On Monday CR released its 10 best list.

Best upscale sedan--04 TL!

http://money.cnn.com/2004/03/08/pf/a...ex.htm?cnn=yes

 

Thanks.

 

I assume that this is a huge honor for the car. Despite claims of CR not being the best auto-reviewer, it does have a huge readership. This itself may cause demand to increase.

 

It will. It is considered the #2 influence on a car decision.

 

Regardless of how good their knowledge of automobiles is, just by being unswayed by ad revenue and by being neutral and consistent in their test methodology lends them the best credibility, IMO. Though I am a subscriber to several "enthusiast" auto magazines, I can never be confident that their judgements are not biased by commercial ties with manufacturers.

 

There also was an artilce in the Wall Street Journal saying the same thing. The interesting thing is they said European cars are now worse than domestic in reliability!! The BMW 7 series is the worst car from Europe, having more problems than an 8 year old Lexus.

However, even without this praise from CR I still would have bought this car. It is what I was looking for at this time.

 

The best point is that it dethroned the 330 for 7K less!! Nothing wrong with bimmers its just their owners that tend to be d*cks!!!

 

Acura needs to beef up production on this baby. If they can send as many cars as demanded they could make serious dough. This shortage of navis my be driving many buyers to other makes that have navis available and are willing to lower the price more.

 

Haha, that listing looks like a joint ad campaign for Toyota and Honda.

Seven of the eleven are Toyota and Honda vehicles, and two of the four remaining are a variation of the Focus.

I agree with all the cars on there except the Passat. They tend to be less powerful and more trouble prone than Japanese makes. For $3000 more comparably equipped, it BETTER use some nice interior materials.

They should also create a category between Upscale Sedan and Luxury Sedan.

Upscale Sedan would compare: 3, TL, G, ES, IS, A4, C-class, etc.

Luxury Sedan would compare: 5, RL, M, GS, A6, E-class, etc.

Ultra Luxury Sedan would compare: 7, Q, LS, A8, S-class, ect.

Anyways, kudos to Toyota and Honda... I don't see the rankings changing that much next year either.

 

I dont think so. This is CR, who openly says their claims are not based on ads.

 

Um, I meant that in a positive way for Toyota and Honda. That CR's assessments are so favorable to them that Toyota and Honda could use the report in advertising their brand.

I didn't mean to say that that was an actual ad by Toyota and Honda, or that they actively lobbied to be ranked favorably.

 

Nice to see TL scores one here.

Does CR makes money by selling magazines only? I wonder how they compare to magazines such as C/D, who has a lot of ads - but who knows how much money they get from various manufacturers.

I also wonder how much influence CR has on purchasing decisions - it'll be nice to have some numbers in that regard.

 

wow. acura's brand new tl beat out bmw's 5 year old design

 

CR survives by the sale of their publications which include much more than just the magazine and by individual donations. They also run an excellent paid website where you can research up to 4 years of data.

 

IMHO, i don't really care about what REVIEWS say...for me the best "REVIEWER", if there is such a word, is ME, MYSELF & I...before purchasing the TL i test drove all sorts of cars from the accord, maxima, g35 coupe/sedan, 2003-04 528i & 530i...for me the bimmers were the one that came closest to the TL..the only thinkg i didn't like about the bimmers i compared to the TL, aside from the price, was that at low speeds they felt heavy....don't get me wrong ok...in the Freeway they were very light & nimble...but in city driving they kinda felt heavy to me....that's why i ended up purchasing the TL...with this CAR..everything just felt right...IMO it's the ultimate LUXURY/SPORT sedan....just my .02

 

A few notes:

The TL is actually the "cover car" of the April CR auto issue.

This actually will sell quite a few TL's, probably driving the price up a little bit (or make larger discounts harder to find). Remember, the demand so far has been through the slower winter sales months. I wouldn't expect true shortages or anything.

Yes, the TL beat the 3 series. However, the current generation 3 series has been around since the 1999 model year. It shoudn't surprise anyone if the new 2005 3 series jumps out in front of the new TL. (And if the 2009 or whatever TL jumps back in front of the 3 series). Newer is frequently better just because of changes in technology, better handling (tires), etc.

BMW ought to be really embarrassed by the statistic of a 7 year old Lexus being as reliable as their NEW 7 series. (Never mind the looks of the new 7 series....)