Eoanou

Well Acura isn't the only company screwing up either, anyone take a look at the new Ferrari California pics, ewww.

Type34

I actually disagree. It seems most of the people with negative comments are 3G TL owners or 1G TSX owners who are obviously passionate about the Acura brand (hence their time on this board). These would be obvious targets for the 4G TL.

I'm a 34 year old car freak who cruises this board to see the latest Acura trends. I wouldn't discount opinions, you'd be surprised who cruises these boards. Years ago my wife and I were hired by Mercury (my wife was one of the first owners of the New Edge Cougar - before Ford let the program, like many others, die)...the Mercury chief execs found us on a Cougar forum.

Type34

And while this isn't bad...



...it's too close to...

TLTrance

Everyone's grillin the, well, front grill... I think the rear is the worst part of the car... BABY GOT BACK! JUNK in the TRUNK!

Why is the ass so f'ing big and round? No proper lines/cuts, etc. WTF?!?!

DKD

haha wow. that's uncanny.

SMILEY

This really sucks. I really wanted my next car to be a 4G TL. I miss my 2G TL-S. Now driving a 07 3.5 V6 Altima which isn't bad, but not in love with as I was with the TL-S. Who knows, maybe a future TL-S if they change that grill. Right now I'm leaning into a upcoming G37 sedan or and IS-350.

SSMAccord

I love how everyone is predicting the fall or the Acura brand based on this latest generation of vehicles.

If I recall correctly, this same division of the 'loyalists' occured when BMW introduced the Bangle era 7, 5, 3 series. Even if the the 'loyalists' felt that the brand strayed from the conservative and typically boring aesthetic that they were used to and decided to buy some other brands vehicles, there were more than enough consumers out there that were enticed enough to buy/lease the vehicles and pick up the slack. And even then, those 'loyalist' buyers bought them later on in the cycle.

Also, I appreciate the design of this vehicle, it promotes a visceral, honest, emotional reaction. Whether the reaction is negative or positive, it doesnt really matter as long as the audience isnt indifferent about the design. In contrast, if you read comments on the Hyundai Genesis, they kinda say " it looks like a German sedan" or "its attractive", this kind of neutral reaction means that it looks like cars on the market NOW. In two years when the market has moved on, the Genesis will look dated and a bit dull. The TL may have similar proportions to the GS, the surface treatment and hard creased body contrasts with its softer and more fluid shapes.

erdoc48

I'm on my 2nd Acura (an 06), and have had brand loyalty with Acura and Honda for many years. I have no doubt that this car will sell, as will the others in the Acura line, but the looks are really polarizing (you either love it or hate it). It doesn't have mass appeal (not considered universally attractive). From the pics I've seen, it appears that the grille is too big and overtakes the front of the car (whoever photoshopped the grille onto the front of the pics made the car much more palatable). I'm sure some will buy this and be really happy they did with the technology available, but:

Attractive sells cars, and
Polarizing looks sells cars as well, just fewer of them.

I'm sure Acura won't change the look of the grille prior to the cars release, but it may turn many people away from the brand.

cbusAcuracls

1000000000000X BETTER THAN THE REAL GRILLE!!!!

TL|GTX

Man this looks like a freaking oddesy or someshit.

cbusAcuracls

I 2nd that.

I have a feeling in the next mid year cycle they will change that grille
Just like honda did on the last gen Accord with the saggy butt taillights. They eventually changed them to the much better looking led style.

King of Pain

Acura is in a tough spot. The economic climate at the time of the 3G release is different than the up-coming release of the 4G. Luxury car sales are down. Gas is pushing $4.50 to $5.00 in some places. Aside from the car nuts on this site most people are worried about buying food, paying bills and making their mortage payment.

Acura really needed to have a winner with the 4G TL (more so than the 3G TL) and I think they missed the mark by a mile. They did not need a polarizing design like this. I'm sure it will sell, but not in the volumes they expect. I think it will be another sales disaster like the RL. Dealers will need to discount this car to move them off the lots.

VtecTL

Do you guys think the people that work for Acura read all our comments and know that we already hate the new grille?

Type34

No the sky isn't falling in the Acura universe. The 4G TL should sell. I think the key word as the reason for our collective concern is polarizing. The "beak" grilles are indeed polarizing. They may prove to be successful as time goes on, but the Acura mantra has always been clean aesthetics, solid reliability, and luxury value.

This new design is not as clean as its forebears (seen below), from the Acura Vigor (the former TL as we know) to the 2008 TL. Some may say a little boring, but they were definitely not polarizing.

NighthawkA-Spec

ILL KEEP MY 3G ANYDAY OVER THAT! ill skip and wait till the 5G comes out over getting that fish lookinhg vehical! im highly dissapointed.

I will look at it in person but i dont think my opinion will change. YUCK!

redman042

Despite our wishful thinking, I don't believe Acura will offer grill options and I don't believe they will tone down the grill before the car goes into full production.

They are clearly focused on a path of wanting to raise brand awareness by adding prominent design features to their cars. The RL and TSX are already out and they have these huge new grills. The massive grills are completely intentional and the TL will have it too.

It will either work out for them or it won't, and if it doesn't then they will have to change it. But not until the refresh or later.

