jeeva86

Hey y'all, what do you guys think abt my speculation . With the RLX debut, it looks like Acura is following BMW and Audi with keeping the exterior very similar across classes. Would a TLX entice you or would you want the TL to stand out?

Discuss.

1black_seven

iTrader: (2)

Until Acura makes a model that looks as good as the 3g TL, I'm going to stick to what I got.
I'll probably check out the ILX.
The only model in the current line up I considered buying was the TSX, but I wanted something that was a better blend of formal sedan and sporty. So far the 3g TL-S has yet to disappoint me.

3g>4g aesthetic-wise

Undying Dreams

iTrader: (3)

+1 on that ^ the new 4th gen looks terrible to me, they went a whole different route on the 4g and tbh the 3g is 100x better looking.

And yes, I would want the TL to stand out instead of blending into every other model they make. It's already happened with the TL's and TSX's. They look exactly alike except some minor differences.

Bearcat94

TL .... TLX .... "A rose by any other name ....".

serbj

iTrader: (1)

The "X" in the "RLX" merely means it is an experimental car. In other words, a prototype.

I think Acura has been having identity crisis for awhile, since the early days when they had little Integras and NSXs in their line up, and the two had radically different design philosophy.

Besides the terrible quality control and high maintenance cost of BMWs, those are pretty much the paradigms of modern luxury sports cars. Yuppies choose them as their "official" vehicles for a reason.

Acura's vehicle design should be down-to-earth, and they should stop playing with gimmicks. If they want the new RSX/TSX/TL or whatever to be worshiped like old Legends or Integras, they must go back to precise driving response and track oriented performance design, like the BMWs. Hefty curb weight, excessively soft struts, oversizing chassis, underpowering engines, and attempting to hit the market with electronic gimmicks are not the way to go.

Design language (making models in a line up look similar) is not the problem. Evo looks like Lancer and Outlander Sport, that is not an issue; GT-R doesn't look like any other Nissan/Infiniti cars, that is not an issue either.

TheChamp531

iTrader: (3)

^To be honest, Acura only performance-oriented car has only been the NSX. No need to have "overpowered" engines. Hefty curb weight? No one really cares outside message boards and some enthusiast. People love soft struts (family that is).

It all just depends. Acura wanted the direction of the TL to basically open another generation of how cars look. They basically wanted to start the new generation, which utterly failed. Nonetheless, they know they made mistakes (there quarterly's/annual = low). I'm not worried about Acura, because they know what they need to do. Only thing I wish Acura would vastly improve on is there dealerships. I have three places that I can go that is beyond the best, but a lot of people on AZ has seen the stealership do work.

serbj

iTrader: (1)

^BMW has powerful engines and firm struts, but I don't see that becoming a factor prohibiting luxury car buyers from choosing BMW.

For stealerships, indeed. I've only been to several Acura stealerships, but not a single dealership yet. It's sad that Acura doesn't care about the service. Lexus is way ahead of Acura and other manufacturers by means of luxury experience: training their dealership managers in upscale hotels, putting greens and picture windows (so you see they working on your car) in the waiting area, and strict quality control on maintenance. Those are the ways to go of marketing luxury vehicles.

serbj

iTrader: (1)

Maybe this explains something:

Jackass

I got an email the other day from one of the sales people at my local dealership after I picked auto-show tickets from them asking if I was in the market for a new Acura. I kindly explained that until they bring out something that was comparable to the 3g TL, I wasn't interested at this time. My comments included their current offerings were either way underpowered (TSX SportWagon) or a bit unsightly (4g TL) for me to consider anything new.

I am interested in looking at the ILX in person at some point. Hoping it won't feel as underpowered as the TSX does at highway speeds.

As for the various cars blending together? I could care less as long as the blend is of a nice looking car. I have zero desire to stand out these days. I want a car with clean lines (3g TL), decent power, comfortable without being a sloppy pig, and a competitive price point.

turbo_oxide

What I think BWM/Audi/etc has going for ALL of them is options galore..

For example: You can get your 5 series in a variety of flavors: 4-cylinder, V6, or V8... and each one in RWD or AWD.

Likewise: 7 series in V6, V8, V12 and each in RWD or AWD.

There's a clear differentiation in car size based on the series.

Acura's got major identity crisis and i'm not sure what their target audience is. I can't tell what the TL is supposed to be. It's bigger than a 3-series, so i'm just going to assume it's supposed to be a 5 series type of vehicle. However, the RL is not as big as a 7, so that also puts it into the same territory. Same with And now you have the ILX and TSX which if you ask me, is practically the same size and similar pricepoint so catering to the same demographic.

If i were to be shopping for a new Acura, I wouldn't know what the purpose of each is since their lineup has no clear distinction of what car fits in what category and wouldn't even know how to cross shop against their competitors.

