rksokol

You mean like the Scion TC? There aren't many cars on the market that come heavily modded. Usually, the mods are referred to as "options". But yes, it would be nice if I could purchase a car at a dealership and tell them to put a Fujita and a Magnaflow with extra tinting on it before I sign on the bottom line.

darksom1

Content being the operative word...Modders never are...it's a habit and/or challenge to make it bigger, better, faster, and stronger than "THEY" did. They being the manufacturer, or the rival. It's a disease, not a rational behaviour. So the "rule of thumb" does not apply.

darksom1

I think he was referring to it coming off the assembly line like that. But even if the 09 came like that, somebody would still mod it!

jeowen

any news??! my boy went this past weekend and saw Lex, BMW, caddy, Land Rover...several models but no TL..when to expect pics, specs?

ballinfizzle89

iTrader: (6)

I thought it's expected to be at the New York Auto Show?

LyfeIs

Wasnt there. Only thing Acura had was their concept of a Diesel engine.

evanj5

New Acuras will be debued in MArch

jeowen

sweet!!thx

chill_dog

It is.

krio

RL: Chicago
TSX: Geneva (Accord)
TL: New York

swift22

I will try and be in chicago. I am the kind of guy you will see get underneath a concept Eclipse to see if it is really AWD ...lol. So if i am there i will get good pics/info. Plus i am an RL guy by heart.

Converted

Hey! Nice to see you on here...

Manach

whens the NY show?

Ac Man

I went to the Detroit Auto Show today and boy was I disappointed in the Acura display. It lacked all the excitement that the other automakers had at their displays. No vehicles elevated on rotating platforms, just the entire lineup sitting on the floor. And I feel really sorry for the RL cause that car gets no love from Acura at all. There was just one RL on display and it was off to the side like it wasn't important. You would think that your flagship model would receive better treatment, like being front and center in the display area. But despite the lack of a great display, there were many people over there checking out the vehicles, especially the MDX, and the TL still gets lots of love despite being on it's last leg. I hope Acura has a better showing in Chicago and New York. I plan on attending the New York show so hopefully the TL will be revealed then, although we'd all like to see something sooner rather than later.

Converted

Well... it may be the most expensive, but in the US it's definitely not the "flagship" vehicle it was intended to be...

Now, the TL and MDX have pretty much stolen the show, completely... and for good reason. The VALUE in a TLS or MDX is incredible, compared to the premium you pay for the RL.

jguerra23

The TL is the bread and butter of Acura, any Acura sales guy will tell you this

darksom1

Explain that please. I happen to think that the TL is the best seller that Acura has, and new improvements should strengthen the sales. Why do you say it's on it's last leg?

krio

In fact, in spite of beeing "in it's last leg" the TL is selling not bad at all...

darksom1

Oh, he must be referencing the end of the 3G TL. Is that what you meant Ac Man?

Ac Man

I mean that it is in it's 5th and final year of this generation and a new model will arrive. I hope you didn't think I meant the TL was about to fold and die or anything. The TL has done well for this generation, and the fact that it still sells 3000+ cars per month says a lot. We all know that the TL is the most important vehicle in it's lineup, but the RL is still the flagship of Acura. Despite having poor sales, still doesn't take away from the fact that it's a really great car.

I've read in other posts that people expect the '09 TL to have 300-305 HP. To me that is not enough for the simple fact that the competition has the same thing. A year or so after the '09 TL debuts, it's competition will reach their MMC and more than likely get more HP to move ahead of the TL, so the the time is now for Acura to push ahead of the competition and be class leading for awhile. If not, Acura will always trail or be even with it's competitors. I'm not that big on HP, but it's good to have it if needed. This HP race is not slowing down, so Acura might aswell join the party.

krio

you well tought. The next TL will be presented with a concept at the next NY autoshow 21-30 March 2008.

krio

The competition move on in an eternal cycle: old Acura - new Infiniti - new Acura - restyled Infiniti and so on... It's normal.
I don't think the problem will be 305 hp or more. And I don't think 300 hp+ is "not enough" (compearing to the already powerful current 258 hp, base TL).
Acura can push ahead of the competition, as it was with the TL 2004, not only thanks to the power, but advanced technology and great overall quality/price ratio...
In the last month TL sold 5.900 cars, and is the last year of the 3gn. It means something.
The Audi A6 hasen't got a 3 liter with 300 hp+ until now, and is selling better in Germany than BMW5 with the 3.0L twin turbo. The Merz got 300 hp+ only with the CGI engine in the CLS and SLK this year...
We'll get a great car Ac Man, trust me. And thanks to the Sh-AWD, Honda in few years can really think to give us a new BIG engine Type-s or -R.

