importtuner

Wow lots of disappointed Acura owners here.

phile

They've been doing that, and it's not working. Apparently, the name has nothing to do with it...it's the products that count. Otherwise, RL wouldn't be such bomb in terms of sales volume relative to the Legend's successful run.

gocubsgo55

Moog-Type-S

People still own Acuras here?

Edward'TLS

Haters - no; disappointing - yes.

If you've been monitoring the F1 world for the past 30 years, I bet you'll be disappointed too. You're correct that Honda is a superb engine builder. It is indeed very good at building engines, period; but fall short in building good F1 cars - remember CARS.

Honda's most glamorous F1 moment dated back to the 80's, when it supplied the 1.5L turbo V6 engines to six constructor champions, namely Williams-Honda and McLaren-Honda. The Mugen-Honda engines didn't do well in the 90's. After a couple years of absence in the F1 arena, it came back again as a engine supplier to BAR in 2000. In four years' time under new team principal David Richards of ProDrive, BAR-Honda finally captured the 2nd place in the Constructors' Championship, behind Ferrari. But this was the best result ever to day after it's come back to F1.

In the 2005 season, the San Marino GP result was voided and a two-race-ban imposed on the BAR-Honda team due to using illegal fuel tank. Honda bought out the team from BAR in late 2005, and started racing its Honda-chassis-Honda-engine contender in the 2006 season, only suffered from reliability issues and mediocre performance of the 100% Honda car, ranking midpack in the Constructors' Championship.

The Honda team continues to go downhill in the current season, ranking dead last in the Constructors' Championship with only 1 single point. Three weeks' ago in Hungary, one Honda car was out with engine problem and the other finished last, amongst cars still running, in the 18th place and two laps behind.

Throughout history, it shows that Honda has seriously trouble building winning F1 cars - CARS, but has no problem supplying winning engines to winning teams.

Edward'TLS

The Acura owners here aren't disappointed by their Acura cars, but by the BS that Dave Marek has said.

Moog-Type-S

Actually, I was very disappointed by my CL-S...going through 2 transmissions, and massive amount of rattles, and front brakes that were toast at 10k, piss poor paint...I don't need to go on.

I don't hate Honda/Acura....I still own 2 Honda vehicles (one is a bike).
Acura did however leave a bad taste in my mouth.

I hope Acura one day gets its act together. I am a car lover first, brand lover last. Perhaps one day Acura will build a car that would interest me again.

stangg172004

idiots...

GreenMonster

True, I wouldn't have bought my CL in the first place is I didn't think it was a decent car... and even after 5 years of ownership, I still love it...

But I'm disappointed that acura doesn't have anything in their line up for me anymore... and that the future doesn't look to good either...

Hopefully all this talk isn't just lip service, and acura comes out with some new exciting performance vehicles...

mrproul

Is that two turbocharged B18's?

nevermind i got confused by the valve cover.

Edward'TLS

This turbocharged V6 has a total displacement of 1.5L, so each cylinder bank displaces 0.75L. It's output is in excess of 1000 bhp. But it has to be torn down and rebuild after each race, so not very suitable for consumer vehicle applications.

NYbsbl04

I think they are targeting the design and quality. Not in terms of the genre of the car.

Ruserious

iTrader: (2)

So when should we start seeing real pics? spring of 2008?

Yumcha

GreenMonster

That's a scary thought right there... I don't think many people were excited about that concept

GreenMonster

That sounds about right for concept photos... you usually don't see official production photos until a few months before the release...

Take the redesigned 08 Accord for example... The concept was at NAIS in Jan 07, but we didn't see any official production pics until just a couple weeks ago...

SPUDMTN

You gotta hand it to them for pushing the envelope and taking some chances, though. That's not typical Honda...

And IMHO, so what if it's polarizing? It at least got everyone's attention.

onebadna1nsx

Lights remind me of the current M45... I think it's gonna be a TL though...

fsttyms1

Ditto

Ken1997TL

I've heard the TSX will be out in March. The TL shortly after..

