Acura was the first of the spinoff luxury brands from a Japanese automaker. Honda, which spun it off, did everything just right: Franchise laws prevented the opening of new Honda dealerships too close to existing ones. By creating a new nameplate (Acura), it was able to open more dealerships in the profitable urban areas, where Honda already had considerable strength, and to ignore the areas less likely to buy imports. The upscale positioning of Acura was good for Honda's entire image. In 1994, just over 1 million Acuras were sold, with the Acura Legend representing the majority.
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