These changes are a positive. Heading back into the right direction hopefully. That large beak design is hideous.

 

I purchased a 2011 TL two weeks ago and every time I look at it I smile. Brutish good looks. What's not to like?

Today I've seen the update 2012 and I'm glad I got the '11. I don't much care for the new front end, and really don't like the new rear end. Now it looks effete.

 

maybe they hired some of the designers from pontiac? i just hope they dont add the large plastic door cladding moldings on the next gen

the design is growing on me, i like the back, the grill looks ok from different angles, but its a really good car, just have to get past the grille

 

Get past the grill and discover what a gem the car really is.

 

It is okay, the grille needs some work, but the car handles great..not as bad as people are saying. It just needs a little love

 

If I didn't like it .......... I wouldn't have bought it ...

 

Love the design, that why I bought it.

 

Didn't like it at first but it started to grow on me and now I love it! Bought a 2010 a few months ago. Recently read in a 2012 review that the TL has lost its "predatory" look with the new design. I'm glad I bought when I did.

 

Same here. I was initially turned off when the 2009 came out, but after seeing the 2012 refresh, I went out and bought a 2011.

 

I had to call the service center today because the PIN they gave me for my old TL's navi doesn't work. She asked if I'm thinking about getting a new car (my TL is old but in GREAT shape). I said I'm trying to hold out a little longer with my current TL I never said what cars I was looking at or why I hadn't already bought a new car. She said they were going to have an event to show off the new TL in April. She said Acura redesigned the body so it doesn't look ugly anymore and the beak doesn't look like it used to. I never said anything about the current TL (certainly never mentioned that I thought it was ugly or the bucktooth in the front) but she was anxious to say the new model wasn't ugly - seems the dealers must be excited to show off a less hideous vehicle to try to improve sales.

I'm looking at the 2012 pictures and while the caricature looks less exaggerated - I wouldn't describe it as an attractive car. I also would want them to improve the MPG and a number of other electronics components before I could justify my old TL.

 

Well it has taken many years, but I think the style has finally grown on me. I had a 2011 TL while my 05 was in the shop for a major repair. I don't know if they changed anything on the 2011 version, but the car looks really good inside and out. I like the big body style and really don't have any complaints. I was kind of sad to have to take it back. While I was but sure I was going to go with Infiniti the next time I was in the market for a car, I just may consider getting another TL.

 

I've been following this thread for a few years. Looks like the 2012 is an improvement, but it's still not for me. I think the Acura TL is decent value for money, but like some other 3G owners my tastes and budget have moved on.

 

I am in same position here.
It made to #1 on the ugliest car grilles. http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story....s&subject=more. I think Acura has someone on Toyota/Lexus payroll working from them in design department. I wonder if Acura browses forums like these. BMW and Mercedes does to see owners comments for free.

 

They should. Honda and Acura won a generation of buyers 20 years ago, like me. They are in danger of losing them. The fact that the wonderful NSX is still not in production is too bad as well. They need something.

 

I just read the article you referenced. Interesting when a car company "doesn't change direction" as the article notes, despite incurring a big sales slump right after the introduce the "beak" as the writer puts it. It's really too bad. The 3G car had a very nice look to it in my view - sort of 5 series proportions. They could have built on that and propelled the car into something even better.

 

the cahnges they made were not major.....I costs too much to retool a factory and the and you won't see these changes until the 5Gs and don't be surprised if they don't come out with it early in 2013.

 

I agree with you. Honda should not wait. Time to recapture what they had and to really make a difference. They have a very good drive train and a very good interior. Work 24/7 on the handling, road feel and exterior. Then....they will have a real contender.

 

The 2012 design changes are nothing more then Acura coming to terms the 2009 design was a tremendous mistake with a huge loss of sales. I for one had an 03 TLS and was waiting for the 09 redesign to replace her after 155k miles. When I first saw the car, I ran away and never turned back thinking I would go blind. What the hell were they thinking??? The car looked like it hit every branch falling out of the ugly tree. The 2012 looks as though it fell out of the same tree but hit a few less branches on the way down. I'm sure the 5th generation will be quite different in design then the 4th being the TL was their best selling model and they can't afford to make the same mistake again. IMHO.

 

i love the way the new TL looks .......09-11 anyway's .........and not just because i have it........i had the 3rd Gen and when i seen the new TL i knew i was going to get it ...........but i originally wanted in the color combo of boreluis blue with the ebony interior .......and grigio was my second choice ...........and i ended up getting the grigio..................alot of people don't like it ..............that's your opinion....you are intitled to it..............i think it looks futuristic and stands different from any other car on the road..................i think some of these other car's on the roads in the year range of the 09-11 are ........they won't even fit in 2/3 years from now let alone 6/7 ............as to where as most of the TL's still fit right in

 

When we bought our '08 TL the 2009s had just come out. It might have been prudent to buy the 09 vs the 08 but my wife and I didn't like "the beak".

