Acura Naming Conventions

It’s all in a name! In the same year that my Legend surpassed the 500,000 mile mark, the Acura brand surpassed a milestone of its own – that of celebrating 25 years as one of the world’s premier automakers. As the company launches into its next 25 years, a new image is about to unfold – and it will begin with a new naming convention that promises to better define the Acura family of cars.

I had the privilege recently of meeting with Vicki Poponi, Assistant Vice President of Product Planning at American Honda Motor Company, Inc. I’d first met Vicki in Detroit at the North American Int’l Auto Show (NAIAS) back in January and was grateful for her to take a few minutes to answer some of my own questions about the exciting momentum at Acura and the new direction that the company is going.

There were three key things that stood out to me during my conversation with Vicki about Acura’s naming conventions and the meaning behind them.

1) If you look at the word “LUXURY,” the X is at the centre. Acura is, first and foremost, a luxury brand of automobile. Even the ILX as an entry level premium vehicle still brings with it the amenities that we’ve come to expect from Acura. In the next generation of Acura vehicles, “X” will be a common thread in the name of each model. Those who tuned into the recent New York Auto Show watched the RLX reveal – the flagship model now bringing with it that symbol of luxury within its name.

2) A recognizable naming pattern will improve model identification and awareness. Acura’s sedans will all share an “LX” suffix, while the truck lineup will have “DX,” and the NSX rounds out the family as the sporty long awaited supercar that we’re all excited for. In this way, Vicki said, each type of vehicle that Acura offers will share a unified naming convention that brings a sense of belonging. In a world full of acronyms, I agree that this consistent direction will help simplify the “alphabet soup” that we’ve become so accustomed to among luxury car manufacturers and their model names.

3) What about the ILX specifically? Was there any reason this name was chosen for the all-new 2013 entry level premium offering from Acura? YES. Selecting the perfect name for a car is a far more involved process than one would think and it can take months or even years to finalize. The meaning behind “I-L-X” starts with the letter “I”. This car truly is designed with the driver in mind, complete with features that buyers in my demographic are asking for: Smart features! A car as intelligent as its driver. Let’s not forget individualistic and independent. Clearly the “I” was the right choice as the prefix for this sedan.

So, even though the ILX is “Incredible Looking” and “Impressively Luxurious,” the truth is that the I means it’s a car for the individual, the L ties it to Acura’s already great lineup of sedans, and the X rounds out the name as the ultimate center of luXury. The ILX truly lives up to its name. Huge thanks to Vicki for sharing her insight into this unsolved mystery!

Courtesy of AcuraConnected