra was based on the Civic platform, and it was quite popular.

 

The problem is that the market has changed since then - today's compact cars are very well-equipped and trimmed.

 

I like the styling of the ILX, but the interior is simply too plain for even an entry-level luxury car. It says "super-deluxe Civic," which isn't sufficient for what is supposed to be a premium car. These days even buyers of Civics expect their cars to have "super-deluxe" interiors.

[NickF1011]

The old Integra was based on the Civic platform, and it was quite popular.

Realistically though, the Integra was only an Acura in badge only and didn't really appeal to buyers who would have likely considered other Acura models. It sorta stood out as a loner compared to the rest of the Acura lineup at the time.

[jpd80]

Well, Acura has the same problem as Lincoln right now in that it is trying to re-establish its luxo cred after wallowing a bit as of late. The ultra-entry-level ILX doesn't really do much to raise the bar for the brand. This is one reason I think Lincoln is wise to avoid a C-segment car for now.

I'm still wondering whether the vehicle was poorly executed Nick, that could explain why the figures were never really that stunning.

Agree though that Lincoln is better of with MKC compact for now. perhaps when Lincoln gets some cred, they can review the chance

of more compacts if there is a perceived growing need that can be filled with more products..I really feel that this is an area where

Lincoln could outmaneuver Cadillac if Ford chose to do so...

Edited April 22, 2013 by jpd80

[NickF1011]

I'm still wondering whether the vehicle was poorly executed Nick, that could explain why the figures were never really that stunning.

Agree though that Lincoln is better of with MKC compact for now. perhaps when Lincoln gets some cred, they can review the chance

of more compacts if there is a perceived growing need that can be filled with more products..I really feel that this is an area where

Lincoln could outmaneuver Cadillac if Ford chose to do so...

Or there just really isn't much of a market for compact luxury cars that aren't sports sedans.

[aneekr]

Or there just really isn't much of a market for compact luxury cars that aren't sports sedans.

 

+1

Cars like the ILX and Verano end up competing with similarly priced midsize sedans among customers who don't care about sporty driving dynamics, and with bona fide sports sedans for those folks who do (and are willing to pay for it).

Edited April 22, 2013 by aneekr

[akirby]

I bought a brand new Acura Integra 3 door hatchback in early 1987. It was a leftover 1986 model (first model year) that they couldn't sell. Acura was still very new and hadn't caught on yet.

 

It was a fun little car but it was really no different than the Accord or Civic. In fact I passed up a CRX to buy it because it had a bigger discount.

[silvrsvt]

The one issue I see for a Lincoln C car is the Focus Ti models..a nicely loaded Ti is about 29K or so and has nearly everything that my SHO has...its going to be hard to create separation between a Focus Ti and a Lincoln C sedan in the same way that it is with the SHO vs the MKS Ecoboost.

[grbeck]

Realistically though, the Integra was only an Acura in badge only and didn't really appeal to buyers who would have likely considered other Acura models. It sorta stood out as a loner compared to the rest of the Acura lineup at the time.

 

I thought the Integra was a good "bridge" between Honda and Acura, and appealed to people who wanted something a little more upscale and sportier than a Honda.

 

The problem today is that smaller cars have been upgraded dramatically over the past few years, while BMW, Mercedes and Audi have been using lease deals to move aggressively downmarket with their smallest offerings. This makes it harder for an Acura offering to stand out in the crowd. Add a lackluster interior and nice but ho-hum drivetrains, and you've got...the ILX.

[lfeg]

The one issue I see for a Lincoln C car is the Focus Ti models..a nicely loaded Ti is about 29K or so and has nearly everything that my SHO has...its going to be hard to create separation between a Focus Ti and a Lincoln C sedan in the same way that it is with the SHO vs the MKS Ecoboost.

True. Does Lincoln really need to compete with the upper end Ford offerings? Because a Lincoln version of just about any Ford mainline model will compete with Ford just about as much as with the competition. That is part of Acura's problem - is it a luxury car, is it a sporty car, or is it an uplevel Honda? They seem to be aiming at all three, but only hitting the last one.

[elhnet2000]

I am currently driving an Acura and waiting for my Fusion to arrive. I researched purchasing a new TL first however their price is crazy high when I compared apples to apples.

[97svtgoin05gt]

Acura like Mazda in my opinion need design reboots, both of them. The products are ugly and it shows in their sales numbers.

[papilgee4evaeva]

Acura like Mazda in my opinion need design reboots, both of them. The products are ugly and it shows in their sales numbers.

 

Well, I like where Mazda is going in ditching the smiley face (6, CX-5).

 

Acura seems stuck in the mud though.