sybaek3

Agree! I don't think we 3G will look too bad next to a 4G. If anything, I'm thinking that there will be exterior features/styles of 3G that the 4G will be jealous of. I can see the 4G with additional little features inside (i.e. phone book import improvements) but as said before, our 3G is the best looking sedan yet!

Aman

key word there...

Vanilla_Gorilla

Completely agree! But we'll just have to wait and see.

stillhere153

iTrader: (1)

I can't wait to see the nsx... I hope they stall its release till they can release an awd version to compete with the gtr... Just finished reading an article (edmunds) where the porshe 911 vs gtr where at it and the 911 passed the gtr at 180+... Gtr ate it alive on the turns

evantec

The scary thing is, the tail-lights almost match some of the spy shots seen earlier in this thread.

The other pics also seem consistent with the Maxima-like round C-pillars, which earlier spy-shots also suggested. And the overall larger size would go with the expectations of a larger engine etc to handle AWD.

As you can tell, I'm not a fan of the 2008 Accord's styling either. I'm only hoping that I'll get used to it. (When the 3G TL first came out, it took awhile till I liked it better than the pre-MMC 2G TL.)

timmahh

That's the Accord... I don't think Acura would have the next gen TL looking llike an exact copy of the 8G Accord; though if they do I can only hope they realize we don't like those tail lights hehe

evantec

I agree that Buzz will get a car into the TV News and newspapers. For example, if an automaker built an all-cardboard car, it would be all over the press.

To me, I think it's still style that sells. The car has to be reliable enough and practical enough, but even if the early Dodge Viper had 2 seats and roll-up windows, it got people excited because of how it looked and what it did. Ditto the Corvette which still brings people into Chevy showrooms.

Similarly, think of all the cars which, on paper, appear to have the features and the specs but don't get people excited. Think ES-300 (or maybe even GS-400)

It might not translate into a news story but when people like what they see, they want it.

P.S. If the 3G TL is any indicator, the 4G will still have a few things the others don't. Do any of the other competitors have ELS stereo, or FWD with minimal torque steer?

evantec

Maybe they're trying to get the Beemer 5-series wannabe buyer on an Accord budget! LOL

ugajoshnic

Anyone think we will be lucky enough to see a glimpse at the Detroit Auto show this month?

Ac Man

I think with Acura and Honda having seperate design studios now, I doubt that any Acura product will look like an existing Honda product (I'm hoping). I hated the new Accord at first, but It has grown on me. That spy shot of the Inspire looks better than the U.S Accord though, with the exception of the front grill.

For those that are hoping the 4th gen TL takes design cues from the current model should forget about it. If you look at Acura/Honda history, they never put out new vehicles with similar design cues from the previous gen. When they say all-new, that's exactly what they mean, so I doubt the '09 TL will look anything like our current car. If we were talking about Nissan/Infiniti, then yeah, i'd say you should expect a look alike, but not from Honda/Acura.

I know this might sound crazy but, don't be shocked if the 4th gen TL looks better than the 3rd gen. Who would've thought that the 3rd gen would so much better than the 2nd gen? Everyone expected improvements to the design, but Acura hit a 500 ft homerun that nobody saw coming. I'm not willing to bet my next pay check but it could happen. Don't be suprised if history repeats itself.

FiveLiterCheater

We can only hope, Acura really needs the next TL to be another hit

dt98gsr

I would love to see a nice new coupe produced under the Acura name but I'm not holding my breathe.

krio

some news from the web...
www.vtec.net

Unless Acura's planning something in more secrecy than usual, they do not have plans to show anything new at Detroit.

2009 Acura TL

SH-AWD and a 300+ hp V6 are pretty much givens for the TL, but there have also been rumors of a 6-speed "automatic" transmission also mentioned - what's unclear is whether this is a dual-clutch automated manual or a more traditional automatic transmission. The '09 TL is expected in showrooms in the Fall time frame, so it will likely be late summer at the earliest before all the details are made public. Considering Acura's absence at Detroit, it would surprise us if they also skip the New York show, and we think New York would be a pretty good time to show off a TL Concept and maybe leak a few teaser details.

csmeance

Most likley acura will follow the path of showing off the RDX and MDX with the TL and TSX.
TSX will debut before the TL, about summer is when it will be in full launch like the RDX with techno-worship. The TL will be in half-assed launch near fall or even winter, like the MDX was.

As for the RL, no idea because honda doesn't even have a clue on what the hell they are doing.

