PetesTL

Speaking of the ZDX, I was at my dealership today getting a carwash (free of course) and I saw one on the showroom floor......gorgeous car......interior is damn nice! (leather dash, cooled seats, panoramic roof).......got me tempted to trade-in my 4G.......until I saw the sticker price: $60K.....good luck with that Acura....yikes!

BLACKURA_NY

iTrader: (6)

Yea, ZDX is a sweet ride... i checked one out a few weeks ago....but $60k? geez

Most expensive Acura ever, aside from the NSX

HiroY

60K for ZDX? Was that with some kind of 'market adjustment' markup over sticker? The sticker for the top of the line with Advance Package is $56,855 with a published invoice of $52,114...and the base starts at $46,305 list with invoice at $42,547.

jangkai

^ wait for a few months and I'm pretty sure they'll be selling the ZDX under invoice with aggressive interest rates like they did with the TL.

I was at the Philly auto show today and as much as I like the ZDX, I bumped my head everytime trying to get into the back seat. It's like a freaking Lotus or something.

BLACKURA_NY

iTrader: (6)

$57k + $1k (average) over MSRP asking price = $58k

$58k + Tax (8.625 in NY) = $63k

The dealership i stopped at, sold their first ZDX (pre-order) for $65k OTD w/ All weather mats etc...

HiroY

Hey, I take offense to that - I never bump my head getting in/out of my Lotus...Twisting the rest of my body though is a different story

Seriously though, I also bumped my head a bit getting in the back of the ZDX...they definitely made design lines the first priority vs practicality when setting the roofline.

BLACKURA_NY

iTrader: (6)

Anybody else noticed Acura's HEFTY marketing lately?

Last week, during the NFL games, dozens of commercials... ive seen about 3 different ones for the TSX and the TL... an MDX and a ZDX commercial

don't see any toyota or lexus commercials

HiroY

They don't need to spend any more money on commercials...the news media is taking care of all their advertising now

docboy

Ha!

frugalguy

Wow! That's LOYALTY!

I wonder if you hold the record for the total number of TL owned (in relatively a short time frame at that!).

I have seen people switch cars year after year. But they switch into DIFFERENT cars! LOL

frugalguy

But I thought we do know the TL is missing its mark. Badly at that!

Honda has stated publicly that they are targeting annual sales of 70,000 4G TL.

Last year they sold less than 34,000 TL's!

This year Honda would be lucky if they sell that many if the latest January's sales is any indication for the rest of the year.

PetesTL

Yeah that is absolutely ridiculous pricing for what is essentially just a cute crossover. Who do they think they are, Porsche? A few years ago, I bought my '07 Porsche Cayenne S for $64K. The ZDX is no Porsche.

BLACKURA_NY

iTrader: (6)

Acura's primary target with the ZDX, was the BMW X6

I just priced an X6....Fully loaded, with all the same options you'll get on a fully loaded ZDX


35i (3.0L 300hp) @ Total MSRP as Built $71,325
50i (4.4L 400hp) @ Total MSRP as Built $79,225

Whats even funnier, is there is an X6 Active Hybrid V8 Twin Turbo... gets 19mpg-highway.... where as the 35i gets 20 mpg-highway and the 50i gets 18mpq-highway

Active Hybrid V8-TT @ Total MSRP as Built $92,675

VTEC Racer

Acura has adjusted the TL sales goal for 2010 to more better match the current economic condition. I believe it is set at something like 37,000 now. Don't quote me on that though.

jspagna1

I felt the same way. I wasn't even considering the TL because of the front end & the new styling of the car.
My sister has owned 2 G35X's and I drove both of them, fast car but very stiff and uncomfortable. My brother-in-law does'nt even like it.
I drove the 2010 Maxima, having owned 2 Maximas and being very happy with them. The wife & I did not like the car at all.
Went and drove the TL and BAM loved the way the car drove & loved the interior room & comfort. This is the first Honda product I have owned and so far I am very happy with it.

TechnoCat

You'd settle for getting the Xenons and sunroof because they don't cost much at that point, given that they're part of a package. But if you wanted the equivalent in a TL, including the (included on the BMW)...
Flat trunk floor, quiet moonroof when open, folding seats (at least on Audi, not sure on BMW), headlight washers, etc... read posts on this forum for the niceties missing), you simply cannot get it.

