STL

I think I know what you're saying, but they way you said it makes it sound like you're making a blanket statement about Acura owners. I myself plan to be an owner within 6 months and really could care less about labels/badges. I like the TSX not because it's an Acura, but rather because it's a sporty not-so-big sedan with great handling.

NightShredder

Possibly in the context of this forum it sounded like that. I was more making a blanket statement about Americans. It was more in jest than to be taken seriously. Blanket statements never prove to be true, but there is always some truth to them. For example, I own a TSX and I bought it for almost the same exact reasons which you are buying it. BTW...I did have it debadged for the same reasons mentioned above. You might agree with me, but I would have bought the TSX even if it was sold as a Honda.

STL

Heck, it might have been better if it was badged a Honda because it likely would've cost a little less!

NightShredder

Isn't that the truth.

Alin10123

The TL is a shared model with Honda. There was a guy that was posting here in the TL forums that was from Japan. He posted some pics of his 2 tone leather Honda TL from japan.

Alin10123

Actually... it may not be all Acura models because when i got an RL as a loaner those windows actually said Acura on there. Not sure about the TL as i have never actually driven one.

rmpage

Oh, my dealer said one of the changes to the 06 TSX was that the glass will now say Acura rather than Honda. Yay.

Arcticcl9

Anyone like to speculate on the exterious styling changes?
I would venture a guess that the TSX will get LED taillights. Also the bumpers, grill and hood will be slightly reshaped for a more agressive look, along with the side skirts. I'll be interesting to see what changes they make to the front projectors, besides the shape of the headlights.

jiggaman

i am fiending to see these 06 pics...

Kream85

I personally dont see them making all those changes as Vtec reported, ill just wait till they come out. Likewise everyone got heated about turbos and the HSC, still waiting for those...

TypeRS

TSX will probably have a grill more akin to the TL's. LED tails light u said. As for the bumper i hope they dont change the rear but the front may look similar to the RL's.


What pisses me off are that the things i wish the TSX would have (Bluetooth, improved navi, and aux-in audio port) are actually coming out for this car...i bought the 05 cuz i didnt think these would make it in the 06 model. i guess i was horribly owned.

im financing my car and im wondering how much more and trouble it would be to trade up to the 06... or how much it would cost to swap out the old navi/computer unit with the new navi/bluetooth/computer model on the new TSXes

dmbfan36_23

Someone figured out how to get the 2005 TSX w/NAV and XM all working with an AUX input... no more giving up XM to get it working:

https://acurazine.com/forums/audio-video-electronics-navigation-22/finally-i-have-xm-my-auxillary-input-my-05tsexw-navi-312281/


I hope we can pop a 2006 NAV disc in our 2005s and get the Zagat stuff...

I'd also like to be able to put the flat wiper blades on if they're cool.....

dmbfan36_23

I bet it'll be a minimum of $2000.... (the difference in price between a nav & non-nav TSX)....

With any luck we'll be able to drop the 2006 disc in our 2005s and get the Zagat guide and additional Points of Interest.... or at least get an updated disc compatible with the 05's that has that stuff...

curls

Back on the HP measurement. I cannot find ANYTHING online regarding what has changed from the 1980's, 1990's, and thus far in the 2000's, compared to the "new" "SAE NET HP" ratings.

Searching for "J1349" on Google didn't yield that any differences in HP measurement have taken place since the post-1970's.

The only thing I can think of that has changed is possibly a general agreement between auto manufacturers that they won't "round up" HP to the nearest 10HP like many companies seem to do...

Also, if anyone has looked carefully at a dyno sheet for any car, more often than not they have "SAE-corrected" HP ratings (mind you these are at-the-wheel, not at-the-flywheel ratings. But, SAE-CORRECTED essentially means ambient temperature and altitude are factored out of the HP number, and you get a standardized HP number for that car. The formula is supposedly extremely accurate and if you dyno in 5 different cities on the same day, the SAE-corrected HP numbers should be the exact same (assuming fuel quality, tire pressure, oil viscosity, etc... were all the same. The only things factored out are the ambient air temp. and the altitude, both of which affect air density and thus power).

