SeismicGuy

Well we did the deed on Saturday and want to report in. First and foremost I have to highly recommend the dealer we bought the car from--Hansel Acura. The entire deal was handled almost entirely by email and a few calls and we dealt mostly with Victor Love (Client Advisor) but also met and worked with George Del Barrio (the General Sales Manager). All in all it was the easiest and friendliest car buying experience we ever had!

On the way from Santa Rosa to San Jose we stopped in Petaluma for a Starbucks. When I parked there was a couple walking by and I overheard the guy telling his wife(?) "nice color". The next morning we had breakfast at a little cafe in a strip center. I parked the car in front where I could watch it and I noticed that everyone who walked by kept staring and walking around the car. The color is a real eye magnet.

The 350 mile drive home from northern California to LA was enjoyable. As luck would have it while driving through Sunnyvale (near San Jose) what do we see in front of us but another Mayan Bronze/Parchment TL (it was a 2010 or 2011) and I pulled next to it and told the woman what a nice car she had (she returned the compliment).

The technology in these new cars is somewhat overwhelming. Victor at Hansel showed us some of the basics but recommended that we glance through the manual and just play around with things. We tried out some of the voice command stuff but have a ways to go before getting entirely comfortable with all of the whiz-bang features.

The technology package comes with a great sound system and, in addition to listening to several XM stations we played the audio DVD that comes with the car. The sound is absolutely incredible.

We managed about 33mpg on the trip back which was mostly 65mph to 75mph on the 101 going down the coast. The ride is great and I like the fact that you do not feel disconnected from the road (like Lexus).

When we got home I had the new car next to our 2000 TL and I had not realized how much taller the 2012 looked. According to the brochure it is not quite 2" taller but it seems more than that--a totally different look. In fact the 2000 looks much sleeker but styles have changed quite a lot since then.

I plan to get the windows tinted (I did this with our 2000 which was a dark blue and the combo looked great). The buyer for our 2000 will be picking it up in a few days but I will try and take pics of that car as well.

In the meantime, I guess it back to reading the massive manuals and trying to better understand some of the tech features.


Doug

combat mediC

iTrader: (1)

Nice! Congrats


I also love that color, the 350z came out in a similar color, that color can make any car look good, (IMO of course)

enjoy

MoeTee

that is a polished ebony right? 2012?

under9hell

That is Mayan Bronze. Congrats on the car man! Awesome color. I searched for this color in Houston but couldn't find one, my time was limited so ended up getting a different color.
With the news that Acura is now having difficulties in getting the paint, you probably have the rarest TL on the road!!!
by the way the body side moldings look good on this color!

MoeTee

that is the 2012 right?

Edward'TLS

Congrats. It's such a wonderful feeling to have finally gotten the color that you really wanted.

macguitar

Congrats. Now be sure to update your signature!

ferrcad

I know the color can grow on you... This is my third Mayan Bronze and I can tell it sure does not get old.... Wecome to the club and I hope you realize how rare his color has become.... Especially in a SH-AWD Advance, so those shopping good luck...

diddy_nyc

iTrader: (1)

That's a very nice color. Congrats

Stew4HD

She's a beauty.. a one in a million girl!

Congrats!

types1fan

Nice ride man, that color combo is the best.

Zuck214

I almost got the same color but went with the Forged Silver. Love your color too. Enjoy it and good luck.

Oswald Vater

Nice and congrats. Mayan Bronze reminds me of my late father's 70 Mercury Grand Marquis Brougham. It was very similar with a black vinyl top and gold cloth interior. But I digress...
If you have a smartphone Acura has a nifty app that goes over all the tech features. It's for the 2010 model year but there's not much difference (if any) from the 12's.

SeismicGuy

Thanks for all the compliments. I do think the Bronze/Parchment combo looks good and I like the way the interior is 2-tone (especially like the charcoal carpeting and dash). I opted for the body side molding since the pictures I saw of dark cars with the molding looked pretty good. In fact when I was browsing around for pictures of this combo I stumbled onto Acura of Tempe and almost all of their dark colored TL's have the side molding.

I was debating on tinting the windows but the car really does seem to need this so I will have this done soon.

I can't believe that they discontinued this color since it really is quite beautiful. I wonder if they will re-introduce it under a slightly different name (Acura and Honda seem to do this frequently). Although I would really prefer that they don't since I enjoy the rarity.

It will take a while for "older" folks like my wife and I to learn all of the high-tech stuff but it should be fun. Again, the only thing I definitely do not like is not being able to choose whether or not to have DRL. Looks like I will be pulling the fuse when I get the chance.


Doug

sarge_in

Swweet!! Lovely color indeed! Congrats and enjoy

Stew4HD

That color is very nice! A guy I workwith has an '11 MB. You are right.. they should not discontinue it... we need more variety of color, not less!

lji

Congrats on your new car... nice color which we liked as well. When I was shopping for mine, Sterling McCall had a 6MT in MB and we liked it. But, we didn't care much for the umber interior and that swayed us as the Mayan Bronze 6MT was only available with an umber interior last year (2010 MY).