Pete2010

I get the other gripes..but totally don't understand the "flat trunk floor" one... I mean could have essentially filled in the spot that is lower than the rest, and BAM! flat trunk floor... but that would reduce the total cubic foot size of the trunk itself... Why not leave it as it and bring more cubic feet to the size of the trunk?

I will give you the folding down rear seats.. my 05 TSX had them, but not on the 07 TL-S and the 2010 TL... sure made my experience of getting a large rug home quite annoying...

docboy

I agree with the fold down rear seats. I really miss that on my 05 TSX as well. It was a sacrifice on my part, which I still don't get why Audi/BMW offers, but the TL does not.

Are you aware if fold down rear seats can be a "mod?" I would seriously entertain it.

Pete2010

I would imagine that it would affect the stiffness of the body right? Like when they make a car into a convertible? If the seats don't fold down to make the car better handling, then I'd rather have handling.

TechnoCat

If the trunk was usably large, I'd be with you on that, but it isn't. My A4's trunk held a lot more, and what's more, I didn't have to fight it all going into the well.

It isn't really a TL issue so much as an Audi advantage over everyone else. I've never understood how Audi gets so much trunk into so little car, but they whoop everyone on that.

Pete2010

Yea, very good point...I agree with you on that one... I recently drove from MA to MI and back again and packed the trunk full... would have been nice to have a bit more space. But I do think the 4G trunk is bigger than my 3G trunk...

winstrolvtec

It works the other way as well. For starters, you can't get the TL's kind of value nor it's resale, reliabilty and even long term low cost of maintenance. There are other areas where they trade off as well but I guess my point is cars are not created equally, as a consumers you decide what it is you want, need and what your priorities are as there is no one car that gives you eveything.

frugalguy

Thanks VTEC for the 2010 sales goal. But I think 37,000 might be still too high though. Since January usually represents about 6.5% of TL's annual sales, the projected total sales for 2010 would be about 30,500 units, based on the sales of 1986 cars for 1/10. I guess at least the new 2010 sales target will be in the ball park.

KeithL

Even 37K is going to be hard to reach with latest sales numbers!

graphicguy

Considering what's going on at Toyota theses days (I feel it's just a matter of time before Lexus ends up on the recall list), I'd say all those sales of the IS/ES will drop like a stone dropped from a 10 story building this month.

KES

One perspective - more TL sales will result in lower incentives and more of these on the road making the TL less exclusive.

Low sales may necessitate Acura to change the appearance to boost sales. To some this will be a welcome relief as the TL will be more appealing to a wider range of customers.

George Knighton

Looking at figures like this, it seems to me, probably lends credence to the claim that the looks of certain vehicles are hurting sales.

With the exception of the LaCrosse, which new model is only beginning to hit the market, the vehicles with successes in sales numbers are vehicles that look a certain way. They are of an "older" mindset as far as looks go...but this also means they are of an older mindset with other things too, like the ACE body structure and certain performance and technology items.

The Mercedes C class looks good in a very conventional way, but hearkens to an older time and I'm betting that it's going to lose resale value quickly and lose popularity quickly. It's also going to be harder and harder to design swoopy looking vehicles that meet crash standards, especially if like Honda and Acura you have internal safety standards that exceed what you would need to get the five star official ratings.

I hate to sound like a pro-Honda troll, but personally I can say that I understand the direction that AHM is taking, and I appreciate it even if it means that the stock isn't exactly taking off at the moment.

YetiTL

Explaining sales is quite complicated. There is so many factors involved.

I'll refrain from the usual reply that tend to pop up each month.

Only time will tell if people will accept Acura new design technology. It's also harder to go against the grain with styling than just following the current.

But most people tend to like bland clothes and plain looking car which the TL is not...

frugalguy

Maybe Acura can pick up some of these lost sales of Lexus.

But as it stands the projected sale for February, which on average represents about 7.5% of TL's annual sales, would be about 2,300 units.

frugalguy

So that means 4G owners tend to wear exciting/cutting edge clothing! Interesting.... I'll have to see if I can spot what kind of fashion does 4G drivers favor from now on.

PetesTL

Speaking of fashion, almost all the 4G drivers I've run into have been female. Now that I think about it, most Acura owners that I know of or have run into (outside of these boards) have been female. My take on this is that fancy designs in general attract mostly women. (BTW, the new ZDX was designed by a woman).

frugalguy

Off topic: ZDX =>hot car designed by cool blond = FTW!

George Knighton

New ad campaign focusing on "They're not for everybody" and showing high tech, high performance applications would probably cause more sales.