The New Acura NSX Isn't Having That Halo Model Effect

The all-new Acura NSX is abig deal for the luxury Japanese automaker. Years of design and engineering efforts went into it and yet, so far at least, it's not delivering the fully desired halo car effect. According toAutomotive News, the 573 horsepower hybrid supercar hasn't helped Acura's sales figures. So far this year, Acura's sales are down 9.3 percent. For its sedan lineup specifically, sales are down 17 percent. Remember, one of the main things about a halo model is to help drive sales for the mainstream lineup.

Considering that Acura was already struggling to gain a sales foothold, these latest numbers aren't all that surprising; it'll take more than the new NSX to make Acura relevant again in the highly competitive luxury segment. However, there is a silver lining.Automotive Newsalso points out that Acura's online data is showing that "one in four visitors to the NSX's web page goes on to view other Acura models, a number Acura says is well above average." However, when linking a carwith a $158,000 base priceto the next highest priced model (the RLX has a $55,000 base price), is a further reminder to potential buyers of that huge price gap.