So unless someone has a very clear tech paper that goes into the "new" J1349 SAE-HP rating mechanisms, I am under the impression that nothing really has changed -- MAYBE just an agreement between companies to not misrepresent numbers (ie: Mazda's RX-8).

Discuss?

TinkyWinky

Acura/Honda must be taking notes from this forum, because I believe I have read numerous rants and compaints on this site regarding each and every proposed improvement for the 06 model.

A few comments:

- Can all previous MY owners get a stiffer A-arm and will this once and for all eliminate our beloved rattles?

- Looks like the current Navi system will become obselete (i.e., software not upgradable), given that the new system will incorporate HandsFreeLink and will use a faster CPU (shared with the TL or RL, perhaps)

-Wonder if the "Sports steering wheel" will be available for us 04/05 owners?

I think the MSRP will go up by $1500. There are too many upgrades for Acura not to significantly raise the price.

Dan Martin

Yes, while they're browsing our site looking for a reason to sue us, they may actually read something useful from time to time.

STL

So what exactly are you basing that on?

Just last year Acura made significant changes to the RSX and it's MSRP only went up $350. When Honda put the an entirely new engine in the S2000 and totally reworked the suspension (to make it more forgiving) that car's MSRP went up only $200. So I really don't expect the MSRP on the 2006 TSX to go up any more then $250 -- or maybe not at all.

curls

Yeah, remember... as time goes forward, electronics prices go down. So, the handsfree may have been a bit pricey to include w/o a price increase before, but this year, the technology might be significantly cheaper and more refined (reliable) and this can be included for no or very little increased cost.

TinkyWinky

Well....Let's see.

There are upgrades that actually add new items. These include HandsFreeLink interface, Auxiliary audio jack, fog lights and even the "New" meter face.

Cheap-ass Honda will not give these away for free.

The remaining improvements are tweaks that will slightly increase the cost of manufacturing each unit: reshaping plastic parts (bumpers and side sills), replacing engine (intake and exhaust) and other parts (wheels, steering wheel, etc), just to name a few.

While $1500 may be a bit high, you have to admit there are a significant number of improvements ... almost as many as for the new 3-series.

Caperone

What is that supposed to mean? New guages?

STL

I guess you ignored my examples where significant changes only lead to minor increases in MSRP. I agree the 2006 TSX is getting significant improvements, but not unlike the examples I gave. Both the RSX-S and S2000 got new bumpers, head & tail lights, engine changes (with the S2000 going from a 2.0L to a 2.2L -- a much bigger change than the '06 TSX is getting), new wheels that were larger (unlike the TSX that keeps 17s), as well as several other news parts. So based on recent past history, not just gut feeling or emotion, I don't think the MSRP change will be as high as you expect.

Can you tell I like to debate?

TinkyWinky

Have no idea, man. There is also a "Chasis" on the list.

Any Honda/Acura executives or engineers lurking in here willing to explain?

dom

TinkyWinky

Same here.

Changing the entire engine is significant but is only an improvement on what was already there. In fact, if the newer engine (2.2L in your example) is used in many other models while the older 2.0L is being phased out, then this would actually be a cost-cutting measure. Knowing Honda, this is most likely why they approved this upgrade.

In our case, Acura is adding a crap-load of "new" features that will not only increase the cost in material but also the time required to assemble the car.

I think Acura has figured out that there are a significant number of people who really dig the TSX, but feel the TL is a bit too much, and the competition (325i, A4, IS250 ...) cannot offer a similar package remotely close in price. So, why not add a crap load of new features and capture a bigger peice of the pie, while also increasing their profit margin?

If I had not bought my 04 TSX last year and saw these improvements raise the MSRP by ~$1500, I would still consider it an absolutely great deal.