And for the love of god, bring back a coupe already (and I don't mean NSX).

In the end, people should have some idea of what they want when looking for a car, so the make should have some starting point to help guide them. With the new Acura's, you're pretty much walking into the dealership and you're told "well, here's our lineup of sedans. They're all similar in size, and run off the same but slightly modified engines. Low end models are FWD and high end models are AWD. Have at it."

Don't flame me too hard. This is just my opinion.

maharajamd

iTrader: (1)

^I agree lack of options and lack of distinction between models is putting them at a huge disadvantage. Throw the stealerships on top of that and no one wants to buy their cars.

I have to admit I went with a friend on Monday to look at cars for him. First place we stopped was Kia. Got into a Optima SX GDI and drove it around. WOW is all I'm going to say. Drove great, sounded great, wasn't too stiff wasn't too sloppy, had nice wheels, great power (2.0 turbo so 275?), and the technology was insane. All of this for $32k. Plus the warranty it came with... Same tech in an Acura would probably be what, a $40k TL? $44k? Throw the extra warranty ontop of that?

I was shocked.

ez12a

Acura's the only manufacturer that offers an AWD manual transmission in a sedan of its class.

(no, a suby legacy is not even comparable. bmw's 5 series does not offer an MT anymore in the xDrive.)

imo they can capitalize on that fact and market their sh-awd to new levels. NSX comparisons?

ez12a

Also found something interesting:
http://trademarks.justia.com/854/50/...-85450249.html

TLX has a high chance of being the new TL.

turbo_oxide

What does appending 'X' to each of their model names accomplish unless it an indication of the trim?

When I see X, i think AWD.

Maybe it should be TL(FWD)/TLX (AWD). RL(FWD)/RLX (AWD)

NSX (AWD) and introduce a NS (FWD, respectively haha)

jeeva86

All I'm saying is I hope the 5G TL brings in a wow factor. Everything in Acura seems to be eXperiment lately.

No doubt 3G TL-S is so fiiine.

Undying Dreams

iTrader: (3)

Maharajamd - I wouldn't buy a KIA, ever. I the new Optima is a pretty car but no way will I ever buy a KIA product.

Agreed with Acura though, all the cars a like the same size with the same motor. As for what turbo had to say, I agree, they don't really target an audience like other companies do, I'm 18 and love the look of the TL and apparently so do a lot of 85 year olds do too that live in my area. >.>

truonghthe

may be TLX is the standard of choice now no more FWD? but any way I can't wait to see this new TL come out and see is it gona be uglier or prettier than 4g TL.

jeeva86

^Pretty sure they'll have the base trim with FWD. Isn't that what they're planning on doing with the RLX?

Btw, the TL is the only model that has made it to 4gens in the Acura brand?

paperboy42190

iTrader: (7)

I love acuras but I would Love them more if they could come out with a decent transmission. If the tl-s had a dual clutch 6 speed I would have absolutely no more complaints about this car. It'd be wayy faster and possibly make it as fast or faster than it's competitors IS350/infinity G. But of course it's too late for that now but that doesn't mean they can't make one for the new models

jeeva86

I'd also love it if they would accept fault for the 3rd gear issue instead of telling me "I'm doing it wrong" :/

vshengr

iTrader: (2)

3G is pretty close to perfect when it comes to aesthetics - my personal opinion.

I was definitely in the same boat as most and was disappointed at how the 4G looked when it first hit the market. From some angles I find it pretty good, from others pretty bad. But I have seen a few in the 4G forum that look amazing after having done some tasteful exterior modding.

With all that said, I fell in love with the 3G Type S when I saw it and did not even think about wanting to change anything about it aesthetically. That's what I'm waiting for from Acura in the 5G. That and like paperboy said, a dual clutch option would be awesome =)

leedogg

I would def consider the new Kia's.

ez12a

There's a guy in the 4G forum that went back to Acura after owning the Optima SX for 3k miles. I think initial impressions are great but the novelty wont last..

thread here: https://acurazine.com/forums/4g-tl-2009-2014-123/new-owner-12-tl-sh-awd-tech-finally-853043/

I'll admit though i love the look.

turbo_oxide

You have an Audi designer to thank for that.

maharajamd

iTrader: (1)

Say what you want, go ahead, but do so after taking it for a drive yourself.

I'm a stickler. I felt the build materials all around, paid attention to wind noise, tire noise, everything and anything. And I liked it.

But sit back and look at what we're doing. We are comparing a sub $30k KIA to a $40k+ ACURA. Tell me ten years ago we'd even consider making that comparison and I would have laughed at you. Hell five years. Lol

TheBumbino

I saw TLX and thought "Dear god please don't let it be a crossover"

turbo_oxide

Isn't that what the ZDX is?