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Acura is a Japanese brand name used by Honda in the US, Canada, Mexico, and Hong Kong since March 1986 to market luxury automobiles and near luxury vehicles. Acura is credited with creating or being the first to tap into a market for luxury Japanese cars outside Japan. Before Acura, automobiles from Japan were primarily economical and were seen as reliable above all else.

Other Japanese luxury brands (Toyota's Lexus and Nissan's Infiniti) sprang up in North America shortly after Acura's introduction of the Legend, a V6 powered coupe and sedan and the Integra, which was offered with a 4 cylinder engine only. Automotive journalists were impressed particularly by the Acura Legend.

During the mid- to late-1990's, Acura's model line-up became less and less inspiring and consequently, sales suffered. During this time, Acura switched to an alphanumeric formula for nomenclature, which was the size of the vehicle's engine in liters followed by two letters (or three in the case of SUVs.) The the 1996 3.5RL, which replaced the well-loved Legend, was the epitome of Acura's new-found blandness. Its sluggish 210-horsepower V6 (later bumped to 225 hp) and front-wheel drive, together with anonymous styling that cautiously aped the larger, more powerful Lexus LS400 did little against more prestigious, attractive and faster offerings from BMW, Audi, and Lexus, among others.

In the early 2000's, Acura re-enlivened its line-up, arguably beginning with the introduction of the MDX, a popular three-row crossover SUV based on the Honda Odyssey minivan. The MDX replaced the slow-selling SLX, which was little more than a rebadged Isuzu Trooper. The MDX was given top honors by Car and Driver in its first comparison test against seven other SUVs. Other cars in Acura's line-up during this time included the 3.2 TL, 3.2 CL, RSX (fomerly the Integra), and the supercar, the NSX.

A new TL debuted in 2004, equipped with sharp, Italianate styling and a 270-hp V6, and available with a 6-speed manual transmission led to a dramatic increase in sales for Acura. The same year, Acura introduced the TSX, a European-market Honda Accord loaded with features, as a cheaper alternative to the BMW 3-series. This model became the only 4 cylinder sedan in Acura's line-up, replacing the Integra sedan. A new RL debuted in 2005, this time with a 300-hp V6, more exciting styling, and "Super Handling" all-wheel drive.

Acura's new models – particularly the RL and TSX – have been well received by the motoring press. The company has now re-established itself with a consistent performance-oriented image, while also maintaining its reputation for outstanding customer service and reliability.

For the future, Acura is looking forward to the introduction of the RDX, a smaller SUV set to feature the RL's SH-AWD (Super Handling All Wheel Drive) and should debut in mid-2006 as a 2007 model.

And while the NSX has been discontinued following the 2005 model year, Acura has promised a redesigned model sometime in 2007 or 2008.