We just traded-in our '08 for a '12 while the '11s were in plentiful supply and moderately discounted. We still didn't care for the beak and so willingly paid almost full MSRP to get the '12 without the dang beak.

Someone above commented that the 09/10/11 design grows on you.... perhaps, but so does ringworm.

Acura simply responded to owner's criticism. However, by bringing out the '12 so early in the year (still in the 1st quarter of 2011) they may get some heat from 2011 buyers who didn't see this early roll-out coming and may suffer some early depreciation because of it. The 2012s being in the showroom means the 2011s just had a birthday.

 

^^ they responded to peoples criticism that don't own the car .....and made an even dumber decision.....that new design looks ..........looks like a failed atempt to make the TL look more like the TSX and RL because a couple of people cried about it ................IMO if they wanted to make a change they shoudl have totally redisigned it or just rode the hate wave as toyota is now for thier recalls and re design it.........instead of taking a perfectly good futuristic looking car ........and makin it look as outdated as most of the newer cars on the road

 

and the loss of sales being many went elsewhere like I did. Maybe the car would 09-11 TLs would had sold better in Australia with the Boomerang theme.

 

I think that's the point.

 

It was MUCH more than a couple of people that cried about the looks of the 09-11. When major car magazines call the car ugly, that screams loudly.

I always point to this thread here when talking about how the car is appreciated. Even now, the NO's are roughly double the YES's. Again, that speaks volumes. Obviously the looks were a hit with many but not enough for Acura. I don't blame them. It seems that the '12 is being much better received but is it enough to reclaim the lost customers? Time will tell.

Of course they responded to the criticism of people that didn't own the car.. they wouldn't buy it! Who would but a car they weren't proud to own or at least happy enough with looks? You love the looks of yours.

*shrug*

 

Great points! It just has not grabbed my attention even with the '12 refresh, maybe the next gen will hit the styling mark again like the 3rd gen and to a lesser extent 2nd gen.

 

I'm a fan of everything except the front grill. They probably should have gone with something a little less pronounced like the 2012 but overall I like the look.

 

I'd like to see a new poll that asks "Do you like the exterior design of the 2012 4G TL?" I'm willing to bet the answers will be quite different from this poll.

 

Criticism from non-owners can be of value since the design may be the reason they aren't owners.

 

as i said peoples opinions are people's opinion's .....but all everyone is saying is they don't like the face of the car ........the so called BEAK................

yet the overall styling is the bust .......all they did with the newer model on the outside was change the grill, the bumpers,and a couple of other touches ................noting major.....but everybody loves it ?.....

to each is own ..............as long as i like it ..........

 

Everyone or most everyone agrees the beak was a huge mistake. Maybe car buyers were not ready for the design nor was Acura with low sales. Maybe, and I mean maybe the 4G should had been the 2012 design back in 2009 and the 2009 should had been the 2012. IMHO, Acura launched the 4G ass backwards. Then potential customers wouldn't had run away screaming, "I'm going Blind". I for one owned 2 TLs with the last having high mileage and patiently waiting for the release of the new 2009 TL to buy my third. Once it was released my mind was made up. Hence my avatar.

 

^.....

 

Poor TL. The surgery did not go well.... again.

 

That may have been the better sequence.

 

If I'm selling one of the most popular soft drinks on the market and then redesign it as "new coke" but sales are down - should I say it is a perfectly good new recipe? Or should I figure out how to regain my previous market share?

Actually I do agree they should have toally redesigned the car. They didn't really get enough right in the update. The back still looks wrong - like a cross between a dodge SUV and a sedan. The front probably would have looked better as someone else brought up with just a black grill and the logo - no beak at all. The interior is a mess of colors - the platinum accent cheapens/blingifies the feel of a pretty nice interior. Perhaps I'd like it better if I wore gold chains in my wife beater shirt or thought a grill would improve my smile as I'm displaying my knuckle rings on the wheel. The turn signals on the mirrors don't look like they were planned - just glued on after the car was rolled off the line.

 

front - is the ugliest part of TL.

 

i have the 2010 an i like

 

does anyone know if there are Cat-Back Exhaust for the 4g tl

 

why the 3G TL past the 4G TL @ 130mph

 

does anyone know about any chip

 

all i know from light to light the 4G is faster