The Starbuck

This is 2008, not 1998. Option for Navigation system are about out. They will start coming standard in all cars here before long. So there will be no reason to offer a TL with and without Navigation.

PROFLYER

I just picked up an 08tl and was talking to the owner of the dealership. He said the TL-S AWD is getting the same motor as athe RL (I think that was outlined above) and it will be 41,900 with destination with all the goodies (nav etc.) Keep in mind though, the 335xi BMW is its direct competitor and after driving one I'd NEVER give BMW 54k for it, so figure 40ish OTD if you can get a deal and that's a sweet car. I think these Acura's are under priced if you compare them to the other cars in their class, thus the reason I bought one! The new Mercedes c350 AWD is also a sweet car and fully equipped with Nav etc. I was quoted 43k...

Edward'TLS

^^^^^ If the AWD C350 is only $1100 more than the new 3.7L AWD TL, it makes the AWD C350 a much better choice.

ChampionFiyah

yup, where in the 21st century now, even honda civics have navi screens

SupaRookie

A mod might want to edit the title. Cant wait to see the new TL!

Neogeek

When my Uncle bought his 1987 Legend Coupe, in order to get airbags, you had to opt for the premium sound system... ABS brakes came with leather seats...

I think acura has come a long way since then.

krio

well, the 4gn TL NOW is more a real competitor of the E serie, not more of the C (if it was... better say the TSX)

ChampionFiyah

I sure hope the 4gen is not ugly, It should look mean and aggressive, kinda like a shark on land. I think the tsx is ugly and over priced, I didn't know the day would come where you would pay $35k for a 4cyl lol. I hope the interior looks futuristic like the rl and m5, the 09 tsx interior looks honda~ish

youngblood24

PROFLYER u are so right on the money!the Acura TL right now is the best bang for the money and I think moving forward is the best bang for your buck! I have friends with the G 37s, 35, BMW 3 series and all are happy but there payments are way higher than mine and the person with the BMW had to go back to the dealer a couple of times already! The Acura is a drivers dream!

youngblood24

there is a picture of the new TL in Car and Driver for June

krio

I hope you are joking, youngblood... it's three weeks on we are talking about this shit in all the treads...
Please, someone kills C&D. for the photoshop of the TSX...

tktommy

Youngblood-I'm coming for you.

Edward'TLS

What makes the 4th gen TL suddenly to become a real competitor with the E-series when the 3rd gen TL isn't ?

krio

1) The TL 3gn is a "cross" categorie car, like the Lexus ES, and for that reason in terms of dimensions it has NEVER been a real competitor of the little C Merc (and the new C serie didn't go to far from it).
2) The 4gn will be bigger, wider, longer than the 3gn (and, however, the 3gn is 4,83m long almost like the E serie and the BMW 5).
2) It's AWD.
3) It's 310 hp.
4) It get the best technology that Acura has.

jokerunm

Man, none of those options includes a new transmission. My dream would have been DSG type tranny with SH-AWD.

5AT - the Achilles heel. It will dog the 4gen in performance and economy vs the competition. Too bad.

krio

well, in the specs is not specified the kind of transmission for the 3.7 AWD, only for the 3.5 280 FWD...
we can keep some hope...

Edward'TLS

Aren't all the above, except the hp, are already equipped on the current gen RL which flops big time, let alone competing with the E-series ? So will that 10-20 additional hp on the new TL be the simply solution to suddenly transform an unreal E-class competitor to become a real E-class competitor, when the designed-to-compete-with-the-E-class RL has failed ?

The next generation E-class (W212) will be releasing in the 2010 model year. This 5th gen E-class will be bigger in both the external and internal dimensions, and will adopt features and technologies that are only available on the S-class. This new E-class will surely add another level of competition for the new TL to catch up to.

On the other hand, the next gen TL, with a 420hp V8 and RWD chassis, looks very promising to compete with the new E-class. The new TL is simply not in the same league.

Edward'TLS

Fixed.

6MTUA5

iTrader: (2)

EmuMessenger

Will the 09 have a/c seats?

Hugh9269

Ouch for $42K w/ SHAWD!

I agree that is very close to 335ix pricing. Might be over the price of the G37x as well.

These new prices are driving me nuts since my lease is up in the next few months on my current 05' TL 6MT.

Type34

I disagree. There's a large portion of buyers who don't want navigation, simply for the cost, because they already have portable devices, or feel navigation is beyond the scope of their needs. I personally would not own a vehicle without nav (both our MDX and TSX have it), but of the last 5 people I've assisted in buying/leasing a vehicle, only 1 opted for nav.

Part of my attraction to Acura was the simplicity of its packaging - nav / no-nav (or now Technology package) was simple to explain and differentiated Acura from other brands with its impressive standard equipment. I'm especially not keen on the new TL having both a 3.5L and 3.7L V6 - unless just the Type-S gets the 3.7L V6 and standard SH-AWD.

IMO, it should be (why make it difficult?)...

Acura TL - 3.5L V6, 280hp
Standard - 17" wheels, Smart key
Optional - 18" wheels, Technology Package with navigation

Acura TL Type-S - 3.7L V6, 310hp
Standard - 18" wheels, Smart key, SH-AWD
Optional - 19" wheels, Technology Package with navigation

Note: this is given the fact that the current spec for the '09 TL does not include a manual transmission - if a 6MT were included, I would have a 6MT available as an option on both vehicles (although the base TL probably wouldn't sell in the numbers needed to justify 6MT).

adrian_04tl

ill guess ill have to test drive #4 and leave it at that!!!

