Storm982

They have this picture on the Acura website under future models. To be honest, the grill doesn't look all that bad to me on the car when its painted silver. Thoughts?

Mike_TX

Well, no one knows, and cares, more than the Japanese that cars have faces. The headlights are eyes and the grille is the mouth. So this one looks like sleepy eyes and a set of buck teeth, surrounded by grinning silver lips.

Or if you squint a little when you look at it, it looks a lot like a guppy looking back at you from inside the fish bowl.

I'm sorry, but it's just a design element that's exaggerated, and exaggeration isn't normally a flattering thing. It looks better in silver because it hides some of the grille.

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neuronbob

I am so ashamed to admit this:

The grille is growing on me. I actually hate it less. I think it's more that the picture is better, though.

getakey

I said from the get go that I like it.

SpicyMikey

I said from the get go that I'd wait to see it in person before actively hating it. Regardless, I don't think I initially hated it as much as some others. It certainly can't be mistaken for an Accord with that nose and grill. I guess that's a good thing

TampaRLX-SH

I hate it, and no less than my 1st horrified look at it.

I remember when the Pontiac Aztec was released. I clearly said to myself, not only would I not buy that vehicle, I would be hard pressed to respect anything from Pontiac.

This RL redesign has had a very similar impact.

I certainly respect those who like it, and those who can see beyond that face to appreciate the rest of the car. I can not.

SpicyMikey

Don't beat around the bush so much Tampa. Tell us how you really feel.

TampaRLX-SH

Why would I beat an innocent bush? I am more likely to take a baseball bat to that front end. Gee, I hope there won't be any vandalism to 09 RLs when they arrive on the lots...I'll have some 'essplainin' to do.

Let me put it this way, there are 2 other RLs in my office parking garage. I am the earliest arrival in the morning. The other RL owners (I've never met) park in by me (3 large spots seperated by column supports and away from the other spaces). It is mildly amusing.

If one of them were an 09 RL, I would move my car and change my parking habits. I do not want my RL associated with it.

How's that?

robarsan

.......what he said.

SpicyMikey

Hmmm, I'm definitely sensing there's no chance you will warm up to this grill.

getakey

I have said that I liked it from the get go, but I do have to confess that the very first time I saw it, it reminded me of the tow truck in the movie Cars. What was his name?

eaglewatch

Mater! As in Tow Mater.

neuronbob

LOL!

I still don't like it, I just hate it less.

geronimomoe

Oh come on Tampa... I agree the Aztec is fugly.

However, the most recent release by Pontiac, the G8 is not that bad at all, actually quite nice IMHO. I actually briefly considered that car, if it wasn't for the fact that I'd like to have AWD since I'm in the Northeast.

Given it's specs and early test reviews, it appears to be a very impressive car, from a performance point of view. Can't say about the overall quality of materials though...

TampaRLX-SH

Perhaps that is because the G8 was not designed by Pontiac. It is a rebadged Holden. Thanks to the Aussies!

geronimomoe

Agreed! However, it's still badged as a Pontiac... Regardless, it's a nice car!

Rexorg

The loaded GT will be $36K, but no navi or XM for the first model year. It's a beautiful car for the boy racer. I saw one at Test Track at EPCOT, but it was on a turnstile so no one could look inside.

geronimomoe

I just priced it on the pontiac.com site and msrp was $32,745 loaded and confirmed it on Edmunds..... Not sure where you got that 36K number. Perhaps you mean out the door?

Boy racer, absolutely. Fun, priceless!

Rexorg

My bad. You're correct on MSRP, but with sales tax here (6%) and excise tax it will be near the $36K figure without a trade.

geronimomoe

I figured you're mind was set to the figure with tax..

It's the 4 door Corvette! Willing to take on all, without the "bling" of the Caddy....

GoHawks

I sat in one at the Detroit Auto Show.

Better than anything recently coming from the Big 3, but still nothing to drool over.

Interior materials are better without the oversized Playskool buttons, but .... I don't know...... meh.

geronimomoe

Definitely better than anything with 4 doors from the domestics in recent years.

They have to cut corners somehow to keep the loaded car price below $33K..

Mike_TX

But, you know - GM's designs are just too soft. The CTS is of course the exception, but look at the new Malibu or the Buick Lucerne, or this new G8 ... there's no distinctive shape to them, just some random curves and lumps.

If you were being held prisoner by crazed pygmies and told you could win your freedom if you could draw a recognizable picture of a new Malibu ... I think you'd probably be cooked and eaten for dinner. (BTW, I would be, too.)

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geronimomoe

I can't draw so I'd be cooked, guaranteed!

However, I'd dare say that many people could say the same of the RL when compared to the Accord.. Hence, the hesitation of people to spend so much more money on a RL when it looked like an Accord.

I'm not saying the Accord or RL look bad either. It's just that you know they came from the same gene pool if you put them side by side.

VOdoc

Un-hijacking this thread...

The front end of the '09 RL is still an abomination. The silver paint hides just a bit of the hideousness of the thing. (It still looks like Tow Mater from "CARS". Or maybe a sick guppy if you squint.)

Tampa and I may have to start our own Anti-2009 RL Club if some of you guys keep "warming up" to that butt-ugly proboscis.

TampaRLX-SH

It's too late for them VOdoc. I told them NOT to stare at the face. Our only hope now is to get out the "How to Kill Zombies Manual".

These softies likely have ugly yappy dogs too. You know the kind...hyper, nervous, twitchy things with severe underbites, crooked canine teeth, wirey hair, double circled dew claws and a chew toy named BoBo.

And their dogs look just like them!

