ultramantaro

This new RL offers a lot more than it predecessor without much change in its starting price. It seems that the biggest question is whether it can compete well with the Germans, and I can tell you it will sell more and that's about it.

People who spend nearly 50G for a car will desire some form of snob appeal. This is America afterall, where people will not shell out the same money for a Toyota, Nissan, or Honda (what they are called in their home markets - although the Lexus nameplate will appear in JPN). Take a look at the dismal sales of the Phaeton.

Of the three Japanese companies, Lexus somehow has climbed to the top of the snob ladder, just directly below MB, BMW and Jaguar. There are numerous factors beyond the scope of this reply, but this explains, in this class, the success of the GS versus M45 and RL even though it costs more. Bang for the buck, hence, is not a factor here.

German cars are not all about nameplates unless you opt for a bottom of the barrel C class, 3 series, or A4. Equipped well, they still cost more than their Japanese competitors with bigger engines. (c230K versus G35). Case in point: various members of the MBWorld forum always in the end justify their claim that they drive a BENZO. C'mon, a C230K coupe?

redgoober4life

yawn.

Samson

i honestly thought i read it somewhere 2 days ago. ill have to find what i read to see what car it was talking about. o well

kazi

The only news about pricing I heard "2 days ago" is over at TOV, and even they said it will be below $50k.

Samson

nope, wasnt TOV. im not saying it wont be below 50k.. BUT i do know i read something 2 days ago... and somehow $53,xxx was stuck in mind. that is all

___

EDIT:

jeez it was in this thread

" It looks exactly like the concept down to the rims, and it cost $70,000 Canadian, which converts directly into $54,000USD. "


whatever. Im my mind.. all this talk about the new RL being under $50k.. Acura ripped off all the previous RL owners who paid $46k for that piece of junk.. when the new one has been extensively "modernized" for the same price.

kazi

Geez, Converting a projected Canadian msrp is not the most reliable source of information for the US msrp. And I'm not even sure where Dorikin got his info from. :ugh:

Anyways, nearly all RL's in the past 3 years have been selling for a significant discount that's close to or below the $40k range, so no one was "ripped off". That's a decent price for a nice (although old and not in the top tier) mid-level luxo cruiser.

redgoober4life

This car is just so weird looking. It looks like a bloated Accord.



With a Hyundai XG rear. Nice. It's just a bit too stubby for me. It isn't masking that it's still based on FWD cars. It's just not for me I guess.

TheOtherDave™

The only thing that pisses me off is that the nav / audio/ climate control screen is just plopped onto the dash. BMW does the same sh*t with their iDrive screens....and it looks awful. It ruins the form of the dash completely. :down:

The only way a screen looks good is when it's artfully integrated like on the G35 or the A8 - both systems in which the screen retracts in one form or another.

Oh...and the sagging line where the taillight meets the trunklid...I'm not liking that either. Too reminiscent of Bangle's 7-series disaster. h:

Otherwise, I'm happy that Honda finally built a proper full-size luxury performance sedan. The RL had been neglected for too long. :happysad: I hope the car does well.

98CoupeV6

I'm the exact opposite, lol. I like the nav display screens to be in view. I think the 2004 TL and 03-04 Accord/TSX do a better job of integrating it into the flow of the dash, but I can't say I dislike where the nav screen is or find it unappealing.

In person the taillight/trunklid form is not nearly as agressive as the BMW trunk line. It looks very nice.

mayonaise

i've heard people say it looks like a big accord before.. but that's what it is, isn't it? that's what the legend has always been. the last two generations didn't look a lot like the accord, but the 1st and 2nd gens looked exactly like their accord counterparts - only much bigger, more muscular, more aggressive. so in this respect, i don't mind that it resembles an accord at all.

the tail light design is pretty generic, tho. and it does resemble the new 7 series somewhat. the back is the feature i like the least. but at least honda is moving in the right direction FINALLY with this car.

what does "It isn't masking that it's still based on FWD cars." mean? who cares if it's based on a fwd car? the only problem i see is that the front still has a gigantic overhang.