ronbarr

I was crossing the street at the main beach in Santa Cruz and I saw it coming. It has the same grille as the MDX. The lines are chopped on the back sides, kind of like the new beamers. It looks good, a little convoluted but nice.

I asked the driver if it was the new TL and he gave me a thumbs up.

diddy_nyc

iTrader: (1)

Appreciate your efforts.
I bet it looked so good, you forgot to whip out your camera phone to take any photos.

rondog

iTrader: (1)

if you would have gotten a pic, you could have sold it for a pretty penny to priddy and co or any of the websites/magazines...

AcuraZ

Was it unmasked?

swift22

how far is santa cruz from HPD???

ronbarr

Yes - I just thought it had been announced and I had missed it.

ronbarr

We're closer to SF, about 6-7 hours north of HPD. They shoot a lot of commercials at Big Sur, which is less than an hour away. Maybe they snuck it out for some fun...

jnnyjuice

damn man gotta be quick on ur feet, should havbe pulled out the camera phone!!!!!

SpicyMikey

Are you certain of that MDX style grill! The tape job on the front makes it kind of obvious it's a grill like the new TSX. Could they be changing their mind about that grill! The MDX style works much better for me. I'd be happy if this was true

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

I would prefer the MDX grille as well.

Black0ut

believe NONE of what you hear and only half of what you SEE

tracerit

are you sure it was unmasked? it's hard to believe that they would be so careless at this point.

whatjones911

Oh wtf! Which beach in Santa cruz? I live near downtown santa cruz! Where the TL!?!?!?!??!??!

mr.jay.diem

krio

hard to believe about the MDX grille. From the front photos you can see even under the "nose mask" the shape of the Acura logo... It looks like the TSX-RL-Sport Concept one...

xdaily

Did the back of it look like this?

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

your high....

Black0ut

if i ACTUALLY saw a 2009 TL i would have:
a. whipped out my camera phone in a fury
b. if i didn't have a real camera, followed it until i could call someone with a camera to meet me
c. pissed myself
d. all the above

Answer: D, all the above
I don't believe you saw an unmasked 09. Sorry.

ronbarr

You are correct - it was very much like the TSX grille. My bad - I had remembered the MDX incorrectly.

The new design will be a little controversial, much like when BMW intro'd the new 3 and 5-series cars. It has that same kind of feel - less swoop, more elegance. The current TL is a beautiful car. The 2009 is after 1 look, slightly less beautiful but it looks a little richer.

ronbarr

Had I known it hadn't been announced, I might have done that. You can continue to not believe me, I did see it.

ronbarr

I was in the crosswalk going from Ideal to the liquor store on Front and Beach. He was coming from the Dream Inn on Beach St. He wasn't in any hurry - as I said, I walked over to the window and asked if it was the new TL and he nodded and put up a thumb,

I'm more interested in the new electronics than the shell anyway. I will get one though.

sol_da_man

i understand being enthusiastic about a new acura, but c'mon...nothing to piss yourself about. especially if the styling is less than agreeable.

KEVIN301

man i hope the new tl dont look better then the 3g tl-s.i dont what to hate on my car

whatjones911

I don't doubt that he saw it, but seeing it unmask is very questionable to me.

What color was it?

henrychan718

nice catch but too bad no pictures

ronbarr

Deep blue, a very pretty color.

Meek32v6

iTrader: (7)

curious...very

whatjones911

Seems like all the test mule are dark blue with lots of camouflage

ILLustriousUA6

iTrader: (2)

wow, santa cruz?! My sister goes to school there and dam. that sucks that u have no pics, U could have sold it to some magazines for a very good price, since no one has seen it before.

and why would it be @ santa cruz????

whatjones911

Yea i go to school in santa cruz too. I wish I could of seen it!

Seems like there are doing final testing on the TL. There all over the place from west to east coast.

tacobill

New TL Sneak


If the link doesn't show, search for BMW M3, Acura TL - Fast Lane Daily - 19May08



Fast forward through about half of the show to get into the cars!

rimz

funny you mention seeing an '09 TL...just the other day i was (forcibly) watching oprah because my wife records her show...but they were filming outside in chicago with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and for a quick second you could see this white Acura behind them...totally different front (similar to new MDX) and looked wider than a TSX...wasn't an RL, so i could only assume it was the new TL...such a teaser! ...i should of snapped a pic of my TV...

5 minutes later...

i found the video! ...here's the car i'm referring too...



has anyone seen this front before and i'm just out of the loop on Acura's new line-up...?

LTxArucAx60

iTrader: (9)

Whoah the back of the TL if its true looks horrible!!

alextclam

That looks like a 04 MDX Touring model.

whatjones911

lol u must me kidding me, thats an MDX for sure

rimz

wow...the older MDX model never occurred to me...it looked lower when i saw it at first, so i assumed it was a car...

...i'm gonna go hide in the corner now...

09TSX

ronbarr...I believe you that you may have seen it. I didn't see it in the flesh but I have seen it in pics due to an inside scoop....

ronbarr

That is what I saw, and for about as long, too!

ronbarr

He couldn't have picked a busier place to drive it - it was a hot weekend day and the beach and street was packed. Either he's a renegade employee driving it up the coast or taking a quick spin from a Big Sur commercial shoot, or it was intentional to drive this kind of discussion. I'm guessing the launch is in the next few days.

TeknoKing

are you talking about this?

http://jalopnik.com/391905/2009-acura-tl-redux

(I'm so glad I went with 08 TLS)