Saw one in the dealership while dropping off my 05 for service.

Ive said it before but now that Ive seen one in person....the front does not look bad at all. And like other poster have noted, the rear looks good too. I would go so far as to say it's an attractive car from any angle.

Pics of this car do not do it justice.

 

What pictures?

 

I saw 09 parked next to 08 while my 06 was getting service a few days ago. After reading some posts about how front looked better in person, I guess I had hopes...which all crashed when I saw one in person. In my opinion, 09 front end looked like a hack job, making it look like a cheap japanese product made from third country where designers get $1/hr, tilting towards ugly rice catagory. I liked the rear end though.

 

 

I saw my first 09 today....Because of the miles that I drive, i see a lot of cars everyday. In my typical day, I see an average of 1.5 RL's a day. From my standpoint, the 09's are not selling

 

I had a chance to check out an '09 at the dealer, and the interior updating is Very Nice. Wood/thumbstopped steering wheel, an new straight-gate shifter, wood across the whole center column...just all very clean, posh and nicely done.

The grille is big, and plastic. That was a surprise. I expected it was metal and that it was vented, but it's neither. It looks okay but, since I can't afford a new RL it's actually terrible. I'd hate that.

 

I have seen the '09 RL on the road and at my dealer. I think the '09 looks better in real-life than pictures, but overall IMO the re-fresh is very poor. Rather than fluid and flowing lines, the new model looks choppy. I also noticed that the chrome trim on the bodyside door rub strips and bumpers has been deleted on the new model making the new one look more downmarket than the prior model. I also think the '09 looks much more like an older persons car than the previous model.

I was an OEM supplier in Detroit during the '90s and this re-fresh reminds of when Lincoln re-did the Town Car for the 1998 model year....the new model looked a lot more dated/less attractive than the model it replaced, and the sales refelected it to the point that the Wixom Michigan plant has shut down permanently.

 

These 2009 pictures are quite old and borrowed from another forum, but some of you may not have seen them. (I had not until recently)