VTEC Racer

Wrong. The RDX was released before the CR-V. The RDX is not based on the CR-V. The CR-V is also no longer riding on the Civic platform.

I guess that theory is out the window.

Costco

Modulo kitted Euro Accord....

now THATS the grill that the TSX should have came with. but that pink Life..... :gheylaugh

come to think of it.... you're right! I've probably seen more new Acuras with the guillotine grills than I have Challengers, but I've seen more SRT-8 Challengers than I have new TLs and new RLs. That's just sad, though I'm not surprised.

F23A4

My 16 y/o daughter would go for that.......although she keeps asking me to get her a 1G G35C as her first car.

mrdeeno

Whether one was released before the other is moot...BOTH the CR-V and RDX ARE based on the same platform, and this platform is derived from the same platform that underpins the Civic.

mrdeeno

Sweet car to go with my sweet new cell phone!

http://eemobi.cn/mobile/13/1102/8446.aspx#image

godfather2

the modulo fit is sweet, all others FAIL

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

Ah yes, the Isuzu Trooper cloaked in Acura badging.

F23A4

Edmunds

Automobile Magazine

phile

That sounds more like marketing than factual information. That's like them saying the Ridgeline was riding on a unique platform, when in fact it's a heavily modified global midsize platform. Honda only has 3 platforms, the global compact, the global midsize, and whatever the S2K rides on.

mrdeeno

Don't let Honda's marketing spin confuse you, but that's all it is, a marketing spin.

Also, when asked during the unveiling of the RL whether it was based on the same platform as the Accord, Colliver said it was NOT and that it is a "unique" platform. To Acura, taking an existing platform and tweaking it to accept SH-AWD or making it larger or whatever means it's "unique", but in reality it is still based on the same platform.

mrdeeno

I think tey have 4...
global small car - fit/jazz
global compact - civic/crv/etc
global midsize - accord/tl/etc
global light truck - oddy/mdx/etc.

and then they have the specialized ones for the NSX and S2000.

psteng19

Oddysey, MDX, Ridgeline are based off the midsize IIRC.

dom

From Jeff at TOV.

Yumcha

^ Oh oops...it was posted earlier and I merged that in the Acura Future Model's thread...

biker

Like I said, in these times you can't tell what's true and what's rumor and even if you see it in an official Honda release they could still change it later. Conrad doesn't speak for mother Honda who takes the ultimate decisions.

VTEC Racer

You should get your facts straight before making claims like this. The CR-V is no longer based on the Civic and the RDX is not based on the CR-V. Neither the CR-V or the RDX is based on the Civic. The platforms are unique. It's not marketing spin. Unless the Civic rides on the global light truck platform now.

I also don't recall Colliver ever claiming the RL was riding on a unique platform. It has always been said that it is riding on the global midsize platform.

mrdeeno

It was in the unveiling video at one of the autoshows. A reporter specifically asks if the RL is built on the same platform as the Honda Accord...Colliver responds by saying the RL is not built on the Accord platform, but a "unique" platform.

mrdeeno

Ok, mr. genius...what platforms does honda currently use?

CGTSX2004

iTrader: (1)

Well, this all depends on how you are defining the word "unique". Technically speaking, I believe the RL is based on a stretched and widened version of the Accord's global mid-size platform. That being the case, it is indeed unique, though it is essentially just a stretched version of the existing platform. Same can be said for the CR-V and RDX platforms, which are most likely modified versions of the global compact car platform, but being stretched in different ways would technically make them "unique" as well, despite their origins.

mrdeeno

This is exactly what I'm getting at...it is all marketing spin by Honda when a "unique" platform is essentially the same platform with relatively minor modifications...the RL/TL/TSX/Accord are all based on the SAME platform, but each model required modifications to the platform to accomodate the differences which makes them "unique", but they are still based on the SAME platform.

and as far as i know, the latest gen CR-V is based on the same platform as the RDX, although the RDX came out first.

phile

That's why we're saying it's marketing. It is "unique" in the sense that yes it is different, but...how much different? When you get down the bare bones, it's the same platform.

