Acura thinks that it needs to go lower in the market. During its press conference at the North American International Auto Show, Acura's representative said that it projects the only areas that the luxury market that will grow in the coming years will be compact sedans and small SUVs. So it showed three vehicles during its press conference: the ILX entry level, compact sedan, RDX compact SUV and the next generation NSX concept that was there to get everyone really excited. 

The ILX is based on the Honda Civic. When it comes out later this spring, it will have three engine options: a 2.0 liter four-cylinder, a 2.4 liter four-cylinder and a 1.5 liter hybrid. 

"First time luxury buyers place the highest value on exterior styling, affordability and environmental issues and that's a virtual definition of what we have created with the new Acura ILX. The strategy behind this new model is to position ILX as the first opportunity for many young buyers to enter the luxury market," said Jon Ikeda, head of the Acura Design Studio.

The vehicle on the show floor did not have an interior, but Acura says that it will be high quality and well appointed. It plans to offer Pandora internet radio and SMS text-to-speech standard. 

The major problem with the ILX is that it is boring. In theory it is competing with cars like the Cadillac ATS, Audi A3, Lexus CT200h and BMW 1-series. We do not know enough about the car's interior and features, but purely from a design perspective, the ILX is boring compared to its competitors. Many of these cars are offering more power as well. However, it is possible that because this is based on the Civic, Acura might be able to keep the cost down to undercut the ILX's price compared to its competitors. 

The ILX will be avialable in the Spring of 2012.