PsychDoc

...A 20-something year old kid working in the CVS parking lot in Newport RI saw my car and said "Man, that's one awesome looking car..I LOVE the front...what kind of car is that?" Needless to say I was thrilled and flattered.So I pulled over and told him all about the 4G TL. The coolest part was that his girlfriend was almost as taken with the car as he was.

Man, that just made my evening. Even my wife was impressed. We both found it amusing that the part of the car he and his girlfriend were most taken with was the dreaded "beak!"

Sphyrna

He was working in the CVS parking lot? Since his GF was there I'm guessing he's the pimp? LoL Personally, I love the beak. It's the primary reason I went with CBP. I wanted the most contrast to show off the beak.

buckvegas

LMAO, nothing like parking lot pimpin at the CVS with your GF... gotta love the random nice comments on the 4G, I got a great comment the other day at the gas station.

ieh

Gas station again??lol
I had few nice comments when I driving the TL too, got about 3 times was at gas station. A guy beside me when he was filling gas, and the other 2 were the guy working in the gas station. One of them said, "A new TL~Nice~~But....is looks like a Camry....I'm looking to buy a new car...I like the new Maxima! But....Ooooo...the interior is god damn nice!! And the seat!! gosh.....". Then the guy went in and sit at the passenger side.

bmode

I was right by a Black Camry the other day at the pump, at a quick glance I can see why some people say that, but when you drive and sit in a TL, it's apple and oranges! And I like my apples!

The best compliment I've gotten so far is from a BMW 335I driver, while he didn't like the look of it, he said and least you stand out and your not surround by a bunch of other ones just like it. Meaning all the BMW's in Southern Cali.

CCBBUUMM

This is exactly why I pulled in and then right out of the BMW dealership. I couldn't tell what kind of car it was unless i looked at the back of the car to see what model it was. Total turn off. I don't want to be driving a higher end car and all the cars look exactly the same.

Just my

CPR

Thursday night, my buddy & I were heading to a seafood restaurant in Union Square;(Blue Water Griill). 3 ladies were on the sidewalk, where I parked; blazin'! One of them said to me;"that's the baddest white '09TL, on the street; can we go for a ride, & listen to MJ; then we can go to the club".
Then this morning a Russian gentleman, started complimenting me in Russian, till he realized, I don't speak Russian; lol. Wanted to know the price of my ride.Heard my Elton John DVD/A; GYBR, & flipped.
Just nother day in the life of a '09/TL owner.

crxb

had a woman the other day say "thats a beautiful car" never got that w/ the 3G

prepreludesh

I don't know... something about this story is just a little:gheyfight.... in my opinion

hydr0

I was pulling up to a stop sign, and from the left a 3G TL was driving slowly past. He saw the car, stopped short (even though there were no stopped cars ahead of him), and swept his arm to motion me forward, as if I was royalty. I absolutely laughed my ass off and gave him a nice wave. That was by far the best compliment I've gotten yet on any of my cars lol.

Pigeon II

Last week the car wash guy asked me if the grill was custom. He said that it looked trick and that the whole car was sweet. He sees a lot of front ends. I told him he made my day and gave him his tip. Humm?

Funny how I read about the cars odd looks but never get anything but praise from friends and strangers when they see it.

DLeeWebb

I had a similar experience to those above. A young man about seventeen years-old in the neighborhood yelled, "Hey, Mr. Webb! Nice Car!" I have thought from the beginning that the beak/plenum, which has been so widely criticized, will become the distinctive trademark of the Acura-line. I have always thought that it was an improvement over the rather generic front end look of the pre-'09 TL's. What is not to like...

tmnhs81

Big f'in for the BMW looks. every single car and suv in BMW lineup looks same. same grill and headlights. I 4G TL. I whenever I see one.

guytdt

Last week, a guy in a minivan on second row seat roll down the window and give me a thumb up when his van passing me.

evocative

I have to say out of all the cars I've been and driven, this car got the most attention and unsolicited compliments.

