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Acura RL vs. Acura TL

166 messages,  Last post on Nov 18, 2010 at 1:44 AM

You are in the Acura RL Forum.

What is this discussion about? Acura RL, Acura TL, Sedan

Messages Page 15 of 17

#137 of 166 Re: OK, OK, I concede! [tamparl] by habitat1

Dec 23, 2006 (7:41 am)

Replying to: tamparl (Dec 22, 2006 8:37 pm)
"But from my angle, I'd settle for it just as it is, and I think more people would also if they only knew and were inspired enough to get their butt into the seat and drive one."
 
You may be right, that Acura could increase RL sales with an all out blitz to try to get more prospective buyers give it a chance. But I think the increase would be nominal.
 
Acura can up marketing dollars for the RL by millions to "toot it's own horn". But the verdict is out, and the automotive press, early adaptors and general enthusiasts didn't fall all over themselves over the RL. Certainly not the way they did over the S2000 or even the little brother TL, with it's 2004 redesign. And let's look at that for a moment - the previous generation TL was a fine car, but really not much more than a gussied up Accord. When the 2004 TL came out, a much more BMW looking aggressive exterior style, a tremendously refined interior, a much more potent engine and suspension, and even an available 6-speed. According to my dealer, I'm one of about 10-15% of TL buyers that bought a 6-speed. HOWEVER, as soon as Acura offered it, along with the other performance upgrades, every car magazine in the rack had a cover story and road test on it. Bingo, Acura was no longer spending big bucks to toot it's own horn, everybody else was doing it for them.
 
If you put an RL next to a non-sport 530i automatic, you probably have comparable performance. But a lot of those 5 series are sold to people whose perception of it being the "ultimate driving machine" was formed from accolades from the automotive press testing a 550i 6-speed. With the present RL, Acura has nothing to get the blood boiling among the enthusiast crowd.
 
Another point - when that lustworthy Legend GS 6-speed was being sold at $41k in 1994, Acura had a $15-18k Integra, and the non-event $25k Vigor. Period. Very little overlap. As of last year the lineup had expanded to an RSX, TSX, TL and RL all compressed into an even tighter (in real dollars) price range. Acura spent a lot of time in the last 13 years focused on price points that were right in Honda's sweet spot, rather than competing with the Lexus GS and LS segments.
 
It is an anomoly to me that Acura deemed that the could sell a $41k car in 1993/4, but not a $60k car in 2006/7. In many ways, I think Acura has much more real engineering talent than does Lexus. Lexus has mastered the ultra reliable, ultra luxurious, ultra techno do-dadded, BUICK. BMW is the worldwide sales leader in the luxury market and they are performance oriented. Lexus has pretty much said, "we can't compete", and instead took on Mercedes. That leaves a market opportunity for Acura, IMO, that they seem hesitent to pounce on.
 

#138 of 166 Re: OK, OK, I concede! [habitat1] by taxesquire

Dec 26, 2006 (5:00 pm)

Replying to: habitat1 (Dec 23, 2006 7:41 am)
Lexus has mastered the ultra reliable, ultra luxurious, ultra techno do-dadded, BUICK. BMW is the worldwide sales leader in the luxury market and they are performance oriented. Lexus has pretty much said, "we can't compete", and instead took on Mercedes. That leaves a market opportunity for Acura,
 
Well-said - but I think Nissan/Infinity has admirably and ably sought to fill that market. Acura seems to have started to do so, but tapered off to a middle-of-the-road type of philosophy.

#139 of 166 Re: OK, OK, I concede! [taxesquire] by habitat1

Dec 27, 2006 (12:49 pm)

Replying to: taxesquire (Dec 26, 2006 5:00 pm)
"Well-said - but I think Nissan/Infinity has admirably and ably sought to fill that market."
 
No offense to Infiniti owners, but I don't think they are much of a factor in the "flagship" category of luxury performance sedans. The "Q" sells in volumes that make the RL look like a hot car and the "M" designers are in serious need of some Prozac. I don't think it's sales are anything to write home about either. None of those cars offer a manual transmission and the kind of serious driving dynamics and handling of a 530i, let alone a 550i 6-speed.
 
The G35 seems to sell well and matches up better with it's competition. But the marketplace has relegated Infiniti to near insignificance in the higher end market.

