madlaw

After seeing the pics of the NBP w/ body kit and 18" wheels, I started rethinking my Anthracite/Quartz selection. I just went to my dealer and saw the NBP side by side with the Anthracite and decided to go for it.

This is what I will take delivery of come Saturday morning:

04 TL, auto, non-nav, NBP/Quartz, full body kit, lid spoiler and 18" OEM wheels w/ Yokos.

I realize color preference is subjective but when I opened the door and saw how good the Quartz looked contrasted by the black inside and out, it made the decision for me.

DNA

Great that you could compare the two combinates side by side. In another thread at 10:27 this morning you said "It is a very tough call between the 2", which sounded like you were still debating it, and just 14 minutes later you said "I just went to my dealer .. and decided to go for it". So you went to your dealer, looked at it, made your decision, got back home, and typed your note in 14 minutes?

madlaw

lol DNA!

1. You cant go by the time stamps on here.

2. My dealer is literally up the street from my office.

3. Perhaps I should have worded my previous post a little better.

gary

Wow, congrats. I too am waffeling on color. After seeing a TL in Black with the body kit and 18's I may change my order as well. It looks great! Let me know how this turns out for you. I would love to see some pictures in natural light to help me decide.

BlueTickHound

Nice to hear you made the swith to the NBP. I really do think (when clean and shiny) that the black exterior is hard to beat. I saw the Anthracite and thought it was really nice up close, but from a distance it just seemed dark gray. This color also made a huge difference when it was clean versus slightly dirty, so I imagine you would spend almost as much time keeping it clean as you would the NBP. Try to post some pics when you get it on Saturday... I would like to see the Quartz interior with the NBP. Haven't seen that combo yet.

madlaw

I agree with you completely about the Anthracite. The NBP has a nice glossy finish to it that other colors dont seem to have. With the quartz interior it just looked awesome. Looks like lots of car washes for the next 42 mos!

DNA

I'm not questioning your comment but I wonder if you could expand your comment a little bit for me. The dealer just has my refundable deposit at this point and I could still change mind, so now is the time for me to make sure I've made the right choice. What are you basing this comment on? Do you have an Anthracite car or know someone who has? Have you seen Anthracite both clean and slightly dirty? Even a small amount of dust is obvious on a black car. Is the same true for Anthracite? I was told it wasn't as high maintenance as black but I'd probably switch to silver if I thought Anthracite showed dirt almost as much as black.

madlaw

The NBP has the pearl finish as opposed to the Anthracite which does not. To my untrained eye the NBP was just more striking(something I want) and the Anthracite appeared dull from a distance. I will say that the Anthracite looked MUCH better at night in the showroom than it did in the daylight outside.

GauchoSB

I had originally ordered a NBP. When I finally went in for my first test drive the NBP just looked cheap to me. I thought that it really let the Accord lines show through. I instantly changed my order to the Satin Silver that was sitting next to the NBP and have never looked back.

BlueTickHound

Sure, I'll expand a little. The same dealership that I have my NBP TL ordered through had two Anthracite TLs yesterday. One was sitting up front in the "show" area of the dealership where passer bys could see the shinny new car sitting out front.... and wow, the car really did look nice, especially up close like I mentioned in my earlier post.

The other Anthracite TL was being used as a test drive car and had been in the weather since Friday. The gleem didn't come through nearly as well. From a distance, it just looked dark gray. So my take was that it would take some work to keep this car gleeming like new all the time (like the NBP).

FYI, a silver TL was also being used as a test drive car and it looked great... it was dingy like the Anthracite (I brushed my finger across the hood to make sure), but the color didn't lose it's luster like the NBP and Anthracite. This will definitely be a much lower maintenance color, but I just can't turn my back on the darker colors because they look soooo nice when they are clean.

With all this said, I don't think any color will take as much maintenance as the black, I've owned a black car before. That is why I'm still considering the red that I pictured in an earlier post. But honestly, I will probably get the NBP and spend my weekends in the driveway shinning it up like madlaw.

BLEXV6

Has anyone a photo of the car with the spoiler?

BLEXV6

I Have the anthracite on my 2002 TL and a black 1998 Accord. I can tell you that anthracite is way easier to maintain, and looks much better when dirty, but the Accord looks way better when its clean. Just cannot beat black, but it shows everything.

DNA

Thanks, BlueTickHound & BLEXV6, for your thoughts on Black/Anthracite maintenance. "Anthracite is way easier to maintain, and looks much better when dirty", but black "looks way better when its clean" comment that BLEXV6 made matches what I imagined was the case. I think Antracite is a compromise I can live with. Besides, once I get into the Quartz cabin, I'll be happy no matter what the outside of the car looks like! (I'm keeping my fingers crossed about the wrinkled leather issue.)

bigdomer

Gaucho - I was all set on silver until I saw it a few hours ago for the first time. There is a hint of baby blue (which is fine). However, the silver completely removes the contrast of the chrome accents. Now I do not know what to do. I agree that black is by far the sharpest color, but I would prefer silver for maintenance.

Did you notice the chrome "blend-in", too?

BLEXV6

When I saw the new TL recently, I was struck by the polished metal front grill which looks way sharper than the plastic chrome look IMHO.

jazz5060

I hope every one enjoys the dark colors,perfect if you are looking for a 'life sentence" of cleaning every day.Dont forget the inevitable 2000 grit scratches coming to your dark car soon!Silver,desert mist are by far the best looking colors on this "short"