ll_22

With all this negative sentiments regarding sluggish sales, ugly grille, blah blah, figure I'd start a thread looking forward in a positive way

* Jumping on the twin turbo wagon for a Type-S AWD? Maybe bring back the 3.2L or even the 3.0L engine to save on fuel economy to compete with Audi/BMW/Lincoln etc.
* Even better road noise isolation to compete with Audi since Honda's vision is a blend between Audi/BMW
* 6AT
* LED elements in the front (hey if u can't beat them, join them, better than those cheap reflectors now)
* Grille change for the unconvinced
* Blind spot systems
* Adaptive headlights/high-beams
* Adaptive cruise control
* A third options tier (maybe base, Tech, and Advance?)

nearwater4me

Yeah, I'd love to see a type-S version with more power.
Also, a redesigned front fascia would be nice.

Dan

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Folding rear seats and ventilated front seats would be a big plus.

YetiTL

- Advance package;
- 6AT geared to be close to 6MT for overall performance;
- redesign front fascia to appease the masses;
- more power (325-340hp);

csmeance

Here's my list, not in order though:
1. Heated/Cooled Seats
2. 6 Speed Automatic
3. Grille face-lift
4. Blind Spot System
5. Active Cruise Control System
6. Collision warning system
7. Bi-Xenon High beams
8. LED DRL's
9. Light-weight bodyparts such as a CF driveshaft for SH-AWD models (like the RL), lightweight aluminum panels like the hood and trunk (like the RL)
10. Lit door handles (like the RL)
11. Clearer and more "colorful" gauge cluster
12. Better head-rests
13. Much more adjustable seats (better thigh support, moveable lumbar)
14. Better NHV standards

I'm sure there are a few more things I'd find if I drove one everyday...

Kingmeow

Electric folding side mirrors.

Of course, no one asked how much all these extras will add to the MSRP.

Ac Man

While all these features that you mention would be welcomed features, it is gonna drive up the price. You already have people bitching about the price being high right now, so you could only imagine the outrage when the price goes up.

Personally, I would love to see power tilt/telescope steering wheel and power folding mirrors to go along with what you mentioned. Also, the ability to scroll through your ipod faster would be great too!

YetiTL

Add-in:
-better head rests
-ventilated seats

I can live without the rest as I don't want to pay 3k more for options I can live very well without. If I want more bling bling, I'll go with the RL.

JAB00

Redesign of grille
electric folding side mirrors
ventilated seats

Eoanou

I think we might actually see a 6spd Auto addition sometime with in the next year or the year after. The 2010 MDX now offers a 6spd Auto as does the ZDX. If Acura adds the 6spd it will warrant a purchase.

chaiwala

I agree with CSMEANCE and yes it would inflate the price but if they really want to play with the tier 1 boys, increasing the price just might help them get to tier 1. From my experiences the big boys that buy tier 1 luxury class cars believe in "status" and the status is not measured by getting a lot of car for a very affordable or great price but is achieved by how much $$ you spent for a car. What is the reason to buy a Mercedes S class, Lexus LS, Jaguar X or Porsche whatever. Whenever I have bought a new car, first things many of my family members ask me is "Oh, and how much did this car cost" It's human nature I guess. It is going to take a long time for Acura to get to that level. It always takes time. If Hyundai is any indication, it took them close to 15 years to compete with Toyota and Honda, partly due to the fact that you got a whole lot of car for really cheap but the population equated the cheap price to not being a reliable car. Only now is the word of mouth catching up that it is a quality product with an attractive price.

The only thing I would add to CSMEANCE's list is rain sensing wipers, not that its important to me but it should be standard in a luxury car.

BLACKURA_NY

iTrader: (6)

Keeping in mind Honda/Acuras cost vs. value... i would limit my wish list to ONLY 3 options, as the keep the TL in the class that its in..

I know Acura is trying to step up the TL from the (C300/350, 328/335, A4/A5, G35, IS250/350 class) to the (E350/550, 535/545xi, A6, GS350/460 category), but they still want to remain competitive in price and fuel economoy is a huge focus....