#140 of 166 Re: OK, OK, I concede! [habitat1] by taxesquire

Dec 27, 2006 (1:29 pm)

Replying to: habitat1 (Dec 27, 2006 12:49 pm)
I forgot about the Q - guess that says something right there - but the M is a great car. Handles well, great accelleration and a nice interior.
 
You're right that it doesn't offer a manual tranny - of course the RL doesn't offer a manual either. At least the M is RWD.

#141 of 166 Re: OK, OK, I concede! [habitat1] by jdelabre

Dec 27, 2006 (2:24 pm)

Replying to: habitat1 (Dec 22, 2006 7:22 am)
I just purchased a 07 Silver TL-S Auto. What a fun fantastic car. A month ago we had a 12" snow storm. After they plowed most of the snow, the TL-S got around just fine. I don't think AWD is needed unless you do a lot of driving in snow. I was suprised. Last winter I was driving a $40,000 loaded 4 door Limited Tundra. Just my 2 cents. I was worried the TL-S wouldn't get around in the snow, but it did.

#142 of 166 Hey folks by pat

Dec 27, 2006 (3:01 pm)

This is supposed to be a comparison between the TL and RL. How about we meet up in Acura RL, Acura TL and/or Acura TL-S to continue these conversations about the individual vehicles.
 
See you there!

#143 of 166 Re: OK, OK, I concede! [taxesquire] by uglybear

Jan 02, 2007 (3:13 pm)

Replying to: taxesquire (Dec 26, 2006 5:00 pm)
I don't think RL is up to competing with BMW 5. It seems more competitive to Audi A6 - FWD/AWD based car which handles similarly. What RL lacks is not V8 really, but rather list of nice small features that make car 'luxury'. Nicer leather, rain sensor, 6sp auto, heated steering wheel, 10 ways or more seats, 8 way passenger seat, heads up display, night vision.
 
However, Honda needs to work on V6 as well - torque peaks at too high rpm, 530i seems more lively even when it has less hp and torque. Besides, 18mpg EPA is a joke. Only Infiniti does worse with V6.
 
Infiniti seems to want to take on BMW with sporties RWD offerings.
 
BMW may cost more than RL, but you won't be feeling that you need to replace your car in 3 or 4 years. You probably will keep the car for 7-8 years and still enjoying it. I was extremely happy with my '97 M3 5sp for 8 years and I stll regret that I sold it. I'll take RL on one more test drive though, I am still undecided if I should take 530xi.

#144 of 166 Re: OK, OK, I concede! [uglybear] by billyperks1

Jan 02, 2007 (3:58 pm)

Replying to: uglybear (Jan 02, 2007 3:13 pm)
Bear, I am shopping for the same cars along with the GS350 and A6.The A6 is joke, the 3.2 engine with the all wheel drive feels slower than my 99 Millenia L.I am taking it off my list, the 4.2 engine is the way to go but it is out of my budget.It's neck and neck between the GS and RL, the 530xi optioned out like the GS and RL is appproaching near mid fifties near sixties in terms of price.For now, I will just play the waiting game and see where prices and interest rates goes in the next few months.

#145 of 166 What's in a name? by legendpaul

Mar 01, 2007 (5:48 pm)

Replying to: tamparl (Dec 22, 2006 1:54 pm)
I so agree with your point about the letter desigantion that Acura now gives their cars. As a former 2 time Acura Legend owner, when I said I drove an Acura Legend, almost everyone knew what I was driving. They now ask me what I drive, and I respond an Acura TL, and they look at me like I am speaking a foreign language. As much as I enjoy my TL, I do miss the responses I use to get when I said I had an Acura Legend. The funny thing about the letter monikers, the thought was to draw the recognition to the Acura brand name rather than a particular model. I think if Acura really did a survey of average drivers, I think they would find they have lost some of the name recognition they once use to enjoy. I truly feel this has hurt Acura in the upscale market. I think the marque now attracts more former Acura owners than new buyers. I wish Acura would go back to being a leader in this area, rather than a follower of BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, and Audi. Just my take.

#146 of 166 RL v. TL by carfan28

Mar 11, 2007 (7:55 pm)

Due to a dealer incentive from 3/1/07- 4/30/07 of $3500 the 2007 RL with navigation- Tech Package can be purchased in the $42K range- I've heard lower in SoCal. Cost difference between the the TL and RL is getting closer.

Messages Page 15 of 17

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