rocket_pup

I've read a few industry articles that stated Acura's "Jewel Eye" LEDs are some of the better projectors as far as brightness and pattern.

nist7

One can only hope!!!

Let's have a baby cousin NSX in the TLX!

AZuser

Uh, that's because the Civic is a completely new car that was introduced earlier this year. The current 9th gen Accord was completely redesigned and introduced in 2012. The TLX was introduced in 2014 as an all new model.

At some point, 1 of the 3 will always be newer and have something the other one doesn't because they get updated or completely redesigned at different points in Honda's product cycle. They're not all updated or completely redesigned at the same time.

Next year the all new completely redesigned (10th gen) Accord will have more tech than the current 10th gen Civic and 1st gen TLX. When the 2nd gen TLX comes out in 2019 (assuming Acura sticks to a 5 yr cycle), it will have more tech than the 10th gen Accord and current (10th gen) Civic. But when the 11th gen Civic is released in 2021(?), it will again have newer and probably more tech than the Accord and TLX.

The only way for the current Civic to not have more tech than the current Accord or TLX is for Honda to either update and release all 3 cars at the same time while giving better or more tech to the Accord and TLX, or to have designed and given the current Civic less tech than the current Accord (which is a 5 yr old design by the way) and TLX (which is an almost 3 yr old design). Personally, I don't see either situation happening, especially the latter. The Civic (and Accord) are Honda's bread and butter. Honda generates way more sales and profit from the Civic than the TLX.

Gen4MDX

DUH Dude, I get it. I have been buying Honda's since the 80's. My point being, Honda's luxury line...ACURA does not have the latest tech and is being outdone by Honda. This should NEVER happen and clearly Honda and Acura have not done a good job in coordinating their updates and releases. It's like they are trying to compete with each other and for a similar customer. I am currently cross shopping both of them as we speak.

oh and BTW, the new Civic, 10th Gen, was released in 2015, not this year✌️️

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

Duh! Honda competes and canabalizes it's own brand....
They've been doing it for 10 years already, maybe even longer, fool!!

Wake up and smell the coffee

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

The TLX did very poorly in Nov. Sales.

Are you awake?

boe_d

Let me know when you get their attention - I'd love to talk to them as well.

AZuser

The issue here is you think Acura is a "luxury" line when it is not.

And how would Honda and Acura coordinate their updates so that Acura always has the latest tech?

boe_d

I don't think Acura necessarily should always have the latest tech but whenever new tech is introduced in the Civic or the Accord - it should be introduced in the Acura (premium) brand within a year and it wouldn't hurt if Acura tried to have the latest tech in their cars when the new generation is released.

TheAcAvenger

Find me a VW with better tech than its comparable Audi... or a Nissan with better tech than its comparable Infiniti.... or a Toyota with better tech than its comparable Lexus...

... with that said, the Accord and the TLX are much closer in price than the other reasonable comparisons you could make.

kurtatx

Some of the lower level Audis without the quattro are pretty close to VWs. As far as Lexus goes, the Avalon and the ES, for sure are similar.

mondster

Doesnt the new nissans have the auto brake feature that infiniti doesnt have (i think), and a more complex awd system compared to its infiniti counter parts?

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

Yea, if you look closely you will see this sort of thing happens to other brands too. On top of that, Honda is on a roll lately and most, if not all if its recent new models are class leading. Can't say the same for Toyota or Nissan....this inevitably makes the Acura cars look even worse.

mondster

Yup. With honda surging and acura not being a tier 1 brand, the gap definitely narrows and that definitely hurts their premium brand.

boe_d

if there was an option for premium seating (more comfy) on the Accord I wouldn't bother looking at the Acura any more.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

Yep. That segment is so uber competitive that Honda *has* to keep up with the latest technology or they risk losing market share to the Koreans who are doing a great job these days. Not to mention the Japanese and the Americans.

