When Acura launched in 1986 as Honda's upmarket division, it beat soon-to-be rivals from Nissan and Toyota; Lexus and Infiniti bowed in 1989 and 1990 respectively. In the 1990s, Acura had a good reputation for building quality, nice, ordinary looking upscale vehicles for people who were too sophisticated for an Accord or Civic. Cars like the "bargain Ferrari" NSX, the TL, and the RL all helped build a solid reputation that would hold through the decade. That reputation held up fine until the demise of the brand's only remaining "youthful car", the RSX, in 2007. Then 2008 rolled around, and the question arose: What happened to the Acura the automotive industry knew and loved?
For one, the smooth, grown-up looks had been replaced with garish and "techonolgy influenced" designs; vehicles that made the public turn their heads in horror instead of amazement. Instead of praising the svelte styling of cars like the once-decent TL and rather good looking TSX, the motoring world was left shaking their heads in disbelief. And Acura's new crossover is no different.
Onlookers are greeted with a profile that resembles a BMW X6 drawn by a four year old, complete with ungodly low rear roofline, and hidden rear door handles. Are Nissan Pathfinder rear handles supposed to be cool or something? Oh wait, they're "unique". That very word can also be used to describe the unsightly front "grille" which is nothing more than a aluminum look shield bearing the Acura logo. Clever, eh?
If you're ever stuck behind one of these turd in traffic, you'll know it instantly. Not only will you be graced with 'ZDX" and "Acura" badging, you'll also be fortunate enough to realize that whoever is Piloting this rolling blasphemous turd cannot see you behind them. But.. but it's trendy to have a high backlight and low visibility. Yeah, trendy enough til the ZDX's driver backs into your car because he or she didn't opt for the rearview camera.
Oh what $60k large buys someone these days. I blame the BMW X6 for starting all this coupe-SUV crap, and until someone takes the hint that sedans are not supposed to be SUVS (aside from Subaru, but that's a different story), the roads will be filled with ZDXs and their clones. Thankfully, even in yuppietown, MN, people are smart enough to realize these turds are not cool. Beside this lone brown one (appropriate color, no?) I don't think I've seen very many.
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