neuronbob

I am just curious as to whether someone on the board has actually purchased a base RL. If so, post pics as none of us has seen this elusive beast yet. If you haven't joined AZ yet, do so and post.

All the guys with 2007s who've posted so far have purchased Tech Pack or PAX/ACC/CMBS models.

neuronbob

Wow, I guess no one's got a base model. Pretty much as I thought it would be.

synth19

I saw one at the dealership last week. Didn't get a chance to turn it on to see the "navi" screen. But I really couldnt tell the difference from the "fake" wood versus what we have. But sux that this model is 45k when you could have easily purchased an '06 with navi and real wood for 40k after the rebate.

jhr3uva90

My guess is that the base model is for people who want an RL, but are uncomfortable with technology. Those folks are unlikely to be posting on a web-based forum.

Remember that many drivers of the previous RL are senior citizens. From what I've seen, many of those people were put off by the new RL. The base model gives them an incentive to upgrade.

Qest

Exactly.

jhr3uva90

It's funny. . . Radley Acura of Bailey's Crosssroads had an event to introduce the 2005 RL to drivers of the previous-generation RL's. Most of the people who showed up were senior citizens who basically drove the old RL because it was like a Japanese Buick. I think the new RL actually frightened them! I realized that night that the new RL would have to capture a new audience. I wonder if Acura corporate realized that as well? If so, what are they doing about it?

neuronbob

Excellent point.

I was hoping that a tech-savvy person who wanted to save a few bucks to get an RL w/o navi would post. Or maybe someone's non-techy parents got a base and the kid wanted to show it off.

geobardes2007rlbase

i guess my user id gives it away ,im an rl base guy.

Ken1997TL

My father is in the "base" RL category. He's not afraid of technology, far from it. He's been using computers for 25 years daily. He just wants his cars to be reliable A to B appliances that are fun to drive. In other words, 8 Honda Accords, 2 Acura TLs and their current Subaru.

In 2005 he liked the RL over the TL, except for all the gadgets. He said it quite plainly "I'll never use all this." The man will never use Navi for example, nor a power rear sunshade, DVD-audio doesnt impress him. He DID like the Active Noise cancellation though.

neuronbob

Welcome to AZ, geobardes. I responded to your other thread in the navi section as it poses an interesting question. An interior pic may be helpful here.

Again, welcome, and post away!

geobardes2007rlbase

i will try to get pics ,but it does have navi screen in dash same as tech pack and also has dvd drive in rear of car . it has gps because it sends info to sceen updated just about every sec.

GoHawks

I just responded to your other question as well. What is the is in the DVD-ROM drive?

I do know that the base unit doesn't had the MAP/GUIDE button on the centerstack (just above the AUDIO button). I believe the button there might be for the compass?

geobardes2007rlbase

it has a dvd that has gps written on it,and yes button says compas not nav

GoHawks

Not sure. When the vehicle starts up, what shows up on the screen?

For example, on navi equipped cars you get a picture of the earth titled "Acura Navigation with Acuralink"

You then get a screen with a legal disclaimer, and you have to press the large knob to accept. Do you get that?

If so, what screen comes up after that? Compass? Audio? Trip Computer?

The DVD-ROM probably just has some basic coordinates for the Compass (my guess).

A Navigation disc I think sells for about $275, I can't imagine that's all you would have to do to convert it, otherwise how could Acura justify marking up a tech model?

I am intrigued.

geobardes2007rlbase

[IMG]<a href="http://photobucket.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u230/geobardes/IMG_1985.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting"></a>[/IMG] i hope you can view these pics of 2007 base rl dash and dvd drive. i was wondering if anything was inpc card slot on navi systems

Touge

Fixed your post for you . If you don't mind me asking how much did you pay for the 07 Base RL ?

geobardes2007rlbase

i traded 04 tl so hard to say for sure but about 40k .how do i send rest of pics so i can show screen,dash ,and dvd disk . i would like to find out if all i need to do is purches navigation disk

kwelling12

The rest of geobardes' pics...you're welcome.

geobardes2007rlbase

thanks

Ken1997TL

The fake wood looks pretty good.

neuronbob

Thanks for the pix. There has GOT to be a way to get a navi disc into that system. I mean, it has to be as simple as putting a navi disc in and doing something to the PC card port.

