So the 2005 Honda Legend over in Japan came equipped with the night vision feature and most of Acura's competitors have had this feature for years. Why is it that there still is no mention of carrying that feature over to the US. I am a fan of the RLX but i'm curious as to why is it that Honda refuses to give the US model of their flagship some of these cutting edge options.

 

Honda probably feels the tech is not yet ready for Americans, or their focus groups didn't grok it well enough. Never mind that it's offered by the German luxury automakers.

 

Maybe the FWD RLX doesn't have it, but the AWD Hybrid RLX coming out this Fall may.

It's funny you're lamenting about this specific technology. I test drove the FWD RLX last week and it has more technology in it than almost any car I've ever been in: LKAS, ACC, CMBS, FCW, LDW, ODMD, Text Messaging, Email, Blind Spot Information, 3d Navigation with Real Time Traffic, Pandora, AHA, HD Radio, etc. This car is loaded!

 

But almost everything coming this year will have similar tech, Q50, CTS, I suspect the IS and then the Genesis. This is the battlefield area now, how much safety tech can they cram in at a given price point.

 

I am a fan of the new RLX and it is great that it does in fact have all this great tech.... but alot of the cars in this class will offer the same tech plus the night vision option... What is weird to me is that Honda has had this tech in Japan for like 5+ years and still haven't brought it to the States. I actually heard of that option in the Honda Legend before I heard of it in any other car. Then I saw BMW's offer it and I thought they probably stole the idea from Honda but now that Honda hasn't thought to bring it here I am a bit confused as to what is hold up? As much as I love Honda and the cars they make, it bothers me that they sometimes hold back on trying to kill the competition and make a car that makes everyone else have to step their game up. Its like they like to fly under the radar.

 

I just rented a Vauxhall Astra in England (Saturn Astra in US) and it had Trip computer, manual shift option on a 5 speed auto, rain sensing wipers, 3 flash lane change indicators, cruise control, digital radio, blind spot indication etc so options a trickling down to almost all cars but the US is very slow to implement them because such options are reserved for only high end cars. Other markets had Lane keep assist and "snow" mode in the old 2nd gen RL.

 

I believe night vision is heat based, which makes it not so useful in parts of the USA where it is over 90 degrees Fahrenheit at night.

 

Oh, no, just infrared camera with image processing. Actual Infrered heat sensors would be quite expensive to install, and maintain on a front-engine car.

 

That is actually true. The inherent characteristics of the far infrared camera used meant that it was not consistently reliable (i.e. able to detect human forms) at ambient temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Farenheit), which happens in many areas of the US.

What advances have been made in IR technology at what cost is probably still an issue. Raytheon was supposedly the supplier of the FIR system, but I understand they have since left the automotive market.

http://www.automobear.com/AcuraRLToo...nnovative.html