mondster

barely... just voicing an opinion just like you. it is a forum after all, a place for discussion.. doesnt mean im offended by your comment. and some of us think that the tl is an attractive car too. i bet you think the beak on your 09 is badass.

Mr Marco

Nope. It's fugly.

3G TL was Acura's best IMHO (so far).

mondster

then why buy it if its fugly? lol

Mr Marco

I wanted S2000, wife wanted big enough ride to haul family and friends (such as X5, Cayenne). We got a 4G TL as loaner and both agreed this would satisfy needs. Grille was the only thing I didn't like. I wanted to add the RJ Grille, but they would not work with me on the mesh. She now drives the car the majority of the time, and I gave up on changing the beak.

BEAR-AvHistory

Another car that should be put to death. Can't believe it sells 10,000 more units than the TL does. Maybe all the potential ZDX buyers went with the X6.

mondster

ahhh, the x6. a car that i also love. i like it more than the zdx but too expensive... both to purchase and maintain. i guess im just weird that i like weird looking cars. lol

SeismicGuy

I know we are still off track but I admired the ZDX at least for its originality and daring (at least for Honda/Acura). I think it looks good from several angles and really only needed maybe a little bit of tweaking to look better. Characteristic of Acura to introduce a vehicle to much hoopla and then kill it off after a couple of years.

MisterZDX

I LOVE my 2013 Z and it gets lots of compliments. The problem was Acura priced it too high. The average person that's willing to spend over 50k on a vehicle is usually not looking at an Acura. And 57k for an Advance model is definitely pushing the limits. Sad because the Z is such as amazing vehicle. I even had a friend say to me, "If you're gonna spend that much, you might as well get a BMW!" My response to that was "I love my Acuras...why because they're extremely reliable and you get more standard tech features for cheaper." I am not a status person and there is nothing about a BMW or Mercedes Benz that interest me. Before the Z, I owned a 09' TL shawd tech and I loved it just as much.

mondster

it may look expensive but you do get all the bells and whistles. a 3 series or c class with all the same options can also run roughly the same price. and id pick the zdx over both cars

g37guy01

I'd rather have a 3 series. As the poster above said, I'm not into status, I would pick a 3 series over a TL, ZDX or G37 all else being equal. But as we know, things are rarely equal.

keith7120

Once my current lease runs out on my 13 SH-AWD TL and if I'm not pleased with the 5 GEN TL or if they price it out of my range I will consider a used ZDX. I'm not an SUV person at all but a cross-over I may buy. However, they made the Honda version of the ZDX (crosstour) as ugly as they could!

Colin

Really? What other Acura suffered this fate after a couple of years?

mondster

maybe the ilx will be in that list next if they dont fix it.

SeismicGuy

Integra, Legend, CL, Vigor--maybe sometimes more than a couple of years but they seem to go through name changes and model dropping more than most marques. At least compared to the marques they want to be competing with.

Colin

I think your perception is far from the reality.
Integra = 1986 to 2000 = 14 years
Legend = 1986 to 1995 = 9 years
CL = 1997 = 2003 = 6 years (7 if you consider that the '97 came out in 3/96)
IMO, the only one close was the Vigor which only had three model years but was sold for 4 since it came out very early in 1991 as a 1992.

SeismicGuy

More to the point Colin is that obviously the upper tier Asian models want to be compared to the Germans. Part of what the Germans have going for them is extreme commitment to model names and identities. Even Lexus caught on pretty quickly that you need to pick your models and stick with them (not so much Infiniti).

You have a pretty good level of confidence that 15 years from now you will still be talking about the then-current 3-series, 5-series, etc. and ditto with the Mercedes C-class, E-class, etc.

In 3 years I wonder if we will still be seeing an ILX or TLX or RLX or if there will be yet another name change/model drop.

docboy

I agree with this post. Names should stick and not change. People don't like change, and familiarity breeds longevity, and with longevity it enhances and adds to prolonged name recognition. IMHO.

Ie: The Porsche 911 is iconic; Porsche has not changed the "911" nomenclature since its introduction, and its name is synonymous with "luxury sports car" and the Porsche brad. Same goes for toys, like character"Optimus Prime." Can you imagine the confusion if the 911 was suddenly renamed to 912? Or if Optimus Prime is known as Optimal Prime? Uproar!!!

However, BMW has now also started to add names a la Audi's nomenclature. 2 series, 4 series... I'm not so sure that is a good idea. My 2

Colin

I'm not disagreeing with this. Only the comment that they "introduce a vehicle ... then kill it off after a couple of years."

Acura has made one (brand-wide) change to the naming conventions in their 25+ year history. The RL has been the RL longer than the Legend nameplate existed. Yes it's been a 3.5 RL, RL and now RLX, but is that too confusing for consumers? Is the 320, 318, 328, 330 or a 240Z, 260Z, 280ZX that different?

