bc01cls

After driving my CL-S since Aug 1st, and having owned 2 BMW's, 3 Porsche's (+20 or so other cars) I got to thinking about all the comments and grumbling we've seen here regarding the magazines' nod to BMW by a point or two. OK, so the BMW might be faster by a bit.....maybe (except for the 50k M3). It's really not a fair comparison since they are totally different cars. I think Acura really set out to build a fair/foul weather boulevard cruiser that happens to perform VERY well overall and carry its occupants in style, safety, speed and comfort. In that they have hit the mark on the nose. I realized that after reading the "..would you trade for a 6 speed?" comments and seeing a lot of you wouldn't, which about sums it up. These things are luxo racers, made for automatics, and I love mine more every time I drive it. Imagine a comparison with our "sport package" vs BMW. After my headers I'll be kicking most BMW's I see anyway......... CL's are terrific cars in most categories, which is what really counts in every day driving anyway, isn't it? What do you guys think?? Miss that German car feel?

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CL-S Sundance Gold, TR Typhoon Wheels, Solaris 9005, guards, nose mask, V-1 & remote.
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?...493&p=31386570

EricL

Nope, I think of this car as my grown up BMW. With the tires, the car is already scary fast up in the hills. Very pleasant in freeway traffic. I was in yet another rainy mess with the Toyo Proxies *and* I couldn't tell that it was wet out (VSA on).

Tires -- (If your not in snow get the Ultra performance tires -- the tested Bimmer had 'em.
Headers -- yes!!!
Springs (no lower than 1") -- I don't want pimp out.
Sway bars -- stiffer and better balance.

Thought:

Everyone complains about it being front heavy. However, without the weight up front, wouldn't the traction/acceleration suffer? Think about it -- rear weight transfer...

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2001 Satin Silver Cl-S w/ Navi.
Mud Guards.
Wheel locks
Toyo 235/45ZR17-97W*
T1S Proxies on Stock 17" CLS wheels
Gtech 1/8th tank 40F ~=6.1

LuckyCL

One has to understand that there is no such thing as the perfect car.
If you want acceleration, American muscle is hard to beat. If you want performance, European/Jap is hard to beat. If you want economy... you get the point.
Performance and acceleration conflict with each other. If you want the best acceleration, you need a huge engine. Forget about turbos, NOS and crap like that. I will never own a turbo. My father has a bad experience with an Audi 6000s turbo... the thing died all the time.
That huge engine isn't made of Styrofoam... How much would a Camaro's 5.7 liter engine weigh? Unless we see 100% titanium engines out there, this won't change. Of course, Titanium is expensive. Only a moron would pay $100,000 for a Chevy.
So... my point is, Acura/Honda did a pretty good job meshing all this together. It has good acceleration, good performance, and good build quality. How many CLs have you seen on the side of the road with a rag hanging out the window? I saw a black V8 Firebird two weeks ago on 422 East, near the North Wyomissing Blvd exit. That thing would have whooped our CLS's so bad it's not funny.... if it was running.


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2001 CL Type S.
No spoiler. No NAV either. No fat chics.
no "phat" chics either.

EricL

YES!


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2001 Satin Silver Cl-S w/ Navi.
Mud Guards.
Wheel locks
Toyo 235/45ZR17-97W*
T1S Proxies on Stock 17" CLS wheels
Gtech 1/8th tank 40F ~=6.1

SatinCL

Yup. I agree. The car walks that grey area between performance & luxury VERY well. I think bc01cls hit the mark on the nose that Acura hit the mark on the nose.

Basically, Acura followed the same formula that Mercedes executed with the CLK. Albiet a bit downmarket.

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Ken
'01 Satin Silver CL-P
Performance: Headers, K&N Drop-In, Comptech Springs/Sways, 17" Borbet T's & Eagle RS-A's.
Other: Flaps, X-Pel Clear Bra, Cannon Mats, Polarg Accent Bulbs, & Burlwood Shift Knob.

Stock GTech: 7.15
Current G-Tech: 6.46

Bodizafa

I miss that german call feel so bad i almost bought wheels for my dad's S500 instead of buying wheels for my CLS

LuckyCL

The problem with walking the gray area, is that some cars will be mediocre at everything.
Look at all the different aircraft in the Air Force these days... We have bombers, and fighters... and lots of crap in between. We can't just plop 9,000 pounds od bombs on a fighter and expect it to manuver well. Either its wings will fall off or it will handle like a 747.
Those moscle cars... All $30,000 goes into off the line. Build quality, handling is thrown to the wind. Yeah, you can add Macpherson stuts, and all that crap, but that stuff isn't free. One would end up spending $45,000 making a Camaro handle like a $45,000 BMW... Watch the 0-60 times go up as well.

