TLType-s12

iTrader: (2)

Im very dissapointed in Acura. Theyre going from having the best selling sedan to NOT! They totally screwed up on a beautiful machine. This new 4G is rediculous. Now I Voted NO but at the same time a car is different in person. But overall the front of the car looks like a camry. And that GRILLLL,,,, yuckk. I dont know what wrong with the Acura Designers. Whatever happened to a focus group??? Anyway here is two pictures, one of a 4G and one of the camry. Other than the grill, the front looks exactly like a dawm camry. Very very dissapointed in Acura thats all I can say. They took a beautiful 3G TL and screwed it up.



2009 TL



2008-09 Toyota Camry




Anybody else see the resemblence???

cyborgen

This 2009 TL design lost quite a few class ribbons. Call it a front-grill challenged Accord maybe. I expect this model to make an excellent 'bad design' case study.

The Mr. smiley cheese grater front makes no sense unless you're a beaver. ROFL !!!

Style points: 0

Heading to BMW... sorry :p

JetJock

Front, rear and interior are all ugly. I won't be buying a new Acura for a long long time. UGHHHHHHH!!!!

ncelk

Acura really dropped the ball on this one. Either, they are looking to reduce their sales of the TL or they are in for a rude awakening when this one hits the lots.

neuronbob

I just asked my wife what she thought of the car, now that the official pix are out. She likes the front but thinks the rest of the car is jacked up. She says she wouldn't buy it even if she had the money.

She's a good example of the unwashed masses as she's not a car enthusiast.

If other think like her, the TL is sure to sell fewer copies than the 3G. We'll see, though.....

pttl

4G

There. Does that describe my feelings?

honda_nut

I would rather own a new accord than the new tl. This thing is so ugly, I wouldn't drive one for free. It's worse than the pontiac aztec.

chillout24

The rear is butt ugly...the front is only moderately ugly...the interior just looks boring. Overall I give it a 3 on looks...that = 30 beers to make it attractive enough to buy

Dr.S

Glad I went with the '08! Whew. When I heard about the changes coming in 09, I was worried and bummed, until now.

tmnhs81

Front end looks nice except the grill part. Rear end looks like berrowed from current civic coupe and chevy impala or you can say saturn aura(the trunk part). I would like to see this car in person, because sometimes pic's are not worth 1000 words...lol

NickD

Thanks Acura for screwing up TL. I was in the market for an additional car and based on experience with 04 TL was going to purchase the 09. I will pass on that. What in God's name where exterior designers on? That must have been some powerful stuff!!!

G37 here I come...... 330 hp and 7-speed auto trans.

Enough said!!!!!

Eoanou

I'd like to see the new TL in another color before making any comments. Remember even the most beautiful automobiles can look awful with a poor color selection.

Eoanou

What is worse for Acura is how the steep the base model has become in price, $35,000 for the base model, I'll pass and purchase a Type-S '08 instead.

Revolutions

how come there's not a I HATE IT option in the poll?

chachmo

Same here!! 4G is bad. Realllllllly bad. I would not buy one of these for half of sticker price. As others have said, if someone gave me one I would sell it. That's pretty sad, considering I am a huge Honda/Acura enthusiast. On the bright side, my '08 has 9K miles on it, I think it's safe to say it should last me until the 5G's come out.

JD TL-S

iTrader: (1)

OMG WTF

I just ate an entire bottle of TUMS.

KeithL

The reality is Acura will sell plenty of 4G TLs, now whther they will sell as well as the 3G did noone knows. What I do suspect is the enthusiast TL owner many of us may be driven to the competition, I suspect G37 sedan will pick up the bulk of the defectors as it is the closest competitor. I know I for one don't see myself in a 4G TL, I see G37 in my future.

mikmax1

I showed my wife pics....she said it looks like a Jack-o-Lantern. After looking again...I tend to agree. Some think it will grow on you. Well....I had a 2004 Maxima, and many (me included) did not like that "Tooth" on the grill, at first. I never did get over it, and traded for my TL. I'll keep my 2005, thanks....maybe time to head over to Lexus, Nissan, Infinity. Acura needs to get the disigners working on the sheet metal refesh....quick.

sensualscorpion15

i still say the nicest body style and design both inside and out that acura ever made is and always will be the 2007 and 2008 type-s!!!!!!!!!!!!!.............now thats a car...................the 2009 tl is a big let down and dissapointment...............unless they come out with a better design than my 08 type-s by the time my lease is over in 2011,i think ill keep mine..............it will be a classic.has every possible option i can ever want in a car..................2009 tl you can keep it!!!!!!!!!!!