One of the issues is that tech seems to be moving much faster than ever in cars. When the TLX came out it had the latest safety tech (not too many other cars had LKAS unless you went upscale) and now - only a couple years later - many of the mid sized sedans have it for all the non luxury brands.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

Ya, the TLX nowadays feels outdated since it's been out for like 3 years now without any noticeably updates. On the other hand, the Accord got a major facelift for the 2016 model and that really closed the gap.

So ya, this goes back to the upcoming MMC for TLX. It will need a major one to stay competitive....

nist7

Heh, I wonder if Honda people lurks on forums like this. The Corvette team is quite involved with their fans on the CorvetteForum but this is such a different market/buyer base that probably they don't really lurk or care what a few AZiners think of their TLX or the Acura lineup in general...

TSX69

Spied! 2018 Acura TLX Prototype Shows off New Grille - Motor Trend

8 PHOTOS

We caught the sedan sitting in Southern California traffic

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Sometimes, camouflage only serves to accentuate what an automaker is trying to hide. That’s certainly the case with this Acura prototype, which can’t hide its new diamond pentagon grille in these photos.

We 1st saw this grille design on the Acura Precision Concept, and then again on the refreshed 2017 Acura MDX that went on sale earlier this year. On the camouflaged prototype, which we believe is the refreshed 2018 Acura TLX, this grille contributes to a more athletic front end that we’ve been waiting to see on a production Acura sedan. The headlights maintain their narrow, angular shape as before, but this mule doesn’t have any silver window trim like we typically see on the TLX. The back end keeps its large lip at the top of the trunk, but it looks like Acura may have changed the shape of the rear a bit.

8 PHOTOS

A while back, Acura debuted a production-ready TLX show car with visible exhaust outlets, which could potentially make their way to market because Acura owners have been requesting them. All current Acura models hide their exhaust tips. When the concept debuted, we spoke with Acura Global Creative Director Dave Marek, who hinted that an updated TLX would feature more compelling styling. “The next round of styling will be more premium-brand, performance feeling, and more noticeable,” he said.

8 PHOTOS

The current-generation Acura TLX debuted in 2014 for the 2015 model year, so it’s due for a mid-cycle refresh in the near future. Today’s TLX offers a choice of 2 engines: a 206-hp 2.4-liter inline-4 and a 290-hp 3.5-liter V-6.

Photo Source: Alex Gorodetzki

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BY KELLY PLESKOT

• kpleskot@enthusiastnetwork.com
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weather

^^ Better wheels and gone are the Good Year tires!! Fuckin' bout time! (now lets hope the ZF unit is also gone)

dzionny_dzionassi

I see updated seats,just like in refreshed MDX...

dzionny_dzionassi

And Michelin tires 245/40/19. Maybe higher power numbers LOL

atl7

I'm liking the piping! I'd like to see more stitched material on the dash and a softer material where your knees hit the center stack though. It looks like there's also a black headliner so they're (visually) taking the sportier route, let's hope powertrain also.

CheeseyPoofs McNut

I love that they drive a RED TLX prototype in broad daylight in southern California! I'm sure they're *shocked* that someone saw them and took spy photos!!

boe_d

I'm gonna guess ...no. I think if they did they would have given up on the beak a decade ago. They'd probably have updated their dash tech on all models over the past decade as well.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

but does it still drive poorly, ahem 9spd auto ?

CheeseyPoofs McNut

Actually most major companies have social media people on staff - they handle the twitter and facebook accounts and likely monitor some of the sites like AZ.

That said - Acura isn't likely to make wholesale changes based on the opinions of a handful of people who post to a car forum.

boe_d

Maybe they should based on the tens of thousands of people who stopped buying their cars.

pyrodan007

Soon to become tens of thousands of people + 1. And once people leave, it becomes EXTREMELY difficult to make them come back due to past stigmas.

