fsttyms1

When not active it returns to normal zero toe

BEAR-AvHistory

That would make sense & is pretty obvious. Of course something, computer, drive system, position & stop sensors etc. has to bring it back into normal alignment & keep it there.

Edward'TLS

That's no surprise from Audi. Audi has been increasingly applied high-strength light-weight aluminum body frame to more and more product lines.

In comparison, only the NSX supercar got the light-weight aluminum body treatment, but had been discontinued by Acura 8 years ago.

jshaw

It will probably balance it out. It is taking some load off of the front tires.

Tonyware

So if you ever want to get married, get a girl, get two TLs and a desert? LOL

Glashub

Now that's interesting and may hold a key to brand perception. Check out this Lexus IS commercial. Edgy and sexy. Acura needs to come up with a whole new campaign for the TLX along with delivering a great car.

JAB00

Sure it's an edgy commercial but it's still an ugly car. The new IS was hit with the ugly stick

Glashub

Not in my opinion. And not in the opinion of many others. That's your opinion. But then again I'm attracted to weird looking cars I guess -- I owned a 4G. I think the 3G which you own (I owned one too) is a beautiful car but I had no desire to keep it for the rest of my life because I was afraid to try new designs and new ideas. Anyways. the point of the exercise is that the ads make a difference in how a car is perceived. Acura needs a new agency.

weather

I loved the new IS when it came out but for some reason, it got old, in my eyes, really quick. I cannot stand that design anymore yet I don't feel that way about my "going on" 3 year old TL. I know the 4G has a very controversial design but the design hasn't aged poorly...those that loved it still love it, those that hated it, many of them still do but many have also learned to appreciate it.

I still see some 2006-2007 TSX and love the design that many years later....that says alot about a car company. I am so eager to see the TLX even though, my gut feeling tells me we'll mostly be disappointed but man, would I love to be wrong!!

Glashub

I think the 4G is looking better than it ever did. I saw one the other day and was really impressed by it from the angle I was at. I thought that about my 4G -- it is a muscular looking car. I think the 3IS and some of the more radical designs will help the 4G look ahead of its time.

I had to laugh though -- you're tired of the new IS design and it's only been out 4 months? The 3IS is overly wrought -- but like the 4G they actually tried to design something. I have the 3IS in my driveway and call me an auto design knucklehead but I really like the look and like it more and more each passing day. The grill looks too much 3 feet from the car but 10 feet away so that whole car is taken visually in -- it makes sense and looks good imo.

weather

^^ I know it seems weird to think of a car that new "looking so old" to me already, and maybe be too old was not the best choice of words but I can't think of how to describe how I feel about the design. I feel that the lines are over exaggerated (the rear tail lights, the swooping upward line at the rear door, the grill) and although they bold and edgy when it first came out, I look at it now and feel it screaming at me and that sort of annoys me.

I like an elegant yet sporty design and at the moment, I feel Audi does have a good language when it comes to sexiness, sophistication etc. I find it ironic that the Lexus went from a design that was too bland to now to edgy....the pendulum seems to have swung from one extreme to the next.

I certainly didn't mean to offend anyone who has a Lexus IS....It is just my perception and agree that we are all unique and see things differently. I am also getting older and appreciate a sophisticated design....For example, I was test driving a Touareg TDI (R design) and loved that SUV immensely. I still don't feel that VW has the reliability to make me ready to drop 65k on them but what a gorgeous set of wheels with amazing handling for the size and weight

Glashub

^^^ You didn't offend me. I owned a 4G and we all took a lot of flack for that, didn't we? The only reason I sold it is because the SH-AWD was perfect for the good Portland roads but a disaster here in LA -- really rough and not enough sound proofing but what a fun car it was. The IS solves this with 4 ride selects. Normal is LS creamy smooth. Sport+ makes the feel like what like what I imagine a Vette or LFA or Porsche to be like.

Edward'TLS

You are correct.

VW has utterly poor reliability when compared to Audi.

