In the 1980s, the idea of a Japanese Luxury Sedan was a radical concept. Most North American perceptions around Japanese cars were still very much attached to frugality, economy, and base-model offerings. There were exceptions, of course, as higher trim Japanese cars began sporting comfort features, but most of those exceptions were framed around performance rather than luxury. As sales of Japanese cars grew in North America, Japanese manufacturers needed to expand their market share. They had to offer loyal buyers of their lower-priced offerings an aspirational car, and new buyers a competitive offering against the likes of Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Even U.S. automakers could see that European brands were making significant inroads in North America attracting former American luxury car buyers to a new blend combining luxury with performance.
In 1986, Honda launched the all-new Acura brand featuring the Legend model four-door sedan and coupe. Ahead of both Lexus and Infiniti, the Acura line-up was not only luxury oriented, the cars were much larger and more fully optioned than the high-level Accord, they also came with new performance metrics. Offered with impressive standard features, the Legend was powered by an all new V6 engine, featuring fuel-injected, multi-valve performance delivered sporting qualities via four-wheel, double wishbone (front) and strut-based (rear) independent suspension, and a big surprise for motoring enthusiasts, a 5-speed manual transmission.
