They indeed 'understood' the market they were (creating?) competing with - with the Legend, as become an er, legend by all measurements that implies. (I thought it supremely-Stupid when they retired that Logo, to go with the crowd into meaningless aplhanumerics, as evanescent as Pentium One Two Three.. Infinity (George Gamow - bitchin book for the proles, re physics, the Universe and stuff.))

I've described my wheels and rationale before. In addition to the four main things on list:

1) Quality (of design, execution)
2) Quality
3) Quality
4) Other (handling, intelligent crushability, handling/stopping ...)

I was trying to reconcile the +'s of airbags, ABS, low rate variable-Px pwr steering with good feel, decent AT (for a change from most-often manual.)

<with the -'s>

of mondo complexity, undocumented black-boxes full of transistor junctions Everywhere. I consider that last: a pure Brownian-movement/MTBF crap shoot == completely un-Predictable; ergo, I agreed with self not to worry about the utterly Unpredictables. So far.. so Good on that, but tomorrow [??]

If this sled does not outlast moi - then my homework sucks.
After 4.8 years, Vigor 2.5L 5-cyl: no glitch has surfaced - and it still gets 27-29 mpg when held under 70 on cruise. 21-24 town == fine for my limited mi/year, in either case. Not Bad for a 3600# beast, either.

But were I 30ish - I'd 'want' an NSX if I couldn't 'have' a Carrera (it Has You.) But as Tony reminds: that's ALL about Religion. I obtained more visceral Pleasure from a Vincent when I had Vincents.. than I'd experience from any of the modern Comfort-based p\ufffdans to massively over-refined Exce$$, pretending to be about 'Taste' - oft driven by those with minimal mechanical appreciation of the guts, and possessed of pretty sloppy driving talents.

My 300M \ufffd




PS re TSX/Integra
The TSX appears to have been Acura's baldfaced effort to Up-scale == Up-$$
[Despise! that word and the entrepreneurs who ride in it]
the more than adequate, reliable bargain! Integra. It didn't Need 'improvements' any more than the original Legend 'needed' much refinement via new techno.

I would have purchased a clean near-mint Integra, based upon close inspection of a friend's + her disdainful treatment of it, since its '93 newness. (She did do the Services, oil changes.. and I schlepped it to a place for flushing the AT == including the change of fluid within the torus. In ~ '95-'96 that trick was not widely known. Now it is.) But it would have cost more than the underappreciated/unknown Plutocrat model I found.

En fin - I think most are swayed by up-close anecdotal 'data' more than by spreadsheets and surveys, except for demonstrable Lemons (?) I also drove the competition before the Integra purchase: Saturn, Altima, various Hondas of '93. (Drove a baby-buggy suspended Corolla loaner later, too - we both agreed it had no Cuth. Nada. Zippo. But reliable as an anvil, usually. Some people can kill anything, though.)

I drove the Integra for a week when it was months old (owner away.) Took it to Hwy 1, the route of the 'Sunday Morning Ride' (motorcycle route; I was among the er, founding MFers) for breakfast at our old Pt. Reyes Cafe hangout. I Know the road and I tested the Integra for over/understeer and such - pronounced it safe, predictable ie good handling - in addition to its other qualities, beginning with: assembly in early '90s IN JAPAN by nicely brainwashed meticulous workers.

Marvelled at the finish of all parts: the engine compartment was pure motorcycle, as if for finished appearance - and because leak-tight, stayed that clean for many years. Owner of that I. has crunched it a couple times; each time restored to ~newness. No mech failures, just maintenance - in now, 13.6 years. YMMV