One that stands out in my mind is when I was at a ShopRite parking lot and it was pouring rain. This dude knocks on my window and I hesitantly roll it down a bit and he goes, "wow that's a great looking car!!" while he's getting soaked.

MIKEYDRED

Doc,
I hear what you are saying totally I was going to start a new thread but decided might as well comment here. I was on the interstate stuck in traffic today and out of no where a contractor pulls up to me and say's "nice car" and right behind him a gentlemen in an older Maxima almost broke his neck to look at my car. I am not one to seek attention quite frankly I thought the contractor was going to say something smart to me typical Boston rush hour traffic but was surprised. I have to honestly say people who call the TL ugly are just haters and I am not saying this because I am an Acura fan but I truly believe it is one of the best looking cars on the road today and once the competition starts copying it will be widely accepted looks wise. In all my yaers of owning my 3rd generation TL I never got this many comments. I refuse to go on sites like autospies.com to listen to the TL bashing that has no content. Models like the G, ES GS, and others around that time already look dated to me. Anyone thinking of getting a TL go for it you will not be dissapointed. "Advance"

YetiTL

+1

All I get are compliments from people and sometimes while on the road. You know, when total strangers take the time to praise your choice of ride, it must be a good sign. My TL naturally stands out and is in fact unique. Much more than a 3xx black or grey BMW.

rehab_pain

I was at this triathalon over the weekend taking pics and cheering my brother, and it just so happened i parked right where the runners were turning to go to the finish line. I parked early and started to wander around the crowd, when this guy runs up to me and i thought he was going to ask me to move my car, but he leans over and says "thats a really nice ride, do you know whose it is?". I tell him it's mine and he just goes on and on about how sweet it looks. Needless to say i felt good, but what topped it off is going through the crowd and hearing people say "what type of car is that, its nice" or "I wonder how much he paid for that car, looks pricey".

Litt

I G35 Couple owner said, "Wow that beautiful! It's gorgious!". My neighbor was saying "that is such a nice car!". I also had a bunch of unsolicited compliments from people in my building where I work.

rondog

iTrader: (1)

The other day I was riding my bike and this older lady pulled over and asked me "hunny, you need a ride" while she tipped her glasses down and gave me bedroom eyes, I was flattered, lol.

Wait, what forum is this again?

venom550pm

lol

rvalentino

Last night I met 5 guys from Germany who work for BMW. They all said they like the new TL's styling but then tried to convince me that I should have bought a 335i.

PsychDoc

Sure, pay ~$17k more for a smaller, more poorly equipped car which is going to be less reliable over the long haul.

Makes perfect sense to me.

danimal1968

Or $25-35k more for a 535 which is going to be less reliable over the long haul.

It still amazes me that you could pay $45-47 for a 335xi and still need to drop a couple extra grand to get a real leather interior. That's just wrong. One of the things I love about the TL (and Acura in general) is that all that stuff is included in the MSRP. Nothing worse than thinking "hey, that's more affordable than I expected" and then realizing that you need to add 50 percent to the price to get it equipped the way you want.

PsychDoc

Here's the pricing on the 335i (I didn't even bother with the xi). Looks to me like you're going to be lucky to get it out of the showroom for under $47k.

That'll sure buy a lot of gas. Compared to the FWD TL/Tech which can be had for under $35k that's a ~$12k premium.

@$3/gallon that'll buy 4000 gallons of gas.

@20 mpg that'll drive you 80,000 miles.

Not too shabby!