I think CL6 hit the nail on the head. This looks like an Alaska model, which instead of a navi, has the GPS system and compass. The "plood" looks absolutely beautiful.

geobardes2007rlbase

im bidding on a 05rl navi disc on ebay just to see what it will do

GoHawks

I highly doubt it will work. My guess is that it won't read the Navi disc. Additionally, I'm not sure the Compass button would work the same as the MAP/GUIDE button.

Now if you're not going to pay alot for the disc, it's worth a shot.

ssim3

The GPS pic says it is a cd & not a dvd so the drive may only be a cd drive & not a dvd drive. That would definitely be a cost saver for Acura.

RL06tech

My guess is that the fake wood looks exactly like the "wood" on the optional steering wheel, its fine.

dwest1023

Please, a dvd drive cost nothing.

neuronbob

Just because the disc is a CD doesn't mean the drive plays only CDs. It could be a DVD player--most DVD players will play CDs, too. The (blurry ) picture of the drive looks like the same unit as in the navi cars.

I think it's worth the effort, but I still think you have to do some programming in the PC card port of the drive to get things to work.

kwelling12

There is another pic on geobardes photobucket of the unit that I didn't include because it was blurry, but it appears to have a DVD logo on it.

http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u230/geobardes/?

Rob144

I stopped by the dealer to see the 2007 RL when I went to pick up my shift knob, and sat in a base model. The plood certainly looks decent enough on the dash. Either the dealer was a little rough on it, or the material is somewhat more subject to scratches than the real thing. There were a lot of spiderweb scratches, and it was highly glossy.

I think they should have had aluminum (or aluminum-look) or something else in the base model. When the fake wood looks reasonably acceptable, real wood versus fake wood just doesn't seem like much of a distinguishing factor amongst the various packages.


Of course, Acura did the same thing with the 2G Legend, using real wood on the LS and fake stuff on the L (like my old '95). But that fake wood looked a lot more fake than the RL's fake wood.

How much fake wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck fake wood?

Rob144

GoHawks

Whatever happened with the experiment to put in a Nav DVD in the base car?

YumVTEC

i would be willing to bet the unit in the trunk has to be programmed by the dealer inserting a PC card into the card slot. not just a matter of popping in a DVD. if so that is really crappy of Acura to have all the equipment there, but not enable it just because they want to motivate people to buy the technology package.

GoHawks

Well it may be more that just plugging in a PC Card. The base model has a "Compass" button, and the Tech model has a "Map/guide" button. Maybe they can be programmed to perform the same function, but I have a hunch there's more than that.

and why is it "crappy" of them? If you saw the value in a Navigation system, why aren't you purchasing a vehicle with it?

larrynimmo

I bought the 07 non-tech Acura RL and I am a tech junkie. I learn how to use all high tech devices to their fullest...however, with 4k difference from local dealers, it wasn't worth the upgrade for me to get nav, and swivel lighting and real wood. I live in the country, I rarely go where I have never gone before...the compass is absolutely the best. People make fun of my satelite ant (shark fin) above the rear window.
You know, I had decided to buy a fully equiped ES350 UL package for 39k. But when I saw I could buy an RL for 38k, it seemed to be a better value. I have always appreciated a car that could handle the twisties like a sports car...the RL has exceeded my expectations in that regard. If I had it to do over again I would buy the same car over again...my only quandry is the pearl white...I am cleaning the bugs off the nose every other day. The 03 TL red redondo, never got hand washed or polished. Once a year it went to the car wash and they cleaned off the sheets of bugs and it didn't seem to bother me. This white is real cool looking, but it shows off the bugs.

neuronbob

Well....the reason for the base RL is because the dealers asked for a decontented RL. Looooong story on which many threads have been based, but that's the long and the short.

The previous "base" RL had everything except rear camera (add on option), CMBS, and PAX. So not crappy at all from Acura's standpoint. The fact is, though, that everything you need for a navi is there except for the programming and the appropriate buttons. I'm quite sure someone will figure out eventually how to git er' done.

GoHawks

To each is own. When I bought my first car with Nav ('01 TL), I thought it would be a toy. My wife thought the same and teased me about it. After living with it, we swore we would never own another car without Nav. Our next vehicle ('04 Land Cruiser) had to have a Nav, and the system in the RL is another step above.

