My boss thought my TLX was a Kia Optima...
#1
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My boss thought my TLX was a Kia Optima...
Our CFO of our company invited myself and my co-worker to lunch today. We proceeded out of the building and he asked me why I traded my Acura (RL) in for an Optima. My colleague chuckled as he drives a Benz CLA. I said "it's an Acura TLX" He then apologized and said he mistaken the back of it for an Optima...This is not the first time someone has mistaken it for a less expensive car..
#2
Team Owner
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#3
#4
Burning Brakes
#6
Our CFO of our company invited myself and my co-worker to lunch today. We proceeded out of the building and he asked me why I traded my Acura (RL) in for an Optima. My colleague chuckled as he drives a Benz CLA. I said "it's an Acura TLX" He then apologized and said he mistaken the back of it for an Optima...This is not the first time someone has mistaken it for a less expensive car..
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#7
Senior Moderator
THey do have a similar appearance in the rear.
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#8
Burning Brakes
If, instead, I had a Kia Optima which was mistaken for an Acura TLX, that would be a compliment?
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#9
Azine Jabroni
Plain jane styling will do that.
#11
Azine Jabroni
I'll be honest with you, I think the TLX's problem is it's neither exciting nor timeless. The front end suggests it wants to be edgy or futuristic looking. Meanwhile, the rest of it is just a little too plain. I'm hoping the next TLX borrows heavily from the precision concept. The 2019 RDX is definitely a good sign.
#12
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Depends on the flavor. The CLA 45 version has a 375BHP 2.0T & does 0-60 in 4.1 seconds . A major sleeper. Entry level line with a lot of top end.
#13
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My 2018 has a lot of the design ques as my 2004 did. You could easily tell the same car company built them without looking at the logos
Last edited by BEAR-AvHistory; 01-27-2018 at 12:07 PM.
#14
6 Forward 1 Back
Should have told him your last salary adjustment forced you to downsize. . .
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#16
Today I pointed out a BMW 745i on the road in front of us to my son (he's 14 and likes McLarens and the Lykan HyperSport) and say to him "that's a pretty expensive car there", he says "it's OK, but the design of our car is a lot cooler".
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#19
Not timeless more generic Japanese. There is no family history in ACURA's design philosophy going back 20+ years. Each generation had no visual attachment to the prior generation. In a car brand signature styling each generation is an orphan. MB, Audi, BMW & Lexus have a "look". You know what it is just by looking at the design.
My 2018 has a lot of the design ques as my 2004 did. You could easily tell the same car company built them without looking at the logos
My 2018 has a lot of the design ques as my 2004 did. You could easily tell the same car company built them without looking at the logos
Yup I’ve been saying this forever. Acura keeps on changing their design language every few years and the result is no heritage. Arguaby Acura had that old pentagonal shield grille (that died on the 3G TL and RDX) that they were using for a little while from the late 90’s to 2009 and I feel that was the strongest design language they had going for them. They then came out with that god awful can opener grille (what the hell were they thinking) and then toned it down and now scrapped it for this diamond pentagon thing. Not to mention they keep on changing the names Legend > RL > RLX, TL > TLX...etc. You need to keep a name too in order to create a history. Hell Kia has a very distinctive grille and design language and I can EASILY tell a Kia just like a BMW based on grille alone.
Lol right!!
Lol right!!
#20
Team Owner
Not timeless more generic Japanese. There is no family history in ACURA's design philosophy going back 20+ years. Each generation had no visual attachment to the prior generation. In a car brand signature styling each generation is an orphan. MB, Audi, BMW & Lexus have a "look". You know what it is just by looking at the design.
My 2018 has a lot of the design ques as my 2004 did. You could easily tell the same car company built them without looking at the logos
My 2018 has a lot of the design ques as my 2004 did. You could easily tell the same car company built them without looking at the logos
I know there are [many] folks who love it, but to me it just screams they couldnt come up with anything better. I look forward to every new generation of car design and how it changes. BMW and Porsche just copy paste gen after gen. Audi does it too, but for some reason, I don't mind it on their cars. Go figure. It's not even that they do anything different or better than Porsche or BMW. I guess their designs just resonate better with me.
#21
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Not timeless more generic Japanese. There is no family history in ACURA's design philosophy going back 20+ years. Each generation had no visual attachment to the prior generation. In a car brand signature styling each generation is an orphan. MB, Audi, BMW & Lexus have a "look". You know what it is just by looking at the design.
