TampaRLX-SH

I am posting this as an open letter to Acura, assuming they read this board. I am also sending it directly to corporate and endorsed, personally.

I am surprised with myself that I am taking such a step, but if there is any respectable management in Acura, perhaps the voice of one person will be heard. Posting here may offer the voice of others, many I expect would share some of my views. Perhaps this event has brought into sharper focus my enthusiasm and appreciation for my RL. Enough so I am motivated to express my views to both Acura and this forum community.

My hopes are, should anyone choose to post on this thread, that is sincere, mature and gives due respect, as we would like to be respected as customers of Acura. I know that is difficult. We are a diverse group with varying degrees of expectations and passion for our vehicles. But I think our RL forum, in particular has a compliment of savvy, discerning and knowledgeable participants. If this thread receives contributions, I hope they take into account the spirit of the letter moreso than any particular reference.

______________________________________


Acura:

I am an owner of Acura brand products, most recently a 2006 Acura RL. My decisions to purchase Acura products are based on several, carefully evaluated attributes, not limited to, but including, styling, value, engineering, craftsmanship, quality feel, quality service and reputation. Although brand cache alone is enough for most buyers, I must see beyond the simple need for recognition by driving an Acura.

I certainly realize Acura is in business to sell automobiles. I am also very aware that my generation RL was not a big sales success in either RL form or LEGEND form. While swimming against a current of criticisms for the styling, content and drivetrain attributes, I can confidently affirm that my 2006 RL, though not perfection, is the finest vehicle I have owned. I continually scrutinize competing models and though I am frequently impressed with them, my ownership of the RL is continually affirmed.

Owning a flagship vehicle, no matter how it stacks against competition makes a statement about the buyer in their brand loyalty, and a representation of the brand beyond the particular model owned and some expectation that the brand will honor its flagship owners. That does not mean I expect all models to appeal to me, and I openly admit I have experienced disappointment with prior Acura products. Still I purchased another Acura, and I maintain a brand loyalty that follows the company’s growth, its struggles and an appreciation for the directional changes made even when they do not appeal to me.

It is no secret that the 2005-2008 RL has not performed in sales. It is no secret that the dual personality of the RL / LEGEND must straddle a global market while appealing to the larger volume markets. I am well aware that I am in the minority when I proclaim my appreciation for not only the RL model, but its position as the current Acura flagship model. And by no means do I feel that my personal tastes and values will be catered to with any particular model or brand. I am aware that aligning and marketing a product to the intended target buyer, though delicate, must maintain a connection that can be intangible, if not reflected by sales volumes.

However something has recently happened at Acura that has alarmed me, enough so that I cannot forgive, dismiss or simply walk away from without expressing my views as an Acura customer. That event is the 2009 restyle of the Acura RL. It disturbs me, greatly. Not only do I feel this styling is not what I would purchase, it actually has struck emotion within me that has several layers, and not to the benefit of Acura. The styling, particularly the front end / grille is repulsive to me. This styling makes mockery of the current RL's subtle and elegant sophistication for a raucous, poorly executed attempt to gain attention. Not only does it not appeal to me as a model, a flagship of the brand or a representation of the brands trends it ALSO insults me as to my current Acura ownership. I feel betrayed, even shamed that car represents the brand and model I have been proud to own.

Affirming my dismay is the wealth of information online with similar reactions and overwhelming distaste for what many consider a great car, even if not competitive. I simply want to shout out in front of Acura’s headquarters: ‘What were you thinking!?’ Where did designers get the idea this style would make the RL a better car? Who in their right minds could approve this style? If focus groups were involved, you have clearly made your message to me clear; I am no longer the customer Acura wants to have. I feel so strongly about this style change that I cannot see beyond the styling to even consider the worth of the engineering modifications and content additions. Yes, you have my attention Acura, and apparently the attention of the many people I am reading. But is THAT the attention you want? I certainly understand the struggle to gain brand recognition through styling, but in my humble opinion, this spits in the eyes of Acura (and Honda) loyalists. Is the desire to gain new market share worth such a gamble to alienate existing customers?

