Accavitti Out, Ikeda Promoted Up To Acura's Top Spot

by Mark Stevenson

Published: July 28th, 2015

accavitti out ikeda promoted up to acura s top spot

Acura head honcho Michael Accavitti (left) is head honcho no more. Honda’s luxury brand will now be led by former Division Director of Auto Design at Honda R&D Americas, Jon Ikeda (right), an industrial designer responsible for the 2004 Acura TL.

Ikeda will assume the top post, Vice President and General Manager of the Acura Division, effective immediately as Accavitti is no longer with the company.

Accavitti joined Honda in 2011 as its chief marketing officer and was given his most recent title in April 2014, putting his tenure at the top of Acura at 15 months. He was also CEO of Dodge for a grand total of four months in 2009.

Ikeda has been with Honda since 1989.

#Acura #Honda #JonIkeda #MichaelAccavitti

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9 of 21 comments

Undefinition on Jul 28, 2015

Oh,you just had to get our hopes up by mentioning the 2004 TL.

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Wmba on Jul 28, 2015

I give up on Acura. The TLX is underwhelming to drive in any of its three varieties, with neither transmission very good and dithery at low speed if they "remember" to engage any gear at all as you accelerate. My test DCT didn't work properly. Others do - conclusion, production process out of control. All Hondas have LaneWatch, the camera in the RHS outside rearview mirror. Acuras don't. Whoever supplies their batteries and shock absorbers must be a Tier 4 supplier judging by the reports on acurazine.com as to quality. Reliable? Only to a fanboi. TSBs galore and if they don't work, Acura deems the operation normal. So this new guy has some work to do, and speculation is the new NSX (remember that thing?) will be canned to save money. Nobody is going to miss what they never had. Whole division needs a mighty shake-up.

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- Davekaybsc on Jul 29, 2015
  
  Yes! We need a DeadWeight for Acura around here, Acura's problems are pretty much as bad as Cadilac's. Both brands struggle to move their sedans and rely heavily on trucks to stay afloat. Both brands have godawful NAV/infotainment systems, and substandard interior quality. The ILX rollout was an epic failure, and its issues have only partially been dealt with with the recent freshening. At least the engine choices are no longer comical, but otherwise it's still a Civic++. The TLX once again struggles to justify its existence against an Accord EX-L V6. A Fusion Titanium looks better, is better to drive, and offers a lot more tech features than the "Advance" brand, plus has a transmission that actually works properly. The ZF 9-speed has been a dog in every application so far, and Honda's "clever" 8-speed DCT may be even worse. The lawsuit is already underway. The "weld the hood shut and drive it forever" image that Acura has hasn't really applied for years. C&D's long term RL tester for example from a decade ago had EIGHT unscheduled dealer service visits in the short time they had it, and was a total electrical basket case. If it was a privately owned car, it likely would've been a lemon law buyback. If they actually sold any RLs or RLXs, people might notice.
  
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- Thornmark on Jul 29, 2015
  
  >>with neither transmission very good and dithery at low speed ,,
  
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- Thornmark on Jul 29, 2015
  
  @Davekaybsc Yet Acura is gaining share, passing Cadillac and being one of few luxury marques to increase sedan sales in a market where they are falling. As for the Fusion, it's not even as good as the Accord, much less the TLX. The Fusion is an acceptable rental, not much more. The Ecobust models are especially poor performers, delivering both poorer acceleration and mpg vis a vis other brands' 4's and 6's in comparative testing. 2015 Fusions are leasing for $129 here in the NE. Or 72 mo 0% plus $1000 cash back. (2016 Fusions are not much more.) That's KMart marketing. Below the Jetta I believe. That tells you how desirable Fusions are in the market. The best lease on a TLX is 2.5 times as dear the Ford's. http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/best-car-deals/Ford-Deals/
  
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- Stuki on Jul 29, 2015
  
  @thornmark In the Fed-age, market share is at least as dependent which demographic Yellen sees fit to feed, as any underlying quality, or lack thereof, of the cars themselves. Acura still has a name brand that banksters, or at least those clipping their toenails, are willing to be seen loitering around Manhattan in.
  
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- Davekaybsc on Jul 29, 2015
  
  @thornmark Owners say the opposite, in fact there's a class action lawsuit over the DCT because it hunts, hesitates, and at low speeds seems to forget how to be a transmission. "Best in class" LOL.
  
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Corey Lewis on Jul 29, 2015

We can't blame this Italian guy for the failures at Acura as of late, because he hasn't been there long enough to effect any change (and it's interesting he can't work for anywhere very long.) Who was in charge BEFORE this guy, for a longer time period? That person is the one to put blame on. He who was in charge about 04-12.

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MattPete on Jul 29, 2015

"an industrial designer responsible for the 2004 Acura TL." i can honestly say that whenever I see an Acura TL, I think to myself "That's an attractive car with nice proportions. Where did Acura go wrong?"

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