I am sticking with the rumors of a small V-8 (4.7 L). Power will be in the 340 hp range with torque of 325 ft/lbs. Looking into my crystal ball the new RL will be released late spring or early summer.

 

Arent a lot of the things mentioned in this thread already on the Legend and the Canadian RL? I think if one thing the RL should get from the Legned is it the AC seats. I mean people buying in Texas and Arizona probably will never use the heated seats but there AC seats would be very nice.

Another thing Acura should do is give the RL a gimick like Lexus did with the LS 460. I mean how many people do you think bought that car just to say "My car can park itself." Acura should add a never before seen feature to the RL to attract new customers.

 

I am also seeing an all-aluminum body and some serious 19" wheels.

 

Oh, I also saw the new Bose audio/info system that was introduced in the Ferrari and a few other doo dads like rain-sensing wipers, heated and cooled seats, LED lighting system for the DRL, and a heads-up display. OK, I didn't see the heads-up display, but I loved it in the Gran Prix.

 

personally, if the RL is to be the flag ship car it needs to be bigger and have a bigger engine imo. It should be competing with our flagships, rather then the mid-ship. If that's a word...

 

Hate to be the skunk at the picnic, but premium gas is rapidly approaching the price of bottled water ...in fact, premium is $3.999 per gallon today in Aspen, Colorado. If anyone's been to Europe lately (where gas is $7-8/gallon), even the affluent don't drive V8s. We will be there soon enough, thanks to rapidly rising demand from Asia's middle class coupled with stagnant supply and limited refining capacity.

Thus it would be foolish for Honda or any manufacturer to put any resources into engines that get lower fuel economy. Had the American automakers read this same writing on the wall a year or two ago, they would not be sitting on massive inventories of hulking SUVs right now and wondering how to return to profitability.

My prediction for the next RL: turbocharged 3.7 liter V6 and Acura LEGEND badging. If they do put in a V8, it will be diesel. If they decide to go with a normally-aspirated gasoline V8, it will end up as a museum piece along with all the other gas-guzzlers.

 

Thanks Rexorg and I'm liking your crystal ball... Does it also say they will keep the 3.5 as a base engine with some tweaks?

 

So the "ball" is saying the introduction order is TSX, RL and then the TL in the fall?

 

In what may seem like a contradiction to you, those hulking SUV's are still selling very well. And in fact, Acura's own MDX is its best seller right now.

Gas prices have been slipping here in the last week, and we've been under $3.00 for premium in spite of $100/barrel oil. I paid $2.98 day before yesterday for a premium fillup.

Oil prices are artificially inflated right now, and you'll see $75/barrel oil again by spring.

If Acura puts a diesel in an RL, it will in all probability be a V-6, since a 6-cyl diesel will provide all the torque needed for a car of this size.

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None, they've been gone for a while now. We don't seem to have the same problems in my area that Acura has nationwide with the RL. Historically we are a big AWD area, MDX's have been our biggest seller despite the TL's nationwide sales lead. Now that the RDX is here they are disappearing quickly as well.

We do have a decent supply of 08 RL's right now and it's probaly about a 60/40 split tech/base. From a dealer's perspective it makes no sense to be ordering CMBS/PAX.

It would seem that incentives do drive the current RL's sales. Anyone who has shopped around knows the incentives that were out on the 07's (and 06's), if they didn't buy then and still want one, it's only logical for them to wait for the incentives on the 08's.

 

Here's an interesting factoid on V-8's and gas mileage -

On the Lexus LS460 forum, many owners are reporting highway mileage figures of 30+ mpg! And many others are in the 29's.

Keep in mind this is a 380hp V-8 in a car that weighs more than an RL (4,250 lbs. v. 4,000 lbs.), and is rated exactly the same as the RL by the EPA (16/24). True it isn't AWD, and it has an 8-spd AT, but it still flies in the face of the conventional wisdom that V-8's automatically mean worse gas mileage.

I've managed the low 29's a few times in my RL under optimal conditions, but it mostly falls in the 27's and 28's. I think it's partly a matter of how hard a given engine is having to work to move a given car ... IOW, beyond a certain size/weight, a V-8 will get better mileage because it's not working as hard.

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Thanks Mike_TX.

I too am very impressed with Toyota's V8 and 8speed config. To get consistent high 20's mpg is most impressive. It would be interesting to see what the MPG would be when they add AWD next year.

I think with a 6speed the current 3.5L and 3.7L could squeeze out a few more mpg's for Acura.

Toyota has put alot of money behind Lexus and their LS is a very nice car. My only grip is that its very mundane in design the NAVI is locked when in motion.

 

Agreed, and that's why many of us have been campaigning for 6spd auto for the RL.

In an LS460 video, I noticed the engine was turning just under 1500 rpm at 60 mph, which is actually about what the RL does in its top gear. The spread of gears under the top one obviously have an effect, too.

Not trying to make this an LS thread, but I LOVE it except for the stupid Navi lockout. A Japanese company is marketing a plug-n-play wiring harness that allows you to suspend the lockout for up to 5 minutes at a time, but that's still ridiculous. And what's funny is that Lexus just did away with the "I agree" screen at startup!

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LOL! Acura may not know how to market, but at least they know how to do a navi (mostly) right. I mean, c'mon, suspending the lockout for FIVE MINUTES with an aftermarket device?

 

I completely agree, Bob. It's incredibly stupid. But if that's the only alternative, it's at least workable, since you should be able to enter destinations, search POI's, or whatever, in 5 minutes. If not, hit the button again.

I've spent some time in an LS460 lately, and I have to say it may be worth that little compromise for that car. It's awesome. Like I said in kirby's other thread, I'm going to see what they do with the RL this spring, and if no V-8, I may just jump ship and go with an LS. That thing has everything the RL has, plus 380hp, 8spd AT, heated steering wheel, ventilated (or A/C) seats, 19-speaker sound, more room, and it parks itself (I know, that's a gimmick ).

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Now this is just an assumption based upon the 2008 Accord vs Camry but they have similar horsepower & mpg - however Toyota has a 6speed instead of 5. 1 can assume that Honda's VCM makes up the difference ...

If that be the case, Acura could @ least put that in the RL until they get their 6+speed absolutely perfect so that there is no repeat of their 5 speed problems.

Also, if they put both in there -- all the better. Acura better not mess up w/ this RL bc it could be a 3 strikes & you're out kinda deal w/ the public.

 

3 strikes is not cool. Lets hope those jokers at Acura get their act together with the refresh. As Mike_TX mentioned, I also am wavering on jumping to Lexus. I just hope the refresh of the RL, new TL, new TSX, etc.. starts moving Acura to the next level.

 

3 strikes???...the RL to me is the best cars currently produced for less than 50k. Just because no one wants to buy one doesn't mean it isn't great. I came within minutes of buying a new ES, and that would have been a bad mistake. The ES is a nice car, but it is not finished as well as the RL and it is overpriced for what it is. (you pay for the Lexus name) The ES has a smoother ride, exterior looks better, better fuel economy, cooled seats, and has a six speed transmission. That sound like some very significant features, but then you look at the AK, it handles a ton better, has top flight interior, the plastics are top notch, seat comfort, better stereo (except when you go UL with ML) Tire pressure read out system, top notch navigation, top notch paint and finish quality, xm included, led lights everywhere

 

Acura is known for many first the current RL was first with traffic nav and other features.