Can't wait to see the new Acura's debut of the new RL at the Detroit auto show....if it razzles me a war will start for my soon to be 8 year old RL......

 

I know it's April for the 2013 RL but these new announcements "tell all".....certainly what coming and which models get the goodies....

 

I need a bigger garage!

 

Hopefully 2012 is Acura year. I can't wait for the 2013 RL or is it just going to be another April fool lol.

 

I hope they don't screw this up. They really need some sales and need to come out with some highly competitive product. The TSX is going away soon, hopefully they can redesign the TL and make it popular again.

2012 is supposed to be a good year for car sales and Honda is forecasted to grow 4% in sales. Hyundai/Kia is forecasted to grow 18%.

It would be nice to see the RL become competitive again.

 

If Acura really wants to boost sales of the RL they will either have to lower the price (which might cause overlap with the TL) or make the car more sporty and powerful (but then you either get torque steer or have to limit the car's power down low). The outgoing car was in the price ballpark of bmw 5 series and the Lexus GS. How can a fwd car with a pretty tame suspension tune compete with the sportier cars that you can get with the same money?

When spending that much money, people want a car that can do pretty much everything; sportiness, luxury, and technology. The RL delivers on two while the competitors get all 3 (maybe you could knock the bmw for the interior). The Honda/acura guys know how to make small cars handle well but when you add weight it's hard to get a car to handle responsively. Other companies have been doing it for years so Acura is a bit behind. Hopefully they can make something work. By adding more power though, the car may need to transfer to all time awd or rwd. beyond 300hp fwd becomes a big burden.

I'm probably stating something that has been said plenty before (just checked wikipedia and it says it right there ) but there's my opinion on the matter.

 

Ahh, but my friend, the RL has had SH-AWD (super handling all wheel drive) since 2005. In essence, this is a torque vectoring all wheel drive system.

The new RL has to look bigger and bossier, just like every S class and 7 seeries, and the 1st gen RL, which our car is a blatant coppier of- and that's okay!

In essence, the new RL needs to have road presence and make its driver feel special. The interior should be given much thought and consideration.

 

I disagree on it looking bossier comparing it to the S-class and 7 series. IMHO the RL should have never been considered to be a competitor of such a class. The RL has always been more of a GS/5 series/E class competitor when you look at size/options.

Hard to compare a $50K car to a $90K car

 

Oh I agree. I just wish Acura was in the same league as Lexus or Infiniti. The discontinuation of the Q45 has made it clear though that Infiniti does not want to compete with the LS460, S class, and 7 series. If a brand wants to be considered a luxury make, it should have a flagship that can compete with other luxury manufacturers.


You're definitely right about the pricing and the competition that the current RL takes on, but I was hoping that the next gen RL would take things a step further.

Remember how tiny and basic the 1st-3rd gen Accords were? Hard to imagine that the Accord nameplate would be put on a car that is today classified as a large car by the EPA.

Secretly though, I tell my friends that my car was Acura's answer to the Lexus LS430. Heck, the two cars share the same upright boxy sheetmetal, and everyone believes it!

 

I believe in 1996 the RL was virtually identical in interior and exterior dimensions as the LS. Acura simply did not 'keep up' over time and make a true flagship.

 

Exactly. When the 2001 LS430 came out, the RL was left behind.

 

kid spartan, I think the 2010 (2011?) and on SH-AWD is 100% RWD by default and then moves away from that only as needed.

 

The RL is 100% AWD. No Acura has ever been RWD.

 

okay, I see now. I always thought it was one of those there-when-you-need-it systems that sat dormant, as in 100% fwd, when you were driving under normal conditions.

Honda has pretty much perfected the front wheel drive setup so I now doubt they will move away from that. Hopefully they will pursue improvement of the SH-AWD system. Unsurprisingly I've never driven a car with this system so I have no idea how it feels.

 

Right, that was a rumor about RWD unless you need it. Sorry.

 

The Acura NSX was RWD

I know, most people think of it as the Honda NSX, but then the RL is the Honda Legend too.

It's about time that the Acura nameplate becomes sold globally. Lexus did this not too long ago, and renamed the Toyota Celsior, the Lexus LS460 in their Japanese domestic market, among other places.

I had relatives over from England over at my place a few weeks ago. NONE of them knew what an Acura was. One of them said, oh, that's a fancy Toyota, right?

I was polite and said no. But on the inside I was like My car looks more like a mercedes than a fancy toyota!

 

With the mild exceptions of the NSX and the SLX

 

It feels incredible. Yes at cruising speeds, most power is sent to the front wheels. But anytime there is any sort of cornering you'll notice a tremendous difference, the harder you push it.

 

I can't believe you guys forgot about the S2K

 

Why would I care about FWD when I'm cruising, the differences come in the cornering anyways. I guess you could argue, if you already have a driveshaft going to the back, why not make it default to RWD?

 

Right on, Sir... However, you said "Acura" in your previous post, not Honda.

The S2K was sold as a Honda in North America and everywhere for that mater. The NSX was badged as an Acura in our market

 

If you're cruising there are fewer drivetrain losses biasing it to the front wheels. Driveshafts are heavier than half shafts.

 

BTW, I do like the departure from the snaggle tooth but is it just me, or does the new Acura grill similar to the Saturn Vue grill?