TL|GTX

Umm i just leased an 08 base tl for 3 years, wish i coulda got an tl-s. If the 09 tl is all that is their any way i can get the 09 tl without waiting for my lease to end in 3 years?

B K R

With the RL 3.7L engine rated at 300HP it seems unlikely that the TL 3.7L will be rated @ 310HP.

TL1999

I don't know if anyone say this or not, but here it is.

REDESIGN PLEASE!

Sorry about the BIG LETTER

Edward'TLS

Given that the 260hp 2nd gen TL was always trumping the 225hp 1st gen RL, I'm not surprised that history will repeat itself.

With a recently monthly sales of less than 400 units for the current RL, I think Acura has given up on the RL. It is much wiser to give the best to the bread-and-butter TL to make up for the loss incurred by the RL.

Bearcat94

Sure:

- Buy/Lease the '09 as a second car; turn in the '08 in 3 years;

- Buy out the '08 and sell it; buy/lease an '09;

- Trade the '08 for an '09 (thats actually the same as above, but Acura will do all buying/selling and add whatever you lose on the '08 to the cost of the '09).

Ibn Rushd

if that were the case though, then 310 3.7V6 aren't enough for the Type S. You'd have to give it at least 330 to offset the SHAWD system and the weight. The Type S has always gone up against BMW's best (330/335), Mercedes' (C350), Audi's, Lexus's and so forth.

With 310hp and obvious that the torque won't be there (Say 280 max), then you really have been out gunned by the competition. And it may handle well, but people will always look at off the line starts. Why, i have no idea, and all around it might be good, but it'll suffer the same fate the RL has.

300 in the RL isn't enough to propel the car ANYWHERE NEAR what it's rivals are doing, and the 310 won't help either, you need at least another 30hp and more torque so it can keep up.

I'm sure the reason they didn't add power to the SH-Awd version is probably because the Type S will use the same engine and have the power boosted up. Honda used to be good at getting crazy power out of small engines....out of engines this size, i can't see why 350 can't be done.

I see your point about making it easier...but i think this is a better step to make...since people don't have to buy a the Type S just to get AWD or something.

That or disregard FWD and keep it all AWD, if gas mileage is up, people really won't complain about it.

TL|GTX

Wow acura is really pissing me off. They never listen to any of us or what the people say. They are the most fucking hard headed people ever. They will prolly never do rwd. And with the dam awd 310 hp and 280trq thats WACK!!! The freaking car must weight 4,000 or more.

Bearcat94

AT LEAST 330, if not 340+.

Unless, somehow, Acura/Honda finds a way to get more of the Crank HP to the Wheels.

At 310 HP, SH-AWD, and 4,000 pounds this car could be very slow and bloated.

OUTATIME

As far as weight goes, it will all be in the tq numbers - sadly, the history of the J series has shown that it's not a very torque-y engine at all.

Edward'TLS

A 6-speed or 7-speed DSG gearbox will do wonders to the acceleration numbers and highway fuel economy, even given only 310hp to play with.

whatjones911

Why do people want a DSG on this car? That would make acura add 3-4 grand on to the sticker price. It can already be concluded that the sh-awd model will be edging at the $40k territory

Edward'TLS

Because, we've to face the reality, and the reality is that auto makers are moving away from 6-or-more-speed manual transmissions for their new vehicles, except maybe a handful of TRUE sport cars. Give with only auto boxes, I'll rather have a DSG than a conventional automatic box.

TL|GTX

It thats all the hp there putting out in the 09, im freaking not gunna even look at the car. An base tl will beat that car. But if the tl-s is atleast 350hp then i might consider. Lets all right a letter to acura ehh?

ndabunka

I've read a few of your posts here and you ALWAYS come across as a PUNK... "If the aren't going to listen to ME, then I'll just...." or the whining about "why don't they EVER listen to me and put a RWD in this car"? Who the F gives a rats arse what YOU think? Certainly not Acura and certainly not the majority of this forum's clients.

The bottom line is that fuel economy is selling cars right now, not 350HP gas gusselers. More HP "generally" means poorer fuel economy. Acura was one of the first ones to give us "decent" FE AND performance when the 2004 TL came with 270HP (at he time rated) AND 29MPG. Maybe they can keep the FE up around the 28MPG range with the 310HP. For the MAJORITY of the american public, this would be "just fine".

Don't even get me started on the cost to re-designing these for RWD. The MAJORITY have already stated that AWD would be preferable for RWD anyway so if we have AWD, why not be happy? Something tells me that you are NEVER happy even when your daddy was paying for your car AND you way through school (or is that still going on 8 years later)? Get a life!

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

I'm going to go ahead and post trancemission's warning in this thread as well so it's clear:

TL|GTX

U know how happy i would be if acura made the 09 tl-s with rwd that would be just crazy. But what if acura been feeling really stupid about not putting rwd on there cars?

JD TL-S

iTrader: (1)

If they would just turbo charge the 3.5 liter with about 340hp with SH-AWD and a manual they would sell like hotcakes. They already turocharged the RDX, why not the new TL ???