While Audi has much better reliability in comparison to VW, it is still far short from the top-notch reliability offered by the top Japanese brands.

Part of the premium pricing for Audi vehicles over VW vehicles, has gone into extending the service life of Audi components and improving the overall reliability of Audi vehicles.

It is another example of "nothing comes free".

KeithL

Audi is improving, the A6 runs about average, while the A4 is below average. I think their newer designed cars are improving. I hope my A6 is as "average" as my Infiniti was as it was considered average and was virtually flawless over 38 months and 45K miles.

KeithL

OK, gf has a TSX with less than a year on the lease, so we decided to start weeding out some choices. We went and took out a CLA. Exterior is beautiful, interior feels cheap, but seats are comfortable and supportive. No push button start available, kind of a non starter since even a Sentra can be had with keyless start. The ride was good for this price point, steering was precise and had good feel back, far better than my A6 that cost twice as much. Can't say I dig the steering column digital shifter or the dash in general. The engine was responsive, with just a tad of turbo lag. Fully loaded a CLA 250 is around $43K, that is a little high in my book, I would take a Q50 in a second over the CLA, maybe even an IS. I think the CLA convinced her that she wants to wait and see the TLX. Although the Audi A3 looks sweet, can't wait to see that.

weather

^^ I am not sure where I posted my view on the CLA but reading your post made think I had written it....you and I are pretty much on the same page!

SSFTSX

Autoexpress has done A3 and CLA comparision. They are lower models but A3 sedan is 350lbs lighter than CLA even when CLA has 6speed manual. I dont think MB has invested that much into make the car lighter. obviously A3 win. If Audi launch A3 saloon with 1.8TFSI. it will have very negative impact on ILX sales.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/audi/a3...s-mercedes-cla


whatcar has given 5 star review to A3. not many cars get it.

Rocket_man

How did I miss that??? I went on MB.com and was outfitting a CLA to see what the damage might be, but I guess I just assumed it had keyless start. I mean MB pioneered this tech, why would they sell a car without it? puzzling. I suppose in some stupid way they are trying not to cannibalize C-series sales? Anyway, this car was going to be on my short list but not so sure now. However, the car does have 60/40 Split Folding rear seats. Are you listening Acura?

Meanwhile back to the topic of this thread....

On ToV forums, a reliably poster says the TLX will debut at the New York Auto Show 18-27 April. I was hoping for Detroit (18-26 Jan) but I guess April is not far behind. With all these new cars coming out before the TLX I hope it is worth the wait. The TSX and TL are really going to suffer until April. By then it will be like putting them out of their misery.

weather

If that is the case, Acura can kiss my French white a$$ goodbye as I want a new car in the spring of 2014 and will not wait for a late summer release. If that rumor is confirmed by other posters, I will just start deciding which brand will get my money next.....Audi? Lexus? BMW? Buick? (J/K about the last one)

The only other possibility is that I get rid of my TL, and buy an ILX (stick) as another daily driver because right now, I have an RDX and TL that never sees a drop of rain, while my Accent is driving everywhere. I could bring back the TL, get an ILX and when the TLX comes out (if its worth teh wait), I would then get rid of the RDX for it.

If VW would be a more reliable brand, I would have LOVED to trade the RDX for the Touareg TDI (R spec) and replace the TL with an ILX....That would be my ideal scenario. I had a Rabbit from 2007-2011 and had ZERO issue but I understand the Rabbit has proven to be their most reliable model. Maybe leasing the Touareg for 3 years would worth the chance ---- Insert flaming here ---- (lol)

KeithL

If they wait for NY to show and release the TLX they truly have lost their way. All this energy into the RLX which in real it is likely a write off for Acura and all the TLX competitors will be out for a while by then. They truly seem to be a ship without a captain, or at least without sober captain.

weather

^^ I would give anything to have a chance to spend a day at Acura headquarters and discuss with folks like Jeff Conrad. I cannot seem to understand how people managed to get in such positions without understanding the car industry at all.....It blows my mind!

