On the day after Christmas 1979, British Leyland, then the megalith that owned nearly all British car production, entered into an alliance with Honda. It had a potential to benefit them, as British Leyland quality of the time was shoddy, and the company was losing money.
Fast forward to 1986. Honda has launched a luxury division, known as Acura. Their premier offering was the Legend, a large luxury sedan. Austin Rover, one of British Leyland's successors, also built their version, which was called the 825. The Sterling 825 shared a platform with the Legend, but was tuned for a "sportier" feel.
The Sterling's sales were initially strong, but wore off quickly after the vehicles demonstrated poor reliability. While the basic engine and running gear design was sound - they had been developed by Honda - problems with trim, electronics, and rust sent the vehicles to the bottom of the J.D. Power rankings. The Legend went to the top of the same rankings.
The Sterling was also sold in Europe as the Rover 800, where it found more success and was made until 1999. Quality on the 800s improved over time, with later models suffering from much fewer problems as early models.
In the US, the Sterling was discontinued in August 1991. The Acura Legend evolved into the RL, and then the RLX. Nearly 30 years after its forefather's introduction, the RLX is sold new to this day.
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