BEAR-AvHistory

What wrong with that?.....I have seen guys here go on & on over folding rear seats or the lack there of. Don't see an issue with performance fans buying what they view as the best performance car.

There is a lot of debate on which is "best". Right now my money is on the Z51 Stingray.

Different levels of buyers interest will find different things that effect their buying decision.

As for where they are running them you might want to check out the airport runs.


start about 50 seconds in

or events like the Texas Mile etc.

One other thought, I expect most grown ups buying $150K performance cars have something else at home with folding rear seats.

g37guy01

I agree 100%, but this is not that discussion. These mid-level luxo barges $38-$55K are not the 400+whp crowd. They are nice sporty rides, with nice touches and decent acceleration and handling.

Unless I take this thing to Englishtown or equivalent there is no way to "test" out the handling. I'm over that, but the police have stepped up their game, which actually I am glad of, and lately are ticketing motorists, deservedly, left right and center.

I can see buying an exotic as a status symbol, and it seems from what I've seen on the roads here, the more exotic the ride, the tamer the driver. http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local...225077242.html

Edward'TLS

Apparently, not quite so in the Canada west coast :

http://bc.ctvnews.ca/13-young-driver...-cars-1.691489

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Fou...779/story.html

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/2013/04/10...rd-and-langley

SeismicGuy

Because those are issues that the buyers of the cars might actually find useful. The chances that they will be racing around the Nurburgring--not so much! I would wager that most folks have a hard time getting the most out of a car with 300hp let alone 500hp. But I guess it is like wearing a larger codpiece than the other guy.

Rocket_man

I wonder what the car market would look like if cars came with a 'HP Meter' next to the tach and speedo.

Like on the Bugatti Veyron. I'd bet there would be a lot fewer 300hp+ cars out there. I appreciate that people want power when they put their foot down. But the amount of power needed to merge, pass, etc is not as much as people think.



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boe_d

My guess is that it is point of pride for them how many HP they have. And I have no issue with that, whatever makes a person happy. I'm sure some people would say my home theater is overkill, I never crank it all the way up (on the other hand, no one has ever asked me how many watts my amp is and I've never brought it up). That's why as long as they make a good hybrid with quick pickup and great MPG, I wouldn't care if the standard model was 500 HP (which will be emblazoned on the hood in a lighted 420 point font), came with a trailer hitch, had quad exhaust and got 14MPG.

We used to have races in my home town and Porsche's and all sorts of fancy cars with big engines would race and it was typically a FORD ESCORT with a beefed up engine (about 130 hp) that would win the race because they drove like they had nothing to lose and weren't afraid to use and shift like the devil.

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

Invite me over for a screening, I'll ask and compliment your ampage

BEAR-AvHistory

Thing is if a car does well at the Ring I expect its also going to do well at VIR where the NC BMW club has its track days & Car & Driver run their annual Lightning Laps. Lighting Laps tends to confirm the pecking order established at the Ring, so its not unreasonable that guys are going to bench race the numbers & use the info in buying decisions.

That being said I have seen guys/girls in the neighborhood drive a Ferrari & Lamborghini like a Prius but there are still a surprisingly large number of high value exotics that show up for these events.

One lady used to be in the school pickup lane with a bright red Italia 458 that I never saw exceed 45mph on the way home. As for the folding rear seat thing I have both a folding 60/40 split rear seat & 400+ horsepower so both sets of wants are covered for me.

boe_d

AUUGHH this drives me crazy. I used to have a 93 civic standard (which I loved) and I'd be blowing by Ferraris, Laborghinis and Porsches on surface streets and the highway - why waste all that money on a fast car if you drive it like Aunt Petunia?

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

Considering the size of the 335 trunk you're gonna need it

You know it's fast, they know it's fast, what's there to prove? Maybe they bought it for the aesthetics, badge, etc etc.

boe_d

Makes sense, they are nice looking cars but so is a RR and with them I expect them to be putting about and passing grey poupon in the back seat. OK, I admit, I have a lead foot Doesn't matter if I have a 2 stroke engine under the hood or a turbo 400HP engine, I'll probably be driving faster than anyone else on the road wherever I go.

