Here it is, based on a dinner with Acura execs at the ZDX intro in Orange County this weekend. Not much to say except that the V-8 is truly dead, though I am not sure about the V-6 gets better gas mileage than the V-8 argument based on what some have espoused in this forum. Not that I have ever owned a V-8....

http://blog.caranddriver.com/next-ge...-acura-lineup/

 

Good find!

 

nice find Chas.

Not too much a surprise there, but I have been reading the Acura will shift to a luxury / efficiency product. Read that as hybrid, VCM and maybe turbo or supercharging for power? At least they did not proclaim the RL a dead model. I expect the next RL to define the next direction Acura will take.

What would have validated ANYTHING these guys say is if they said something about the design school idiom Acura is now in. It cannot grow up fast enough for me, no matter how many horses, cylinders or wheels are driving.

I am going to the Tampa Bay Auto Show on Friday....and will see what I can fish out of them.

 

Great find, Chas.

Acura confirms what we've been talking about for almost two years.

Acura certainly does march to its own beat. I hope the next RL is kickass-looking and SH-AWD, at least.....could get around lack of V8/RWD.

 

man. i wish i could attend the OC Auto Event. I got two free tickets but my gf did not want to go so oh well!!! But by the way, i hope excactly the same thing as neuron said it "Rl will have a kickass RL style.

 

I wonder if the 2011 gets a turbo if I could swap that into my car...hmm...or get married. This is difficult.

 

3.7 super or turbo charged? Maybe they will leave the TL as the "sporty" and make the RL more "luxury".
It seems that a lot of people have a hard time differentiating between the RL and the TL but to me it is night and day but I obviously put a higher value on quality than just features.
This all may be academic if they don't fix the beak of the current line-up.

 

If it has a V6 still it really needs to have turbos or supercharging like the 535i, or A6. 260ftlb's of torque at 5,000rpm just won't cut it in this league anymore.

 

Naturally aspirated 2.4l Honda engine can get over 800 HP (but I guess they need it to run more than 2 or 3 races!)

 

My guess is that the next generation RL will be a Hybrid. Possibly a twin turbo charged 3.5 L or 3.7 L V-6 with an electric motor. Now that would be Awesome !!

An all wheel drive hybrid with phenomenal low end torque. Sweet………….

 

Since the RL has been a showcase for new technology, I suspect you are right. The next RL will almost certainly introduce some new hybrid technology to provide better gas mileage while also more power. That second part is most important. Very hard to sell an underpowered upmarket product, as Acura found out. I think that was the primary downside for the RL for many years. Now, it's just old and doesn't compete in the segment anymore. Hell, it doesn't even compete within it's own lineup as the article points out.

 

I am done hoping. The 3G TL I am thoroughly happy with. The new TSX is decent, especially with the V6 coming down on the price. The styling of the 4G TL is questionable. The 05-08 RL is decent but on the bland side. The new RL probably is the worst looking out of the bunch. Acura is at a crossroads. If the new RL is a success, exterior as well as driving-wise, that will be a turn around.

 

 

I agree, the 09-10 RL are the ugliest things on the road today.

 

That is a sharp car that is oozing in class.

The new white color is pretty awesome too.

 

An except from a forum over on TOV concerning Honda's current strategies in a discussion with Ito-san:

I asked Ito-san how Honda's sharpened focus on environmental technology fit in with the vision for Acura as a brand and the luxury market in general. The answer was that Acura would be re-focused on delivering the performance levels sought by premium/luxury car buyers, and these performance levels would be coupled with strong environmental performance. In a later conversation, Ito-san admitted that there's a "certain level of confusion" in the existing Acura lineup, and they would work to fix that

Sounds like hybrid technology, regenerative braking features, etc. to reduce enviro impact while not reducing performance?

I would expect, the next RL to be the showcase of this new focus. But I see little ramp up time unless Honda has much of these components already in testing. If the engineering remains solid, the packaging / styling can be more quickly deployed.

At minimum I take comfort in the comment: Ito-san admitted that there's a "certain level of confusion" in the existing Acura lineup, and they would work to fix that. At least I can hope the next gen RL will emerge Acura from the Cluster F*ck brand it has so rapidly become.

