Acura RSX to be axed after '06MY

A move to further bring the brand upscale and increase distance between Honda price points.


Moving Upscale
Acura decides to kill the RSX coupe as it moves to separate from Honda brand

By KATHY JACKSON | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS

AutoWeek | Published 05/01/06, 7:46 am et

LOS ANGELES -- Acura will kill the RSX coupe at the end of the 2006 model year.

John Mendel, senior vice president of automobile operations at American Honda Motor Co., says the company is considering replacements for its cheapest vehicle but would not elaborate. Some dealers say Acura will add a coupe version of the TSX.

Elimination of the RSX, Acura's least expensive vehicle by about $8,000, looks like part of Acura's long-term plan to move upscale and separate from sibling brand Honda.

Consumers can now buy a 197-hp Honda Civic Si for about the same price as a base 155-hp RSX.

"The Acura brand has been inconsistent," Mendel said during an interview with Automotive News. "We want to be performance, luxury and technology -- in the BMW area a little bit."

This summer Acura will introduce the small RDX all-wheel-drive crossover, Acura's first vehicle with a turbocharged engine. A redesigned MDX SUV goes on sale this fall with a V-6 engine that Acura promises will deliver more horsepower than any other vehicle in its class.

The base RSX, on the other hand, is powered by a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine making 155 hp. It is priced at $20,940, including the $615 destination charge.



By comparison, the Civic Si is powered by a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine making 197 hp and teamed with a six-speed manual transmission. It sells for $20,840, including shipping.

The RSX was introduced in 2002 and freshened in the 2004 model year. U.S. sales fell 10.6 percent the first three months of this year, to 4,150 units.

By comparison, Acura's best seller, the TL, posted sales of 16,804 in the same period.

Guido Vildozo, automotive analyst with Global Insight in Lexington, Mass., says the RSX needs to go if Acura wants to distance itself from Honda and move upscale. "Where do you position RSX now that Honda has the Civic Si?" Vildozo asks.

Rob Mohr, sales manager for 20 years at Montano Acura in Albuquerque, N.M., says dealers have heard that Acura may add both coupe and convertible models to the TSX sedan, the second-least expensive Acura, which lists at $28,505, including shipping.

But Mohr questions the brand's decision to kill the RSX. He says the inexpensive sticker brought in a lot of customers.

"It's a mistake," he says. "It's a great first car for Acura. We had our chance at the luxury market and blew it. Now we're going to lose a lot of the RSX customers, and I'm not so sure we can get them back."



The RSX is the successor to the Integra, an Acura mainstay in the past. In 1995, for instance, the Integra posted U.S. sales of 61,316.

The Integra outsold the Acura Legend by more than 3-to-1 and accounted for 63.1 percent of Acura sales.

Acura already has learned some lessons about high price tags. The redesigned RL flagship sedan arrived in the fall of 2004 loaded with such equipment as all-wheel drive and a navigation system. The sticker is just shy of $50,000.

But sales are down by more than a third this year. So Mendel says the company will bring out a trim line this summer that will give customers more flexibility with options. He says the vehicle will be priced more in the mid-luxury range.


http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060501/FREE/60501001/1041

The simple fact is that it just wasn't selling well enough, was dragging the brand's image a bit downscale, and they just decided the right time to axe it is when the Civic moved on to its next generation.

The RSX looks bad next to the current Civic because the RSX is based off the old Civic, and IMO you'd be pretty crazy to pay for the old-gen RSX when the new gen Civic is superior in almost every way (save for the name on the front and the service/warranty associated with that) and costs more.

Does this mean the Prelude can come back?

Does this mean the Prelude can come back?

Whgen it discontinued the Prelude, Honda intended for the 2-door Accord, which comes available with 246hp V6 and a 6-speed manual in sport trim, to be teh marketed replacement for the Prelude.

They'll most likely keep it that way.

I wonder if Acura will be abandoning the coupe market all together. I hope they're not expecting the TSX to take up the slack and be the lone entry level vehicle.

I wonder if Acura will be abandoning the coupe market all together. I hope they're not expecting the TSX to take up the slack and be the lone entry level vehicle.

