Originally Posted by ChrisK

The RL itself is a great car. Well, at least the 2007 model since I think the 2008 model update looks like crap. Anyway, I've owned a lot of Acura cars mostly Legends, and also a bunch of Lexus cars as well. I think the new RL over all is a better car than the current Lexus GS. However, the RL just doesn't offer options, and it doesn't offer RWD or a V8 option. While it is true most people choose the V6 or I6 versions, having the optional V8 offers prestige to the brand which Acura doesn't have when compared to Lexus/Mercedes/BMW and such. Now, I'm not one to buy based on prestige of brand alone, but unfortunately many and perhaps the majority of luxury car buyers do buy with a high level priority on image and prestige and the RL in that regard just doesn't compete.

For me, I think the RL should remain a V6 as is, but Honda/Acura should come out with a larger more upscale V8 car to compete against the Lexus LS and BMW 7 series. Think about this. The new Hyundai Genesis offers a lot of what the Acura RL does not offer. Acura needs to step up their game on their high end. The TSX and TL do great against the competition, but the RL doesn't compete well against the competitions higher end models.