My brother used to think the same thing. When he bought his TL, I practically begged him to buy one with a Nav. He now swears by it.

That said, again it's your personal preference, but I'm constantly confused by people who opt not to buy a car equipped with a nav, and then are looking to retrofit it, or in this case, be upset that Acura doesn't make it easy.

The Nav is integrated into the climate control along with other components of the car. A person can always go buy a Magellen or Garmin and plop it on the dash. If they aren't happy with how it looks, then maybe they now understand that a nice clean integrated look with integrated fuctionality comes at a price.

After living with my RL for over a year, I could take or leave the adaptive headlights. Those I feel are a gimmick unless you drive the darkest of roads. The Nav on the other had is a gotta have in my book.

larrynimmo

I do own a Tom-tom portable GPS which I do take with me on those "special" trips to the unknown (very rare) but quite effective. I drive over 40k miles a year in my work truck and I know so many roads and back roads that I remember.

I own several boats that I fish on, and you really need to have GPS with maps for lots of practical reasons. I depend so much on GPS that I always have a spare on the boat because location can be really critical.

If I could have paid the 2k like the tls and others, I might have paid the dif. not 4k. I love tech, but if I had a choice, I'd spend another 4k on fishing gear...(of course according to my wife, I already had spent more than that)

As you said..."to each their own"

YumVTEC

my beef is that all the equipment is in fact there in the 07 non-tech RL for navigation to work, and that because of a marketing decision, Acura only activated the feature in the tech package+ vehicles.

like neuronbob has said, it's only a matter of time before someone figures out how to get it enabled. i would love to be that person.

going to see if I can borrow an 07 RL navi dvd from the dealer to mess around with. if i get it to work i will gladly pay honda/alpine their $180 for my own official copy of the disc.

GoHawks

Auto manufacturers are putting radios in vehicles that are satellite ready, but you still have to activate the feature (and pay for it) if you want to use it. No one seems to have a problem with that.

As for loading a Nav DVD in your car, I believe someone was going to try it, convinced it would work. He never came back to report. My guess is that I doubt Acura would make it that easy for people.

2007AcuraRL

I have a base RL. Got it for a good price. I would use the NAV if I had it, but I couldnt justify spending another $3500 for it. Still, I'm wondering if the head unit is internally any different in the NAV equipt cars vs. the non NAV? Or could it be just a programing issue using that PCMCIA slot in the front of the DVD reader in the truck??

What I was told about the base model is that it was originally offered for sale only in Alaska and Hawaii where the NAV doesnt work (i guess they are too far from where the satellite orbits). So from a marketing standpoint, it wouldnt look right to charge AK and HI customers a whole bunch of money for NAV when its a feature they simply can't use.

Now how for Acura to accomplish an acceptable alternative? Either it would require Acura to strip down the internal circuitry on some of the head units to use for the non Nav version, OR wouldnt it be simpler to just toggle off the NAV programming inside the head unit? In past years, the cars with NAV had a completely different dash and head unit. But since the RL was initially designed as a car with NAV, I'm not so sure they would have a radio that wasnt complete with all its parts (ie NAV circuitry).

Not sure how we will find out the answer to this. It would require opening up both NAV and "nonNAV" headunits and looking for missing components in the nonNAV versions.

An alternative solution would be to install a NAV head unit and the DVD and see if it works (without having to install other parts somewhere else in the car). At some point there will be RL headunits available online from a wrecked car for probably under a grand. The question is who will be daring enough to buy the head unit to try it out? Might not be the worst idea because you could always turn around and resell it right away for most if not all what you paid for it if it didnt give the desired NAV results.

well thats my for the time being... interested to hear any other ideas from all of you.

csmeance

the part numbers are as follows for these years:
2007 RL NON NAVI (USA) : 39546-SJA-A71
This fits 07 RL and RL- H (hawaii)

2007 RL NAVI: 39546-SJA-A61

2006 RL ALASKA : 39540-SJA-A51

2006 RL CMBS NAVI: 39540-SJA-A31

the navi units changed by part numbers.

2006 to 2007 navi drive most likely changed due to back-up camera being standard.