FR4NCH1SE

I just saw the car on youtube with a show that test drove the car fully, and it also showed the interior.

Both the interior and exterior are awful.

Lets just talk about exterior, the back has way to many things going on and way to boxy, sort of like the old nissan altimas the 03-07s and the caddy CTS. that is just ugly, the front looks boxy, the whole car looks boxy, I have to be honest, I think the 09 Accord is a better overall looking exterior, interior than the TL this time around.


3.7 Sh-AwD, is dreamy thou. But you have to factor the looks too, especially for 42k.

PoochaKannInc

I like it. And I own a 3G that I love. Go figure...

Revolutions

agreed...you can't beat the value of a 2008 TL-S.....good looks, good power, comfort, navi, all that stuff...all for under 36k......42k for more power, disgusting looks? no thanks..............

chill_dog

No...but it is starting to grow on me a little. I'll never like it as much as the 3G, but eventually I might be able to respect it.

neuronbob

It's not growing on me, but now that we know the specs I definitely respect it. Other than the polarizing exterior design, Acura has definitely done its homework on this car, just like they did with the MMC 2009 RL. I will give Acura credit for that.

007TL-S

but they definely fell "ASLEEP IN CLASS!" that must explain the EXTERIOR design.....doesn't the hood line look like it was borrowed from a DC2 integra!

mikiTL

This design is going to grow on people, I have no doubt about this. Any radical change in design will shy away those who have gotten used to the masculine and edgy design of the 3g. When the 2004TL first came out, I thought the car looked unspectacular. I initially went in to the dealership in 2007 to buy a TSX, but felt it might be too small of a car.

Then I saw the 2007TL in the lots and it just glowed. Every aspect of the 2004TL that I hated was fixed. The front grille was bigger and better designed, the lower grilles had foglights and were much nicely shaped. And oh, those hideous side mirrors from 2004 were replaced with the blinking ones from the RL. The taillights also improved. The MMC improved the design more than enough that I was willing to shell out the money to get it over the considerably cheaper TSX.

The 4G, despite being bigger, looks sleeker and sexier, imo. The rear profile view looks powerful, especially the AWD version. By the time 4G MMC comes around, everyone who despised the car is going to be wondering what they found wrong with it when it first came out..

SupaRookie

i'll see it in person to make judgment. It will take some time to accept it.

JeffNY

I just can't believe SOMEONE in that Acura design studio didn't say "Hey, guys, what the Hell are we doing here.....I mean LOOK at this!"

It's funny, some of the photoshopped TL's we saw in the forum here looked WAY better. If only they made one of those.

After the initial pics started showing up I kept thinking "This is just a diversion right? Nice try Acura! Nice try! You almost had us all fooled....I can't wait to see the REAL '09 TL hahaha" Well, I guess they weren't kidding around.....

boiko

You want to blame somebody..here he is. Watch this video and tell me what..YOU think.

OK....here is the guy that took one of the best looking cars on the road (designed and built in Ohio) and redesigned it "at our new fantastic studio in Torrance California"???...using Acura's new "Keen-Edged Dynamic" design ..????

- The design in the back just doesn't flow
- What's up with that rear deck spoiler??
- Looks like rear lights just stuck on the rear bumper
- The front carries the new Acura corporate design symbol to an almost comic/size level.

To me, he sounds more like a marketing guy....then a designer. There is something really wrong here. He says things like.."this has not been done before.." Why did they OK this design? I drive an 06 TL and was thinking about getting a new one when they came out...but now. As someone said, it's almost like Acura's version of the Pontiac Astek.

I would love to know what the previous TL designers think of this new gen TL.

Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2b_8pcleJ4

-mike-

MMsTSX

oh hell no.

the interior is nice?
what are you guys smoking?

what a piece of design junk this load is.