For example, the new 2018 TLX is beautiful with new design and mechanical changes. However, they decided to use Honda's new 10sp transmission (example). Did you think I or owners of 2015 TLXs would be interested in it? I wouldn't touch it with a pole from the space station ...

weather

^^ Exactly and when you start losing the loyal fan base which are the one that will buy time and time again, not to mention encourage others to buy and create a buzz for the brand - I am not a business analyst but I would be willing to bet that they have done damage to the brand and sales that will far exceed the few dollars they tried to save by cheapening out,

Regardless, they have lost me as a buyer and I bought several vehicles in the last few years.....I haven't stopped buying cars, rather I have stopped by ACURAs

ACURA....Are you monitoring these boards?

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

I think that's different though. What you are talking about is more to do with reliability. In that case, it's true that once someone has had a bad experience, it's hard to convince that person to come back.

Boe_d on the other hand is talking about lack of features. So, if the car is improved with more up-to-date technologies, better powertrain, styling, etc, he/she is more likely to consider the new product.

boe_d

While I did have a bad transmission - Acura did fix it under warranty. The Ferengi Acura in Santa Monica wasted my time by "looking" at it - not having a loaner ready for me etc taking an extra day and then not replacing it so I would never go to them again but Acura 101 did fix it and did it well so I'd still gladly consider Acura if they stop with the "polarizing" styling and with front end, improved the antiquated dash tech and made the interior a tad nicer and also included hybrid tech in the TLX model. I understand not everyone wants a hybrid but I have to also think while there are some outspoken people in this forum, not everyone wants a type S as the 4cyl is significantly outselling the 6cyl model. I think they should offer a hybrid, 4cyl and a type S and they'd increase sales enough to warrant the different models.

weather

^^ I Would take a Type-S with the extra power generated by batteries, sort of what they did with the NSX and RLX.

We have all pretty much told what Acura needs to do to be successful....They don't need to make every TLX super sporty, they just need to make that option available for those who want it. Start creating a buzz for the brand again. If you go on TOV, they haven't even posted any stories about the spied TLX but they have that hideous Honda boxy thingy - When Acura can't even get the guys at TOV to be excited about Acura, what does that tell you!

dmski

TLX MMC - get ready to be disappointed. New grill and exhaust tips. Boo fkn who.... . Where is a pic of the dash? That garbage info unit is proly still there, 9speed zf, cheap interior, no Type S.... Acura knows what needs to be done with this car but they will not invest in it because the sales are not there. Hmmm I wonder why this car is not selling well??? It's still a mystery to them

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

^
Haha Jeff at TOV has to pay in order to post those pictures...hence those weren't posted.

Anyway, ya, there are things Acura can do without spending a whole lot to make some of their cars competitive. For sure, adding new variants, hybrid, type-s, and using nicer materials would be a good start.

Totally agree that Acura should add options for those that want it, such as adding Sport Hybrid to the TLX. a range topping TLX advance sport hybrid with 380hp while getting 30mpg in the city at $50k would be pretty desirable.

boe_d

I'd be happy with a gas sipping hybrid - 0-60 in 7 seconds or less - 40MPG highway and city (horsepower doesn't matter to me - I'm not towing anything)- easily achievable using a slightly tweaked version of their Accord hybrid. I live in LA and believe me city driving is horrible for MPG. Our highways are also so jammed up they are more comparable to city driving for much of the rest of the country. I realize gas is CURRENTLY cheap enough but it won't last forever and they tax the bejesus out of everything in LA so I'd rather not go through more gas than I need to. They are already talking about raising taxes on gas in CA and CT - probably will in other states that have no spending controls.

mondster

I wonder when the official reveal is

atl7

Maybe the Detroit Auto Show? Spy shots of the '17 MDX on the road started to appear a couple months before they released it, I'm thinking maybe the same trend for the TLX?

boe_d

My guess is less than 2 months before it goes on sale.

silverTL6

iTrader: (2)

Only because the V6 is too tame/underpowered against its competitive set. As other brands are slowly figuring out, those spending $40k+ are much pickier with details and performance-related specs.

Given the proliferation of eSH-AWD, probably safe to assume the hybrid and S variants will be the same model, while the 4-cyl gets a turbo. This puts it more on par with its competitors, but they may shoot themselves in the foot again by making the turbo-4 the S/V6 replacement and keeping the old 4 banger as-is.