A few things Acura needs:
1. AWD/RWD TSX and TL
2. Eliminate the CSX, its a Civic under an Acura Badge
3. Release a high performance sports car!, what Luxury brand doesn't have a sports cars?!? Luxury is about having things in excess and sports car has excess written all over it
4. Put a V8 in the RL and MDX

John, If Acura did numbers 1,3, or 4, they would be like most other manufacturers.

For number 3, Lexus has no high performance sports car, and is progressing right along.

Number 2 doesn't apply everywhere(are you in Canada, eh?). In the US there is no CSX, and no Civic counterpart in Acura's lineup.

#1 would bring the TSX down a couple notches, and put it into a market where it will be outgunned by other cars(Evo or Impreza for AWD. Lexus IS , Infinti G series, and the infamous BMW 3 series would compete for RWD domination). There is no sense in introducing a car where they can't meet the competition for the price(if you believe a rwd TSX can compete with any of those cars listed, well...)

As for number 4, Honda first needs to develop a road-going V8 that fits with the company's image of LEV and ULEV engines. Not an easy task for any manufacturer.

Acura is moving in the right direction though, it seems. If you can't compete in the larger spectrum, focus on the smaller segments.

Jason:

So Acura kills off it's compact sport car only to say they need to have more cars in their lineup? I think someone's been smoking something funny in Japan. This doesn't seem to show them moving in the right direction.

The next TSX is going to be moving up market slightly, which is already a known fact. It will be getting at least a 2.3 Turbo and SH-AWD, which will make it competitive against the G37, IS250, etc...

Honda is also currently working on a production V8 to put in the RL (or it's replacement), the TL as an option, and the Honda Ridgeline. Getting a V8 out the door isn't going to be a very tough thing for Honda to do since they already have numerous racing V8's to work off.

Either way Acura needs to get their head into the game instead of playing catch up to Lexus and BMW.

Currently the Honda Accord V6 has more power than any of Acura's cars except the RL and TL Type S. Kinda of hard to portray yourself as an upscale luxury company when your sister bargain company has more power engines....

So essentially your whole post

... Is pretty far off.

The TL is a nice car, but the rest of the Acura line is pretty lame. I wasn't aware that the CSX isn't in the US, but here in Canada it is literally just a rebadged Civic with a few more standard features.

I've worked in automobile retail for many years, from salesman to general sales manager, and as such, I have worked at many different dealerships...including BMW and Acura...in the Southern California market. So allow me to present a slightly different perspective.

My most financially successful years were with BMW. My least rewarding years were spent trying to sell Acuras. Does this mean BMW is a better car? Not at all.
But in the retail world, no matter what brand you are trying to sell, no matter what incentives you are offering the customer or dealer, you have to get the potential customers to the store. That means the customers have to not only be aware of the product, they have to at least have an idea of what that product is. And this is where Acura has dropped the ball, so-to-speak.

"According to John Mendel, Executive VP at American Honda “As a brand, Acura is not there yet. The next three to four years will be important as we develop a clear message.”"

You can 'develop' a clear message all you want, but you had better get it out to the public at large. And after developing that message, you had better have the marketing department work on branding, and creating a clear, strong identity, and getting it out there to the consumer.

Everyone knows what a BMW is. Everyone knows what driving a Mercedes means. Everyone knows Lexus.
But do they really? At this end of the spectrum, it's all about perception...what the public PERCEIVES these brands to be. Fine, high-line automobiles all, and with a clearly defined brand and image. That's where these brands have succeded.

But, except for the die-hard enthusiast, Acura is, for lack of a better term, is on the fringes, in the 'grey area' compared to these other brands. Sure, Acura spends a great deal of resources educating the dealers, but a more effective use of the resources would be better spent educating the public.
Producing different models, incorporating RWD, V8's, adding a coupe or convertible to to line up, etc, all very good ideas. But without marketing and branding and a clear, strong identity, there will simply be more GREAT vehicles offered for sale that will fail to meet their sales forcasts and projections.

The biggest secret in sales and marketing is, you don't give the people what they want, you TELL the people what they want.

Acura seems to have been following the "Field of Dreams" approach..."if you build it they will come".
Not exactly. "If you build it, and successfully PROMOTE it, they will come". Big difference.

Acura needs to be more like other brand. I just can't take a FWD luxury sedan seriously, FWD= Econobox for people who can't afford 2 cars and need to drive in snow. Luxury without a V8 is bad for the company's Image. Lexus does have a sports coupe, the SC430, not really high performance, but they still got one. Acura need a coupe real bad to heighten its image.

Gary:

You're not looking at the big picture. Acura can't compete in the sport compact market any more than it already does. The RSX dominated the market, until companies like GM, Ford, and Mazda started offering sport compacts. People usually go for cheaper alternatives that offer the same performance.

Also, your idea of Honda getting their "head in the game instead of playing catch up with BMW and Lexus" seems spot on, but everything you listed so far seems to mention that they should follow Lexus, Infiniti, or BMW. The only way to not follow is to lead, and expanding on a niche market, or even creating a new market, is what Acura is trying to do. Do you get the point yet?

An AWD turbo TSX follows Subaru and Mitsubishi, so it seems like they are trying to catch up there. Or maybe the TSX can compete with the Mazdaspeed6? Either way, Acura isn't doing anything new, they are just playing "catch up".

Perhaps you don't understand the problem of producing a V8. Honda/Acura can turn out a roadgoing V8 in a few months if they had to. However, it may not fit in with the company image. All Honda engines are certified ULEV in the USA, except for the 2.3l turbo which is LEV. There are no ULEV V8 engines to date. Honda is trying to break that by producing what it perceives the market desires. In that sense, a Low emissions high power V8. Not some powerhouse that they got from their various racing programs(which are hard to convert into roadgoing engines due to powerband issues and basic engine designs).

The RSX never dominated in any markets, it's a fun car to drive but like almost all Acura's lately, it was under powered, didn't have AWD/RWD, and was over priced. For the same price as the RSX you could get a WRX that would blow it off a straight away, a twisty road, had more storage, better breaking, etc... Acura killed it because it wasn't selling well anymore. Now after killing off their only "Sports Car" they are saying they need to add more cars. Seems like a knee jerk reaction to me showing they don't really know what the market wants.

Just because a car has AWD and a Turbo doesn't mean it has to compete with the Lancer and Impreza. Acura needs to introduce AWD and a Turbo on the TSX at least as an option so they can have some excitement in their lineup. Putting any of Acura's V6's into the TSX would kill any handling it has with the extra weight, leaving them with not many options. Either way as it stands right now aside from the "Luxury" image of the TSX, the Lancer and Impreza both offer more performance, features, and safety than the TSX. So wether Acura wants it or not the TSX is currently competing with them. I'm sure Acura would like the TSX to compete more in line with the 1 Series BMW's coming out, but that' even more of lopsided battle for Acura. So if they don't add power and handling, the next TSX will fail HORRIBLY.

Creating a street going LEV V8 for Honda will not be a hard thing to do. If Hyundai can pull it off I'm sure Honda can.

Right now all Acura has to offer is over priced, under powered, aging designs that are continually slipping in sales.