KeithL

Unless as Clin has stated in the RLX thread, maybe this is what they want, to not fully compete with tier 1 and just carve out this middle space, problem is they are not even doing that well. Every one of its competitors had or is releasing models that create some sort of buzz or excitement.

Edward'TLS

With the hybrid AWD RLX coming out in later December, Acura will never let anything (not even the TLX) to steal the spotlight and fanfare from it's top-of-the-line flagship sedan.

weather

^^ Then they should put the Hybrid AWD in the TLX because waiting to release your most sold sedan at the expense of trying to create a buzz for a vehicle that barely sold 500 unit the previous is the most absolute dumb business model I have ever heard of!

Come on Acura....we know that the RLX will have a few electric motor to generate extra power....You do realize very few people will get excited to pay 70K for a bland sedan right?! So just give us a TX that we can buy soon or else....the TLX will sell as many vehicles as your RLX does!!

boe_d

I just went to check out the 300h again this weekend as I wasn't sure I could wait for the TLX. While the 300h is a very nice car in many ways it has the same issue I had with the 3G TL. No matter how low and far back I tried to put the front seat I was staring at the visor. I'm not exceptionally tall but I have longer arms (part gorilla) than most people I know and the only way I could get decent windshield view was by basically tilting the front seat so far back if there were someone in the back seat I'd be in their lap and I could barely reach the steering wheel.

I'll definitely wait for the TLX provided my current car doesn't have any issues but I was just unhappy with the seating / roof situation in the 300h. I left the dealership earlier than expected so I decided to check out the new accord - I was pretty happy with everything but the leather was very cheap. I hope the TLX gets a significantly better leather interior. They didn't have the Accord hybrid in stock yet so I'll have to wait til later this year to test drive it.

Rocket_man

I stopped by my local MB dealer while running some errands this evening. They only had 1 CLA on the lot. A black on black with a few packages, $37K. Not a bad looking car. The place was locked up but I may come back and take a better look. I still can't understand why no keyless start. Dumb move.

Edward'TLS

If Acura puts the Hybrid AWD hardware in the upcoming TLX, then the RLX will be even more "fucked" than it is now; in the exact same way as how the 4G TL has obliterated the 2G RL in sales, while both sharing the same 3.7L-V6 SH-AWD hardware.

Why buy the 2G RL (RLX) when one can buy the 4G TL (TLX), that has the same propulsion hardware but less (useless to many buyers) gadgets, for thousands and thousands $ less ?

Acura has made the above mistake once, it sure will not let the TLX put the final nail in the Acura flagship sedan's (RLX's) coffin one more time.

KeithL

Ditto, the gf hates dealing with th ekey in her TSX and was digging the CLA until the guy said push button start is not even an option in higher packages. That pretty much killed any chance of her buying one, she did enjoy the ride, although that garmin like info/nav screen looks very out of place. and I bet a few CLAs get broken into by thiefs thinking someone left their GPS stuck on the dash.

Oswald Vater

"Why buy the 2G RL (RLX) when one can buy the 4G TL (TLX), that has the same propulsion hardware but less (useless to many buyers) gadgets, for thousands and thousands $ less?"

With current RLX incentives being what they are and my TL lease in flux I decided to test drive both RLX Navi and Tech models this weekend. I came away basically unimpressed. The Navi has a no-leather interior, a "must" to me in a car of this class. The Tech has the same leather as my 10/Tech TL, no worse but no better. The new "two-screen" navi/audio/climate setup while nice-looking was complicated to work with. In this case more is less. I didn't find the car to be any quieter on the interstate than my current 4g especially with the 19-inch wheels. Even with an almost 10k discount (that's right, almost 10k!) off MSRP I couldn't see spending the extra money. The Sport Hybrid when introduced may be a different story but it will most likely be out of my price range. I told the salesman I would wait for the TLX and then decide if I would remain in the Acura family or not.