Again, I realize my reaction is emotional, and I am one person. But I feel so strongly about the direction Acura is taking in styling, it has created an impasse for me not only with the brand but also with the very model I own, enjoy and planned to replace with it’s successor. All I can hope for is that Acura gets in touch with the voice of existing customers, hear what I have to say and see where Acura can find itself while not disenfranchising us in the process.

With Regret,

XXXXXXXXXXX

desper

Can't believe it either.. I mean WOW it didn't think it was possible to make the new accord uglier then BAM! the new RL...

It is so sad to look at, and it needs to be scrapped ASAP

offsight204

boy did they f*ck up this time.. whaaaooo..lol.. and they expect to sell more what... RL's lol u crazy

Mike_TX

Playing the devil's advocate, I have to wonder how many angry letters BMW got when Bangle redesigned the 7-series, and how the design team just chuckled and said wait and see.

But you unquestionably have the right to express your opinion to them ...

.
.

Ken1997TL

Tampa: Your letter perfectly reflects my views on the subject. The grille was fine. If any change were to be made, give us the Japanese Legend grill. Not some horribly misaligned tacky piece of 'bling'

plastikman

Well said, hopefully they will pay attention to your letter and hopefully they see how we feel about this "new" RL. As I stated before, the Audi S6 is looking better and better every time I see that thing they claim to be the new RL

loulinjai

wow those are some powerful words, but I totally agree with you as an Acura owner. I think the design of the RL is nice, with the exception of the grille. I can imagine the image of the vehicle (and also the brand) to be very different, if a different grille was used. As the spy pics of the upcoming TSX show, expect the same grille on the TSX, and evitably the TL later this year. I think I'll shop for a new brand now.

neuronbob

I think the letter's great, on reading it more deeply. I doubt they will change anything on our sayso, but the outcry on that fugly grille has to have reached high into Acura's hierarchy.

It is a well-written, professional letter.

What's more, most of the respondents in this thread are actual RL owners.

As I keep saying, the styling is problematic in particularly because the rest of the car addresses the very concerns brought up in our forum about missing features. Almost all the feature upgrades were items WE requested.

For example:

More torque....check, especially if it's at the low end, where it is sorely needed. Should be, given the higher displacement.

Cooled/heated seats...check.

Rear-biased SH-AWD now present from first gear.....check and double check.

XM Weather....check.

I love the new shifter.....extra point. It's the same shifter available in Europe, in fact, Qatar modded his RL to include this and it looks handsome.

We are only asking Acura to grant us this last request (change the grille) so we, actual Acura and actual RL customers, can give this our "stamp of approval" and convince others that this car is the one to buy.

How about THIS, Acura Designers?

tvande

I said "Hey, look at that new Saturn"...then I read the caption to the picture...2009 Acura RL.

Are you sure?

We were looking for a new car about the time the 2004's came out. Liked looks features of the TL and decided to wait for the "new look" to hit - then scramble to buy a closeout if we didn't like it.

WOW! What a change! Still have it and still love it.

A couple years later, time to do it all over again, only this time it was a bit "upscale" so we were looking at the RL. I'll admit, I was never as "taken" with the styling on the current model as I was the TL's lines, but these are different cars and different market segments/targets.

Love my 2006...and as luck would have it <g>....the lines have grown on me over time (and several wax jobs). I think I just was really ready for it and had to mature in to it or something. I've seen MB's and thought what did that guy do to his RL, sure didn't help it any. Then I realize.

I like the lines, the running gear, the technology...the whole package.

I think the original poster did a very good job of expressing his feelings, which echo mine for the most part.

I just don't think they will sell more of that "look", but as someone pointed out earlier, we'll all wait and see.

And for the scorekeepers out there, count my vote on the "don't care for the new look" (to put it mildly) side.

