I was at my dealer in Macon, GA Saturday getting my wood steering wheel installed on my new 2006 RL. Noticed a few new guys in the service area and a new service manager, as well as a new service adviser. Seems they all got recruited from the local LEXUS dealership. I must say, my intitial impression was very, very favorable. I think Acura is going to pull out all the stops to get the word out about their quality, workmanship, and are poised to move into luxury category soon, especially with the TL and RL. I have had at least 3 phone surveys from Acura about "image", "perception", "prestige" since I bought my 04 TL and 05 RL.

 

My '06 RL is a luxury car! However, I agree Acura is not in the "high end" luxury field, but that's OK with me.

 

Dead thread indeed, but still a classic debate. As for the performance of the LS460, the MB S550 has 382hp and 390lb/ft tq. Performance 0-60 5.4 seconds so in that aspect the 2 cars are identical. I am guessing the 750 is on the same page as well. The S550 costs 85k and the 750 costs 75k...Anyways in relation to Acura service I believe it all depends on specific dealerships and management/ownership. For example here in CO, the dealership in Boulder had nowhere near the service/experience of the CO Springs dealership. This dealership was as good if not better than when I had my C280 at the MB dealership. They wanted to solve your problems and answer your questions, they actually ACTED like they wanted you to buy a car from them! Talk to Leif there by the way for you CO members, he is the GM I believe. Acura is somewhat of a niche brand, the TL falls in between a 3 and 5 series, an ES and GS, and a C and E class. Likewise, the RL is between the mid and top shelf offerings of competitors. It is an old Honda trait (Japanese in general) to try and make something equal or better than competition while also charging less. If you want to talk about engineering, I believe Honda is still at the top of the list. The 2.0L DOHC S2000 engine produces 120hp/liter, which means at 3.0L it would theorectically produce 360hp. This outclasses the newest M3 and probably any car on the road. "Oh that is a 4 cylinder engine though..." what about the RL J35? It produces the exact output of the DOHC VQ35 G35/M35 (300hp/260lb/ft), while remaining single overhead cam. To get an idea of the benefits of DOHC look at the C32 in Legends and NSXs. In SOHC form this engine produces max 230hp (typeII, 200hp otherwise), in DOHC form it produces 290hp with a little bump in torque also. With that said, I think Acura will continue the ascent up the displacement scale. I would expect another J series engine to emerge in the next few years, maybe in a next gen TL.

EDIT: Didn't want to type anymore and it's time to leave work!

 

de nada. Actually, I saw the June sales figures yesterday, and Lexus has attained a slight lead (< 1000 units, ~5%) due to pent-up demand for the new ES.