GreenMonster

It drives me crazy when a car is introduced in the middle of the model year... I guess I'm old and used to cars coming out in september

Sly Raskal

iTrader: (1)

You're not the only one it bugs.

mltk53

sigh.

charliemike

Step 1. Rival Bentley and Maybach
Step 2. ???
Step 3. Profit

biker

The TSX is a world car so the MY thing is that important. Outside of the US makers intro stuff whenever it's ready and don't care about MY (generally there's no MY outside the US). No word on the TSX/Euro Accord debut in Frankfurt?

Moog-Type-S

Hey, someone's gotta love teh uglies (cars that is). :wink:

Belzebutt

Classic episode.

Mokos23

I think I may be an ex-Acura owner in a few months. I'm kind of pissed at my car right now.

r_vangieson

I think you huys missed the only bit of info in that ridiculous statement that means anything. The 2009 TSX will have a forced induction motor. That is huge, because the only thing that really keeps the TSX from greater sales is the aiight horsepower. With 230-240HP onboard the TSX will be well suited to steal even more sales from lexus BMW etc.

BraveDemon

I never thought Horsepower was the reason that kept the TSX from sales...

Instead, how about:

1. Wrong Wheel Drive a.k.a Foward Wheel Drive with no (currently) alternative drive train option.

2. No optional motors other than the standard K20 - which equates to no different Trim Levels offered in the TSX.

3. The TSX occupies a very very VERY tough category; the entry level premium compact sedan class which is also occupied by the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C Class, Lexus IS, Audi A4 and even *gasp* the Volvo S40. (Test drove a T5 AWD S40, and it's surprisingly a blast to drive)

Interesting how all of the cars I mentioned are offered either as RWD or as an AWD alternative, and offer different Engine trims.

People can rant and rave all they want about a Forced Induction motor, but I'd much rather see Honda put in an NA motor in the TSX that can churn out 250ish HP - which can probably be accomplished with a very small V6.

And yes, we're not all necessarily dissapointed at Acura (although I own a 2003 TL-S which has had a tranny replaced) but rather laughing at the rather overly bold and perhaps even childish remark made by the Acura exec.

mrdeeno

I A4 and S40 come in AWD or FWD.

JediMindTricks

i dunno what to think of the article, to be honest.

- i think it's good to hear that acura's being ambitious, even if they only mean "performance and design."
- i'm not sure in what context the quotes were taken
- hopefully, there is truth to the new tsx with turbo

but at the same time, it's a bit ridiculous, unrealistic, and farfetched when acura hasn't, in my opinion, done anything to even warrant these kinds of expectations. but who knows.

theslik1

I have a 2004 TL which is a great car for what it tries to accomplish IMHO. I'm very happy with it. However, it will be my third and last Honda automobile considering Acura's current strategy (or lack thereof). They simply aren't sending a very coherent or consistent message to consumers. Their continuing reticence towards developing RWD platforms and engines larger than 6 cylinders is mystifying, but those mental blocks aren't anything new. Remember Honda's reluctance to put a V6 in the Accord? Toyota was more than happy to pick up their slack with the V6 Camry.

Bottom line, what is Acura's real answer to the 3-series/IS/G? Oh, my bad, apparently they don't have to produce an answer because none of those are direct competitors.

Better yet, what will their answer be to the 1-series? -10 if anybody answers "TSX", even with a turbo...

P.S. The Accord sedan redesign is pure shit. Pure. Shit.

Black Tire

It's more likely that Hyundai would be producing a car to rival the Bentley/Maybach.

Belzebutt

At that price, the 1-series will be a niche product and there won't be many competitors, if any. How many people are willing to pay that much for such a tiny car? Only if it's a BMW.

charliemike

It's the size of an E46 BMW so it's not like it's a Mini coupe

JediMindTricks

well, for europeans, s3?

theslik1

Sorry, but . The 1 is comparable in size to the E46 3-series coupe (4-5 inches shorter overall and slightly taller) so it won't be tiny by any stretch. In fact some are already saying it'll be too big and heavy. The 3-series continues to sell very well despite its price premium; there's no reason to believe that BMW will need to market the 1-series as a niche product at either trim level (128i or 135i). The 135i will attract plenty of enthusiast buyers eager to get 335i performance...or better...for $8K-$10K less. Again, that's not a formula for low sales volume.

So back to the original question: What says Acura?

Ikko

Oh Sh*t, are you the reincarnation of 1SICKLEX?!

GreenMonster