I would say

1) Cooled front seats
2) DOHC and/or Higher Revving J3x Series Engines.
3) Re-Release of a Steptronic type controlled transmission (not JUST paddle shifters, but actual control on the shifter)

docboy

Keeping things realistic and cost effective:

1) I would love to have 60/40 folding split rear seats, like my 1G TSX. I know this was done intentionally for strength, but surely it can be engineered another way. The B8 A4 has this feature, but like the 4G TL, still has 5 star crash ratings all around.

If anyone knows how/who can do a "mod" for 60/40 split rear seats, let me know ASAP.

2) Mold a shape for a water bottle on the drivers/passengers side compartment storage area.

3) Deepen the center storage area abit (a la the RDX) and extend the arm rest forward.

4) Bi-xenon headlights

CraigMacDTA

The re-design of the front fascia WILL happen before the 2012 model year, as confirmed by my GM's talk while at the recent dealers meetings. Look for it in the coming 2011 model year...I can't f'n wait, I haven't sold a TL in 2 months! LOL

Eli

Sunglasses holder that doesn't rattle.

bagbklyn

Dealer told me it was done to limit road noise. he said go to any real luxury car and see if you can fold the seats down. He said it won't happen due to keep the noise level down.

1. I would like to add less powerful DRL light, more like its own seperate DRL and Bi-xenon make a comeback. And allow us to put our foglights on without having our headlights on. This would make the TL so much sexier, BMW can do it so why can't we (Borrow the bi-xenon from the 3G and make the high beam portion there now a dedicated DRL with less output, they are way to bright now for DRL's. And just we wire the fog lights so it doesn't have to come on with the the headlights)

2. True keyless touch entry to all 4 doors and be able to touch lock your car from the trunk.(The only think that would add cost new handles and rewiring for trunk button)

3. Take of that bright ass sync green LED, it's annoying as hell as soon as I sync it I turn it off.Why call it sync in a technology advance car(Every single person that comes in the car oh that cool one button to synch your phone or the ipod, ummm no that is for dual climate, so why didn't they just name it dual?(New paint)

4. Allow owners to rename the driver 1 & 2 names.(System update)

5. Give United States customers the washer nozzles for the headlight.(I hope Acura knows that it doesn't only snow in Canada)

I think the things that I asked her are easily do-able and wouldn't increase the price of the car that much and they are practical.

BLACKURA_NY

iTrader: (6)

Turn your Radio down!!

haha but seriously, mine rattles all the time too

TSX69

I still think that Acura should dust off the old SH-FWD from the Honda Prelude & use it on the FWD TL, TSX & RDX to give it an edge over Hondas & other mass market FWD vehicles ...

alexSU

iTrader: (3)

was that the all-wheel turning prelude??

TSX69

The AutoChannel
Honda Prelude Type SH (2001)
By Tom Hagin

SPECIFICATIONS

Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price $ 26,100
Price As Tested $ 26,540
Engine Type DOHC 16-valve 2.2 Liter I4 w/SMFI*
Engine Size 132 cid/2157 cc
Horsepower 200 @ 7000 RPM
Torque (lb-ft) 156 @ 5250 RPM
Wheelbase/Width/Length 101.8"/69.0"/178.0"
Transmission Five-speed manual
Curb Weight 3217 pounds
Fuel Capacity 15.9 gallons
Tires (F/R) 205/50R16 all-season
Brakes (F/R) Disc (ABS)/disc (ABS)
Drive Train Front-engine/front-wheel-drive
Vehicle Type Four-passenger/two-door
Domestic Content none
Coefficient of Drag (Cd.) N/A

PERFORMANCE

EPA Economy, miles per gallon
city/highway/average 22/27/24
0-60 MPH 7.5 seconds
1/4 (E.T.) 16.0 seconds @ 92.5 mph
Top-speed 135 mph
* Sequential multi-port fuel injection

Not much new news these days concerning the Honda Prelude. The company's sport coupe soldiers on with minimal changes since it was introduced as an all-new vehicle in 1997.

