Thanks, and uh, no, those wheels are not for me, either. I'm all for completely stock, except stereo. I don't like that window tint, either. But the car........

 

I am sorry but I get to set something straight about the RL. The RL ain't selling well because in the NorthEast region it is superior to RWD in the snow.

Who in the hell would buy a >$40k car to drive around in the snow? Most people that have $$$ to spend on a RL probably have SUVs. Nobody buys luxury sedans to drive around in the snow?? The LS and Q have LSD, traction control, and stability systems that are more advanced than the one on the RL. I have driven the RL in less than a foot of snow and I wont do that again. The damn VSA light stayed on and it either cut fuel or applied the brakes constantly (can't tell what was happeneing). If a RWD car (LS and Q) can't make it through the snow I doubt the RL could. And who would risk wrecking a premium sedan by driving it around in salt\snow covered roads.

Now that I let that go, I can tell you why the RL out sells the Q45. The RL is still living off the name of the Legend. The Legend was a great sedan that started it all, but now the Legend is exactly what it is........a Legend. Everybody knows there are 3 japanese luxury brands, Infiniti, Acura, and Lexus. People know what the LS and Q are, then they remember the Legend and go check out what Acura has too offer. WOW they offer a car, similar size, significantly less power, but for $10-$15k cheaper, what a deal!! The RL doesn't has the standard features that should be seen in a luxury sedan (leather, heated seats, trac control, abs, etc.) but doesn't offer things like (V8, recling rear seats, AC seats, vibrating seats). The RL looks good to buyers because of price and the fact that most compare them to cars that cost way more.

In my eyes the RL doesnt compete with the Q45 or the LS430 or the M45. The RL is on the same line as the GS300 and G35(fully loaded).

 

Good points! In fact the other day it was raining and at every stop light my car spun wheels as I began to accelerate. I have the MXV4 that came with the car and they are fairly new. My Legend had great traction with the same tires, but the RL was slipping all over the place. That same day I test drove a 1997 S500 and was surprised to see that even under full acceleration the car did not loose grip (same MXV4 tires). Now snowy and icy conditions may prove different and the RL may not get stuck as easily but the fwd does not materially outpace the rwd versions of some competitors

 

Why are we complaining about what a 6 year old car does not have compared to cars that came out in the past few years? The RL sells well...especially in the Northeast because it is a larger car (Which parents, business professionals, and old people) like, it is front wheel drive (which is better for the snow than RWD...I grew up in NH and will gladly go head to head with anyone who thinks otherwise) and the majority of people that drive them are white-collar business men&women who probably make $150-200K a year, have a nice home, own 2-3 cars (one of which is an SUV or minivan) have kids (the parents are either paying for college or saving for it) and at $40K the RL is a great deal for them. Most of these people do not make enough money to own a summer car AND a winter SUV...and if they do they have other priorities to spend the money on. Maybe a second home, or a boat, or college...etc. etc. etc.

 

I agree with DVPGSR. The RL may not compete well in it's segment, although technically it doesn't have a definable segment. It costs around $40,000, I suppose the only other FWDer at that price and size is the DTS. Yes, the DTS is much bigger and offers a V8, but customers like the RL in the Northeast...there's TONS of them around here. There's also a lot of Audi's, for their AWD...in aspects FWD will help sales.

 

My hang up is that everyone backs up the RL saying that it is a 6-yr old model that is being compared to newer competitors. My beef is that you mean to tell me Honda couldn't tweak the car a little bit in SIX years??? You mean to tell me in 6 years they couldn't offer a full size spare, put dual climate control, auto up/down windows, or even a 5-spd trans. These are not major design changes or issues. Other car manufacturers have done it. Oh and wait, Honda has done it! Remember that the new body style TL was once a 4-spd its first year of production then it was changed to a 5-spd. Therefore, don't make excuses for the RL, Honda just blatantly decided to forget about it. All they did was put lower profile tires, tighten the suspension a bit and lets not forget the whopping 15 horses added in 2002. Wow, now the RL is a rocket! The fact is, Honda tried to compete with Lexus and fell on its face. Hopefully, the next RL will live up to Legend status not Lexus status.

 

Those are some good points, but you stated some of the proof of why Honda didn't invest tons of money in the RL during it's life cycle. Major changes mean major money, and the RL is considered the last of the "old school" Acura's (minus the venerable NSX) when the 2.5TL, 3.2TL (200HP old Legend V-6), etc. were around. The guy who designed the RL was fired along time ago, and Honda knows that regardless of what it does, these changes will not be stealing LS430 sales. The cabin is too small, the engine is lethargic, and 4 or 5-speeds, it's slow. A 5-speed automatic would drop off 0.5 second, maybe 1.0 second if you're lucky from 0-60mph. You're telling me a car that does 0-60 in 7.4 seconds would sell that much more, and would compensate for any cost that would come about changing it.

Acura has been busy on the new RL for several years, and until then, as Car & Driver quoted, Acura is stuck with it. It's a good car, but a horrible LS430 competitor.

 

Well, I guess its a rare sight to see MB, BMW, Audi, & Lexus cars up in the north and midwest of the United States that actually has snow in the winter. :slap:
I highly doubt that is the case for a 6 year old model. There's one big flaw in your reasoning. You're highly implying that the RL is not a Legend, but if you check out the same model that Honda is selling in Japan and Europe, the RL is a Legend.
The RL obviously does not compete with the LS and Q. It is quite obvious with the price difference. You might as well use this scenerio with a buying a Civic over an Accord because its $3k cheaper.


WTF? Heated leather memory seats, TCS, and ABS are fricking STANDARD on the RL. :slap: V8 won't sell very much. Again, check out the sales of v6/i6 versus v8 in the midlevel premiums. 6 cylinders outsells the V8 by almost if not more 5 to 1. Why waste money on a V8 right now for one vehicle and have it sell low. (ex. Q45)

You are master of the obvious. We've concluded this in a long thread months ago, with the exception that its not the G35 that competes with the RL, its the M45.

 

Man, you said so many things i disagree with its not even funny. Basically everything you said was wrong. I would usually tell you why, but I gotta jet right now.

 

Yup. A lot of times people dont realize that the smallest change in a car can cost millions and millions. IMHO, not worth it. I rather see a much better RL in a couple of years.

Anyways, AWD is better for full size luxury cars, especially in the North.

I'd be happy to see an RL come out with a high powered V6 and AWD. If I had it my way, it'll also have some sort of IMA system as an option.