zoltan

When will the 04 TL be released or the date that Honda will provide "offical information" with specs.,options and pricing?

RJC RSX

demos are expected to arrive October 6, the official release date, with allocations coming in after October 15. The press embargo ends Sept. 1, so expect lots more info then, with official information from Honda probably coming at the end of Sept. See Justin's schedule for more details.

provench

Schedule from Justin at top of page 1 of this thread:

http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...=&threadid=909

VtecMW

I'm sure Honda/Acura reasons has its reasons for keeping the vehicle a secret, but come on... isn't it ridiculous, excessive and absolutely senseless that there is absolutely NO official information from Acura available on this car with less than two months before its release? I don't think it's unreasonable to ask why all the secrecy.

I've been as patient as one could possibly be. This has gone entirely too far!

:thumbsdn:

G-35

I too wonder why the secrecy. I know Nissan and Infiniti take a whole different approach and create some buzz on their vehicles even before the launch dates.

You would think Acura/Honda would want to provide enough info to help persuade buyers of other vehicles to wait and check out Acura's new arrival.

One issue may be last minute problems with the cars. If there are problems past the release date, potential buyers could become irritated. I don't think that's worth the secrecy though.

Eric@McDavid

We usually don't even have the price until the cars are about to roll off the truck. This is just the way Hon/Ac does it.

VtecMW

Well if the car is a bust, although unlikely, wouldn't such tactics reflect poorly on Honda/Acura? There's a lot of anticipation for this car.

Then again, once the car goes into production, I guess it doesn't matter.

larchmont

The car doesn't have to be a bust in order for it to mean the company made a mistake.

Even with my saying how we don't really know what type of car it will be, I can't see how it would be a bust (unless they price it way too high). But, it's very possible that with other kinds of marketing (including, as I've said before, re-naming the car), it would have wound up EVEN MORE successful.

ben1233

Well look at what all this secrecy has done to some people! People are literally crazy over what the TL *might* be.

I think this method of marketing is perfect. First off, it comes at zero cost to Honda, because no advertising is involved. Secondly, not knowing and the anticipation are what drives people to want this car. Honda seems to have this mastered.

I also think we have plenty of information to formulate some decisions. We know some cool features, horsepower, drivetrain, etc. I realize we don't know engine displacement or trim levels, but that will come soon.

As far as Nissan goes, to me they're like a guy that stands up in a theater and starts yelling at the top of his lungs. Always striving for attention. They also seem to jump the gun a bit too early. Remember the I35? Probably not, because the TL showed up shortly thereafter. How about the 240 hp Altima? Now the Accord is king. And the G35? Say hello to the 04TL. In *my opinion*, I'd rather be the hunter, rather than the hunted.

Raheel

Also this technique helps people think they know something new, so they go around telling others, without knowing its a rumour, than they have other people all tons of stuff..

Also Dealers and stuff lie to there customers and make them wait anticipated..

TColl03

Even though we would believe that most people know about the '04TL, most do not. This allows Acura to continue to sell the '03. How many people buy the "old" model when they know about the "new" one? Bargain hunters.

I'm sure Acura has quite an inventory of the '03 3.2TL.

zoltan

Thanks for the response re the TL release date , judging from how Honda has handled previous model releases I guess this all one could expect. How ever I do think more "teaser" information would benefit Honda Corporate!

Raheel

Calm your anger down, I don't want to hear in the news tomm:

"This morning the President of Honda was found shot 6 times in the head, and he was laying on the ground with a note that said, 'NEXT GEN TL BETTER HAVE MORE INFO BEFORE IT COMES OUT OR NEXT PRESIDENT WILL DIE TOO', This letter and death has made Honda more careful on how to do there job on secrecy, they said now they will never have any secrets and will give all the INFO on the car 1 year before, also it seems the killer's 2003 Acura TL wouldn't start due to Tranny probs, so we suppose he ran home, also the car was found eyeless this morning"

ben1233

This is a good comment because it is a fact. For July, TL sales were down 27 percent, which from what I hear is pretty good, considering there is an all-new model due out in a few months. But remember, even though this is a good tactic, many dealers do say "you know, there IS a new one coming out in a few months." I went to visit a dealer in the Chicago area and I played dumb about the 04TL. The dealer he was very eager to tell me a new one was coming out.