Toyotas have unique platforms - there are FWD platforms, and there are RWD platforms. I have no problem with anyone claiming the Highlander and 4Runner ride on different platforms - because they do. One is FWD based, the other is RWD based.

But a CR-V and an RDX, that's really loose usage of the word "unique".

Crazy Bimmer

Who to believe? Internal email claims Acura RWD V8 program still alive

by Jeremy Korzeniewski on Jan 9th 2009 at 7:27PM
<!-- sphereit start -->

Earlier this week, Autocar reported that future high-end Acura models had been canceled. As it turns out, those rumors were more than a bit premature, as Jeff Conrad, Vice President of Acura, has informed his dealers via email that the long-awaited "Tier 1" program is moving forward on schedule. It's believed that the program is based around the large rear-wheel drive Acura that would go up against the best Germany has to offer. Also back on the table is a V8 engine to power this range-topping sedan from Honda. But it's not all good news for auto enthusiasts. Still dead, sadly, is the NSX revival. We're also unaware of a planned replacement for the soul-stirring S2000 roadster or a drop-top version of the upcoming CR-Z hatchback. Oh well, you can't win 'em all. Thanks for the tip, Nick!

Wavehogger

I was just a few minutes behind your post CrazyAcura

RWD V8 still alive!

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/09/w...program-still/

VTEC Racer

The RDX rides on the Global Light-Truck platform. When was the last time Dick Colliver said the Civic rides on a truck platform?

The CR-V is no longer based on the Civic either. Just look underneath a Civic and a CR-V and you will see that the cars are different. Heck, don't even look underneath, just look behind the CR-V. The last gen CR-V had suspension arms that were literally dragging on the ground because the car was literally just riding on a lifted Civic platform. Now the suspension is neatly tucked away because it is connected to a platform that was designed more for it's purpose.

aznboi2424

iTrader: (10)

Same was said at the unvailing of the 2001 CL.

krio

RWD platform still alive, for the 2015 rigth?
alive not alive, RWD, FWD, V8, V10, could they make an official statement whatever?

(Cj)

Another confusing twist

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=139966


The all-new V8-powered 4WD Honda Legend, currently under development in Japan (or should we say, previously under development) was expected to do battle in the U.S. with Cadillac, BMW, Mercedes and Lexus. According to our source, that won't happen now.

Moog-Type-S

With all the plant shut downs and laying off of employees that Honda is doing lately...you can bet that the V8 RWD program and the NSX are dead.


Stay tuned for +2015

biker

One more time, until you see it on the showroom floor, don't believe anything any of the makers say about some model.

KavexTrax

TSX69

Report of Acura's Death Greatly Exaggerated Says Exec

American Honda Motor Co. Inc.’s Acura near-luxury brand will launch an all-new model in 2009, a top U.S. Honda official says.

“We’ve got a new product (coming) later this fall dealers don’t (currently) sell,” John Mendel, executive vice president-Automobile Operations Div. for American Honda, tells media during a recent roundtable interview at the North American International Auto Show here.

Mendel doesn’t divulge what type of vehicle the model is, but John Watts, manager-Acura product planning, told Ward’s last February the brand was studying the introduction of a third cross/utility vehicle geared toward Baby Boomers. A camouflaged CUV, reported to be an Acura, has been photographed several times in the last six months undergoing testing in the U.S. and overseas.

The Acura lineup currently includes two CUVs: the small RDX, introduced in 2006, and the midsize MDX, fully redesigned in 2006.

Mendel no doubt hopes the new product launch will quiet online bloggers, who have been speculating in recent weeks the Acura brand is in dire straits.
“The only thing that was announced was the NSX (supercar) was canceled, and that we delayed the opening of the Yorii plant in (Saitama prefecture,) Japan,” Mendel says.