BEAR-AvHistory

TL 12.5cuft
335is coupe 11.1cuft seats in place*
3xx 4 door 13cuft*

*Plus a flat floor with under floor secure storage.

HeartTLs

iTrader: (5)

Hahaha! Remember only the less fortunate drive their own RR .

I was referring to your coupe

g37guy01

There seems to be a common theme:

1. illegal
2. young
3. stupid

BEAR-AvHistory

Bet I have more usable space in my 11.1 cubic than the TL, which is a much much bigger car, does in its extra 1.4 cubic feet. Of course if I am wrong it more than doubles the TL in cargo capability with the seats folded.

Thing is if I really need room the Expedition has luggage space of 42.6 cubic feet with all three rows in place or more than 130 cubic feet with the seats down. Could maybe carry the 135 inside

boe_d

That's true. I tend to be cold hearted at times. Perhaps the current administration can assist the chauffer-challenged RR owners out there as they are entitled to as part of the American dream after all.

Edward'TLS

Exactly, in the Canada West coast; the exotic the ride, the crazier the driver.

BEAR-AvHistory

Yeah agree. What never ceases to amaze me is how many relatively young guys are showing up at the high speed events with very exotic cars that they have modified for more performance.

In some cases I am old enough to be their grandfather. Some have more invested their cars add-ons than I have in my car including the original purchase price.

The up side is its nice to see young guys interested in performance cars again. For a period of time it seemed to be quick cars were so '60's

SeismicGuy

Funny thing. Just today I was at the local magazine stand looking at C&D or one of those any the bulk of articles (including the cover article) came down to comparing cars with, of course, emphasis on 0-60 times. I had just finished browsing the article about the Porsche GT-3 which gets there in 3 seconds and was on my way home when next to me I see some older fart (kind of like myself) who was puttering along in a white GT-3. He clearly looked uncomfortable and self-conscious driving it and occasionally stepped on the pedal enough so you could hear the exhaust but then quickly backed of to his more comfortable strolling speed. I guess the guy bought the car to make up for his "shortcomings" so to speak and just cruising around was enough for that.

BEAR-AvHistory

You might find this of interest on GT-3 owners ages.

http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/g...ers-age-8.html

I don't believe most people buy these cars to make up for anything. They just have the financial capability & buy what they like. Given the $142K price tag its not surprising the GT-3 would be more available to older guys.

SeismicGuy

I don't completely agree but maybe it is because I am in the Los Angeles area which is like a conspicuous consumption fantasy land. Most of those uber-exotic cars I see cannot be all that "likeable" for the drivers I see in them in terms of comfort, noise, driveablity. What I suspect the "what they like" part comes down to is really what they like to be seen in.

BEAR-AvHistory

All I can say is the CA airport runs are stuffed to the gills with high end exotics blasting along at 180mph+. I would agree though that Rodeo Drive can be the exception to the rule

To be fair to the LA area Terry Burger the guy who does my performance tuning is in Simi Valley.

maharajamd

iTrader: (1)

Glad I logged in today to read about the 5G TL...sigh... Lol

keith7120

+1

BEAR-AvHistory

Nothing new on the 5G just move along nothing to see here.

carz0159

Yup

NEWS FLASH NEWS FLASH!!!

IK stuff about the 5g TLX!!!

It's gonna have a hideous beak and the jewel lights

boe_d

I was just looking at the Honda Accord Hybrid on the website - the color selection is currently very sad. I'm hoping it comes with a better selection next year. It currently comes in car-rental white, black and taupe. The interior color choices are taupe, taupe or taupe.

KeithL

That is the plug-in, I would hope the regular hybrid comes in more selections as it will have a broader appeal.

