RealTime Honors Acura’s 20th Year
20-year old Brandon Davis Changes Car Number

Brandon Davis wore the #44 on the side of his RealTime Racing Acura TSX in the 2005 SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car series en route to his Rookie-of-the-Year title.

This year Davis switches to the #20 badge on his car to honor the 20th anniversary of Acura’s United States operations as the first Japanese luxury performance car brand.

“Brandon did a stellar job in 2005, placing fourth in the championship points, so we are thrilled to have him back. When it occurred to us that he is the same age as our car brand of choice,” said RealTime owner Peter Cunningham, “it made sense for him to wear the number 20 this year.”

Davis, who is majoring in Business Management at the University of Denver, was born October 21, 1985, six months and six days before the North American launch of the Acura brand on March 27, 1986.

“From the perspective of someone my age, Acura cars have been around forever. Acura has been good to me and I’m looking forward to stepping up to the podium this year to help celebrate this important birthday,” reported Davis.

By Kevin Krolicki

DETROIT, March 16 (Reuters) - Acura, the luxury brand of Honda Motor Co. (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research), expects to post a 3 percent to 5 percent gain in U.S. sales in 2006 from the record sales tally of last year, a senior executive said on Thursday.

But John Mendel, senior vice president of American Honda, also said Acura’s experience also shows that both new entrants and resurgent competitors have the potential to upset the high-margin segment of the slow-growth U.S. auto market.

“I don’t think you can with any certainty rule out anyone,” said Mendel, who was speaking before the Automotive Press Association. “I think GM will rebound. I think the Chinese are a threat. I think the Koreans are a threat.”

Acura, which launched in 1986, faced initial skepticism that American consumers would pay high prices for Japanese cars, which had a reputation for no-nonsense fuel-efficiency, Mendel said.

But the brand recorded U.S. sales of 209,610 vehicles in 2005 — its highest ever — and has expanded its dealer network from 60 outlets two decades ago to over 260 currently.

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