At one time, Acuras were easily differentiated from their Honda counter parts. The Integra was a "dressed up" Civic, but you couldn't get a 170 HP VTEC engine in a Civic. The Legend had features not found on other vehicles available at the time. This was a time when luxury, performance and reliability was synonymous with Acura.
Then came the time when Acura went to the letter designation. The RL replaced the Legend, but lost its sportiness. The TL looked like a slightly sporty and smaller RL. Somewhere in the mix, Acura forgot about performance.
Seems like Acura has figured out that they need to emphasize performance once again. The design of the current RL, TL and TSX were a step in the right direction. They even released the RDX... a sporty SUV. The problem is that design is just part of the equation. The Accord had been getting closer and closer in HP to the TL, and now exceeds it. Magazines have already stated that the current TL was nearing the limits of a FWD vehicle... despite having a LSD.
I think Acura needs something to further differentiate themselves from Honda... besides better handling, a longer warranty, sportier styling and more features to go along with a higher price tag and requiring premium gas.
One idea I had was to offer SH-AWD on every Acura model, as well as slightly more powerful engines. In addition, I think one of two things needs to happen with the RL... either drop the price or get a more powerful engine (aka V8). Currently the RL is priced like the Infiniti M45x or Lexus GS460.
