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Looks like the official accessories for the new TLX. Its great that you can make the top model look like an A-Spec. I appreciate them doing that at least. Technically you can get an Advance model with A-Spec looks, you just have to pay much more haha...
I saw that and noticed that red TLX on their official release video. Not an A-Spec, but nice looking none the less.
I few years ago I got pulled over on Rte 17, Paramus Cop immediately said my front windows were tinted, ONLY my rear windows are tinted on my 07 Type S and has black interior. I politely told him my fronts have no tint and that's when he realized his mistake. I tried to hand him my family PBA card but he said take care and have a good day. Honest mistake though.
Looks like the official accessories for the new TLX. Its great that you can make the top model look like an A-Spec. I appreciate them doing that at least. Technically you can get an Advance model with A-Spec looks, you just have to pay much more haha...
This is an excellent idea. Well done Acura. I love this idea as the initial car price will be very reasonable and those who like to modify and put some extras will have the choice. It will suits everyone’s wallet.
I know Acura did an excellent job designing, pricing and marketing the RDX back in 2018. If they use the same formula with the new TLX. They will see only and only success. So far everything is going in their favour. Let’s see when we see the actual car
Leather Master Dye Transfer Remover will take care of jean stains easily (see link below). I've used it for years on the tan interior of my Accords/16 RDX. 250 ml will last you forever. One reason I have held on to my 16 Accord is they quit making the tan interior with black exterior (on the 10 gen Accords). I was hoping Acura wouldn't do the same, but it appears they will. I will only consider the Type-S, so will cross my fingers there are some different color combos for black exterior (won't hold my breath).
At 8 seconds in it appears to have buttons for heated and COOLED seats, which is according to the Feature Walk is only available on the Advance trim for the regular TLX.
At 8 seconds in it appears to have buttons for heated and COOLED seats, which is according to the Feature Walk is only available on the Advance trim for the regular TLX.
Ventilated seats are part of the Aspec package also. So the Type S based on the Aspec may still apply.
I'm still hoping for some Advanced features too for the Type S. If it doesn't come with dampers for example I don't know what Acura is thinking then. . .
I'm still hoping for some Advanced features too for the Type S. If it doesn't come with dampers for example I don't know what Acura is thinking then. . .
Pretty sure active dampers are coming to the Type-S per one of the promotional videos
This is an excellent idea. Well done Acura. I love this idea as the initial car price will be very reasonable and those who like to modify and put some extras will have the choice. It will suits everyone’s wallet.
Or you should be able to get everything in the A-Spec trim and that should be the top of the line trim (or one of). Seems odd that a company branding itself as sporty makes the sporty trim a lower tier. And the Type-S doesn't count to me right now, as in my opinion it's still not going to be optioned out.
But that aside what about the inside? If the current TLX is any indication the interior will have A-Spec only items so you'll have an oddly mismatched car.
One trim. There is nothing in Acura's history and that we have seen thus far that would suggest to me otherwise.
Roger that, I'll take your word for it...I've only had Acura's for 4 years. Would make sense to offer the base Type-S on the Aspec level, then have an Advance model that adds some additional "comfort" features. But if it comes out of the box fully-loaded, then this is moot. Personally, I'm going to be in it for the engine and performance....I've never really cared to have the extras that the Advance packages offer anyway. If it comes out one trim at the Apec level, I'm happy.
Roger that, I'll take your word for it...I've only had Acura's for 4 years. Would make sense to offer the base Type-S on the Aspec level, then have an Advance model that adds some additional "comfort" features. But if it comes out of the box fully-loaded, then this is moot. Personally, I'm going to be in it for the engine and performance....I've never really cared to have the extras that the Advance packages offer anyway. If it comes out one trim at the Apec level, I'm happy.
I feel that it should be fully loaded but I think you'll see an A-Spec version with Type-S trimming. This will keep the costs down for Acura and it's in line with their goofy you can have sporty, you can have luxury, but you can't have both way of thinking.
I am not an automotive engineer or manufacturing plant manager, but I simply do not understand why they cannot offer every exterior and interior color combination by special order, if nothing else. I get that some combos are going to look odd, and if a dealer had one sitting on the lot it might sit for a long time. So they could do standard combos (like the ones in this chart), but then any combo if a customer wants it. Why is that impossible?