Tom

dwboston

Nice Tampa. Pretty close to something that I emailed to Dick Colliver yesterday. I'm sure it went straight to his junk email folder but it felt good. I showed the 2009 RL pictures to my dad today - he said the grill looked like "some car from the 70's...maybe a Lincoln." I just laughed. What the hell have they done? I still can't believe it.

GoHawks

Well said. I probably would have been more tolerant of that front end if it went along with a new and consistent design theme, but as stated, it looked like Acura took the easy way out by grafting a gawdy attempt to gain attention.

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

nice letter, very professional. bob this is the grill i would go with.

UW RL

maybe there will be options with different designs of the grille, you never know..

Shotgun

Again, TampaRL's eloquence articulates the feeings of Acura owners nationwide. Although I've not seen the vehicle in person, and there's much to be said for seeing the "real thing" before passing judgment, I too, can not come to terms with the idiotic grille design.

Granted this is a MMC and perhaps we should keep that in mind with the anticipation that perhaps, in a bigger FMC version, the grille design or a variation thereof will work to the satisfaction of existing and future Acura RL owners. (that is, if the RL model continues to exist...)

I too, am extremely disapointed with the "current" Acura design direction and will, after having owned an 89 Legend, 1999 RL and 2005 RL - abandon the Acura brand if the FMC design criteria does not meet my expectations...

GoHawks

I posted in the other thread. The problem isn't easily resolved with a new grille. If you went with a smaller grille so that the lines would flow, you would need a new hood as well.

visuelz

Tampa, while the wealth of information you provided is good, I find it boring. Please do not take it personally because I'm doing constructive criticism. I doubt corporate will read the whole letter because it takes forever to get to the point. Try to find a way to organize it so that the point is made as soon as possible.

Shotgun

I disagree with your assessment Visuelz! If anything, because of its structure, civil and well reasoned approach, unlike the other, virtulent post on this and other boards...TampaRL's message will, indeed, get the attention of Acura management!

123456SPEED

I felt the same way Tampa does when the Legend Coupes were dropped and replaced with the 97 CL and it was called the 'Legend coupe replacement'. It offered a 4 cylinder in it, No Legend had a 4 cylinder.
It was hard to be spoiled by the Legend Coupes (I had both gens,) and have the car and name taken away.
The G2 CLS was a vast improvement, esp with the 03 6MT, but too little, too late, most premium coupe buyers had already left Acura after the Legend was dropped and never came back.
It took 8 years from the 95 Legend cpe til the 03 CLS if you wanted a 4-pass. 6cyl/MT premium coupe combo.
The RL, no matter how they design it, is nowhere as big a blunder as dropping the Legends, the car which put Acura on the map. I still miss my Legends even tho the CLS/6MT is a fine car.
good luck on the letter but I'm kinda cynical. CEOs react to sales, not letters from customer's whose money they already got.

The Dougler

iTrader: (1)

I respectfully disagree, I think Visuelz criticisms are spot on. Tampa's civil approach and professionalism are very well presented and I agree that any letter should take this grammatic approach, it just needs some ummph to convey the message more convincingly.

I plan on writing a similar letter to Acura HQ, but I won't have the time to complete it until after this tuesday(exams), I'll be sure to share it here before I send it too.

NavyDoc333

Great letter TampaRL... I wish I would have written a similar letter to Acura when they pissed me off. Instead I just let the steam slowly leak from my ears... instead of letting it flow out my fingers.

<you must have been an English major>

lumpulus

Nicely done Tampa! I think your open letter perfectly sums up how most of us feel.... I myself have given Acura\Honda over $100,000 of my hard earned money over the past 20+ years, and I view this as a knee-jerk reaction to criticisms of "boring and bland" or Generic styling from Acura\Honda that have always plagued both brands.

I wouldn't change a word.

Chuck091279

I think it could be phrased better, less accusatory, and could be significantly shorter.

Jackzilla

Well said Tampa!

That said, I have to say ulglyness (or beauty) is in the eye of the beholder.

