Could a new trademark filing mean the return of the Acura RSX? Autoguide has dug up Honda Motor Co.’s latest filings with the Patent Office in Japan, and those filings could be an indication of the return of the early 2000s hot sport compact. Now could be an opportune time for Acura to bring back the name for something fun. It is taking full advantage of Integra nostalgia, and it doesn’t hurt that the Integra happens to be one of the company’s most fun vehicles in years.
Acura
Launched in the mid-1980s, Acura is to Honda what Lexus is to Toyota. Honda created it with the intention of penetrating the North American market and has never sold its Ohio-made cars in Japan, although this was a consideration before the 200-2008 financial crisis. Shortly after its birth in 1986, the automaker quickly became a thorn in the sides of premium automakers like Mercedes-Benz and BMW. In America, the Honda NSX was sold with an Acura badge, and that’s a great relation for affordable everyday heroes like the Integra Type S.
- Founded
- March 27, 1986
- Founder
- Soichiro Honda
- Headquarters
- Torrance, CA, USA
- Owned By
- American Honda Motor Company
Honda Locks Down RSX Name
The RSX name was originally used to replace the Acura Integra badge. The brand dropped the Integra name from its compact sports coupe in North America along with the car’s 2001 redesign. The Integra became the RSX and joined the MDX and TSX. Even the Canada-only EL became the CSX as part of Acura’s strategy to leverage the NSX name and confuse all of us. The RSX died off in 2006, when Honda and Acura got out of fun cars almost completely for a few years.
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Why would Acura bring the name back now? Honda is about to launch the reborn version of its Prelude sport compact. The coupe will go on sale in Europe in 2025, and the Japanese automaker hasn’t ruled out bringing it to the States, either.
A Prelude With Acura Style
If Acura were to get its own version of the Honda Prelude, it would obviously come with a new name. And what better name for it to use for a rebadged-for-North-America Prelude coupe than RSX? The RSX badge was exclusively used on the Honda Integras sent to North America wearing the Acura badge, so it would all be coming full circle. Except this time we’d have both the Integra and the RSX to choose from.
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It’s the idea that Acura could be returning to fun cars that has us excited. The Prelude is rumored to have a manual transmission along with its hybrid system, like the dearly departed CR-Z but with actual horsepower. That’s a car that could be fun and economical. With an A on the hood, it could even be fashionable and if Acura applied its Type-S badge (and extra performance) to the car, it could be even better than its Prelude relation.
Of course, we need to point out that filing for a trademark can sometimes be nothing more than routine maintenance of intellectual property. After all, you can’t have someone else selling Acura RSX T-shirts or hats. Honda Motor Co. has held the trademark for the RSX name in North America since 1999 and still holds it today.
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Source:
Autoguide
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