S PAW 1

As for the RL, no idea because honda doesn't even have a clue on what the hell they are doing.[/QUOTE]

Probably not the case, we just haven't been told what they are doing yet.
SH-AWD seems a given hand down from the RL. If Acura follows the trend of adding gears to paddle shifting autos like Lexus and Nissan are doing, I will avoid it like the plague Lexus is supposed to have an 8 speed in their new IS-F, when they can't even perfect the 6 speed in their Camrys. The history of Acura transmissions speaks for itself, let alone unproven higher technology.
It will be interesting to see if a MT is even offered. My guess is NO.
If 300+hp and AWD is the path, I have no intention of paying the MPG penalty. The cost of ownership is already one of the highest in the industry, and adding to it is not what I am looking for.
That's just my opinion.

Vanilla_Gorilla

Correct, but look at the TSX and the Euro Accord...same damn car, lets hope the new TL does look like the new accord. Like I said before, it will make me love my 3g that much more!

JD TL-S

iTrader: (1)

In Aug 06 the owner of the Acura dealer by me said ALL Acura's will be SH-AWD

in the near future.

shubysingh

am i the only one dat sees a little of the new c class in the inspire?

limited

+1. Up to the 2nd gen TL, Inspire = TL. The out going gen of Inspires was the same as our 7th gen accord. It looks like they will be using the 8th gen accord for the next Inspire as well. The 4th gen TL is suppose to be designed and produced state side.

elkayem

I think the Inspire looks like a Transformer!!!

ugajoshnic

This may be ignorant, but I am confused by the inspire conversation. I tried looking it up, but all I could find is that it is an old car. What are you guys talking about?

Koyuki

Following site may give some insight on new Inspire but you would need a Japanese friend to translate it.

http://www.honda.co.jp/INSPIRE/

playa4real

iTrader: (3)

or if youre really interested go here http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/tr and put in the URL, it converts a lot of it to english (japanese -> english)

Yakuza70

Has anyone ever driven a car with dual-clutch automated manual aka DSG? I'd be disappointed if the 4th Gen TL didn't come in a manual transmission but if the dual-clutch automatic manual is as good as some claim, I'd give it a look.

ledd4u

Accord with AWD for sure don't be fooled. 04-07 TL's look great 08 looks like someone ran out of ideas, pity the many who got fooled into buying those. Good luck to those 08 buyers and that dumb rear end slots and ugly rims to boot. Honda does that to all final models, they try to make cheap changes to designs well established and well there you go one Fugly car if you ask me. I would keep my doors unlocked so it can be stolen. if I had an 08. I guess the bad guys don't want them Fugly 08 models anyhow.

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

Ac Man

Okay, I'm confused! Last time I checked, the '04 - '08 TL's were the same ('07 slight changes for MMC). '07 & '08 are exactly the same, so why do you consider the '08 "Fugly" and not the '07?

playa4real

iTrader: (3)

Mindworm

I think he was trying to say, in a not so eloquent way, is that the new rims and tail light / reflector assembly are not to his liking.

ledd4u

I was trying to be facetious about the whole thing guys. The best models are the 04 thru 07 period. The rest will look like the new models Acura is putting out. In fact I will go out on a limb and say the new TL will look very much like the new Cadilac STS. Sharp corners and plastic chrome stuck on. The curves will be gone which is why I was attracted to the TL in the first place. Our TL's will always look new.

Ac Man

I don't think Acura will disappoint us with the look of the car, it might not be as sexy as our current TL, but I doubt it will be so "FUGLY" that we will look to other car companies for a new ride. They better "Advance" with the features though, especially with the so called "Premium" sound system.

Acura is a very confused car company, bordering on stupidity. How is it that the company's most important vehicle (arguably) the TL, has the weakest sound system? How is it that the TSX has more watts of power than the TL AND the RL? TSX=8 speakers 360w, TL=8 speakers 225w, RL=10 speakers 260w, wtf!
I'm no audiophile but someone correct me if i'm wrong, if you have more speakers, shouldn't you need more watts to power the extra speakers? So why does the RL with 10 speakers have 260w, and the TSX with only 8 speakers have 360w?

Mind you, the TSX came out BEFORE the TL and has a better sound system, had turn signals on the side mirrors way before the TL did and has fucking chrome door handles! I know the turn signals and chrome are cosmetic and subject to ones own personal taste, but if I didn't know any better, I would think that the TSX and not the TL, was the next best car in the lineup to the RL. Acura needs to give their product managers and designers this website (If they don't have it already). If they listen to our suggestions the brand will have no problems and we'll all be happy!