I was however more impressed with the new MDX. I also test drove that and while it has the same redundant two-screen input system it rode smoother than the RLX AND it has impressive cargo room with the fold-down seats if needed. I'm not an SUV guy at the moment but this one would certainly be at or near the top of my list. Too bad they're not taking much off MSRP as of yet.

Just my humble opinion on both rides. Please, Acura, more on the TLX!

cagilber

You joke about the Buick, but the 2014 Buick Regal GS AWD looks pretty sweet. The redesigned interior is also a big step over the 2013 model.

JM2010 SH-AWD

This dash looks remarkably similar to the POS Jetta I had to rent a few weeks ago (nothing else left on the lot that day). Uggh.

Tonyware

Its funny that the two commercials (the one from Acura I posted above and the one from Lexus you posted) are about the same theme but different realism.

Acura comes across as the romantic reality and Lexus comes across like Lady Gaga reality

PS. That Audi dash above is what dreams are made of! Amazing. Wish Acura dumped all screens and went with a hidden screen that you can get rid of unless you need to see the GPS.

weather

cagilber...While I made a half ass joke about Buick, I do agree with you that they are now starting to draw some buzz to the brand, something Acura seems to be lacking. The frustrating thing for me is that Acura just seems to miss the market time and time again since 2009 (ish). Why can't they seem to penetrate the market and create the buzz that other cars are doing? MB is starting to show teaser about their next C class....Acura, a teaser would be nice. I could use some sort of arousal......

Edward'TLS...YOu are 100% correct in that I don't expect Acura to put the SH-SH-AWD in the TLX however, I am getting frustrated that they are holding off on the TLX to make sure the buzz is not taken away from the RLX when the RLX barely sells 500 unit a month. Yeah...thats a good strategy Mr Conrad....hold off on the TLX and the thousands of customers interested to create the buzz on your blandest sedan.

Its just weird....excluding the TSX, they have 3 sedans....on that is bland as far as styling but exciting with the SH-SH-AWD while the ILX is somewhat exciting visually but is as bland to drive with 150HP engine. I think they mismatched the bland engine with the bland sedan (lol) Imagine a 150HP RLX....Now that would create a buzz *lol*

I am almost getting embarrassed to drive an Acura these days.....maybe its just me being impatient and wanting something to be exciting about.

jim_c

Are you aware of the character "weather" in the Prey novels by John Sandford?

weather

^^ I am not a reader in general....Should I investigate the character?

Rocketsfan

This is probably what drives Acura designers and other carmakers nuts - opinions are all over the place as to "what looks good". I look at that Audi and think "boring". I like the area around the gear selector and the dial, but going up, the AC area looks meh, the nav looks like somebody forgot about it and decided to ram it up top, and I was never a fan of round vents except in supercars.

But that's me, and it doesn't mean your opinion is wrong. lol. I see the new Mercedes and see the same interior. It's like all the Germans got together and said "this is what we're going to build - they'll all buy it".

jim_c

Sorry for the off topic comment.
Weather is a woman doctor in Twin Cities married to the star of the books, Lucas Davenport. If you enjoy "thrillers" this whole series of novels is fun.

KeithL

I will say that I hate pop up nav screens, I almost did not get my A6 because of it. I tolerate it, because on the A6 is looks like it belongs, but honestly think it still distracts from the dash lines. I prefer integrated screens. I also do not object to 2 screens, but Acura's 2 screens contradict each other and look like they were designed by 2 different teams.

Edward'TLS

^^^^^

Like your German A6 sedan, the Acura dual-screen will also need some time to get use to.

I don't find the 2 screen setup contradicts each other, because each screen shows different information. The top screen is for the navi and backup camera, and the bottom screen is for everything else such as radio/XM, HVAC, Bluetooth phone, etc.

jim_c

LOL. Unfortunately you would not be able to communicate. You would be speaking plain English and they would be speaking corporate gibberish!