Did anyone see this?

Pretty accurate (and positive, except for the old torque steer stuff).


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/21/au...=all&position=

 

Neuronbob should add this, too.

 

I agree with the author that the dainty 2nd gen TL was designed for women and that the new aggressive 3rd gen TL was designed for men.

Candidly, I wish Acura would issue a recall on the 2nd gen as every time I see one on the road (normally driven by a guy, LOL) it just brings the status of my new TL down. If Acura can't get them all off the road, at least they should send some Honda Accord badges to the owners.....that would fix the problem.

BJ

 

That review is just so disappointing, especially coming from the New York Times. It says absolutely nothing new (that's not been said elsewhere), overstates the torque steer issue (on my test drive, I could not induce torque steer from a standing start and I tried), and argues that the car is derivative of all the German car makers.

I simply expected something original in the review....

 

I think you are right.....but I do strongly agree with the above comment.

Nothing wrong with that.....best of all worlds

BTW they mean BigMoneyWaste by "german car makers"

 

And you're saying it's not true??? Common, I love the fact that they ripped off BMW's design!

 

I'll add this to my thread on TL reviews. That thread is now located int he "commen TL issues" forum. It's overall a positive overview, but I agree it overcalls the torque steer. I'm sure Honda is listening and preparing AWD for the TL and is just mulling over when to release it--likely after the RL. Any case, that should reduce the torque steer.

 

The second-gen TL was really pretty boring looking. That was the main reason I had an '01 CL instead. Some people didn't like the look of that car, either, but I did, and at least it didn't look like something a soccer mom would drive when her minivan was in the shop.

To recall all the second-gen TL's, unfortunately, Acura would need to annex one of the Japanese islands. There must be, what, billions of those cars on the road.

 

Ah, don't down the 2G TL to much. The sales of it and the MDX carried Acura for several years. The 99-03 TL was a nice step from a 91-95 Legend when the RL wouldn't do. It's purpose was to boost Acura sales and sustain the dealers. Since the TSX and 04 TL came out, it now looks outdated and is now a reminder of Acura's less sporty days. It can't compare to the stunning new TL, but I still find the back end attractive though.

 

On of them is not for sale anymore.....I don't think it was anything but looks.....the CL was pretty ugly specially since you couldn't put a body kit on it.

 

I thought the 2GTL was pretty hot with the right wheels. Not boring at all! I still turn my head when I see one.

 

When I said the NYTIMES argued it was derivative, I should have uttered something more clever:

Like the derivative NYT review complimented the TL for being derivative in styling; fortunately it is better to be derivative in car styling than in review writing!

I agree, btw, re. that the TL clearly shows lots of design influences--very postmodern!

 

I can not access the link. Can you just paste in the text? Thank you for doing the review list.

 

All car designs are "derivative" There is only so many ways you can dress up a box. The bottom line is that it looks good which is the all-around concensus. You can tell that the review is superficial since it even quotes from other sources. The important "review" in consumer reports is really all that counts as far as 95%+ of consumers are concerned. Not only that, they went as far as to praise the lack of torque steer in the automatic! The "torque steer" problem (its not that at all its the LSD) seems to be limited to 6 spd models with Turanzas the Potenza equiped cars dont seem to suffer from it due to the much better adhesion that those tires offer. If acura made a mistake it was to put turanzas on the 6 speed cars.