PsychDoc

Oops, forgot the link from the BMW "Build Your Own" site. Here it is:

My 335i Sedan3.0-liter, turbocharged inline 6-cylinder engine
Rear-wheel driveSee all standard featuresBase MSRP$40,300Space Gray Metallic$550Beige Dakota Leather$0Dark Burl Walnut wood trim$0Cold Weather Package$1,150Premium Package$2,650Comfort Access keyless entry$500Heated Steering Wheel$0Navigation system$2,100HD Radio$0iPod and USB adapter$400Logic7 sound system with Surround Sound and Digital Sound Processing$875Satellite radio with 1 year subscription$595Destination & Handling:$825Total MSRP as Built$49,945

venom550pm

and the 3 series is smaller than the TL

jeffpa

That's one thing that really confuses me...why does everyone always compare the smaller 3-Series BMW to the TL??? The June issue of Car and Driver had a test of the TL, where they compared it to the G37, the A4 and the 335. OK, the G37 I can see (although it should have been a G37x, as they tested a TL SH-AWD), but the A4 and the 335 were included in the test because they were similar price points...or are there really people out there who are including these smaller cars when they are shopping for a new ride???

When I was shopping for my new car, I was shopping for something that would comfortably fit my 6'2" (and, more importantly 245 lb.) frame. Driving a 3-Series would be like driving a sardine can...and the 5-Series is so much more expensive than a TL, that was about the most consideration I gave to BMW...not to mention their terrible reliability and tendency for electrical problems.

PetesTL

In my opinion, if you factor in relative size and standard equipment, the real competition to the 4G TL would be the Infiniti M35, BMW 5 series, Mercedes E-class, Volvo S60/80, Saab 9-5, and the Caddy CTS (Out of all of these, to me, the CTS is the closest rival in terms of performance, size, price, features, and even style.....I often think of my TL as the "Japanese CTS").

PsychDoc

While I generally agree with your assessment, I think the A4 may be the only exception to that rule. It has moved upmarket in many of the same ways the TL has and is now a legitimately mid-sized car. In fact, had I not bought the TL, the A4 would almost certainly have been my pick. The only problem for Audi is that with the A4 approaching legitimate mid-size sedan territory, the A6 has a very hard time carving out a legitimate niche for itself. I looked at Audi's sales numbers and this is clearly borne out in the RL-like sales of the A6 (i.e. abysmal) at a time when the A4 is virtually flying out of showrooms.

YetiTL

Well, I'll add my 2 cents, if I may. I agree with PetesTL and PsychDoc. When I was shopping it stucked me how the RL and A6 couldn't really compete with the A4 and TL on the value side of the equation.

In Canada, a 2009 RL (with Elite package) is around 70k and the TL (Tech+SH-AWD) more around 50k (PDI charges in). So...what do we get for 20k??? I could justify the price gap so I went with the cheaper and more-appropriate-for-my -tastes-and-needs car. The A6 and RL just can't compete with their less upscale siblings...

The way I look at it, there's a limit to confort and tech you can get in a car. For me, the TL represented everything I was looking for so both the A6 and RL couldn't offer me anything except an inflated bill.

But on topic, I was at a self service car wash (I use one to have shade, a hose and I can take my time without the neighbors looking at me as an alien) and the owner came to me and said I was looking at you and your car from afar and I had to come see you. He really liked the car and said: the chrome front makes it really classy and good looking! We talked about the car specs a little since he wasn't overly familiar with the 4G but knew a good deal about the 3G. An overall very nice, well-mannered man.

Like everything else, beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

One of my boss said it was one very nice car. She told me I had all the right to treat myself with a nice car...Another very nice and well-mannered woman in her early 40s.

This car is hot and people look at it. So far, I only got thumbs up...but then no one will cross the street to say: your car is butt ugly, he might think it though...

My 2 cents,
-YetiTL

LessisBestmakingendsmeet

Nice dreaming but the reality is, its an entry level luxury car. Like the G37 and ES 350 they are based on other cars and perked up for their luxury brands. That is why every review has it against other entry level cars. I think it was pitted against the VW CC as well.

The A6 is a platform specific Audi now and offers multiple engine choices, V-6s and V-8s. In Europe you can get diesels. There is a S6 with a V-10 and a RS6 with a twin turbo V-10 with 572hp. The A6 has a multitude of interior and exterior options as well.