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2001 CL Type S.
No spoiler. No NAV either. No fat chics.
no "phat" chics either.

astro

AMEN


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Astroboy out...
2001 Acura CL Type S: Comptech: Headers, filter, sways, springs, koni shocks, goodridge braided brake lines, full kicker system
1996 Porsche 911 Twin Turbo: H&R Springs and sways, Bilstein shocks

AcuraFanatic

I honestly think Acura did a wonderful job applying it's knowledge to their CL-S. Yes, many magazines downplay the Acura because of it's FWD and lack of a manual transmission, but quite honestly, I don't think magazines really look for the most well rounded car in a comparison test. In order to blow the CL-S out of the water, BMW has to equip their 3-series with the 3.0 liter I-6 making 225bhp, offer their 5-speed and put on performance tires. Their 5-speed is clunky, the clutch is heavy, their performance tires wear very fast and their I-6 is short 35HP from directly competing with us. And this is just for the performance side of the spectrum; the 330i doesn't even come with leather standard (as far as I know), let alone a navigation system (it's "standard" on the CL-S because it's considered a seperate line). I believe the majority of BMW owners do not neccessarily care about being 0.3 seconds quicker than a CL-S when they have their stick, rather they paid the $40,000 to have that BMW logo placed on their front and rear of the car, which is really a shame. Afterall, this is the reason why so many BMW 318ti's were sold, it said BMW, but the performance was that of a car costing $15,000 less. My point is, unless you're willing to make some tradeoffs in practicality, have an extra $8,000 or so in change under your seat cushions and truly want the utmost performance, the BMW is for you. But for the rest of us, we're the smarter consumers.

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TL Forum Moderator
Rumors/Trends Forum Moderator
Advertising Committee
...at Honda-Acura.net

cakennedy

Something bc01cls said struck a nerve: "Miss that German car feel?"

I honestly think there's something to that. After 10 days with my 330ci, I've got to say that the car has a much different overall "feel" -- and I'm not talking driving characteristics -- than my TL. There are hundreds of small examples all over th car that make the BMW feel much more "European" (duh) than the Acura; whether or not that's a good thing is an individual preference. I happen to think that cars with a "European" feel, whether they're from Europe or not, exhibit more attention to design, theme, and detail that cars with a "Japanese" feel. Everything on the BMW feels carefully crafted to present a driving environment that really focuses on the act of driving, not on the act of travelling.

Some examples: At night, everything is a pleasing red color, but all the secondary controls are dimmer than the guages and lit so as not to distract from the guages. The steering wheel is a piece of sculpture, with radio/cruise buttons not tacked on to the side, but designed into the wheel itself. All crontrols are canted subtly toward the driver. The only information displayed above the wood trim directly relate to the engine. Seats are supportive and adjust through many more ranges than Acura seats; bolstering is significant. Moonroof controls are right next to the moonroof itself (one-touch open and close).

All of these seem like very minor details, but they combine to create an environment that is not only "European", but downright "Germanic." And that's before you even turn the key

SmoothJyzz

I'd have to agree with that intrinsic "feel" factor attributed to the BMW. It does have a totally different feel, and what' said about the steering wheel construction ....not to mention the steering-wheel feedback....is something like magic. Now, having said all that, I had been planning two years to purchase a BMW. I'd done all the research, both for the E46 Sedan, and then last year with the E46 coupe. Having done the comparison, I did decide to go with a little less of the nebulous "performance feel" and more of all the features I wanted, reliability, and cost factor. The comparo with the CLK is most apt, because that's what my next call will be.




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PimpDaddy Gold, Deep Tint, BAAAAAD Attitude

NJtype-s

The only thing the beamer has is better handling, thats it. My sis has a 318Ti (POS) She wanted to look snoty i guess..My boy had a 96 328 is and now has a 2000 328 is
w/sport package, and the thing handles better and it WILL take a type-s us once 4th gear hits..I think our interior is more driver freindly then the bmw. I love the seats in the cls, they are the best seats i ever sat in.. The fwd is cool cuz it snows in NJ and the cls is great in the snow. Overall i dont think with my dick so i saved 6000 and i am 100% happy with the cl , even though i always crash.

My 03. cents