Why not? The TSX starts at 27k, they'll also have the small turbocharged RDX SUV coming out in another couple of months, starting around a similar range.
Cadillac and Lexus don't offer an entry level 2-door, or any entry level vehicle that starts any less $$... so I don't see where they don't have their bases covered except maybe the entry level 2-door, but as evidenced by the RSX... it just never sold that well.

I don't see the link between a dying 2 door sports coupe and a bulky AWD crossover if you ask me...

I don't see the link between a dying 2 door sports coupe and a bulky AWD crossover if you ask me...

They only mentioned it because the article is giving a snapshot of all the other changes going on in the Acura lineup currently. The RDX now shares the new entry level spot in Acura's lineup with the TSX. Of further interest, the RDX is based on the new Civic chassis/platform, albeit lux'd-out and with a significnatly more powerful motor.

They only mentioned it because the article is giving a snapshot of all the other changes going on in the Acura lineup currently. The RDX now shares the new entry level spot in Acura's lineup with the TSX. Of further interest, the RDX is based on the new Civic chassis/platform, albeit lux'd-out and with a significnatly more powerful motor.
True. The article just made it seem like somehow it was replacing it.

The RSX looks bad next to the current Civic because the RSX is based off the old Civic, and IMO you'd be pretty crazy to pay for the old-gen RSX when the new gen Civic is superior in almost every way (save for the name on the front and the service/warranty associated with that) and costs more.

Different strokes I guess . I would take a Type-S current gen RSX any day of the week over a new Si . Its the SI that was brought up to Type-S standards as far as handling , engine ect. The SI benefits the better structure , but its wierd styling and down right goofey and awkward interior are things I couldnt get over . The tired RSX still shines imo amongst the current compact cars :shrug:

Different strokes I guess . I would take a Type-S current gen RSX any day of the week over a new Si . Its the SI that was brought up to Type-S standards as far as handling , engine ect. The SI benefits the better structure , but its wierd styling and down right goofey and awkward interior are things I couldnt get over . The tired RSX still shines imo amongst the current compact cars :shrug:

Pretty much everything objective about the new Si is as good or better than the Type-S, including price.

So if the subjectives of each car sway against those objectives, then, well, nobody can argue with that.

But from a technical standpoint if the RSX was moved to the new platform it would benefit noticably.

The whole brand is :shrug: to me.

The new RL is nice looking, but I dont see anyone paying that much for it even with its super duper all wheel drive. Especially since its not that much bigger than the Accord.

The best thing about that brand is the styling to me. :thumb:

But then again now they are making the Honda's look like Acuras... :think:

The whole brand is :shrug: to me.

The new RL is nice looking, but I dont see anyone paying that much for it even with its super duper all wheel drive. Especially since its not that much bigger than the Accord.

The best thing about that brand is the styling to me. :thumb:

But then again now they are making the Honda's look like Acuras... :think:

Have you ever sat in or driven the new RL? It's an amazing piece of engineering and is a relative bargain considering what it competes with. GS300, E-class, STS, etc... it offers a ton of standard features that the others charge an arm and a leg for. Of course if you don't want the features then the others might be a better deal since their base price starts out a tad lower. But seriously... I can't imagine anyone who has actually driven an RL even thinking of placing it along the same lines as the Accord.

With that said, the previous gen RL was definitely trailing in its class IMO.

The RSX isn't the lowest model in Canada. We had the Acura EL:
http://autonet.ca/Spotlight/TestDrives/2005/03/22/AcuraEL_l.jpg
http://www.auto123.com/ArtImages/40571/inline_05.jpg

Acura CSX:
http://www.canadiandriver.com/photos/2006/acura/csx/06csx_1.jpg
http://www.weblogsinc.com/common/images/3060000000053861.JPG?0.6389327399501366

Have you ever sat in or driven the new RL? It's an amazing piece of engineering and is a relative bargain considering what it competes with. GS300, E-class, STS, etc... it offers a ton of standard features that the others charge an arm and a leg for. Of course if you don't want the features then the others might be a better deal since their base price starts out a tad lower. But seriously... I can't imagine anyone who has actually driven an RL even thinking of placing it along the same lines as the Accord.

