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Sedans Acura RL Luxury Performance Sedans
10094 messages, Last post on Feb 28, 2010 at 8:34 AM
You are in the Acura RL Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
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Replying to: tlong (Nov 21, 2009 8:46 pm) |
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Replying to: jimbres (Nov 22, 2009 7:55 am) 
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Replying to: tayl0rd (Nov 25, 2009 9:27 am) And that's why I maintain a sizeable emergency fund - so that I can cover big bills without breaking a sweat. I know that putting aside money from today's paycheck so that you can deal comfortably with tomorrow's unpleasant surprises is so, I dunno, prehistoric, but I am old & set in my ways. |
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Replying to: tayl0rd (Nov 25, 2009 9:27 am) Who said anything about loans? Pay cash and save those payments and that interest, and you have enough for your next car in a few years.
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Replying to: tlong (Nov 25, 2009 5:09 pm) I also think that cash buyers (1) keep their cars longer, (2) spend more time researching their purchases & (3) are less likely to buy impulsively. That's been our experience, at any rate. One more thing: Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. |
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Replying to: tlong (Nov 25, 2009 5:09 pm) |
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Replying to: markcincinnati (Nov 13, 2009 3:48 pm)
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Replying to: fonefixer (Dec 19, 2009 9:48 am) First off, the B8 A4 has a 110+" wheelbase -- very very close to the C6 A6. The C6 is a bit wider and from front to rear is longer -- but the 6+" wheelbase stretch made the essentially unchanged C6 A6 (unchanged from 2004) less interesting. The B8 is RWD biased AWD and due to its configuration, now, has better F/R weight balance than the C6. The B8 is lighter, too. To me, the RWD bias is, frankly, more academic than anything else, but I do understand the possible advantages of the RWD bias over the C6's 50 50 split. The biggest plusses for the B8 (at least as I have it configured) are the previously noted F/R balance and RWD bias coupled with the 19" sport suspension option (which means the tires are 19" and 35 series) and sport seats and sport steering wheel (with paddle shifters). The icing on the cake is the Audi Drive Select option which essentially gives you 27 different "individual" tuning points for the engine/transmission, suspension compliance or cushy-ness and dynamic steering settings. Equipped in Prestige trim, the B8 is essentially, sitting behind the wheel, about 97% C6 in terms of everything you can see and touch, press, turn or activate. The -3% is that the C6 is a tiny bit wider and has sexy led interior lighting built in at approximately the upper third of the four doors. The C6 also had front AND rear heated seats, whereas the B8 only warms the fronts. The B&O sound system is a huge improvement over the C6 Bose unit. The sport seats, too, are an improvement over the A6's comfort seats. The blind spot warning system is a must have and the single pushbutton for start and stop engine is an improvment. The 258 pound feet of torque from sub 2K rpm with the upgraded 6 speed tiptronic make me only long for ONE thing from the 3.2 A6 -- the sweet engine sounds at full cry (the A4 is simply OK in this respect). Overall, I believe the 2009 A4 is as deserving of the "luxury" label as was the 2005 A6; but, time marches on and I assume the A4 remains firmly in what, today, passes for near-luxury sporty sedan. However, the A4 is far more capable in terms of its ability to carve around corners and, with the ADS dynamic mode engaged, far more confidence inspiring in any kind of spirited driving. In comfort mode the A4 seems comparable to the A6 in terms of "being, er, comfortable," but 35 series tires are a bit less forgiving than the C6's 40 series 18 inchers, so you do tend to "feel" the road more with the A4 (for me, that's a good thing.) I did not get premium paint, so I did save hundreds of dollars over my C6's pricey $775 paint job -- but still, my A4 with the optional exhaust tips and the now optional Audi Assurance (all maint is free for 50K miles) came in at $49K and change. My outgoing A6 was $53,286 by comparison -- frankly the A6 seemed more of a "bargain" if any car that is north of $45K can be so designated. The lease payments are about the same and I did get a 50K lease (the C6 was a 45K lease.) The mildly facelifted C6 with the supercharged engine would certainly be a car that I would not kick out of bed for eating crackers, but its price has swelled so much that one equipped as close as possible to my 2005 A6 would have been about $6,000 more. Given that I rarely have passengers, the A4 somehow seemed,er, an environmentally astute choice. Well, if you say it fast enough and emphasize the 4 cylinder engine that uses FSI and turbo charging, it could well be, uh, "astute." Anyway, the B8 for 2009 did NOT come with the 3G MMI which means I had ZERO learning curve, but it also means I did not get the hard drive, the new graphics and the other improvments that time and next gen technologies typically provide. I've had the A4 about 15 months, it has 25K miles on it and save for replacing the stock summer only tires with UHP A/S at 7,000 miles, it has had no issues other than normal maint. It is quick, fast, fun and, as my wife is wont to say, "goes like a snake in a rat hole." With the current economic realities, despite having had over 2 dozen of these wonderful cars, I only have one negative comment, and that is, "I am beginning to question the VALUE of virtually ANY European car, and that, unfortunately, includes this one. Man, they are GIVING AWAY Cadillac AWD FE2 suspension equipped CTS's.
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