*hiding behind the sofa*

SpicyMikey

Hey, you're dead wrong Tampa. My chew toy's name is Coco

TampaRLX-SH

You have already been vindicated. I just finished washing and waxing the RL when my neighbor's yappy dog ('Beauregarde' ) pee'd on the rear wheel. The yapster's 'Mommy' stood there and watched and then said 'Did Mommy's boy make a wittle piddle?' (she neglect to acknowledge me or apologize).

I sure hope that spray detailer I squirted at him will leave his wirey coat nice and shiny.

Now I just need to get Beauregarde's 'Mommy' with the pressure washer.

Mike_TX

Doesn't Florida have leash laws? I think I would have gone over and peed on the woman's leg if that happened to me.

That's rude and inexcusable, more so on the owner's part than the dog's.

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geronimomoe

That "Mommy" should go back to school and be taught lesson's in manners and etiquette. What type of low life wouldn't apologize or acknowledge you?

Well, at least you know she's isn't worth the dirt you're walking on. Scumbag.

SpicyMikey

Someone is starting a new Self Help group for those who have stared at this grill too much and now think it's NOT horrendous. Here's her photo.



Tampa, it's amazing. You were dead on accurate

lumpulus

+1 to the ABOMINATION comment and Tampa's opinion.

I actually posted a link to that stupid Cars movie in comparing it to the RL.

A small aside....

Just got back from a week in Vegas...had a rental Impala with 20k on the clock and bascially drove it around the Grand Canyon, going through Death Valley, Hoover Damn, Zion National Park, Lake Powell\Glen Canyon, Grand Canyon Desert View\South Rim, then back through Arizona to Vegas.

What a POS that Impala was... creak groan squeek, you name it, it had it.

A GUTLESS V6 with a Cruise Control that hunted for a constant speed and would pick up speed going down hill. Can't tell u all how much I appreciate the RL now.

No offense to anyone that lives in Vegas, but WOW they drive some UGLY cars.....I've never seen so many Hummers with HUGE wheels in my life.

Didn't see one RL anywhere.

GoHawks

Living in the Detroit Metro area so I occasionally see the "Out of a job yet? Eat your foreign car" bumper sticker, or some other lemming comment about the Japanese being the cause of our faltering economy.

I swear these people have never sat in, much less owned a Toyota or Honda, because for the life of me I can't understand why so many people would settle for the unbelievably shabby products coming from the "used to be big 3".

I do think the Malibu and CTS are a step in the right direction, but I can't fathom how anyone would spend $30K on a TrailBlazer with it's throwback '80s interior and '70s technology.

geronimomoe

Most likely blind brand loyalty. I don't know if they understand or care that the Honda and Toyota build a majority of their cars in the USA. Hell, I bet a good portion of them don't know MB and BMW manufacture in the USA!

Yeah, they'll say the profits going overseas. I bet you most executives at the "used to be big 3" don't even buy the cars they drive. Hell, they're "Executive program loaners" and I suspect they spend the big bonuses they get after shafting the factory worker on vacations overseas, on homes in other countries or parts of the USA, buying their MB, BMW, Audi, pricey imported suits, European watches, imported furniture, etc.

My question to the people who blame the foreigners, have they ever thought about what I just brought up? Probably not. So who's the fool?

OK. I'll get off my pedestal now....

GoHawks

It's the UAW workers who are the blind fools. The local papers here have forums where people can post after articles. I was reading through one of the threads responding to a story about the American Axle strike.

It's funny how they're expecting job security and the equivalent of $70/hour jobs, because it's "hard work". Who guarantees job security today?

I don't doubt it's hard work. I had a UAW job once, but hard work does not always equate to premium pay. Talk to anyone who does landscaping work or anything else that is physically strenuous. It's all about supply and demand for the skills that you bring to the table.

The UAW workers hate the foriegn owned (Honda/Toyota/BMW) sateside plants because they're non-union. They fail to see that the reason why they are successful is because of they are non-union.

Lower overhead+pay for performance+better designs = better product which = job security.

The reason the domestics are getting better is because of the competition with the Japanese.

I'll get off my soapbox now.

SpicyMikey

You know that. I know that. But obviously these workers can't/won't/don't get it. Partially because of their lack of understanding in economics. But also because of their perspective. You can't "teach" them the reality. You're probably wasting your time posting on those boards.

levon1830

If you ever decide to do that, PLEASE hold your digital camcorder in your left hand as you aim your garden hose with the right. Inconsiderate people need to be taught a lesson, and some will only learn the hard (and in this case, wet) way.

When I first saw that picture on Acura's website, I too thought it didn't look too bad. Then, I see a close-up pic like this:



and the disproportionateness of the grille becomes apparent all over again. I understand Acura's desire to have a design element common to all of their vehicles. I understand Acura's desire to produce a bolder RL. However, changing the grille alone does not make the former sleek, attractive RL bolder. This grille likens the RL to a lawyer walking into a courtroom wearing an Armani suit while sporting a football helmet.

jftjr

It's better when it's body-colored... but still, it's icky.

I'm not warming up to it... and I don't want a car that I need to get good and drunk to think it's good looking. It's bad enough that I picked a bunch of girlfriends that way (before, of course, I found my gorgeous fiancee. )

Mike_TX

You know, unless I somehow missed it, there hasn't been a lot of discussion of the resemblance to the Accord's grille. True, the Acura's is more pronounced - especially at the top - but the honker on the Accord isn't exactly gorgeous, either ... and they're obviously "all in the family". It's like they're screaming, "Hey, look at me! I have a GRILLE!!!"



Just my opinion, of course.

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Chas2

At least the grill and hood line match.