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Acura RL
7385 messages, Last post on Apr 18, 2013 at 12:02 PM
You are in the Acura RL Forum.What is this discussion about? Acura RL, Sedan
#1482 of 7385 by varmint
Jul 22, 2003 (11:07 am)
In which country does the MDX come with a 3.8L engine?As for the rest... I agree that the RL has been neglected. But I'm not sure tweaks would have made a big difference.
Redesigning the RL in 2001 or 2002 would have certainly helped sales. The vehicle would have been competitive with some of the others in it's class. However, it would not have leap ahead. With 260 horses and a 5 speed tranny, this revised RL would still be 30-70 horsepower short of the others. Why bother? That lukewarm design would have lasted through 2007 or 2008.
By holding off a few years, Acura now has the technical potential to blow the doors off the market, not merely be competitive. If Acura comes back with a 400 hp hybrid AWD vehicle, will it have been worth the wait?
#1483 of 7385 Works the other way around by johnnyboy4
Jul 22, 2003 (5:05 pm)
My mistake about the MDX it is 3.5. I was thinking of the new RL's rumored V6 displacement.If sales had gotten a boost and Acura made a little more for the car that would actually mean the car would have lasted till the same year or 2006. That would mean that there would be more money and more of a name to build off of the next time around. Mercedes put this much interest into the CLK because it succeeded.
Competitive against who? Think about it LS430 time 0-60 is what 6.5 or so by most tests. Acura RL is around flat 8. A 5 speed gives maybe .4 off on most cars and those figures should give maybe a 6.8-7.2 o-60 that is BMW 530i to Mercedes E320 time respectively. After that the RL's number of features and build take over at that price. Meatier rubber are not that expensive for the company. Maybe $50. With that 1000 less in incentives you can do that the engine, trans., and rubber easily. Curtains would have been nice but that would have gotten costly.
I really do not believe Acura will introduce that hybrid yet. Atleast not until 2007. A hybrid name makes some shakey and especially in that price range. 400hp? AWD sorry, but now that is what pushes a car to 60k. Not 1 more gear in the transmission and 35 more horsepower.
#1484 of 7385 by l943973
Jul 23, 2003 (5:48 am)
Acura did add meatier tires in 2002. It went from 215/60 to 225/55 series. Personally, I prefer the 60 series tires. As for performance, when I test drove the RL, it was plenty powerful. The torque is excellent in this car and it has no problems keeping up with traffic. There isn't even a need to rev it past 3000 rpm in daily driving.#1485 of 7385 by varmint
Jul 23, 2003 (10:13 am)
Well... I've read two "reasonable" rumors. One is that the RL will get a hybrid drivetrain in '05 and the other reports a 3.5 AWD model. I figure this early in the game neither of them are particularly credible.On the hybrid front, we have an RL with a similar drivetrain to the DN-X concept vehicle shown a while back. That concept was supposed to produce 400 horsies with about 300 going from the V6 engine to the front wheels. The other 100 were from two electric motors rigged up to the rear wheels. A similar (less powerful) version has been shown in the RD-X concept. I doubt very much the RL will get the 400 horses from the DN-X, but 300-330 is certainly possible. A 3.5L V6 making 250-270 horses up front with another 50-60 in electric power is not at all unreasonable. The most recent rumor on this option was printed in MotorTrend as part of an article focused on the DN-X (2007).
The other rumor is based on a sighting of the next RL being tested on a track. The claim is for an AWD RL making 300 horses with the same 3.5L of displacement. I don't recall the rumor stating how AWD was accomplished (VTM-4?). Nor did it explain how they were able to determine displacement and power from a sighting. I assume they have contacts in engineering.
I figure either of these is possible. The RL doesn't need to take on the V8 competition head to head. The bulk of sales are for the 6 cylinder models. The V8s are just there to act as halo cars and make companies look good when the magazines ask for a test car. Either of the two rumored drivetrains could do well against the other sixes.
Personally, I favor the hybrid option. Honda/Acura has been touting these configuration for quite a while. They rarely design concepts that are not intended for production in some shape or form. Also, a hybrid would cause the biggest splash. Acura needs a big splash for this car.
#1486 of 7385 Follow-up by varmint
Jul 23, 2003 (10:23 am)
Use of a hybrid drivetrain would also explain why the RL is so stinkin' late for redesign. The cost would bring the vehicle into the $50K range, not $60K. The competition is already there. The extended warranty on hybrid parts also gives Acura a way to extend the warranty for their luxury customers without increasing the warranty on all Acura cars. Lexus has been making noise about using a hybrid in their luxury sedans. This could be a reaction to something they know about Honda, or vice versa.#1487 of 7385 Isn't there that 2000 bonus for going hybrid? by johnnyboy4
Jul 23, 2003 (10:28 pm)
maybe that is only in cali. but there is one for buying a hybrid(tax reduction).#1488 of 7385 I've heard similar RUMORS by damos516
Jul 28, 2003 (4:03 pm)
I've heard the same two rumors about the RL... Hybrid producing 400HP is the word on the street. Not sure how true these claims are but it would be a nice vehicle. Consequently, silence may be GOLDEN... with regard to Acura neglecting this vehicle over the years. This may have been done on purpose so they can come out with a TRUE BANG that would blow all of our minds. A Hybrid producing 400HP with a fuel efficiency of 40MPG (RUMOR) has tweaked my curiosity. I'm not sure if I'd buy one in it's first year though I am very anxious to see and drive it. I trust Honda/Acura but they may need to work out some quirks that owners may have in its initial production stage. That doesn't mean that I won't by one though. I'm just a little leery. However, HONDA/ACURA truly stand behind their vehicles which would urge me to be one of the first on the block to get one. $50K sounds about right with regard to the price.My understanding from speaking with an Internet Sales Manager at the Acura Dealership is that the front end will resemble the Caddy STS. Not too thrilled about that. I love curves the current body style has. The Boxy look would not do it too much justice.
My understanding is that there were some concept photos floating around on the net 'bout 4 or 5 months ago but have since then, disappeared. Has anyone seen, from a credible source, what this vehicle might look like?
I will say this, I am aggressively in the market for a new vehicle but don't want to regret buying the current RL and then find myself liking the new even more therefore extending payments if I trade one in for the other.
I have a '93 10th Anniversary Honda Accord that has 238,700 miles and I'm not trading it in as it's been wonderful to me... I'm trying to stick with Honda/Acura quality but there's not too much to choose from. Any ideas?
#1489 of 7385 Anybody got any pictures of the 2005 RL Concept by damos516
Jul 28, 2003 (4:05 pm)
All,Does anyone have any pictures of the 2005 RL Concept?
#1490 of 7385 by varmint
Jul 28, 2003 (6:54 pm)
Like you, I daydream about the idea of a 400 hp hybrid, but I doubt very much we'll see that much power. I think 300-330 is a more reasonable expectation.At this time, Acura probably has not decided on the sheetmetal. If they decided on the design this early in the game, it would look old before hitting the showroom floor. Given that the TL seems to have advanced the styling of the TSX, I think we can expect to see the same design themes played out in the new RL.
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