In fact, I would be really interested to see if and when a new 06 TSX owner will find something to complain/rant about.

kyotousa

i don't think they change the style ...in 2yrs...
just model number....Lexus does that too

got to admit European car doesn't change style as often as Japan car do

STL

Actually the 2.0L wasn't phased out at all. On the contrary, the rest of the world still gets that award winning engine in the S2000! AHM wanted more low end torque in the S2000 so Honda gave them a band-aid fix (IMO) with the 1k-lower-redline 2.2L engine. I don't believe that engine (in that form) is used in any other Honda. So no -- going the 2.2L engine didn't save Honda any money, but rather just increased their production costs (not to mention the cost to develop that new 2.2L variant). So the S2000 got that new engine along with a boat-load of other things (some I've mentioned before) in the 2004MY and the MSRP only went up only $200. BTW, I confirmed the MSRP figures at hondanews.com.

Oh it'll happen...it's human nature to complain!

Caperone

English isn't my first language (my third one, in fact), so no need to be mean...

Powered by Honda

Acura as a brand is annoying.

Lots of people have that snob factor and think Acura is a prestigous brand when it isnt. But thats Hondas goal. So just like Honda they are successful at everything they do. They wanted Acura to be a snob brand. So its all just too be expected that its starting to become one.


Also, to the idiots who are mad and pissed that the TSX is getting a redesign....hahahaha suckers! Grow up and learn about life.

If you want a car with no redesign for 7 years get a 3er/5er/7er/ or anything german.

Honda = 3 years refresh, then 2 years new model.

mrkon

with the exception of the NSX of course.

jeffreytchui

Its a good thing I did a Euro R conversion...my car will always look new in the US!

Powered by Honda

lol....looking new is not as important as looking beautiful and timeless. Which is what Honda makes...IMHO

dmbfan36_23

I don't see why the pre-06 nav will be obselete and not see any new DVD updates.... they can still support us and put out an update....

biker

And guess what - depending on confguration the new E90 is about the same or CHEAPER than the E46.

While Lexus aims to become the new 3 series the suposed base pricing of the IS250 6MT (27,875) is conveniently close to a car we all know well.

No way the MSRP is going up more than $500.

mg7726

acura should set the MSRP for $27,490 and a $1,500 navi option (it's about time - navi isn't so new anymore).

that will undercut lexus in both areas and acura can still state they're more value oriented

CSpaR

Hmm... All this talk and not one pic of the car, or the MSRP. I'm sick of it already, but damn if I can't stop reading pages of speculation! heheh Guess I'm as guilty as the rest. I've done some mods to my car and plan on more. Hate to see the new changes be dramatic, but I dont see it happening.

I cant imagine Honda/Acura not increasing the price by $500 - $1000 or more for the changes. I could see it if they replace one thing for another like the tail lights or bumper, but to add new stuff I would expect a higher price. The fog lights were like $500 or so from the dealer. Intergrated ones along with other adds will have to increase the MSRP somewhat, no?

Any dramatic TL increases? If they increase the TSX, they'd have to increase the price for the TL aswell, no? Or else, why not just get a TL for only a couple $k more?

I'm thinking WAAAY too much for this early in the A.M. (EST)

STL

I'm wondering if that's exactly what Acura is bringing over as the "refresh"! You never know...it would make the redesign of the bumpers mucho cheaper for Honda since that design is already done and in production.

madmanmax3000

Hmm...without regard to money....can I make the switch to the new navi system? That and bluetooth are the only things I really care about. It would surely be expensive, but would the parts fit into our cars?

STL

Maybe you can't imagine it, but it's happened many times before! You really need to read posts 177 and 181 above.

STL

Dude the '06s aren't even on the boat yet...it's FAR to early to tell!

Belzebutt

I didn't see anyone like that in this thread?

Not true, the 3-series got a redesign after 4 years to carry it through the last 3. And they keep adding new bumpers, aero kits and wheels to keep it selling. Same with the 5-series, by the last model year every 5-series looked almost like an M5. They don't do it as often because they're a luxury brand, for the same reason why the RL and NSX didn't change for so long.