FiveLiterCheater

Watts don't mean anything, its the quality of sound and the efficiency of the speakers that come into play. The TL and RL use more efficient speakers which require less power. I had a TSX rental car and the sound system in it is nothing compared to the TL.

Bearcat94

Regarding the TSX getting mirror mounted turn signals first - Isn't that because the TSX is the "Euro Accord" and the European Union requires mirror mounted turn signal lights?

So if the TSX launched earlier, and is a "world" car, it'd make sense they'd get 'em first.

Personally, I've never liked the astetics of them. I understand the potential safety improvement. At least with the TL, you really can't see them from inside the car.

Ac Man

They all have the same bullshit speakers. Don't let that "ELS" logo fool you, we do not have great sound systems in our cars, period. Just swap out the speakers for some aftermarket ones and you'll hear the difference. It probably depends on the type of music that we all listen to, if you drive around listening to classical or country, then yeah, you'll probably think the sound system is great! But if you listen to rock, R & B, hip hop, reggae, etc. you'll know that there is nothing premium about the sound system. I'm not saying it's total garbage, because it sounds okay, but when you've heard stock systems from other cars that are better, you start to realize that Acura needs to "Advance" in this department.

P.S. Watts DO mean something, if you don't have ample wattage you can't power the speakers properly, hence, the sound will suffer. That's why people have to buy aftermarket amplifiers when they swap out the stock speakers, because the stock amp doesn't have enough watts to power the aftermarket speakers. Sure you'll get sound, but those aftermarket speakers will never come close to reaching their potential without the extra watts. I'm not talking out the side of my neck, I'm speaking from experience.

1OneLove

^^^ Totally agree. The sound system in the TSX sounds clearer than the TL. When the dealer gave me a TSX loaner, I couldn't believe how much better the sound system was compared to the TL.

csmeance

calm down for a second dude. First of all, as JJaber posted, wattage means nothing to sound quality alone, the speakers need to play a role along with the wattage. Second of all, all the acura models don't have the same bullshit speakers. The RL has the bose ones, the TL has speakers from the ELS company, and the TSX just has an acura audio system, Oh yeah, forgot to mention that the RL and TL have factory subs unlike the TSX. In the TL, you can turn the volume up to 3 or 4 and have music that can fill the cabin. To get the same effect in the TSX, the volume needs to be around 10. Granted these are paper speakers, not aftermarket ones that has better materials. Acura has to keep productions cost low to keep the price of the car low, so some corners must be cut. Also the TL was targeted at people who wanted the best bang for the buck, not to have the best sound system, the most power, etc.

Ac Man

I hear you man, It doesn't bother me if our cars have turn signals on the mirrors or not. I was just making the point that a car that is supposed to be inferior or on the lower end off the totem pole to the TL has some features that the TL lacks, whether we like these features personally or not.

And this is probably Acura's biggest problem. They just don't put enough seperation between their cars. That's why the RL has bad sales each month, it not because it costs too much, because more expensive cars sell a shit load more every month. The TL has been taking away sales from the RL not because it looks so much better than the RL, but because the isn't that big a difference between the two.

The 3 Series can't be compared with the 5, and the 5 can't be compared to the 7, there's no comparison, but the TSX can be compared to the TL and the TL compares well to the RL. I know there is better fit and finish as you move up the line, but Acura's lineup of cars is too close. There should be no doubt that the RL is the best car in Acura's lineup, but many would argue that it's not.

Ac Man

I Feel you, but when you say "Premium" or "Luxury", that doesn't equate to cost cutting. We're being charged and paying extra for these premium qualities, so cost cutting really shouldn't be a factor. I understand the whole bang to the buck tag line, but with Acura claiming to want to move upscale and be compared to BMW, Lexus, etc. they're going to have to provide real top of the line quality in all facets, not just the sound system. I love Acura, and I'm positive that I'll be getting an '09 TL. I just want to be happy with what I get. As you can see, the sound system is my only real gripe with Acura. They improve that i'll be one happy camper!

csmeance

See, now your much calmer I agree, the sound system isn't the best that acura can offer us, it lacks in many places, but is better than some of the other systems that they offer. I think acura should opt towards a better choice for audio components as their current ones are just satisfactory, not mind blowing, but satisfactory.

csmeance

there is not much difference, just maybe the audio manufacturer, some styling here and there, and choice between an MT or AT transmission. Otherwise its just size, and people can't justifiy 56K for a car that is 1 foot longer than the one beneath it for 35K.