2010 Acura ZDX
This is a watershed year for Acura in Canada. With the introduction of the 2010 ZDX and the upcoming addition of a TSX wagon, Honda's luxury division will have its broadest lineup ever.
And because the other models in the lineup have been given additional features and had their prices reduced for 2010, Acura is hoping to grab a larger share of the luxury segment.
Acura is the only luxury brand where the entire lineup has achieved a five-star safety rating. As well, J.D. Power's latest survey of service providers put Acura in the number one spot for all auto dealerships, and Auto Lease Guide says Acura models have the best resale value of all luxury brands.
The next steps in Acura's growth will be pushed by the division's design studio. The $15-million (U.S.) facility opened in May, 2007, on the massive Honda "campus" in Torrance, Calif., across an internal road from the Honda studio and down the road from the company's Advanced Driving Studio in Pasadena.
The whole idea of separating the Acura and Honda studios is to allow Acura to develop and maintain a separate identity from Honda.
The building itself is what you'd expect from a company so deeply ingrained in environmental responsibility. Certified as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design building by the U.S. Green Building Council, it has an Energy Star reflective roof to reduce heat gain and lower air conditioning requirements. Reclaimed water is used for the landscaping and an intelligent light system maximizes use of natural light.
The Acura studio in California brings to 13 the number of Honda/Acura R&D facilities in North America; more than 1,200 designers, engineers and support personnel work on the development of automobiles, motorcycles and power equipment products for North America and global markets.
But it is what's inside the studio that will make a difference - a small and very young design team using modern technology, including a computer-generated virtual simulator that allows the designers to see the end product full-size and from every possible angle.
Acura was the first luxury maker to design, develop and build its vehicles in North America. Two-thirds of the vehicles it sells here are built here. The MDX and TL were both designed and developed in North America, as was the dramatic new ZDX.
The latter was the first product of the new studio and it exemplifies the spirit and purpose of this facility - to create unique designs that separate Acura from the pack.
The genre-defining ZDX was designed by then 25-year-old Michelle Christensen, who was hired by Acura four years ago right out of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif.
She started out at Acura designing door handles and other pieces. Then the marketing department challenged the Acura designers to come up with something different, something special. Michelle's entry was the winner - nobody knew what to call it or how to classify it, but they liked it.
The decision to proceed with the design shifted her career into high gear. She worked on almost nothing else for three years, fighting for and justifying every element. The fact that the finished product ended up so close to her original sketch is proof Acura is prepared to take chances.
Just as it is with the new signature snout found across the Acura line. Love it or hate it, there is no ignoring it.
And that is the goal - to stake out some exclusive design territory from which a small group of talented young designers, in a studio removed from the influence of others, can define a new direction.
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