With that said, the previous gen RL was definitely trailing in its class IMO.

I think its interior dimensions are still a bit smaller than those you named. In any case I didn't say it wasnt nice, I said I don't know too many who will pay for it. As the article alluded too.

My point was the brand lacks identity, which wasn't useful I suppose since that was the point of the article. :p

They really should have just kept the Integra going. That car had such a great following (and still does).

Too bad, the RSX-S was a fabulous vehicle. I would take it over the SI any day of the week, and I have driven both a couple of times.

They really should have just kept the Integra going. That car had such a great following (and still does).

The RSX is still known as the Integra everywhere else in the world but here. Why Honda deemed it necessary to change the name of the Integra, which had positive recognition to it, to yet another alphanumeric string of nonsense for the US is beyond me.

Too bad, the RSX-S was a fabulous vehicle. I would take it over the SI any day of the week, and I have driven both a couple of times.

The new Si or the old one? The new one is a rare site to see, much less to drive - it hasn't even been for sale that long.

Different strokes I guess . I would take a Type-S current gen RSX any day of the week over a new Si . Its the SI that was brought up to Type-S standards as far as handling , engine ect. The SI benefits the better structure , but its wierd styling and down right goofey and awkward interior are things I couldnt get over . The tired RSX still shines imo amongst the current compact cars :shrug:

Ditto.

The RSX is still known as the Integra everywhere else in the world but here. Why Honda deemed it necessary to change the name of the Integra, which had positive recognition to it, to yet another alphanumeric string of nonsense for the US is beyond me.

And ditto.

The new Si or the old one? The new one is a rare site to see, much less to drive - it hasn't even been for sale that long.

The new one, indeed. I test drove one and was disgusted with it and I have a friend who purchased one.

My main gripes with it, besides the interior that was terrible (felt cavernous in there, and the digital speedo that was not in the same line of sight as the tach was another :confused: ) was the torque steer it had that seemed to be even more apparent than the RSX in a strait line (opposite was true on a turn, LSD must have helped then).

But most importantly was the fact that the car had the most annoying trait since a car from the 70's, since cars did this back then, too. When you take your foot off the gas, the revs *do not* drop right away. Instead, they hold position for about one full second. This happens in between shifts and when simply taking your foot off the gas to use engine braking. In the 70's, cars did this for emissions. For this car, they only logically reason I can think of the car doing that would be so new stick drivers won't buck/shake the car by lifting their foot off the clutch too during a shift. This was terribly annoying and made me drive the car similar to an automatic when braking. It was a serious timing issue that was thrown off and most certainly makes the car more difficult/slower to drive on a race track IMHO.

Both have a great engine and a fantastic shifter and the SI can go through turns extremely fast, but I would trade the lower handling prowess for a normal gauge cluster, a simpler interior and most importantly, a normal engine-braking design.

They really should have just kept the Integra going. That car had such a great following (and still does).

I agree. The Integra name was more well known than the RSX ever was. I think Honda wanted even the Integra to fall in line with the rest of the Acuras alpha-numeric soul-less names thus the RSX.

Now it appears with the axe of the RSX, Honda doesnt want Acura to even be mentioned with the tuner crowd. Sounds like they want more of a Lexus or BMW image.

I always thought that the Integra/RSX was an important car to the Acura lineup because of it's cheap price and great value. None of the other premium makers offered anything really like it that was successful. I think that if they would update the car and maybe advertise it a little, it would be a great tool for introducing younger car buyers to the Acura brand. I really feel that Acura is giving up on it. I've driven alot of RSX's, and came very close to getting one before I got my CL (I was cross-shopping an assortment of vehicles). I'd get a RSX over a TSX any day. The 1.8 in the RSX is smooth and manages the car well, while the TSX's 2.0 feels much more sluggish in comparison.

I think the main problem with the RSX is its "ricer" styling which appeals to younger people more than older people. I think each other vehicle in the Acura lineup is well done and classy, while the RSX screams "wanna be kid racer" to me.
If they put that same drivetrain in a more classier styled car, I think it would still fill that niche while dramatically lifting the brand image.