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Sedans Acura RL 2009 Acura RL
138 messages, Last post on May 14, 2009 at 12:42 PM
You are in the Acura RL Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
Saw the '09 RL at the Chicago auto show. Some definite improvements, but it's still just lipstick on a pig, as they say. The '09 is meant to be a holding action and a bridge to the '10, which will be completely redesigned. I don't expect sales to increase much based on this make up job, but they had to do something. The car, in whatever form, has not been a sales success, and a few touches here and there aren't going to change things. Even the salesmen at the show said the RL was not worth $15,000 or so over the TL.
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Replying to: bartalk3 (Feb 13, 2008 9:56 pm) I admit the RL is not everyone's cup of tea, but that's a bit harsh and undeserved! 
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Replying to: nebraskaguy (Feb 14, 2008 12:49 pm) I enjoy driving my '05, but it's not the car that I wanted to see when I visited the Acura showrioom in December 2004 - and subsequently ordered because I am an avowed 'Acuraphile.' Now, I find it hard to believe that Acura, having produced this touch-up, will really present us with a fully remodeled '10 - maybe '13 - maybe. I'll wait. - George
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Replying to: acuraphile (Feb 14, 2008 5:13 pm) Just as a final observation, many cars styling changes look worse in pictures than in person. I think we may want to withhold final judgement until we can see it for ourselves. I agree that the front shocked me when I first saw pics, but I've looked at them numerous times since and the shock has worn off a bit. My harsh assessment has softened a bit. I don't think this redesign will pull up sales numbers, but I doubt that it will drive every potential buyer away as some have implied. Big discounts will continue with the RL imo. |
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is not ugly but it is porky like a pig! It is very very hard to understand why anyone would spend $10K over a TL to buy this model. The restyling has only made it worse - that huge grille that looks like it is straight off the MDX looks terrible on the front of the RL. It is amazing that a company like Honda that has been so successful in most of its other ventures could fail so utterly to design a $40-50K luxury car that anyone would want. |
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| While I don't care for the grille of the '09, I think the '09 is improved, overall, over the '08. I agree that the car is heavier than desirable. some of that is due to the AWD, of course. I'd like to see the RL and TL converted to RWD architecture, for better weight distribution, but I'm not holding my breath. | |
"Lipstick on a pig" is just a figure of speech meaning trying to make something plain more attractive. Didn't mean to offend anybody's RL. I don't find the car that unattractive and almost bought one myself, but bought the TL instead. Even Acura admits that this car just didn't have the sales they anticipated. To begin with, the car was overpriced and the competition was furious: the prestige of the Lexus (in the GS), the engineering reputation of BMW (3 and 5 Series), the sudden acclaim of the Infiniti M35/45. And now even the Cadillac CTS. Some said the problem was lack of a V-8, but that won't be a problem going forward because with $3-4 gas, many companies are abandoning V-8s. I think Acura thought that SH-AWD would be a sensation, but Consumer Reports said the car didn't handle any better than traditional rear-drive cars. And they didn't really like the car that much and rated the TL much higher. As we all know now, the '09 revision is just a holding action until the car is redesigned for 2010. I guess what Honda/Acura had to do for the redesign was take out a clean sheet of paper and start over.
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| They did a good job on making the interior more luxurious but the ugly "reversed" front door handles should also be changed. Rear styling looks really sharp, not sure about the front end MDX look. A bigger engine is ok but fuel economy is now a poor 22/16. Basically not enough changes to make me run back with my 06 'Bargain Priced" RL. Some have said that the 2010 will be a complete redesign...Acura you need more gears in your transmission...6 or 7 speed in the class you want to be in is not uncommon. This will make the car smoother, quieter and more fuel efficient. | |
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I saw the new RL in person before I saw the pictures. At the show, I thought the car was pretty good looking. Interestingly, I don't care for it in pictures. I think most pictures are taken at a low stance, almost grille level, so that become a dominate feature. Standing up and looking down at the car the grille wasn't so obvious. The backend treatment looked better in person too. However I was left with the feeling "I wonder how much the 2008 will be discounted when the 2009's get released?" I was hoping Acura would sell the remaining inventory at a deep discount to clear the lots so customers wouldn't compare. That possibility, a sale on the 2008's, is my big interest in the 2009's. |
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| Dealers have already have ordered their final 08 RL's but there should be plenty. Build out is the last batch of the current model year. | |
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