Acura is the luxury vehicle marque of Japanese automaker Honda. The brand was launched in March 1986, marketing luxury, performance, and high-performance vehicles. Since its inception, Acura has been a trailblazer in the automotive industry, being the first Japanese automotive luxury brand. As a consequence in the late 1980s, the success of the company's first flagship vehicle, the Legend, inspired fellow Japanese automakers Toyota and Nissan to launch their own luxury brands, Lexus and Infiniti.