TolisTL

Not sure where my last comment went, what engine do you think the tlx will have? I know for me if they throw in the new direct injected 3.5l im moving on from acura. If they want to entice drivers like me looking for the next level of performance they better put an engine in that has at the very least 20-30lb.ft of torque more then the 3.7 and ideally 20-30 more hp. I think that is Acura's problem and ultimately its holding them back from great revenue possibilities.

boe_d

I'm on the opposite side of the fence. I want about 40+MPG city and highway, I want 0-60mph under 8 seconds and I don't care if it has 10 hp or 1000 horse power. I'll buy a mack truck if my main concern is hp and I need to tow a doublewide home, I'll buy nitrous oxide for my car if I need insane acceleration. I'm just looking to drive my car relatively legally in the US. I don't need it for the autobahn or to race and for slips. Just to get me from my home to the office and some longer drives like to Vegas.

Rocketsfan

You seem to want the Honda Accord Hybrid.

boe_d

You are correct - with just a tad more luxury/refinement.

BEAR-AvHistory

One of the big faults I have with Acura is the lack of continuity in the brand from generation to generation. Got R&T today & its almost like they are rubbing it in with the MDX adds key line:

"Adding buttons isn't innovation, removing them is.

With a full page picture of a center stack that looks almost German in its simplicity. This is the same company that for the last 5 years got its butt kicked over its buttons.

boe_d

I understand that is the ipod way but I like individual buttons. I hate pressing a button 5 times to get to the feature I want, I'd rather have a dedicated button for a feature.

weather

^^^ I couldn't agree with you more!! I love the way the current 4G TL looks inside, the cockpit is so sexy at night with all these buttons and once you get comfortable knowing where they reside, it is very intuitive.

The problem is that those MORONS that test cars have an IQ that is quite inferior than most and can't be smart enough to understand that a simple test drive (or a few days) isn't enough to get a sense of where all the knobs and buttons are. The same thing happens to me if I need to drive a rental vehicle for a work related trip....its just comon sense. Why Acura compromised their sexy interior to make it bland and more prone to excessive navigation from screen to screen to replicate the function of a simple button is very bad. Then again, Acura seems to be a roll when it comes to making bad decision, such as the one to keep the people managing/designing this once fine automobile company *sigh*

PS....Have a soar throat makes me grumpy....my apologies for the negative post

Edward'TLS

No it won't.

The TLX engine will highly likely be the same DI 3.5L-V6 as used on the FWD RLX, and thus will have less hp and torque than the outgoing non-DI 3.7L-V6.

But since the TLX will be smaller in size and lighter in weight than the outgoing TL, the TLX (with less hp and torque) will be even faster than the outgoing TL.

Just use the 2014 (3G) MDX as a comparison. The 2014 MDX has the DI 3.5L-V6, but the 2013 (2G) MDX has the non-DI 3.7L-V6.

However, the 2014 AWD MDX is 275 lbs lighter in weight, resulting in an official claim of a 8-sec faster Nürburgring lap time than the outgoing AWD MDX.

BEAR-AvHistory

Personally I always just kind of smiled at the button load on the TL. Kind of like a Walter Mitty aircraft simulation. Its got more buttons & switches, but to be fair less actual instruments, than a Texan.

a35tl

I never understood all the fuss about the buttons. Maybe it's because I've owned 5 Acuras and am very familiar with all the functions but when I look at the dash and instrument panel on my '12 TL, it all makes perfect sense to me. I never have to fumble around trying to figure out what button to press for the desired action. Plus as Weather mentioned, at night all the buttons look really cool lit up. It all looks very logically laid out to me.

BEAR-AvHistory

New bottom line, looks like the buttons are history with Acura's inovation.

Devil Dog 21

I've always thought that Acura's button layout was perfect. I drive a different rental car two weeks a month when traveling for work and 9 times out of 10 the layout is awful. For example, almost every car manufacturer (in rentals which are mostly American and some Hyundais, and Infinitis) has the volume and track change buttons on the right side of the steering wheel. Why in the world does the right side make more sense than the left? Seriously if I wanted to move my right hand to change the volume it's only 6 inches away from the center dash volume button. The left makes so much more sense so that it doesn't matter if you're left or right handed, your dominant hand is always on the wheel. I also like how most of the buttons are high up on the dash vs down low....this way I don't have to take my eyes as far off the road for the most used functions.

I could talk buttons for days because nothing annoys me more with other manufacturers than their damn button locations.