Not sure about MB, but I heard that BMW's AWD is horrible. I went and looked at some cars today for fun, the BMW 330i, the BMW M3, the Audi A4 (and S4), and some Porsches. If I was in the market for a RWD car, I would definitely go with the BMW, but I wouldn't get BMW for its AWD (or I would get a porsche but thats $$$). The S4 and M3 were beautiful machines.

As for the validity of the email, I don't think its wrong, I just think they could be talking out of their ass. The reason I think its true is that the price ISN'T going to get cheaper, especially since this is the best selling car, selling over 60,000 units in its first year of the new bodystyle. As for the changes, if Acura isn't hyping any signifigant changes up yet, the car probably won't see them. But at the same time your dealer isn't more special than any others and doesn't know anything more, but it is safe to assume that I guess.

 

I live in Los Angeles, and the reason why I am looking at AWD is that come winter time I might take my future automobile to the mountains when I go skiing. Considering that my last autombile was totalled during this year's torrid rainstorm I am trying to cover all my angles! Pretty lame.

 

Get an Audi A4 3.0 V6. Audi has one of the best AWD's out there.

 

Audi's AWD *IS* the best. FWD is arguably better than RWD in the snow, but if you think snow is going to be a problem, I highly suggest finding an AWD car. You can't go wrong with an Audi. You'll pay more, get a bit less, but its a nice car and quattro is unbeatable. The TL's FWD is sufficient for most any conditions, but if you need a car to take into the mountains you may want to stick with AWD (I've been to the mountanis and it gets downright nasty there). I still wouldn't suggest the G35x because I think its ugly and cheap, but thats my opinion. If I needed an AWD car I would much rather an Audi over a G35x.

You can even get the Audi A4 Avant which, while I don't particularly like wagons, is great for bringing luggage and skis and the like.

I'm not trying to sway you from the TL, I'm just trying to be objective. I love the car, and would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who wanted a great looking, great performing, great value car. I'm just letting you know where I would look if I was still shopping around looking for the perfect car

 

If anything stay away from Pasadena Acura, many people have had bad experiances with them. South Bay has been very good to me so far as well as Weir Canyon Acura and Tustin (in OC).

 

For AWD - check out Subaru's new 2005 Legacy. Subaru is known to have the best AWD system out there.

 

If you're willing to go in to the $40K's and want AWD, you should like at the S60R.

 

If you're willing to go into the $40k's you should look at the S4. Thats where I would put my money.

 

The price is *not* going to go up $900 on anything other than the 6mt with NAVI. In fact, unless there are major changes, it will not go up at *all* on any of the non 6MT NAVI TLs. How do I know? Well, they aren't selling for MSRP today. All Acrua can do is raise the MSRP. We decide how much of MSRP we are willing to pay. Just because MSRP goes up by $900 doesn't mean that suddenly everybody is going to be willing to shell out an additional $900 for a car that is already selling for under MSRP. Not going to happen. Of course, since the 6MT with NAVI is still selling at or around MSRP, it may go up if MSRP goes up.

--Mark

 

If MSRP goes up my $900, then the car is $900 more expensive, whether or not its being sold for that. The fact remains that the price isn't going to go down. It only has one direction

 

The 2005 Volvo S40 will also come with AWD; the current 2004.5 does not.
Though it is underpowered and the interior is nice but spartan for my taste.

 

The 05 RL might be worth checking out, it's performance statistics seem on track to easily best the 330xi and mb 320's.

 

If you need AWD, an S4 would by my pick. However, FWD with LSD and 4 snow tires would probably be very capable in the snow.

 

If inflation is running about 3% per year, wouldn't you expect an increase of something like that? $900 is less than a 3% increase. Other manufacturers have many smaller increases during the year, which makes the model year increase, if any, seem smaller.

 

audi and volvo quality is no match for acura. just ask the s4 owners who traded for the tl.

 

The threatened price increase for next year's model is a typical dealer trick to get car buyers who are on the fence about a purchase to buy this year's model now and help clear the dealer's inventory. I was given the same story before I bought my MDX and there was no price increase to the MSRP.

 

Mark, Chevy Tahoes have been selling at $8,000 off list (plus or minus a little) for the past three years. They keep raising the list price so they can offer bigger incentives and still sell them for a higher price. I have bought three Tahoes in the past six years, and I can assure you I actually paid more money for every one of them.

 

I think Nissan has one of the best AWD system. It's used by the Skyline, FX, and G35x.

 

I agree. In fact, Automobile Magazine did some tests a while back and concluded pretty much the same thing. They tested a FWD A4 and RWD G35 against their AWD counterparts. They initially stated how they weren't too sure how the Attessa AWD system in the G35 would fare in the white stuff compared to the Quattro A4. Basically what they found was that the G35s AWD system, while tuned for more RWD bias and thus sportier handling than the A4, still performed as well or better than the A4 in slippery conditions. They also concluded that in most conditions the non-AWD version of each car performed fairly well overall, but they still recommended the AWD versions over the RWD/FWD models.

 

Exactly. Acura knows the TL is a hot seller, but competition is as fierce as ever in the $30-$38k range. The updated G35 (revised interior, more horsepower) is out this Fall, the re-freshed C-Class and newly redesigned models like the S40 & Subaru Legacy Gt Limited and 3.0R (both smaller than the TL, but in the same price range) are just hitting showrooms. The 300C is also posting some big sales numbers which are likely to increase in the coming year. I have a feeling the price will go up (due to steel prices), but no more than $500. The market is just too competitive IMHO. Acuras biggest, but certainly not only, advantage is the fact that the TL is such an amazing value for all the features you get.

On a side note, I know some of you may disagree that the TL is cross-shopped with cars as different as the Legacy GT Limited and 300C, but believe me it is. I visit many auto forums and there are always people who can't make up their minds between two suprisingly different vehicles. The reason for this is that people cross-shop for many reasons (performance, styling, features, etc.), but for many it boils down to $$$. Heck, over on the Infiniti forum, there was a member who couldn't decide between the Hummer H2 and Infiniti FX45. The only thing those two vehicles have in common is the price.

 

I think the price will increase from $300- $500 on the 05's because
of across the board price increases in steel. The hot rolled coil steel
which is sold to car makers has risen 68% since 12/03 and steel imports
have increased another 16% since May.

 

In reality, I imagine the price increase will probably include a tire pressure monitor, too.