The '09 RL front end, if y'all take the time to look at a few other auto makers designs, is simply Acura's designers take on the current cliche in automotive front end design. To be sure, Acura's comes off worse than some others because it's grafted onto what used to be a nicely integrated and pleasing to look at design.

Nevertheless it's just one more example of the Acura designers, like Lemmings, following the current trend in front end design -- BIG, BOLD and CHROMED! And if you want to know where it started, look no further than GM's Chevrolet and the SSR. The show car and ultimately production version illustrate the start of this trend. The fact that the SSR was a huge flop should have sealed the fate of this front end design abortion-- but apparently not with auto designers. Or Chevy either, because many of their current designs continue to include this cliche.

It's an ugly (my personal opinion) and garish design element added for so-called "instant recognition". Hence the many variations on the theme -- with many more to come, before it runs its course. And, although most all here find it hideous, I don't think in the big picture scheme of things its going to adversely effect Acura --there are just too too many other variations of this theme out there to make much difference. In fact, this very proliferation makes Acura's front right up to date.

Never underestimate the bad taste of the American auto buyer.

neuronbob

The tastes of the unwashed masses are that bad? Every major car mag review of the RL's styling has been bad. though Edmunds is ambivalent. The enthusiast press can't be THAT different from the general public. Can it?

I'll ask my wife, who sees cars as mere appliances and wouldn't care if she was driving a Yugo, what she thinks of the hew grille.

Qatar

Couldn't have been said any better.
* Where is the 6speed trans.?
* Headlight washers
* Front parking sensors.
please povide them as options, but just hae them on the list

Jackzilla

Neuronbob,
If you doubt that the taste of the general public is in its proverbial *ss, just look at the proportion of vehicles on the road today that are SUV's.

Nothing on wheels (in my opinion) is more lacking in styling, grace or engineering efficiency than an SUV -- they are nothing but glorified TRUCKS!

In fact, if you compare the chassis of a contemporary SUV with that of a 1930's car, you'd be hard pressed to identify what little engineering improvment has taken place in the 70 intervening years.

And the enthusiast press are basically a bunch of Lemmings too, because when a trend continues long enough they get on the band wagon with the general public -- you won't find much (if any) ongoing criticism in the enthusiast press about the lack of desigh grace or general homliness of today's crop of SUVs. They test them and rant about how great every new one is, compared to the previous model -- which was just as homely and lacking in style and advanced engineering.

Ibn Rushd

Hehe..i remember when i originally said that if they did this it'd work and then TOV did it!

I told you all. I so did.


Anyway, one letter won't make a difference, and i agree. BMW probably just laughed.

The only difference is there are more loyal BMW people than there will ever be Acura people i'm sure. If you had that letter and had a good 1000 or so people, or say everyone on the RL forums to sign it...PLUS some...they might take it into consideration....and then refer them to TOV...although i'm sure they go there since it's all about them...

lindros2

The difference is that people buy BMW's for the "cachet" of owning the propellor logo. For those that remember, back in the 1980s there was a poster that said "MBA = BMW." Although it doesn't hurt that BMW's are well-made Teutonic cars.

Most of the Acura models are "gussied up" Hondas. The RL and TSX are literally just re-badged European cars. A new grille doesn't fix that.

Can't say the same about a BMW - ever. While Saab, Infiniti, and Cadillac have played the badge engineering game, BMW has not. Heck - the worst thing I remember was when Acura sold the SLX as a rebadged Isuzu Trooper:

http://forums.motortrend.com/70/6510...o-i/index.html

darmok

To quote Carl Sagan: "The fact that some geniuses were laughed at does not imply that all who are laughed at are geniuses. They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown."

JAB00

Agreed. The redesign of the current 5 and 7 series was more radical and likely polarizing. The only difference is that BMW has a blue blooded luxury pedigree as well as a long heritage of excellence and sales dominence that BMW owners had no choice but to stomach it. Plus status concious wannabe's will buy anything with the BMW emblem regardless of the look.