Oh, this was a couple of weeks ago. This dealer was busy telling me 280+ hp along with 19" rims on the base model....ahem.

lakeman

Arguably this forum is the most informative site on the web for information (and speculation) about the new TL. Having viewed nearly every message here, I have seen only a few of us (I counted 5) that have actually put down a deposit on one. I know there a many more who have put down deposits, who do not look at or respond on these forums, but there is not much pent up demand. (I was number three at my dealer in late July) If the TL is as good a car as it seems, Acura could have given more advanced information to stir up demand. Look at what BMW did with the Mini, lots of advanced info and long waiting lists.

Deposit 04 TL 6MT HPT? Abyss or Redondo

tl04_RENAMED

I put down a $500.00 deposit yesterday on a 04'TL (SSM/Ebony) and they had already 7 deposits on this car, the Gral.Manager show me the order they made last week to Acura for 68 cars, and one already has my name on it !

can't wait !!!!!!!!

Raheel

My salesmen told me 8 people have already put deposits down for the car, For people to put deposits down on a car which is not even announced, is odd but theres 8 people that have done it, so You can assume after sept. 1st of the unveiling that There will be Great DEMAND!

Peter7777

Honda released the official Accord information on Aug 7:

http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=125119

Perhaps they want people to focus on that for a few weeks before going public with the TL specs.

VtecMW

If that's the case, Honda hasn't thrown a very tasty bone to potential TL buyers!

Colin

Well I can say our store's TL sales will be very off for this month and next month. We are down to 4 TLs and 4 TL-S' These will probably sell this month meaning we'll sell ZERO TLs in September. WTF, how are we supposed to make a living?

RJC RSX

Pohanka, now the largest Acura dealership in the country, has only one TL on their lot. Amazing.

fdefulvio

"Well I can say our store's TL sales will be very off for this month and next month. We are down to 4 TLs and 4 TL-S' These will probably sell this month meaning we'll sell ZERO TLs in September. WTF, how are we supposed to make a living?"

I'm sure you will more than make up for it in Oct. and Nov. selling the 2004 TLs at MSRP. In the mean time, sell more MDXs at MSRP.

VtecMW

Is there any chance that the new TL might show up on dealer lots early? At least demo models?

TColl03

From Autospies...


Excellent article on Spy Photographers
A look behind the curtain

Highlights from the article:


Forget About J. Lo. These Paparazzi Are After a BMW.

The job of spy photographer has its moments of high drama. Jim Dunne, the Detroit editor of Popular Mechanics who took his first spy photo in 1966 and is considered the dean of spy photographers, recalls once renting a helicopter to get pictures of a Corvette that he had been unable to shoot on the ground. Most tell stories of being run off the road or asked to surrender their film.

The manufacturers' concern is two-fold: that the competition will get advance information about their styling plans and that the pictures of a particularly appealing new model might prompt buyers to postpone their purchase for a year or two, leaving current cars idling in dealerships.

"We think that any competitive advantage we can gain by having the competition be surprised, as well as the media and everyone else, just makes good business sense," said Mike Spencer, a spokesman for the American Honda Motor Company in Torrance, Calif. "It's a way of life with us."

Honda also likes to test its cars at night, making clear pictures more difficult.

Auto Spies perspective: Let's not kid ourselves, 99% all the spy photos that get out in to the magazines are leaked or the cars are allowed to be photographed by the manufacturers...it's their way of creating buzz. And they way they create even further buzz, is acting like they're mad, that they got caught. We get photos all the time DIRECTLY from the manufacturers who ask that we don't reveal our source of the photo. IBM and Microsoft have a name for this and have been quite sucessful at it over the years...it's called MARKETING!

Peter7777

How would you rate Pohanka in terms of being able to get a good negotiated price on a car versus the other Acura dealers in the DC/Baltimore region?

One of my friends just bought a Saab 9-3 at Fitzmall in Frederick, Md. They have an Internet price that I believe is quite good. Is there an Acura dealer in the region that has a reasonable deal on the Internet?

MotownTSX

Too much secrecy is a bad thing for the general public I think. For us auto nuts, it only makes us want the bloody thing more. But for the general population who actually has a life, they have no clue about it and WILL NOT factor it in to their new car decisioning until possibly too late.

How many people are clueless about the TSX today? 99% of people on the road. How about the RSX? 98%. Plainly put, show them an RSX or TSX and they have no idea what it is.

Acura needs more hype, just not to over-do it.