My 2018 has a lot of the design ques as my 2004 did. You could easily tell the same car company built them without looking at the logos
My 2018 has a lot of the design ques as my 2004 did. You could easily tell the same car company built them without looking at the logos
In terms of design language, I would also argue that their SUVs are easily recognizable going back a number of years. Much more consistency in terms of design language.
#22
Senior Moderator
Honestly, you cannot fully assess the TLX's general design without considering it's predecessor: the 4G Acura TL.
The 4G TL was Acura's attempt at fashioning a bold entry into the segment: edgy design like no other competitor, largest most powerful Honda V6 to date and toss in SH-AWD. After all that, most were horrified by its general appearance. (Release timing in the middle of the Great Recession didn't make things any better.)
So after all that, the styling direction with the TLX made sense. Clean, conservative but not overtly plain with slightly beefed up motors from its Accord cousin. I enjoy every moment behind the wheel of my TLX. Not perfect nor the benchmark but, does most things very well.
The 4G TL was Acura's attempt at fashioning a bold entry into the segment: edgy design like no other competitor, largest most powerful Honda V6 to date and toss in SH-AWD. After all that, most were horrified by its general appearance. (Release timing in the middle of the Great Recession didn't make things any better.)
So after all that, the styling direction with the TLX made sense. Clean, conservative but not overtly plain with slightly beefed up motors from its Accord cousin. I enjoy every moment behind the wheel of my TLX. Not perfect nor the benchmark but, does most things very well.
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#23
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I generally like linked family design in a car. Heritage was a good word to use. I would have no trouble buying an Audi except for the grill. The Audi, Lexus style of the big opening does not appeal to me but they both make very buyable cars. MB's design I never liked but that is just me. Kind of ponderous.
We have both 911's & a Boxster 718S in the immediate family. I like the look, the Boxster over the 911, but then its a convertible & I am partial to convertables. Its also leaner looking.
Have had at least one convertible ever since I was 18. Even made a normal convertible out of a T-Top. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but in the car business you cannot push the envelope too far or you get a 4G reception.You also have more flexibility in the design language at the lower end of the product line.
Young people are more likely to buy something radically different then older ones. Typically the older the buying public the more expensive the car they will buy unless they sucked at their job & never got promoted.
If all cars looked the same it would be a very boring world - Welcome to the age of the Transportation Module.
BTW on the 911 a majority of the buyers are buying the "look". Having a 911 has been the sign of "I have arrived & have an important job". The rest buy them because the are the best drivers cars a reasonable paycheck can buy outside of a StingRay. The car has been redesigned from the ground up many times but the iconic look will not change.
We have both 911's & a Boxster 718S in the immediate family. I like the look, the Boxster over the 911, but then its a convertible & I am partial to convertables. Its also leaner looking.
Have had at least one convertible ever since I was 18. Even made a normal convertible out of a T-Top. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder but in the car business you cannot push the envelope too far or you get a 4G reception.You also have more flexibility in the design language at the lower end of the product line.
Young people are more likely to buy something radically different then older ones. Typically the older the buying public the more expensive the car they will buy unless they sucked at their job & never got promoted.
If all cars looked the same it would be a very boring world - Welcome to the age of the Transportation Module.
BTW on the 911 a majority of the buyers are buying the "look". Having a 911 has been the sign of "I have arrived & have an important job". The rest buy them because the are the best drivers cars a reasonable paycheck can buy outside of a StingRay. The car has been redesigned from the ground up many times but the iconic look will not change.
Last edited by BEAR-AvHistory; 01-28-2018 at 11:33 AM.
#24
Team Owner
To be honest, the 4G seems like the black sheep. The TLX looks like what should have come directly after the 3G TL.
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#25
The inconvenient truth
I personally am glad to drive something that could be described as a "bold entry into the segment: edgy design like no other competitor, largest most powerful Honda V6 to date and toss in SH-AWD" even if some people are "horrified" by its appearance (because I like how my car looks and wanted something that will stand out from the rest)
Instead of a kia optima look-a-like
Instead of a kia optima look-a-like
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#26
That 4G TL was unsightly. The TLX looks like like it followed the 2G TSX rather than the 4G TL. Always liked the look of the 3G TL ... couldn't afford one till they got long in the tooth, so ended up getting a 2G TSX instead of the 4G TL.