Acura does not have that luxury. It must be a style hit, just like the TL and TSX to get people thinking and interested. Once that hurdle is overcome potential customers will marvel at the tech, ergonomics, and driving dynamics. The grille on the RL is hideous. It probably will work on the TSX and TL but not on the RL. It needs to be retooled.

swift22

tell them to bring the legend back..

neuronbob

My faith in the motoring masses is lost.

I showed my wife pictures of the new RL. I then asked her what she thought about its looks. She said, "it looks a lot like your car." OK, makes sense, the side profile looks almost the same as my 2006. Of the front grille: "I think it looks OK." More than that, dear? "I think it looks OK." Of the rear: "It looks really good, though different from your car."

So to this example of the non-enthusiast motoring population, the new RL looks just fine. I'm sure other appliance drivers will agree. Maybe Acura will actually market it so that non-enthusiasts will see the car and then witness the marvelous technology in it. My wife is already gaga over the iPod integration in my car, the softer leather compared to her Pilot, and the jogwheel navi control.

fstshrk

They did redo the 7 series to make it look less radical in 2 years.

I don't think BMW was laughing.

jumbosizeme79

didnt get to see the 09 RL until now when i went on the acura website.... major disappointment.... looks more like the accord...

deff agree w. your letter...

ostrich

TampaRL, thanks for writing that letter!

I think that this is going to be a big test for Acura - so do they really listen to their enthusiasts? We shall see.

I am wondering if they expected this overwhelmingly negative reaction at all? I hope that they have had emergency meetings at the Acura corporate headquarters already and that someone is close to being fired...

Speaking of the Bangles BMW, I actually like his influence on BMW. I think that they truly are very different and unique, and thought provoking too. Now, some may not think that they are beautiful, but at least they are cohesive designs that do win a lot of praises (and criticisms). On the other hand, this disastrous 2009 RL design is completely incohesive and I have not seen any positive response from both the Acura forums and the auto press at all. To think that the Acura designers have gone from something as beautiful as the current TL to something as ridiculous and laughable as the 2009 RL is truly mind-boggling.

hokietl

Having owned the 93 Legend, 02 Mdx, 04 TL and currently owning 07' MDX.

The 09' RL front is hideus! Particularly the grill!!! Acura need to address this
or our upcoming luxo sedan will not be an Acura.

Qatar

Yesterday, i went to a local Acura dealership, and spoke with the Internet sales manager, and showed him pictures of the 2009 RL.
His reaction said it all. First he said "why does the rear look like the new Accord?" and " how are we going to sell more with the car looking like this?"
I couldn't agree more. For him as a sales person, its a real test now and even with all the new feature the vehicle has now, its still hard. According to him, Acura failed in the first place because they relied on the long list of standard features which other manufactures offer as options, but none the less consumers do not need. The same mistake is being repeated. sticking the MDX's engine in the RL isn't revolutionary in any way, and offering cooled seats (which should be an option in entry level Acura) and a slight jump in Van traffic performance would not help the RL. Let alone the size factor.
I'm sure that i read in Vtec.net by Jeff that the 2008 Accord has more room than the RL, and what they did with the 2009 RL is redesign the back of the driver and front passenger seats so there is more leg room, what a shame...

static808

Very nice letter. I have funded these "college intern" Acura designers by purchasing an '04 TL, '05 RL and recently upgrading the TL to a '08 MDX.

what's sad is that Acura has been around the longest of the japanese mfrs and can stick by having a 'similar' grille as was introduced years ago

This new grille shows that Acura is desperate for a new image. I don't feel they should have hit the panic button and went to a 'new image' for Acura. And by the looks of it, the new image is terrible.

Even so, this new image will hurt the company short term because rumors are showing the grille making its way to the new TSX and I am sure the new TL.

Bad designs on mercedes, bmw can be tolerated. Bad designs on an Acura will be scrutinized and might affect the bottom dollar.

C-Lad

Any chance someone can post side by side pictures of the 2009 RL with the '05-'08 RL front end?

Will make for a better eval. of the changes and give the rest of us a chance to compare.

Rob144