Acura stands as one of the prominent luxury car brands in the United States market. This brand is a subsidiary of Honda, which reserves its primary car offerings under the Honda name, thus exclusively focusing on luxury vehicles with Acura. Headquartered in Tokyo, Acura heavily relies on the parent company for its engines and other vital components. Like several other car logos, the Acura logo meaning and history has interesting references and a short but memorable performance by the company founder.
In the worldwide arena of automotive brands, Acura is a relatively recent player, with just over three decades of existence. While it enjoys a significant presence in the United States and is notably sold in China, it has consciously avoided entering other major markets, with Japan being a particularly noteworthy omission.
Table of Contents
1920*1080
Acura Information
| Founded | 27 March 1986 |
| Founder | Soichiro Honda |
| Headquarters | Minato, Tokyo, Japan |
| Official website | www.acura.com |
| Owner | Honda |
Acura Logo History and Evolution: Mass-market to Premium
Honda had been marketing its cars in the United States since 1970 and had successfully positioned itself as a producer of dependable and budget-friendly vehicles. Nonetheless, its offerings were missing the elements of luxury, refinement, and power, which are often sought after by affluent consumers.
Consequently, Acura was conceived to address the needs of these affluent buyers while utilizing the same vehicle foundations as the parent company. This new brand made its debut with two models, the Legend and Integra, and achieved remarkable success, recording sales of over 100,000 units in its first year of operation.
Read Also: Tesla Logo Meaning: Cat Nose or Motor Cross Section?
Acura Logo Meaning: Caliper and Precision
The Acura emblem made its debut in 1990, specifically on the NSX, a full four years after Acura-branded vehicles were first introduced in the United States. The company characterizes the Acura logo meaning as a caliper, which is a precision measuring instrument commonly used by draftsmen. The choice of calipers as a symbol signifies the brand’s commitment to precision, accuracy, and the outstanding quality of Acura vehicles.
Interestingly, the Acura logo, at first glance, appears to resemble stylized ‘A’ or ‘H’ letters, depending on one’s perspective, and its connection to the caliper might not be immediately apparent. However, there’s no mystery surrounding the association between these two letters. The pair of calipers is enclosed within an oval with softly rounded corners, creating an almost circular appearance.
Acura Badge Evolution: Last-Minute Change
Since its introduction in 1990, the Acura badge has remained relatively consistent in its design. However, an interesting anecdote from its historical evolution sheds light on its development. The story goes that initially, the logo was created with the two calipers but without the connecting horizontal line between them, and this version of the logo advanced to the production stage.
However, when the esteemed Soichiro Honda himself inspected the vehicles, he noticed the gap between the calipers and found it to be illogical. Notably, he hadn’t yet given his approval for the logo. Honda strongly suggested (or rather, ordered) the addition of a small horizontal bar to create the impression of the letter ‘A’ (for Acura) or ‘H’ (for Honda). This decision not only made thousands of ready logos obsolete but also resulted in the removal of hundreds of imperfect logos from production vehicles. Given that the directive came from the top, every logo that didn’t meet the new standard was promptly discarded.
Acura Logo PNG Vector
Acura Logo: Similarity with Changan Badge
The realm of car logos can be a peculiar one, and despite the creative liberty that designers enjoy, it’s not uncommon to come across badges that bear a striking resemblance to each other. This was precisely the case with Acura when Changan unveiled its new logo for passenger vehicles in 2010. The Changan logo incorporated similar design elements and showcased the calipers in an upside-down orientation, albeit with some subtle alterations. Notably, Changan’s logo created the impression of the letter ‘V.’