Anyway, I didn't mean to jump all over you. This thread has been distracted far too much and I apologize for contributing to it. My bad.

mondster

i agree. no reason to call the new tl a tlx. especially since the tl has had 4 generations already. i was surprised with infinitis move to change the names of their line up. instead of focusing on the name, focus on how to improve the vehicle itself. as long as the vehicle looks nice and reliable, who cares what they name it.

FireAtWill

They did that in the mid/late 90s when Transformers started the Beast Wars series. Optimus Prime took the form of a gorilla instead of a fire truck, and I think they referred to him as "Optimus Primal" on multiple occasions

docboy

LOL, I remember that, a gorilla of all things! Atrocious!

g37guy01

What size engine is in the 911? 9.11 liter? I can see why Infiniti changed their naming convention to get away from engine sizes in the name of the car. TL? What size engine can you deduce from the name? As far as BMW changing the names, their sales don't seem to be suffering for it.

BEAR-AvHistory

The 2/4 series are following an already established BMW naming pattern. The coupe & convertable varients of the 5 series are named the 6 series. The 2/4 are the coupe & convertable varients of the 1 & 3 series.

docboy

I don't follow. What does the size of the engine in the 911 have anything to do with the 911 name being in existence since Porsche introduced it 30+ years ago? People could care less if one could deduce engine size from a vehicle's name. My point is that a name should stay constant.

BMW's 2 and 4 series, like BearAVHistory said, are coupe variants of the 1 and 3 series. The 2 and 4 series are not even for sale yet, at least at my local dealership, so how can you tell if sales haven't suffered from it? Besides, the 1 series (a new model) and 3 series name (a perennial high seller) still remain unchanged (3, 5, 7 series have remained 3, 5, 7 series for as long as I've known of BMW's cars).

SeismicGuy

That was another thing that occurred to me. What is with all this "x" crap? Throw an extra letter on the end of an existing model name and that makes it something special? I remember the good old days when adding a letter actually meant that something was different or special for that model (e.g., back in the late 1980s BMW had 325, 325e, and 325es and you basically knew that each variation had something that the preceding did not have). Same with the TL versus the TL-S. But now the RL becomes the RLX and presumably the TL becomes the TLX so that all the models now end in an X for no particular reason. I guess the next iteration will be the TLY, RLY, etc.

Colin

There is Acura heritage in "X" from the NSX (and RSX, TSX, RDX and MDX) so why not use it? Anyway, I'm in sales and I don't care what they call it so long as its a good car. I don't worry about the name (it is still TL afterall), if it's good enough, people will figure it out.

Colin

The TL might have been TLX way back in 1998.

TeamAcura

I believe Honda used the "X" to refer to its concept cars. The "X" stood for eXperimental. The NS-X (New Sportscar eXperimental), which was originally called the HP-X (Honda Pininfarina eXperimental) was the first to use this as its prototype. So there is some background or "heritage" to this. I just googled it.

SeismicGuy

Yeah--when I hear a car designation ending in X I naturally assume it is some concept or something special. So now Acura has taken that and applied it to the mundane. So the "something special" model will now have to be the XX.

TeamAcura

Well we don't know that though. They could call it Type-R or Type-S again and I think they will. It makes sense for them since they've used it in the past. Or they could name it TLX-R or TLX-S. Type-R sounds badass though. Brings back memories of the Integra Type-R.

weather

...and the "something nasty" will have to be the XXX *lol*

Tonyware

Unlike previous generations where the TL was an acronym for "Transmission Loser", the current generation TL, "Touring Luxury", can only be succeeded by the acronym TLA: "I Want a J engine but I don't want yet another boring Accord". Too many letters, eh?

MtnMan

I was selling when the CLX was a concept (1995).






I was also selling when Acura decided to kill off the Vigor, the Legend, and the Integra. During that transition it was clear (and stated) that the direction was to compete with the other Japanese luxury brands who had already established that approach (LS, GS, ES, SC, Q, M, J, G, etc).

SeismicGuy

Yes but just pick a stinking letter already and stick with it!

weather

MtnMan....That was an ugly concept IMO. I know many here will say that the CL was a good looking car but that is likely my most dislike model by Acura.

Edward'TLS

^^^^^

x2.

mondster

reminds me of the mb cl class. lol

MtnMan

Agreed - the CL/CLX is also my least liked Acura, and they should stick with a naming convention!

I wanted to provide context that the "X" was established a long time ago, as well as confirm a previous poster's comment about its relation to concept models.

When are getting more spy shots?

weather

^^ I can't wait to see more spy shots too! I am getting a little ansy....I suspect that between now and the end of September, we will see more spy shots, and not the one with the heavy padding but the one with the funky pattern. At least that is my hope...

rondog

iTrader: (1)

We have serious plans to introduce an ABS vacuum formed splitter kit on the TLX sedan and coupe. It will be similar to this concept we designed for the 4G TL that never made it:

Pricing and ease of installation will be very competitive, it will not require finishing, but will be a matte graphite color, ready to install right out of the box with included hardware and instructions in the comfort of your own garage.