How on earth is a TL close to A6 competition? Size is not the only factor for classes.

If anything is a A6 competitior it would be the Hyundai Genesis no?

PsychDoc

I'm not sure you understood my point. I was saying that just as the TL moved upmarket in the Acura lineup, largely rendering the RL irrelevant, I think the A4 has moved into mid-sized territory making the role of the A6 less than clear.

And Audi sales certainly seem to demonstrate this as the A4 has been flying out of the showroom (3644 - June '09) while the A6 pretty much sits on the showroom floor (571 - June '09).
http://www.reuters.com/article/press...09+PRN20090701

Takehold66

Had 2 compliments recently. I was walking behind a woman and 2 teenage girls near my daughters softball game and I overheard them commenting on the car and my license plate. As I neared the car to get in she asked what type of car it was and said "wow that is a beautiful car". Then just now I was picking up food at a drive through and the guy taking the money asked what year it was and said that is a really nice car and then pointed it out to another guy next to him. Not sure if this part is good or bad but then as I was leaving he says wow it looks a little like a BMW. Have also had many neighbors and friends really admiring it and saying how nice it looks. No negative comments about the front at all and I actually love the front anyway. Had the car 2 weeks today. Love it more each day.

yngdiego

I've gotten a couple of compliments too. One I was when I parked downtown and I walking to my car. I see two 20 something guys look at my car and comment to themselves how nice it looked. I then proceeded to get into my car and I hear them say, "Wow that's his car."

The second incident was when I parked at a strip mall and was eating dinner. This guy and his wife sat in the booth next to me and quite loudly the guy was going on about how that looked like the new Acura and how beautiful it was. I then turned around and said, "Thanks, that's my car.' He proceeded to tell me how it looked like a Lexus, but better since it has more 'attitude'.

Today while stopped at a light a guy in the next lane was turning his neck quite extensively to look back at my car.

I've grown accustomed to the beak and really love how the 4G TL looks. Plus I can go weeks without seeing another on the road, so I feel unique and not like everyone that seems to have a 3G. I must see 10 3Gs a day, but a total of probably 3 4Gs in 6 months.

Ac Man

It's funny because, I have received more compliments in 2 weeks of owning my 4G than I did in 4 years of owning my 3G TL, which supposedly is the better looking of the two (agree to disagree).

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

You guys are and should be proud of your 4G's. I'm finally starting to see quite a few around Kansas City! It's nice to see them finally becoming more visible. Just more of the TL family taking a more prominent role on the streets.

rhiannon1207

I just picked up my 2009 TL-Tech last Friday and it is definitely an attention getter. I have had more compliments on this car than just about any other car that I've owned. One of the guys that I work with was behind me on my way home from work yesterday. He called me on my cell to tell me "that was one hot looking car that I was driving". That's pretty significant considering this guy doesn't really take much interest in cars, with the exception of the classic Ford Mustangs.

I must admit that everytime I go outside, I have to take a look at the car. To be honest, I almost didn't buy this car because of all of the comments on this forum about how ugly the car was. I was fearful that I might have troubles selling the car later down the road. I now have come to the conclusion that the ugliness described on this list was probably related to some jealousy that the 3G owners didn't own one.

free598

i luv my TL ..am picking-up chicks left N right..lol

chaiwala

I had a construction worker at my work hunt me down by asking a lot of my co-workers if they knew whose TL that was that he has been seeing the last week. He finally found someone who knew that it belonged to me and bring him to me. We proceeded to talk for a good fifteen minutes about the car and I guess my enthusiasm was enough for him to go buy one too. He showed up at my office today telling me that I should come outside because someone took out my mirror in the parking lot. I go out there and I see a brand spanking shiny new 4G TL parked next to mine! I nearly decapitated him for playing such a joke on me but was excited that he got one too!! Oh but you asked for unsolicitated comment but I guess this was somewhat solicitated but had to tell you guys!