SeismicGuy

Funny coincidence. The 2000 TL we have (soon had) is Monterey Blue/Parchment

The new one is Mayan Bronze/Parchment

Interesting.

Doug

ardenne90

Congrats on the new car man! Nice combo and good decision on the BSMs. You may also want to protect your investment with clear bra; it is definitely worth it.

SeismicGuy

Where do you get this app?

under9hell

I got the app on App store for my iphone, it's free, search for "Acura". I guess it's also available for Android market too.

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

Congrats Seismic. I love that color-it always reminded me of Root Beer, for some reason. It's really beautiful-enjoy our new TL and best of luck with the manual.

g37guy01

Nice color. I've seen a few of them on the road here. The only issue is the dirt.

Oswald Vater

What "under9hell" said. You also may be able to find an app from your particular dealer that would be helpful for scheduling appointments, etc...
My dealer (Miami Acura) has one.

JM2010 SH-AWD

Congrats. Beautiful car and color. I had narrowed it to MBM and CBP for my car; but I couldn't find a good price on the MBM/6MT combo, so I bought the CBP. I still admire the MBMs when I see them, especially in bright sunlight.

You'll get the hang of the tech stuff soon. Play with it for awhile then go back and read the "bible," one section one at a time (music/climate/navigation, etc.). After a few weeks it will all fall into place.

jspagna1

Very classy color combo. Makes the car look more expensive/exotic than it is!

SeismicGuy

I have to say that the pre-facelift TL had turned my wife off and, because of that, she was hesitant to even look at new TL's to replace her old one. The ONLY reason I was able to get her interested in looking was because a few months ago we saw a Mayan Bronze on the freeway and we both love the color. Also, the facelift that the 2012 received made the style more palatable to her. So first it was the color and next it was the slight restyling that resulted in our purchase.

The car looks nice in any color but the Mayan Bronze makes it really outstanding and the fact that these are almost nonexistent makes it even better. When the car is parked in an area where it is getting plenty of sunshine, folks just cannot walk buy without ogling. I think it will look even better once I get the slight tinting on the windows.

TriFeMan

I have had my 2012 MBM FWD Advance with the parchment interior for about 2 months and just love it. Like everybody has said, the MBM color is just stunning in the sun. I think Acura is making a huge mistake for discontinuing the color.....but I have mine. Hopefully at some point they will come to the realization some people just want a choice besides: black, white, 2 shades of gray and some sort of weird silver.

ferrcad

I did 30% on mine and it is just right... Once again good luck with the new ride...

SeismicGuy

Of course they have the Basque Red but that is also difficult to get and not all that unique (you see similar reds on all sorts of cars, both high end and low end).

I kind of hope Acura does NOT bring back the MBM since I enjoy having a car with a rare and unique color.

I checked the receipt for the 2000 TL we did (yes, I keep those types of things forever) and I think the rear was 20% and the sides were 35%. I have had tint on my cars going back to 1990 (or maybe earlier) and luckily have never gotten a ticket for this. Technically, in Kalifornia you are not supposed to tint the front driver and passenger windows but I have always done so. Again, I try to stick with just a moderate tint since the real dark ones will more likely result in a ticket.

Six Shifter

congrats

Dutchml

I thought Mayan Bronze only came with umber interior??? That's a deal-breaker on the color for me, but parchment works. On the Acura website, you can only "build" a Mayan bronze with umber.

SeismicGuy

I think the umber was only available on the SH-AWD models. A local dealer had an MB/Umber combo and, while I like both colors individually when they are placed next to each other they kind of clash. The first time I saw umber used for an interior was in a BMW. I think it looks great with a grey or white exterior (black also). I am not sure why Acura limited the umber only to the SH-AWD but I wonder if they will expand the use to the regular FWD cars.

under9hell

My mom drives a black 3 series with umber interior, It looks super nice! I was disappointed because Acura didn't have umber interior for FWD

jiiglesia69

Very Nice Color - I just picked one up myself this past saturday and loving it. That only thing I dont like is that they cheaped out on the panel trim. If you compare the 2011 the panel trim, it is textured with little rivets holes in the trim for a unique feel. The 2012 looks the same but is not textured. Minor disappointment but overall happy with everything else. Enjoy your new baby!!!!

Pens Fan

Congrats on the car and welcome to the rare Mayan Bronze club. You will be asked for years to come what color the car is and told how great it looks.

It has been said many times here on the forum that Acura should keep these unique colors for customers that appreciate being different. The boring colors offered now that Mayan Bronze is discontinued (basque Red is not a unique color) is disappointing.

SeismicGuy

Today we're saying goodbye to this (with only 88,000 miles on it):





It served us well!

Steven Bell

iTrader: (2)

^^^ Shoot, she looks like she's still in very good shape!

SeismicGuy

Yeah--it was in excellent shape. Basically it's just the way I tend to keep cars. When I finally decide to sell they look and run about as good as the day they were bought.