Wow...I got my own personalized 09 RL invitation to go to my local dealer to see for myself the newly updated 09 RL..."NOT SO MUCH AN INITATION, BUT A CALL FOR WITNESSES" on the front cover sayes ..."OUR INTENTIONS ARE PERFECTLY CLEAR." yet in the brochure it cautions me..."Bring this mailer to: Criswell Acura"...what does this mean...they won't let me in without the brochure...or will the special handshake get me a glimse... on the back cover this is a picture of the power plenum all shining through the solid black car and background.

Whats really sad, is there aren't any 09's at any of the local dealers (that I know of) Now I really wonder what their intentions are!

 

The 09 RL I think is more of an afterthought for Acura. I hate to say it but they probaly should have just discontinued it for 2 years, instead they are relying on supply/demand principles to get a reasonable price for the vehicle. This will not work....even when the car was available on the lot, they couldn't sell them. People are not going to 'order' the RL. The marketing is poor and there is no mass market appeal for the vehicle. RL sales have plummeted every year since 05, now that they ruined the exterior they are relying on microeconomics to sell the car?? Hell, I went to Infiniti without even test driving the 09, more or less because I was so turned off from the styling.... and I came from a RL!! There's really only one way to reignite the RL... RWD, V8 option with better styling. If they don't, people will just buy the TL, or from another luxury brand and the RL will continue it's plunge into oblivion.

 

The problem is that with the terrible front styling of the newest TL and TSX I have little hope the styling of the '11 RL will fare any better UNLESS Acura wakes up next year and tosses the whole power plenum garbage in favor of a flowing aesthetic offering, much the way Subaru abandoned that horrible grill face on the 1st offering of its Tribeca. We've got 2 years for Acura to Wake The Heck Up.

 

face it honda aint making no V8s

 

http://www.autoblog.com/2006/12/11/v...-in-the-works/

http://www.edmunds.com/acura/rl/2011/review.html

http://www.leftlanenews.com/acura-rl-future.html

http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=767141

 

A V8 option seems to be the required entry ticket into the premium sedan class category nowadays, even though I'm sure most 5 series bimmers, infiniti M and so on are purchased with the 6Cyl engine. The most cost effective way for Acura to go would be to use the upcoming V10 for the NSX and detune it slightly (aftermarket mods will easily restore all its hp) for the RL, rather than going through the bother of a V8 design. Then they could also shove the V10 into a limited number of MDXs so as to compete with the bimmer X5 and the AMG shod ML benzes

 

Now that would be exciting!! Crude oil prices, miserable economy and Honda philosophy is the only thing in our way!! Why doesn't Honda want more for Acura??

 

Maybe Honda does not want to gamble the artful engineering of their automotive products on the immature styling that Acura has undertaken?

Maybe when Acura grows up and again produces vehichles styled for the people that can afford them, Honda will produce the mechanicals to support Acura as a proven brand.

Acura is nothing more than a styling shop and a half hearted marketing venture. Even with the tried and true Honda mechanicals, the current Acura 'lipstick' is making it difficult for me to respect the brand.

 

Amen.

 

I remember there being a thread asking for links to reviews of the 09 RL. I couldn't locate it, so I am posting this link to a new review here:
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=133767

 

Better links I think.

http://www.edmunds.com/acura/rl/2009/review.html

http://www.edmunds.com/acura/rl/2009...merreview.html

 

Hmmm...none of the links (including mine) seem functional. Everything leads to a part of the Edmunds site that appears to be involved in generating commerce for those crafty buggers. Isn't capitalism wonderful?

Never fear, the thread that I really intended to post this link in was the "2009 RL Press Review Thread"

TSX69 posts the Edmunds review in text form (no links) on 10/17. Smart move TSX.
https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-rl-2005-2012-76/2009-rl-press-review-thread-501245/