It's a bummer to see this happening, but since I'm a happy 3G owner and not in the market for a new car again for probably 3-5 years, I'll just hang back and watch this play out, while I enjoy my current car.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

DON'T LIKE THE HUGE HONKER-ASS GRILL, AND WHAT THE HELL DID THEY DO TO THE DRIVING LIGHTS/EXTRA LIGHT ABOVE THAT/VENTING NEXT TO IT/WHOLE STUPID GRILL AFTERTHOUGHT DEAL???



DON'T LIKE THE RIMS...



DON'T LIKE THE TAIL....AT ALL!



PLUS, IT LOOKS LIKE THE BASE TL GETS QUAD EXHAUSTS....




DON'T LIKE THE BMW-LIKE ANTENNA TAIL ON THE TOP.


All I can say is...thank goodness for 3G !!!

BG74

That has to be the SH-AWD version because you can barely make out the badge under the tape on the lower right side of the trunk.

UGLY! UGLY! UGLY! That grille alone is a deal-breaker for me.

the-carbon-comet

the look will definitely improve by 2012-2013 when they slightly re-design it, as is the case with most cars, their last run is usually the best looking. I just got an 08 TL-S and the 09 is just an interesting design with its major flaw being the grill. The sporty look of the TL is gone but we have to wait for the A-spec kit, maybe that will change things a little.

wutaguy

If you look closely at the pic on Acura Website, it has the same grill as the spy pic, but the website pic looks good. It would be nice if people stopped making all these negative comments without seeing the car in person. Also the tape on Acura logo makes the grill look different, look at official photo on website. I think the new TL will be very stylish and hot. Remember the 4G is coming from the same people who made the 3G. 3G while its nice now looks bland and outdated to me.
We all need to wait and see the car in person.

Gryphon

I certainly can't say that I hate it, but I have been looking forward to this car's release for a long time, and I'm less excited about it right now than I have been.

Would anyone be willing to please photoshop the Acura grill on the real pic, and just remove the black tape and replace it with the Acrua emblem?

There's something about that black tape that I think is contributing to the overall size and dislike of the front. Maybe I'm grasping, who knows.

SSMAccord

Also, I do like the vehicle, even though we have yet to see the interior. I believe that this car has a sort of 'growing pains' sort of scenario happening also. As Acura moves forward with its plans to become a Tier 1 name plate, I think that this TL will be the last Acura, to share the Honda Global Midsize vehicle chassis.

carlos9827

iTrader: (2)

For the People like myself that don't like those ugly ass reflectors....here is a 2 second photoshop that I did on Paint. Now thats waaay better!

Before:


After:

jumbosizeme79

its still ugly, man i was excited for this car too. . . The tail lights sooooooooooo ugly

smsTL

iTrader: (1)

I love this car. All of you say what you want because I think its going to look awesome. I am getting it in 2011 TYPE-S

jumbosizeme79

lookin pretty far ahead dont you think?

Blazing GT

carlos9827

iTrader: (2)

I think the rear looks like a Honda Civic Coupe! $40k for a civic coupe! LMAO!

smsTL

iTrader: (1)

lol yeh, b/c I just bought my 3g TL few months ago...

jumbosizeme79

ahhhh icic. man what in the world did acura do

HBaJ

but its not a civic or a coupe, its not even $40k

The rear just looks fat, its probally one of those things that the official released pic with studio lighting will make look muchh better

KeithL

Ah, but depending on how hard it is to change there may be a decent aftermarket for it, I mean enough people are hating this grill that an aftermarket one may be workth it, but for me I hate too much of this car, the grill, the hugh bulging fenders, the hump for the navi and that civic like tail with thos huge reflectors!! I'll eat the extra gas and get a G35 or G37 sedan.

RYANGP

i thought the promo shot had lots of potential, as shown by many of the chops people did, but the new spy shots on pg. 30 just shat all over them. I hope there's some serious aftermarket support for it, because i fucking HATE that front grille.


Bring back the CL!

stillhere153

iTrader: (1)

negatives...
drl's seperate from the headlight... remind me of rally lights for some reason
over the tops grille
fat and overly bulky trunk with probably less trunk space than now
someone pointed out the ebrake location? wow I mean seriously that is a really gay spot

acurazn

OMG!!! I am so glad and went ahead and bought the 3g TL instead of waiting for the 4g model.

Flavour

good call, cuz by 2011 they'll have had to release the 5th gen.

every time i see these pics i giggle, this car is so ugly. its no wonder they kept it under wraps for so long.

tech14

It is butt ugly . They took away everything that was stylish about the 3rd gen. I will not buy one if they continue to look like that in the future. I think the TL is the last honda car to go from stylish to butt.

Inaccurate

What's up with that ??? Major turn-off. Is there really that much wheel travel ?

To me, this "body flare on steriods" is a major deal breaker. I like the looks of the new Honda better.

maverickinvestor

When I first saw the arch, it looked too exaggerated to me too.

But from the golf course pictures, the real TL does not seem to have as nearly as huge a bulge.

It looks like the Acura PR folks just airbrushed the bulge in there.

I guess this is one area where the golf course TL looks better than the TL from the press release.

WiLLs TypE S

Wells the back is ok..but the thing that I can't stand are the freakin GRILLS. I noticed that not that many people are driving the tSX anymore. Before in my neighborhood I would see alot of TSX's and TL-S. BUt now i just see TL-S. LoL. Just to show how bad acura designed their grills. If the car doesnt have that slight cut in the grill and looks more like the one in the website..i'll consider jumping from a 03->09TL. BUt other than that...accord or evo for me.