Imagine an alternate timeline where Honda’s luxury brand shared a name with blue aliens. Acura turns 40 this year, and accompanying a press release marking that milestone was a list of proposed names for the brand, which was introduced to the world on March 27, 1986. One of those possible names was Avatar, but there are some other jewels in there, too.
The roots of Acura actually date back to April 1, 1984, when Honda publicly announced plans for a luxury brand. Around that time, Honda commissioned San Francisco-based NameLab to come up with a name for the brand, which was known internally by the codename Channel 2. Said name had to “embody the key concepts for the new brand—precision and quality,” the release reads.
In addition to Avatar, other names thought to embody precision and quality included: Ascara, Fulmar, Artiga, Aranda, Asama, Cigna (or Signa), Jacari, Jacama, Jacaro (or Jacara), Tucano, and Tamano. Also considered were Formula—perhaps as a reference to Honda’s then-dominant F1 engine program—and Jarama, a name previously used by Lamborghini for a largely forgotten sports car.
Hindsight is 20/20, but it’s still hard to imagine how the final choice could’ve been anything other than Acura. The name is derived from the Latin “acu,” meaning “precise” or “sharp,” but also brings to mind the English word “accurate,” another synonym for precision derived from the same Latin root. A name that begins with “A” also made possible a caliper-shaped badge that further associates the brand with the concept of precision.
A name with Western roots was key, as the conventional wisdom of the time was that Japanese automakers needed new luxury brand names to sell more-expensive cars to image-conscious Americans. The same thinking brought Infiniti and Lexus into the world, but Acura arrived first. It was also distinguished from its rivals by a two-pronged approach consisting of the Legend and the smaller, cheaper Integra, and an emphasis on racing nearly from the get-go.
Acura wasted no time entering the Integra in the IMSA International Sedan Series, winning consecutive manufacturers’ and drivers’ championships from 1987 to 1990. Acura built a replica of that first Integra race car for its 40th birthday, which stands as a reminder of what’s great about the automaker as it enters what could be described as a midlife crisis. Indecision about future product plans makes it unclear where Acura will go from here.