Editing Acura (section)

===1990s===
In 1990, five years after the debut of the Legend and Integra, Acura introduced the [[Acura NSX|NSX]], a midship V6 powered, rear-wheel-drive sports car.  The NSX, an acronym for "New Sports eXperimental", was billed as the first Japanese car capable of competing with [[Ferrari]] and [[Porsche]]. This vehicle served as an "image car" for both the Honda and Acura brands, heralding the introduction of Honda's [[VTEC]] technology. The NSX was the world's first all-aluminum production car, and was also marketed and viewed by some as the "everyday supercar" thanks in part to its ease of use, quality and reliability, traits that were unheard of in the supercar segment at the time.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-09-03 |title=Acura NSX and Lexus LS400: When Japan Ruled the Automotive World |url=https://www.motortrend.com/features/acura-nsx-lexus-ls400-history-review/ |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=MotorTrend |language=en |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920163642/https://www.motortrend.com/features/acura-nsx-lexus-ls400-history-review/ |url-status=live }}</ref> With the release of the NSX, Acura introduced the "A-badge", a stylized pair of calipers—a tool used for exacting measurements to imply that Acura vehicles are built to precise and demanding standards.

[[File:Acura NSX (20391213293).jpg|thumb|right|The [[Honda NSX (first generation)|NSX]] was sold under the Acura brand in certain regions]]
Despite a strong start in market acceptance for the Acura brand, sales suffered in the mid-to-late 1990s.  Some critics attributed this decline in part to less inspiring designs, which were re-branded Japanese-spec Hondas, such as the [[Acura Vigor#Third generation series CB5/CC2 & CC3 (1989–1995)|Acura Vigor]] in 1992. Additionally, during this time Acura switched to an alphanumeric nomenclature formula, dropping the Legend, Vigor and Integra titles, following the lead of the NSX sportscar. The 1996 3.5 RL, which replaced the popular Legend, and the Vigor became the 2.5 TL and 3.2 TL, and was regarded by many as the epitome of this problem, namely because the alphanumeric designations were more anonymous than the former Legend, Vigor and Integra titles, which had grown into their own cult followings.<ref name=forbes>{{cite magazine |author=Jerry Flint |url=https://www.forbes.com/2003/04/01/cz_jf_0401flint.html |title=Backseat Driver – Acura |magazine=Forbes |date=1 April 2003 |access-date=20 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504031736/http://www.forbes.com/2003/04/01/cz_jf_0401flint.html |archive-date=4 May 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The parent company, Honda, was also feeling the results of the decline of the Japanese economy, due to the [[Japanese asset price bubble]] that took place during the 1990s and into the 2000s. This period is known in Japan as the [[Lost Decades|Lost Decade]].
[[File:Acura Integra Type R white.jpg|left|thumb|[[Honda Integra#Integra Type R|Acura Integra Type R]] ]]
During this time, the NSX also lost sales as Acura made few changes from its original 1990 trim. A year later, the Integra sedan was withdrawn from the Canadian market, replaced by the market-exclusive [[Acura EL|Acura 1.6 EL]], a rebadged [[Honda Civic]]/[[Honda Domani|Domani]]. The Integra sedan continued to be sold in the United States until 2001 (in name only, the model it was replaced with, the RSX, was simply a rebadged left-hand-drive version of the JDM DC5 Honda Integra).

Despite these letdowns, Acura gained prominence in the 1990s with a young group of customers: "tuner" enthusiasts.  Parent company Honda's reputation with this demographic as a maker of "easy-to-tune" and "rev-happy" engines rubbed off onto Acura, and the Integra became a popular tuner car.<ref>{{Cite web |last=West |first=Chris |date=2020-09-21 |title=The 20 Best Tuner-Friendly Cars Of All Time |url=https://hiconsumption.com/best-tuner-cars/ |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=HiConsumption |language=en-US |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920170726/https://hiconsumption.com/best-tuner-cars/ |url-status=live }}</ref>