I am not an automotive engineer or manufacturing plant manager, but I simply do not understand why they cannot offer every exterior and interior color combination by special order, if nothing else. I get that some combos are going to look odd, and if a dealer had one sitting on the lot it might sit for a long time. So they could do standard combos (like the ones in this chart), but then any combo if a customer wants it. Why is that impossible?
I 100% agree with this. If the germans can do custom orders and ship them over sea, I see no reason why Acura can't retool their plant in the USA to include custom colors. They had no problem changing their setup for the TLX PMC edition
I am not an automotive engineer or manufacturing plant manager, but I simply do not understand why they cannot offer every exterior and interior color combination by special order, if nothing else. I get that some combos are going to look odd, and if a dealer had one sitting on the lot it might sit for a long time. So they could do standard combos (like the ones in this chart), but then any combo if a customer wants it. Why is that impossible?
Here's my problem with the color choice as I stated earlier. If you look at the color chart there are 25 possible combinations of non-premium exterior/interior colors. Ignoring the trim levels. If I were going to buy this car it would be the Advance trim. Out of those 25 possible combinations, the Advanced trim is only offered in 9 of the 25 combinations. Out of those 9, only 5 are not black. Out of those 5, three are that dark brown color which I don't think I've ever seen outside a dealer lot. That only leaves two choices for anyone wanting the highest trim level in something light in color. And of those two, only one option in Parchment and one in Greystone. The only Greystone option is strangely in Blue exterior which is one of the least picked colors. I've never seen one outside a dealer lot. The other is White with Parchment. Meanwhile one of the most desired colors in the US, Silver, is only offered in Black interior. While that may be a popular combo and yes they probably go well together, why only one interior color for the most popular exterior color? Acura needs to offer more than 2 choices in a lighter color interior. The most obvious missing combination is Silver with Greystone. Or Modern Steel Metallic and Greystone. Silver tones and grey tones go well together. and I think those combos sold well in the past. Is this one f those stupid marketing things where they leave some colors off so they can add them back in with much fanfare in later model years so they have something 'new' to include in the press release? I hate it when Acura marketing does this crap.
I 100% agree with this. If the germans can do custom orders and ship them over sea, I see no reason why Acura can't retool their plant in the USA to include custom colors. They had no problem changing their setup for the TLX PMC edition
The ability to do custom builds increases the cost of those cars. However, since automakers can't just charge extra for a custom build, that cost has to be eaten and subsidized by all the other buyers who buy the preferred builds off the dealer lots. One of the value props for Acura is the lower price, so anything that would impact that is a no-go. Even Lexus won't let you build a car a la carte to order; certain combination of features / equipment is mandatory in order to keep their production process lean.
If you have the time, I highly recommend reading the book
. It's practically required reading for all operations classes in business school. It goes into depth to explain how their lean production system works (Honda employs a similar one) and why the cars are packaged and options as they are.
Rocket, I agree with you 100% about the color choices, specifically pertaining to the Advance trim. I, too, loathe black interiors and silver is my top choice for an exterior color. I love the silver/greystone combination. Boggles the mind why that isn't offered. I'm probably going with the Type S in silver and would presumably have the choice of a red interior with the silver. If so, I would choose it over the black. But I would choose Greystone over red if given the option.
The ability to do custom builds increases the cost of those cars.
This is not a Camry or Accord, people are already paying more for something a little more special. I'm not saying they need to replicate the entire combination of RGB values, just to batch produce a few more colors for some trims and deliver them routinely. When I was shopping around for a blue TLX, had to wait to get one in so in the end just got a silver one. They can do the same with other combinations and batch produce them at a certain time.
In my experience, lighter colored leathers, especially tan, suffer from denim transfer, where the dye from jeans gets on it and you can't get, or it's very difficult to get out. I only go with black interior but after my IS350 and the RDX Advanced, I will not have a vehicle that doesn't have ventilated seats to mitigate the additional heat from the darker interior.
I had my Saab for eight years and 135,000 miles, and I think the driver's seat did have some of this. Most of those miles were on my work commute, so I wasn't wearing jeans, which probably reduced the phenomenon, and Saab used very high quality leather which may have helped too. I didn't think it was a big deal. I later had a 2010 Ford Fusion with tan leather, which had absolutely none of this. Even so, no question lighter interiors show more wear generally.
But don't underestimate the power of children to mess up dark interiors! My 2010 TSX with ebony has patches of unidentified paint-like gunk that's difficult to remove. And of course, per Murphy's Law, it's white/light gray so perfectly visible on the ebony. The car acquired cosmetic "beater" status a few years ago, so I can't get too worked up about it.