 

We have to remember that the current RL (now on the market since 2005) does double-duty worldwide in markets where there is no TL or US-sized Accord.

The next RL has to consider not just the competitive landscape, but the products on its own showroom floor. If its going to be a rebadged Honda Legend, then that Legend had better be something special.

This RL came to market as a technology showcase, and ultimately fell flat (although the rest of the lineup has adopted the technology). The RL's intangibles just aren't obvious on the showroom floor, especially when there's an almost equally powerful, similarly-sized car sitting next to it for less money.

So, the next RL is going to need to be more commercial: with marketable cutting-edge features, size, styling, and power.

 

This is the first I've heard of this. Is Honda HQ in Tokyo about to lay the smack-fu on Acura about the line up? The styling? The awful marketing? I sure hope so.

Stay tuned.....

 

I certainly hope so. Honda's traditionalist, conservative and careful philosophies seem in direct conflict with Acura's arrogant and disconnected approach. It may be permitted in times of excess, but times have changed and Acura does not seem to be able to deliver on multiple fronts.

My opinion is that Acura's management got cocky with the success of the 3rd Gen TL and went off in too wild a direction that not only alienated brand loyalists but failed to connect with non Honda consumers. This was painfully brought into focus with the market about face.

Now, Acura not only is failing to increase market share, they have pissed off the loyalists, which they did little to culture and maintain.

I certainly hope the 20 something designers at Acura's Design Studio get paid really, really well. They may need to buy up all those keen-edge-design-power-plenum debacles sitting on dealer lots.

And no matter how many buzzwords they may use to explain aesthetic vomit (have you ever seen the video of the 20 something Acura designer TRYING to explain WTF 'motion surfacing' actually is???) they may grow up someday and realize that is a lot of hot air and confused design elements to simply produce a mobile version of ugly.

I am off to the Tampa Bay Auto Show.... guns loaded.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGOeONxOTY4

 

^^^^
"The words that come to mind for this vehicle are.....pulled, directional, and very tense".

No, the words that come to mind are "whisky. tango. foxtrot." are you all thinking?

Way to alienate your base, Acura!

*Gets on knees again to beg the designers not to fsck up the next RL's styling.....pleeeeeeeese....*

 

Right on, Bob... the words that came to my mind were "two-bag coyote fugly."

The number one thing they can do to revive the RL is to make it beautiful. Not "striking," not "distinctive" -- that's like hearing your blind date has "a nice personality" -- but beautiful.

And hey designers -- the last time I looked, what gave a car "motion" wasn't the body lines -- it's the freakin' ENGINE.

Make it fast, smooth, and efficient... give us options, like base V6, turbo/supercharger, larger displacement sport package, whatever.

And make it another technological tour-de-force like the first RL was.

You can do this, Acura. The formula's not that hard....

 

Honda is the company that probably lost the least out of all the Jap's this past two years.

I think they got a formula and it works for them.

RL is not a cash cow...it's a vehicle to display new technologies on.

Wait a few and we'll see a DSG tranny plus some sort of forced induction.

Seems like a V8 won't be coming anytime soon.

 

After reading the preceding post and watching the YouTube vid, I was about to make the exact same point. It's not all about lines disappearing into lines and wheels being sucked into the body ... IT'S ABOUT LOOKING GOOD, DAMMIT!

Car stylists get all tangled up in the mechanics of their craft, like fashion designers. And like fashion designers, they come up with some real abortions that please only other clueless designers.

The most troubling thing to me about the C&D piece is this line: "... when the new model arrives, which we expect within two years." Two years ??? I thought the next-gen RL was due next year as a 2011 model ???

I'm in the market toward the end of next year, and I've already decided I'm going back to Acura unless something happens to change my mind. And I was hoping to have a nice redesigned RL to fall into.

But I'll say this - if it has any kind of hybrid system, I'm out. Screw green. Hybridity is a joke when the other 90% of the mechanized world is driving 2-stroke scooters, motorized rickshas, and other non-catalyzed vehicles. Don't try to charge me more for compromised performance in the name of saving the planet. Puh-leeze.