It's offered as the standard Prelude and as our test vehicle of the week, the Prelude Type SH.

OUTSIDE - When the latest Prelude first appeared, is was a refreshing contrast to the multitude of "organic" shapes that were just then coming into favor with most automakers. Its unique headlight shape dominates its appearance. They are trapezoidal, yet somewhat vertical. The nose of the car looks flat, but it's raked backward enough to allow the car to cut a clean swath through the air. It has structural upgrades such as thicker metal at load-bearing areas, additional welds, a structural beam that spans the under-dash area and reinforces floor and bulkhead areas. This made bending and twisting resistance rise by 55 and 24-percent, respectively. A set of beautiful 16-inch, five-spoke alloy wheels with performance tires are standard on Prelude SH.

INSIDE - Prelude's comfortable, functional interior has wide front bucket seats with a bit more bolstering, but not so much as to fit only a narrow-hipped minority of body sizes. Rear seat room improved dramatically over the previous generation Prelude, and it's acceptable by 2-Plus-2 standards, though we still recommend that the back seat be reserved for children or adults on cross-town short hops. The rear seatback folds down for added cargo room, and locks in its upright position. The instrument panel is as tidy, functional and straightforward, with round analog gauges grouped in front of the driver in easy view. Standard SH features include power windows, door locks and outside mirrors, air conditioning, cruise control, variable-speed intermittent wipers, power moonroof and an AM/FM/CD with six speakers.

ON THE ROAD - Power comes from a 2.2-liter inline four cylinder engine that produces a healthy 200 horsepower and 156 pound-feet of torque. It uses Honda's Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control, or VTEC which activates another, more performance- oriented set of camshaft lobes after the engine speed reaches 5000 rpms. This opens a secondary fuel/air intake tract simultaneously with the longer duration, higher-lift cam profile to feed additional fuel into the cylinders. This results in a furious rise in acceleration and a slight tug on the steering wheel from torque steer, a phenomenon inherent in front-drive performance cars. Fortunately, Honda fits Prelude SH models with its Active Torque Transfer System (ATTS), a hardware unit that can send as much as 80-percent of the engine's torque to the lest front wheel, which can spin as much as 15-percent faster than the other side. It's a seamless system that is virtually invisible to the driver unless the car is being powered hard through a turn. A crisp-shifting five-speed manual transmission is standard, while a four-speed automatic with Sequential Sport Shift "manumatic" operation is optional.

BEHIND THE WHEEL - Like most cars today, Prelude rides on a unit body platform that is reinforced in all the right places. Four-wheel double wishbone suspension is one of the best layout possible, and since Honda strengthened the suspension's anchor points and put a lot of engineering into the suspension geometry, Prelude handles quite well. ATTS handles understeer in the extreme power-on cornering situations, while the supple but soft calibration of the springs and shocks give it a smooth, comfortable ride. Anti-roll bars are fitted front and rear to keep it flat in corners, while the rack-and-pinion steering system uses a unique mechanical torsion bar and rotary valve system. Instead of reducing assist at higher speeds, it senses more load on the system and increases assist quickly. Four-wheel disc brakes with an anti-lock braking system (ABS) are standard.

SAFETY - Dual dashboard airbags, ABS, side-impact door beams and ATTS are standard. Child seat tether anchors and an emergency trunk opener are new for 2001.

OPTIONS - None on our test car.

SmokeTL

Panoramic glass roof
cooled seats
head light washers

acura911

a redo.

ieh

Well...sigh...I don't know....I just know everytime when we all wanted and what we all wishes Acura to add on, they do the opposite or make us to WAIT.....they want to be on their own, so that can show that they are more "Advance" to others.

