TampaRLX-SH

The Wall Street Journal has partnered with Acura to launch Acura's 'Innovations for Life' campaign and included links to the new Acura Advance web interface.

http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroo....html?d=129610

and direct on the Acura.com site is the new web interface....

http://www.acura.com/index.aspx?init...a_AcuraAdvance

What I find interesting is that beyond these 'Life Commentaries' made by the various individuals, are the technology features that are Acura's hallmarks. And all of them have been showcased by the RL.

It is intelligently done, and as typical of Acura & Honda, not flashy, exciting nor calling out competitors. They seem to be sticking with the quietly sophisticated route.

TampaRLX-SH

[QUOTE=TampaRL]

What I find interesting is that beyond these 'Life Commentaries' made by the various individuals, are the technology features that are Acura's hallmarks. And all of them have been showcased by the RL.

QUOTE]

Pardon....MOST of them have been showcased by the RL. Turbo in RDX, and ELS in TL.

CL6

pretty cool i'll pass it along to those whom i know. the stuff on there was revolutionary when it came out. everyone else advanced and caught up.

TampaRLX-SH

That is a concern I have with Acura using Technology as it's primary niche signature. Even if they are 1st to intoduce technology into automotive products, technology moves fast. What is new today is old hat or even obsolete in 6 months. A 4-5 year model cycle is too slow to keep up with the technology race without significant feature offerings. Acura would need to offer technology feature upgrades more frequently than model redesigns.

And with offering a newer 'release' of technology year to year, would you:

a) piss off your customers who own a model just one year old?

or

b) offer upgradeable technology in the model run?

Also, aside from those of us who embrace technology...we also know how fickle and unreliable technology can be. I often feel I should be paid for Beta Tester services by some technology manufacturers.

I hope the advancing technology does not superceed excellent engineering Honda / Acura is known for. Excellent engineering may not be as sexy and flashy technology, but it tends to be much more durable and enduring.

SpicyMikey

Good point. It's a double edged sword trumpeting advanced technology since "advanced" becomes "retro" very quickly. It's like Disney World's "Tomorrow Land". It takes a lot more reinvestment dollars and effort to keep rides and decor looking like -- tomorrow. Their "Frontier land is a lot easier to keep fresh looking since that is already yesterday.

Umm, sorry for the Disney analogy on a car forum. What do you want from a guy lliving in Orlando

CL6

Yea i mean you can trumpet dvd-a technology all you want but it's essentially dead now. The technology is important but how easy it is to learn and use is key - Honda has always done that best.

kenny5

The advance technology, when it first came out in the 3rd gen TL, propelled that car to the best selling near luxury car for two years. As a result, it revived Acura's then slumping sales and gave an invigorating shot in Acura's limping arm. Reliable technology (not the ones debuted in the BMW and MB) does help sales in a significant way, but I also agree that reliable engineering is equally important.

kenny5

DVD-A undeniably provides a much richer and superb listening experience. If the technolgoy can be implemented at lower cost -- i.e. a DVD-A costs the same or just a bit more than a CD - it will be well received by the public. Case in point, the LOVE album by the Beatles, as remastered and re-engineered, was a success.

CL6

DVD-A has been in decline for many years. The TL came with some awesome songs on it. But I have a problem with trying to re-master a song unless it's done by the original artist. The TL had Touch Me by the Doors and it sounded awful.

TampaRLX-SH

Although I love the driving dynamics of most German autos, there is no denying how much technology, paticularly electronics are in today's cars. I, personally have done better with Japanese models in that respect, and particularly models assembled in Japan. And I have much regard for Honda engineering and Acura packaging. Since technology (and toys) are as important to me as engineering reliability, I will gladly step to the podium.

Hello, I am Mike.....and I am an Acura fanboi.

larrynimmo

Hi, I Am Larry And I Am An Acura Rl Addict