I understand Acura being a small car company means limited options, trims, and color combinations but the thing that fascinates me is that for the RDX they bothered to create an A-SPEC steering wheel with red stitching and one with white stitching depending on what interior color you get. Two separate steering wheels for what I'm sure is not the overall most popular trim seems to contradict everything else.
I 100% agree with this. If the germans can do custom orders and ship them over sea, I see no reason why Acura can't retool their plant in the USA to include custom colors. They had no problem changing their setup for the TLX PMC edition
So you are comparing Acura to the Germans? Please correct if I am wrong, you often mention that Acura is not German and etc. So let's be on the same page and agree that Jap are definitely a level below Germans.
I am a fair guy and if I am defending Acura I say it. But this time, it's not about Acura but in general about Japanese premium brands. Germans produce millions of cars per year. Just in the US, MB sells over 350K units. Acura, Lexus and Infiniti cannot afford to custom every car. They don't sell enough units to build factories and processes. There is a huge cost involved. In order for Jap to sell their cars $10-$15K cheaper than Germans. They have no choice but to limit customization (could be other things as well but just to name one).
I will give you another example, when you buy a house or condo. what's the process? The more custom house or condo will cost significantly higher than if you just get one as the developer sell as is. the same logic applies to cars. Hope it makes sense.
Of course we all want Acura to give us all Hope they grow and be able to provide vehicles as competitive as Germans! and not just Acura but Infiniti and Lexus as well!
This is not a Camry or Accord, people are already paying more for something a little more special. I'm not saying they need to replicate the entire combination of RGB values, just to batch produce a few more colors for some trims and deliver them routinely. When I was shopping around for a blue TLX, had to wait to get one in so in the end just got a silver one. They can do the same with other combinations and batch produce them at a certain time.
I agree, this isn't a Camry or an Accord, but let's not delude ourselves here, it's also not a true luxury car. As such, we have to accept that there are certain things, both with the product and with the overall ownership experience, that we need to compromise on because the price is lower. There's no such thing as a free meal.
Frankly as much crap as I give Acura, I'm happy to see them pivot towards performance instead of "value luxury" or "smart luxury" which I've always held to be a very tenuous market segment to target. At least it'll be better aligned with the actual product and experience, as giving owners the impression that this is a "luxury" product is just setting them up for disappointment, as evidenced by the poor ownership satisfaction scores for cars like the ILX. Call these cars what they are (a nicer, more premium, more performance-oriented Honda) and expectations are much better aligned with reality.
I agree, this isn't a Camry or an Accord, but let's not delude ourselves here, it's also not a true luxury car. As such, we have to accept that there are certain things, both with the product and with the overall ownership experience, that we need to compromise on because the price is lower. There's no such thing as a free meal.
Frankly as much crap as I give Acura, I'm happy to see them pivot towards performance instead of "value luxury" or "smart luxury" which I've always held to be a very tenuous market segment to target. At least it'll be better aligned with the actual product and experience, as giving owners the impression that this is a "luxury" product is just setting them up for disappointment, as evidenced by the poor ownership satisfaction scores for cars like the ILX. Call these cars what they are (a nicer, more premium, more performance-oriented Honda) and expectations are much better aligned with reality.
Thank you. We have a few issues and contradiction when it comes to Acura and overall Jap premium brands.
1. First we say don't compare Acura to Audi or BMW. Acura gets compared to Sonata lol!
2. If Acura starts charging more, we say what happened to the value/price. Why is Acura charging more? i rather buy German for that price.
3. Then we say why Acura cannot offer color choices or more customization.
These are contradiction and nothing else. Of course, as customers we all want Acura or any brand to give us everything for less but we must use logic and understand that it's just not possible. Infiniti gives us 400 HP but less premium interior. If Infiniti starts giving us 400HP and MB interior. Do we want to pay $75K for Q50? The answer is no. if it was that easy to just get everything for $45K, then no one would have paid $150K for a S class.
I agree with you. I rather Acura produce performance cars with a premium touch and give us for a reasonable price than all the bells and whistles with a price tag of $70K. No thank you.
As a Japanese Person, please stop saying "Jap" it's offensive.
I sincerely apologize for that. I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I was just writing the message via iPhone and I was trying to cut it short. Won’t happen again.
The ability to do custom builds increases the cost of those cars. However, since automakers can't just charge extra for a custom build, that cost has to be eaten and subsidized by all the other buyers who buy the preferred builds off the dealer lots.