JAB00

I think 300hp is decent with AWD option. As long as Acura improves or adds tech goodies and can keep the price reasonable it should continue to be a good seller. The Germans consistently have cars in the mid 200hp range sell well.

Honda has to be strategic. Gas is not going to get any cheaper. The horse power wars may be on it's waning days. Many car companies are scrapping the much vaunted V8 from their lineup due to gas considerations.

Better fuel efficiency, seamless tech integration, and good ergonomics are going to be what differentiates between the hyper competitive market as long as the car is a competent performer. Even with the current generation TL who really has pushed the cars to it's limits. It's overwhelmingly used as a daily driver by most owners. So like I said, 300hp is more than enough. Compared to the redesigned G, the current TL is still holding it's own, despite give up about 50hp.

Aman

^ Honda has always taken fuel consumption into consideration, and manufactured their engines accordingly, but without giving up much power. I was hoping for a bit more than 300hp from the new TL, maybe 310-320 to make it last for the next 5 years, as well as AWD, which after reading some of the posts seems to be a given.

300 hp is plenty for a daily driver, but people want more power, even if they dont use it. There's a reason people buy V6 Camrys and Accords, even though a four-banger would be adequate for a daily driver, otherwise it wouldn't be offered.

darksom1

Yup! I want more and I don't even get to use what I have with any type of regularity.

But, like I always say when a gaming g35 approaches from the rear:

"Better to have and not need, than to need and not have"

dtech

Honestly guys...I'd be totally fine with a 300ish hps and the added weight from the sh-awd, just as long as the torque is equatable to the ponies, i.e. 335i (300hps + 300lbs torque @ 1500rpm)

leedogg

I'm really surprised they are keeping the final design so well under wraps. I would expect to see more shots of the final design by now...

Here's what I'm expecting/hoping:

the new turbo diesal engine w/300+ hp that gets 30+ mpg
sh-awd
tons of new techno goodies which once again leap ahead of every other car out there in this class - hopefully more extensive bluetooth integration (e.g. i want to stream mp3's from a BT device)
Whole new advanced sound system (to replace DVDA)

hmonay

I just hope that the the New TL will be easier to add FI lol (ECU, Space for Intercooler)

Ac Man

EXACTLY! I just want to know that I have this extra HP, even if I don't use it all the time.

Considering that SH-AWD will add extra weight to the TL, 305 HP might not be enough because the extra weight will make the car less powerful correct? Unless Acura has some new lightweight metal for the AWD system I don't think we're going to really FEEL the HP. Regardless, I'm trading in my '05 TL for the '09. Unless it looks like absolute shit, I'm getting one.

leedogg

pff Thats plenty of hp for me, I'd rather have that hp channelled correctly to whatever wheel it needs to go to, rather than deal with torque steer or having VSA cut power to my wheels. Plus I dont want to kill the mpgs on these cars.

oh, i found that diesel, but it looks like its going on the tsx first...

http://www.automotoportal.com/articl...engine-in-2009

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/21/a...wer-next-year/

darksom1

I'm with you bro...tho probably 2010 or 2011...that's my target time! So you guys save me a 6MT NBP TL-S!!

AzNDoRk42

if you guys wanna know, the target release dates for the tl is june/july for the regular new style and nov/2008 for the SH-AWD 300Hp version

ttribe

Not that I want to sound doubtful, but could you elaborate on a source of this information?

Silver_Surfer

There are other things that we would like to know as well....like your source.

darksom1

Or even a link so we can see for ourselves! Why do you think we have this thread?

havenlock

Riiiiggghht..... 9 posts and he's predicting release dates? Where's your info coming from?

6SpdTerror

Sounds like speculation to me. I work for Honda/Acura and i didnt even hear that.

darksom1

I think he just wanted some attention!

Converted

Well... if history is any indication, this will NOT be the case. They really need to make it more like 320HP/290TQ to make things interesting... and they could easily do it!

bklynpanman

won't happen unless it's a turbo... aint happenin