I'm hoping for an RL to debut in late 2010 with attractive styling, tons of amenities and electronics, a 6-speed auto tranny, and maybe a mild turbo-charged direct-injection 3.5L engine that will run on regular gas. (I'll still take premium if not.) Such an engine/trans could easily make 350hp and 300 ft.-lbs of torque without breaking a sweat, and still deliver mileage of 18/27 or more.

Failing that, I'll have to look at the ZDX - which strikes me as the answer to an automotive question no one asked - or just give up and get another TL to go with the wife's. I could do worse.

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Don't like the LS enough to continue with it? What don't you like. I say that because I was seriously considering an LS for my wife next year but now this ZDX has my attention. I still have one in High School so the extra utility with the ZDX would be welcome. Doesn't look like the new RL will be out by then.

 

IIRC Mike is leasing his LS and time's up in 2010, so it's not a matter of liking or not liking the LS, it's a matter of he'll have to turn it in and consider options at that time. Correct me if wrong, Mike.

Still a fan of this gen of the Big Lex. I will buy an RL if it looks anywhere near as good.

 

Well in the past, Acura styling was subtle mimicry of MB, Bangle and various upscale luxury styling cues. And they were criticized for not standing out, being unique or being too subtle.

So now we have over wrought, uncomfortable proportions and awkward confused cues. IMHO, simply ugly.

I for one think they did a better job of subtle mimicry. I see Hyundai is releasing new designs based on this approach. Even the new LaCrosse is interesting (sans the Buick grille). But the one car that I stared at with interest and studied was the Audi A5. It is design genius. Not because it is shocking (yes it has the Audi jaw drop grille), but it is beautifully flowing, proportioned, elegant, fluid, detailed and made me study it. Just as my RL does. So I know that is what works for me.

Since it appears Acura world brand launching is delayed, and the luxury market is shrinking, I hope Honda steers Acura back to some sensibility not only in the target market but also in design aesthetics that compliment that market segment.

At the 2004 Auto Show, Acura was the only brand that EVERY model appealed to me (the 3rd Gen TL and 2nd Gen RL were on display). Now, only one model would I consider (V6 TX). That shocks me. Did I lose touch with the brand I am so loyal to? Or did the brand lose touch with it's base?

Even though I love my RL more than the day I purchased it, and nothing else currently on the market could woo me into new car lust, I am anxious to see what the next RL produces. I have still strong faith in the engineering component. But I see the next RL as the threshold for Acura to get back to tasteful products, which I am holding my breath for. If not....the proverbial last straw will be dropped.

 

Mikey, I love the LS, and Bob is right - the lease is is up the end of next year, so I'll need to replace it. And frankly, I'm looking to get something that doesn't take such a bite out of the pocketbook.

Do we really think it will be 2012 before we get another RL? Wow, that would be an almost unheard-of 8 years between major restyles. Is that likely?


By the way - I pulled up behind a current RL the other day (2009, I presume), and I didn't even realize for a minute what it was! I told my wife, "Boy, that's a nice-looking rear-end!"

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I think the same thing about the redesigned RL rearend (although I don't admit it around here too often for fear of being flamed). The front I don't love, but I've grown used to it. I knew I would, it usually happens that way. One exception; Audi's latest drop-jaw style. It's been several years now. Still hate it.

 

The rear end is not bad looking, very German. You almost wonder if you can graft a 2009 trunk onto a 2006, although the cost would be prohibitive, even if it did fit.

 

You and I are on the same wavelength, Mikey. As much as I admire the grille on the 2006 I had, the beak is slowly, slowly becoming less objectionable. The Audi, though? Nupe ... it's a gaping maw, and it ain't gonna get better until they close it.

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The current scuttlebutt is a new RL in 2011 or 2012. Acura went nine years with the first RL, so this is not unheard of. They did an MMC in the early 'oughts on the 1G RL.

 

Hmmm. Thanks, Bob. I'm still hoping it's a 2011, introduced in late 2010. That would fit my plans perfectly.

Of course, they could always really eff it up badly and lose me anyway. LOL.

I somehow think the next RL is gonna be a head-turner, though, with a 6spd AT, good power, lots of goodies and nice styling.

Fingers crossed.

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