I feel bad for all of you new TSX, RL and soon to be TL owners.

I'll be laughing at all of you on the road.
suckers.

CiViCKiDD

Hell no. I dislike the '09 TSX, and same with the '09 TL.

Though, I have friends who thought the '09 TSX was much better looking than the outgoing '08. I don't pay them much heed (these are the guys who can't drive stick and don't give a rats ass about handling, just stated horsepower), but yeah.

KeithL

Art Osbourne, is the guy to blame for this exterior huh,

He states it invokes emtion, yeah hatred!!

No offense, I repect the guy he obvisouly got somewhere by knowing something, but all his gabbering and gibberish about the "dynamic" styling and his reasoning for the various aspects of the front and back are nuts.

The best profile of the 4G is the side profile, front turns me off, and rear evokes nothing from me.

Like I have said before, I have no doubt they'll sell a ton of these, not just to me. Infinity here I come...

christof

That guy in the video is a grade-A douchebag. I can't believe this is the guy responsible, he barely could explain the car design. Then again with an explanation like that I understand why the car looks like shit. I can only imagine having to work for this douche having to go along with the decision making for the 2009 TL design.

It's not aggressive, sporty or elegant. Looks like the afterbirth of a bastard child born to a drunken nissan / acura one night stand. The interior seems decent enough though.

HEK

not really....maybe if I see it in person...

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

nope, not me...

xcb5

if the 09 was my wife after plastic surgery i think i'd have to divorce her ass and go after a sexier, more natural looking european model....

the design just looks terrible. i can't believe they actually pay people to come up with this stuff.

DivinDude

I've owned at least 1 acura for the past 10.5 years (twice I've had a pair of acuras in my garage), and when this vehicle rotation is done (I have an 07 Type S and 08 RDX), there shall be no more Acura's in my garage .. with the release of the new TL, I can honestly say there is nothing in the Acura line that interests me - I'd hate to have to back those new cars into my garage so I didn't get the urge to throw up when looking at that grille the first thing in the morning

neuronbob

13% like it, 51% don't.

As in the close presidential race, though, it's the 35% who have to see it in person who will decide whether the TL is a hit or a miss.

Some of the pictures do make this car look good, and as I've said before, I'm a fan of the interior. Lotsa buttons, yes, but if you use voice commands like us RL people do, and make use of the big knob (it's SO easy....trust me....took me about 15 minutes to figure it out....), you'll do fine.

mooring

Hey, I'm getting to be an "old folk" and I don't like it either. I have had the 2nd generation Type-S which was my all time favorite. I have had/have 2 of the 3rd generation and would take back my 2nd gen anyday--althought the design has grown on me.

When they sloped the roof line and basically got rid of any horizontal line for the trunk lid, they lost me--but I'm an old 69-71 Charger fan (big flat rear deck).

I have to agree with others, I'm starting to look at other brands because this long awaited style does not trip my wire--and to think we will have to wait 4 years for them to fix it, is a shame.

What market research/focus group study did they do---when the hard-cores hate it, what do you think the mainstream will think?

Costco

^ the 2G TL was my favorite design and still is.

Each generation of TL that came before it will look much better than this abomination. I usually reserve judgment for cars that are just on the edge of "I don't know, it might look better in person" but the 4G looks so ugly that I doubt the majority of the 35% will like it in person. I voted no, but if there was an option for "no freaking way" I would have chosen that.

The TSX IMO would look much better with a nicer grill, because the lines overall are nice. The rear has more character than the 1G, and overall it has more lines, and they actually help and give it more character. The facelifted RL with a new grill would look a lot better, and getting rid of the silver/chrome trim piece on the trunk would help also. That strip makes it look cheap.

But there isn't any hope for the new TL. The only sure-fire way to make it look better is to crash it into a brick wall, scrap it at the junkyard or set it on fire, collect the insurance check and get a new A4 instead.

I can't think of an uglier car in this class. In fact I think this might possibly be the ugliest production car Acura has produced. I guess the "Advanced Sedan Concept" was a grave foreshadowing of things to come. I would highly recommend the A4 mod to any potential 4G TL owners, it would make the car look much better.