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#27
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#28
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Non car people can’t often tell one car from another. As it happens, I like the tweaks done to the TLX for 2018. At the end of the day, though, it’s what YOU think that matters the most. I liked it enough to lease one. You may not. Life goes on.
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#29
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I feel like this generation TLX is barely an upgrade from the previous generation TL. I'd say this would be a perfect 3rd generation TSX. I have made the decision that I will most likely trade my Audi Q7 with 140k miles in for the first CPO 2018 RLX that becomes available in my area. I have to admit this is the perfect commuter car. Great fuel efficiency and enjoyable features that I can live with, but I really wish this generation had a double wishbone setup.
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#31
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iTrader: (1)
the new RDX rear tail-lights LOOK very similar of the Lexus NX.
both are CUV type things. both have sharp angular tail-lights.
the problem is keeping up with the Joneses.
Really ask yourself why you bought the TLX. Dig Deep Down and ask yourself what made you buy the TLX.
it's not because you wanted to keep up with appearances, it's because you saw value in the TLX. Keep that in mind the next time someone has choice words for the car.
which leads to another point...it's just a car.
both are CUV type things. both have sharp angular tail-lights.
the problem is keeping up with the Joneses.
Really ask yourself why you bought the TLX. Dig Deep Down and ask yourself what made you buy the TLX.
it's not because you wanted to keep up with appearances, it's because you saw value in the TLX. Keep that in mind the next time someone has choice words for the car.
which leads to another point...it's just a car.
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#32
From the side the TLX looks a lot like a Maserati. The rear does not look like a Kia (except for no tailpipes <18), especially after dark. I personally love the look -- although what the 18 did with the front parking lights/blinkers is way cool.
#33
Someone with a CLA thinks the TLX looks like a Kia Optima? He should have his driver’s license revoked for driving a CLA for starters. That car is dreadful. They upgrade me at Hertz on my rentals for work pretty regularly. They stick me with a CLA almost every time. Recently, I’ve refused the upgrade due to how poor the CLA is. 2nd.....his eyesight is pretty poor. Kia Optima, while I think it’s a fine car (best friend’s wife has 3 of them, and loves them), it does not look like a TLX...not even remotely.
#34
Team Owner
the new RDX rear tail-lights LOOK very similar of the Lexus NX.
both are CUV type things. both have sharp angular tail-lights.
the problem is keeping up with the Joneses.
Really ask yourself why you bought the TLX. Dig Deep Down and ask yourself what made you buy the TLX.
it's not because you wanted to keep up with appearances, it's because you saw value in the TLX. Keep that in mind the next time someone has choice words for the car.
which leads to another point...it's just a car.
both are CUV type things. both have sharp angular tail-lights.
the problem is keeping up with the Joneses.
Really ask yourself why you bought the TLX. Dig Deep Down and ask yourself what made you buy the TLX.
it's not because you wanted to keep up with appearances, it's because you saw value in the TLX. Keep that in mind the next time someone has choice words for the car.
which leads to another point...it's just a car.
Truth be told, I liked the design risks Lexus took- but they are a bit much in some cases. And overall, I can't imagine them aging well. Time will ultimately tell, but yeah... color me surprised if they do.
#35
Team Owner
Someone with a CLA thinks the TLX looks like a Kia Optima? He should have his driver’s license revoked for driving a CLA for starters. That car is dreadful. They upgrade me at Hertz on my rentals for work pretty regularly. They stick me with a CLA almost every time. Recently, I’ve refused the upgrade due to how poor the CLA is. 2nd.....his eyesight is pretty poor. Kia Optima, while I think it’s a fine car (best friend’s wife has 3 of them, and loves them), it does not look like a TLX...not even remotely.
#36
Azine Jabroni
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#38
Senior Moderator
Someone complimented my TLX today, saying "Nice Benz there!"
I guess he saw the large logo, similar in placement to the current tristar logo, and didn't notice the "A". I took the time to show him the A-Spec and told him a bit about Acura. Of course, I'm a car guy and not everybody is, so unsurprising that he wouldn't know. Better to be mistaken for a Benz than a Kia, I guess?
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#39
You mean the one with the 2.0L turbo? The one that 99% of CLAs come with? I've only ever seen one CLA45, whereas I've seen hundreds of CLA250s (it's the official car of 25-year-old girls in LA).
#40
Senior Moderator
Pretty much the official car of pretentious 20-something women here in Jersey as well.