For sure they won't drop the Power Plenum Grille, thats a SURE thing. I'm only thinking the coming changes for the 4G TL will be more uglier...or I should say more unacceptable for everyone~

Hanga Piko

I'd hit it. The Cadillac CTS has such a roof, but I looked at a CTS and somehow it just felt like a nice Chevy.

EL19

iTrader: (4)

Thats ashame. The sunglasses holder in my 2009 Accord Coupe rattles too.

LoveMyTL-S

How about paint that matches bumpers with the body for WDP!

Colin

They haven't matched since 1999, why start now?

oo7

1. if not folding seats, a bigger pass thru so snowboards can fit. as cool snowboarders want to own Acura's SH-AWD for their adventures.

2. if a new grill is re-designed for 2011 or 2012, makes sure it is backwards compatable to the 2009/2010 model. this isn't asking for too much is it???

3. heads up display

StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

6- speed trans?
Acura took 5-6 years getting the 5 speed to work properly imagine if they have the same fiasco when jumping to 6 speed.. Why not 7 speed? The G37 has a 7 speed..
Acura is scared to build a new 6 speed trans cuz they had SO MANY PROBLEMS when they went from 4 to 5 speed and you guys now want 6 speed?
Take a look at all the tranny threads in the 2nd gen CL/TL boards..Some people like myself went through 3 trannies befor 100K miles and you want them to build a 6 speed?

Colin

Thank you for warning everybody. I don't think anybody knew about the transmission problems. It's a good thing you said something. Whew!

StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

I just dont want people to be in the same boat as I was..
It took them 10 years to build a reliable 5 speed don't push your luck and wish for a 6 speed auto~!

Also ACURA tried to do a very good job in hiding the tranny problems and Fudging the numbers I know about 10 people PERSONALLY that had a 2nd gen TL or CL and 9 of them had there tranny go, SO failure rate of people I knew that bought the car NEW was 90% and ACURA is tring to say its inn the single digets..LOL.. I garentee it was OVER 50% failure in those 5 speeds when they first came out.. Alot of people that bught a new TL prob never heard a word about it, not everyone on the board has been here as long as you or I!

Colin

Didn't we talk about this before? 10 years? The 5AT came out in 2000, it appears to have been fixed by mid-2004 or at worst, 2005. Here we are 5 years on, and it seems to be fine. (understanding that 2000's typically failed within a year or two)

Anyway, it is obviously possible that there could be teething problems with any all new product. But considering the difficulty they had with the 5AT, I'm quite sure that they put additional attention to the 6AT. Don't they always say that the safest time to fly is after a crash? Besides, in Honda's 50+ years of existence, they haven't a history of transmission problems. As always YMMV

StonedCL

iTrader: (1)

Well I had my last one put in by acura when I had 99K in 2006 and it went 6 months ago at 160K after ATF changes every 15K miles, and driving like grandma!

dave_ramkumar

iTrader: (5)

a type-s 2011 would be cool if they could ad a 2 tone interior

naphta94

SH-AWD is more like the past TYPE S.

anyhow...

1) power folding mirrors (standard or atleast on tech)
2) better color combo's. I wanted black on umber or even white on umber but with 6 speed!!!

t5620

they have them also in the mexican version, and it never snows down here

compewterbleu

Wow, is anyone happy with their 4G TL? I never heard so much of a cars success resting on a freaking grille that is a part of the whole, funny that new Buick is like a Frankenstein of Acura, Charger, Lexus, and a few other designs yet they say it looks elegant, WTF? ...Sure cooled seats, blind spot indicator, and perhaps a telescopic steering wheel. But the cost will rise then folks will be bitching about that.

Hacura

Doesn't Acura already have a production 6sp auto in the M/ZDX? Let's see a DSG tranny on a coupe.

jasonwdp10

Not if it's part of a package. It's quite simple. If there's a higher pkg with those features, people will get it. The people that want to save @ and not have those features can get the lower pkg.. doesn't seem difficult to me

wickie2000

Power folding side mirrors

Memory steering wheel

DOHC engine with an extra 30+hp

Cooled saets

Bi-xenon headlights