“So from that have popped up stories that the whole Acura lineup is canceled; Acura is on the ropes; it’s going to be cut; everything’s delayed; everything is gone,” he says of the rumors.

With the sudden, violent collapse of new-car sales last year continuing into 2009, and product and technology delays or cancellations at Acura, the Internet rumor mill has been buzzing with talk of the future viability of the brand, whose sales declined 19.8% in the U.S. in 2008 to 144,504 units, Ward’s data shows.

Once Honda Motor Co. Ltd. CEO Takeo Fukui announced last month the launch of the Acura brand in Japan would be delayed indefinitely and the next-generation NSX with a V-10 engine had been shelved, speculation emerged that other plans to take Acura to luxury status were in jeopardy.
Those efforts included a V-8 engine and an expected-but-not-confirmed rear-wheel-drive platform, both of which would give Acura parity with its luxury competition such as Toyota Motor Corp.’s Lexus brand and BMW AG.

But Mendel says when Fukui in October announced work was under way on Honda’s first production V-8, he never put a timetable on its introduction.
“We’ve built V-8s (for auto-racing applications). We’ve got V-8s. I’ve driven the V-8s,” he says. “We just haven’t yet named a date when we’re going to bring them in (for mass-production).”

Still, Mendel acknowledges the slowdown in auto sales, as well as the resulting need to conserve cash on the part of all auto makers. He says Acura is contemplating a possible delay in launching the next-generation flagship RL sedan to 2012 from mid-2011.

The RL was last all-new in late 2004 as an ’05 model. A mid-cycle change that added Acura’s now-signature “power plenum” grille happened in model-year ’09.

Speculation of trouble at Acura has been so strong that both Mendel and **** Colliver, executive vice president-automobile sales, personally have called nervous dealers to calm their fears.

“**** and I have been on the phone with numerous dealers (and) the dealer council, saying, ‘Separate the fact from the speculation,’” Mendel says.

Acura loyalists, who may be getting weary after failed or delayed promises from the brand, should hang on a little longer.

“To set the record straight on Acura, we’re still dedicated to taking Acura to Tier 1 (luxury status), “ Mendel says. “That hasn’t changed. We have a very robust product plan for the Acura lineup and that continues to be the case. (It is) a broad range of products and powertrains and everything else. So bloggers be damned.”

Mendel is quick to say he doesn’t discount the opinions of some of Acura’s most fervent fans. But after years of threats to leave the brand, they’re still hanging on.

The people who are vowing to abandon Acura now are “the same guys who were going to (Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.’s) Infiniti because we didn’t put a V-6 in the TSX (midsize sedan), and when we dropped the RSX (compact coupe in 2006),” he says.

phile

well now I see why the brand is barely afloat, look at the mentality:

Fibonacci

^^ Yah, that seems quite presumptuous of him to think people love Honda so much that they are on auto-buy. He needs to peruse this board alone to see how many peeps have abandoned the "brand". I'm sick of hearing all this talk about brand -- it comes down to good product, period.

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

He says Acura is contemplating a possible delay in launching the next-generation flagship RL sedan to 2012 from mid-2011.

...hmm....I thought it's 2015?

Costco

That's great, the profanity filter cuts out Dick Colliver's name.... or should I say **** Colliver

iforyou

iTrader: (1)

haha, that cracked me up lol.

biker

Another CUV - just what Acura needed.

dom

He's talking to you Moog.


So, he doesn't see a problem with that?

dom

And lets face it, the only reason Acura is getting this new CUV is because Honda is getting one. More badge engineering isn't what Acura fans and enthusiasts wanted to see.

But Mendel obviously knows what we want to see.

(Cj)

lol, so true and so sad. I hope that the Acura execs finally get a clue one of these days. I'm still hoping that the next RL is all we've dreamed it to be and not more of the same. It really concerns me how cocky the the exec's attitude was though. Hopefully he's not arrogant enough to think that another Accord based RL is "tier one".