But that's just it--they could charge extra for a custom build. Offer the limited set of color combos as part of the base price, then offer any other combo for a $1k (or whatever) "custom order surcharge". Heck, call it the A-Spec Stage 2 or something where you have to order at or above that trim level to even have the custom color options.
I agree with you. I rather Acura produce performance cars with a premium touch and give us for a reasonable price than all the bells and whistles with a price tag of $70K. No thank you.
You do know that 70k gets you a true performance car, right? The Type-S won't be that much cheaper than that here in Canada. You could get cheaper Audis/MB/BWM without all the bells and whistles as well with decent color options. Please stop all this nonsense that just because you must save money you have to sacrifice many things. Acura is already only just ok with features, so the lower price is already justified. Adding an extra color or two will not make price explode, just charge people for it like they CURRENTLY DO.
Last edited by pyrodan007; 07-16-2020 at 09:27 AM.
If I were in the marketing/engineering team in Acura, I would seriously consider dropping the base trim. I mean, why even offer a base trim that doesn't have blind spot monitoring or their navigation system which no one probably even uses. Why complicate the manufacturing process, you know? This way at least they could possibly add an extra trim on top of Tech/A-Spec/Advance. I'm very curious to know the sales of the complete base model compared to their Tech/A-Spec/Advance sales. I am sure there is a very big gap. With the removal of the base trim, I think it will give them more flexibility.
You do know that 70k gets you a true performance car, right? The Type-S won't be that much cheaper than that here in Canada. You could get cheaper Audis/MB/BWM without all the bells and whistles as well with decent color options. Please stop all this nonsense that just because you must save money you have to sacrifice many things. Acura is already only just ok with features, so the lower price is already justified. Adding an extra color or two will not make price explode, just charge people for it like they CURRENTLY DO.
You're here just to disagree lol! One day you compare Acura to Germans and the other day to Hyundai accent. You have to make your mind my friend. I am happy that you drive an Audi and enjoying it! God bless you and hope you keep buying these nice German cars and stay away from any Japanese vehicle I pray that Acura never gives us Pano and digital gauges as these are every important to you!
If I were in the marketing/engineering team in Acura, I would seriously consider dropping the base trim. I mean, why even offer a base trim that doesn't have blind spot monitoring or their navigation system which no one probably even uses. Why complicate the manufacturing process, you know? This way at least they could possibly add an extra trim on top of Tech/A-Spec/Advance. I'm very curious to know the sales of the complete base model compared to their Tech/A-Spec/Advance sales. I am sure there is a very big gap. With the removal of the base trim, I think it will give them more flexibility.
Well said!
i don't have the data to backup my argument but I see RDX A-SPEC the most on the roads.
Some people don't understand how other companies do their options. Biggest turn off for me with the RDX was just that. If I wanted red interior with all the options, I need to give something up. If I wanted the A-spec but with all the options, I still needed to give something up.
My ideal combo would be the blue with the black interior, which you can get with the RDX, but for some reason not the TLX. It's also the only car ebony interior isn't offered on for some reason. Greystone interior is the only option with the blue, and the only way you can get the greystone is with blue exterior. Sounds like to me they just need to discontinue the greystone.
You're here just to disagree lol! One day you compare Acura to Germans and the other day to Hyundai accent. You have to make your mind my friend. I am happy that you drive an Audi and enjoying it! God bless you and hope you keep buying these nice German cars and stay away from any Japanese vehicle I pray that Acura never gives us Pano and digital gauges as these are every important to you!
I'm here to prove Acura is not doing things right, they only cater to some and are harming their potential sales. Enjoy drinking the limited features and colors kool aid, what else can I say. With the way they do their trims, they will never compete with the Germans or even Koreans, ever.
And btw, it was to a Kia K5/Optima, learn the other world of cars besides only Acura...
Last edited by pyrodan007; 07-16-2020 at 10:22 AM.
I'm here to prove Acura is not doing things right, they only cater to some and are harming their potential sales. Enjoy drinking the limited features and colors kool aid, what else can I say. With the way they do their trims, they will never compete with the Germans or even Koreans, ever.
And btw, it was to a Kia K5/Optima, learn the other world of cars besides only Acura...
Wow! I am so impressed by your knowledge 10/10. Please send Acura an official letter to change their pricing strategy. I am sure they will listen to you Enjoy your day brother!
07-13-2020, 03:37 PM
