Hi all,

I haven't been on this board for a long time but I just got wind through reading Motor Trend & then some old posts here that Acura will finally offer a manual again in the CL.

I currently own a '97 CL 5 speed, and next spring I was all ready to trade up to a BMW 330 or Audi A4. Should this 6 speed manual in the CL-S give me real reason to consider not moving over to BMW or Audi? Will it truly make the car feel sporty & not just luxurious? Please provise me your thoughts...

Thanks a lot,

 

I think it’s anyone’s guess until somebody actually drives one.

Mathematically it should be faster even if the HP remains at 260.

Shawn S

 

It remains to be seen how the 6spd will drive. It would be nice if a tighter suspension and performance tires would come along for the ride with a 6spd option. But I don't know if Acura will do that. If they merely drop in a manual tranny, this IS NOT going to drastically alter the character of the car. It's just going to make it a little faster (which it arguably doesn't even need to be)! So, if your bias is towards sportiness, I'd suspect you'll be happier with the Germans.

 

im starting to wonder if acura doesnt have surprise for us???why the dealers have no info yet ...im almost wondering/dreaming a type R variant for the intro of the six and wouldnt an iVTEC be nice now if it were AWD id be all over it add 3.5 also

 

Well...as for any thoughts of a Type-R variant ever again....let's just say that they are very slim. Acura wants to portray an image of upward mobility...they want their cars to be somewhat more on the refined side. The Type-S is the sport version...period.

 

I'd think stickier tires would be a requirement if then put a manual in it. The stock rubber on the Type S can barely hold the front end down with the auto. I'd also like to see a slight drop, maybe 1". Oh, and some Comptech headers from the factory.

 

Thanks for all the replies so far from everyone. I agree that it would be nice if Acura-Honda would do some other things to go along w/offering the manual. Dropping the car an inch or two would look nice but I doubt good ol' boring Acura would do that.
I guess I'll have to wait & see until I decide whether to go to Germany with my new car or not.

Tom T.

 

If Acura made a 6 speed AWD CL, that would be the shit!

g

 

If there is one thing certain about the Honda/Acura company it is that they play their cards very close to their chests.rarely do they allow a much more than an inkling as to what their true plans are for the future.If you stop to consider the size of this forum and all it's members and figure into it the amount of performance upgrades these members have done to their cars it becomes apparent that Acura may have misjudged it's customer base.Although noone to our knowledge that works directly for Acura posts here but I am convinced that they are definitely reading what people are saying and taking notice of what people are doing with their cars.This leads me to believe that there could very well be more exciting stuff in the pipeline.Now when what and if are the questions but trust me these people are paying attention.Just don't go and expect big changes overnite.Jens

 

What do you think acura/honda gona do? Nothing!

Altima is bigger than the Accord, get an engine 3.5L 240 HP. Honda officials admited publically that the Accord wont stay at 200HP mark, could you say that the Accords would get the 3.2L engine 225/260 and the Acuras CL/TL woould get an Engine 3.5L with 300-330HP. The 6-sp stick is not an issure rick case acura said he would have one to test in August for his Bi-Turbo.


So, relax and watch the fun starts...

 

thats exactally what i think is coming 3.2 accord 3.5 cl/tl

 

I agree with you that Acura decision makers certainly read this forum to see our reactions to and desires for their cars, but they also must keep in mind that we are a minority of owners. We (the enthusiasts, for the most part) will spend the extra money to do these mods ourselves if Acura doesn't offer them. The average person wants "seal the hood shut" reliability, whereas the members here would gladly tweak this or fix that to even slightly improve performance, and likewise, to deal with problems emminating from high-performance but lower reliability parts. From a marketing perspective, I doubt it makes sense for Acura to offer all these performance add-ons we're discussing as options to the car. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they had a larger engine in mind (maybe 3.5L, roughly 300 hp) to go with a 6 sp, maybe in '03, but that's because the competitors are upping the ante with their own 260+hp engines. They will do this to remain competitive and try to maintain their position as an entry-level luxury name. While I'm sure we all would love it if they'd make a type R or something that's really performance oriented, they know we'd just continue to modify that and ask for more. Every car forum is packed with enthusiasts who upgrade their cars and hope for more performance from the manufacturer. But the companies improve cars based on different goals: image and profits being the major ones. Market forces rule here, and unfortunately, we (the enthusiasts) can't influence that until we represent a large percentage of Acura's potential future revenue base.