[FutureX 2001]

First of all I want to say, you have a Honda CRX...Can you please post some pictures of your car? Because you certainly speak with an experience as someone who has a nice McLarenF1 tucked away somewhere in your garage. That said, I do not find the car to be bland, nor the drivers as you were suggesting. I just want to say that the RL, which you seem to be saying is Entry-Level Luxury...will offer quite a bit of features, power, and handling above some of the pricier competition. If a V-6 can perform, equally if not better than a V8, it's not a true requirement. In times when gasoline prices seem to go nowhere but up, and our supply becomes more and more disminished, you want a V8? I'd opt for an equally performing V6 any day. More specifically when mated with a suspension that will probably...dust some of the competitors through the curves... and with a "V6".

Have you seen the Motegi/NSX-R videos? Both lambos edged out the NSX-R on the circuit. By a little bit...the NSX led the pack most of the way (racing M3s, Ferrari, Porsche, and the two Lambos). Is the NSX really that over-priced as everyone claims...it sure kept up well and even led those Lambos ($$$) really well most of the race....and one more thing, for a car that you consider a bit bland... i get comments very often about my Legend still. It suprises me how much attention my 10 year old car gets me. The style seems to fit in well still, compare the styling of a 90-95 Legend to a BMW Sedan of the early 90s...which has aged more gracefully?

 

[ChrisK]

Speaking of high gas prices, where I am it is just below the California average at about $2.40-$2.45, but we just ran a local report that certain places in Hawaii have reached about $3.15 for Premium and Regular is something like $2.98 :eek2:

 

[John_R]

People talk about how much they want a RWD and a V8 but yet they are the first to complain about paying a luxury tax and gaz guzzler tax. When there is a gaz crisis they are also the first ones to complain.

(No need to look futhur then those who owned H2 Hummers who recently were the first to get rid of their Hummers because it was costing them about $70 to fill up every 3 days.)

I am from Canada and unlike my fellow Americans who pay $3.15 for premium, here we pay close to $4 a gallon for regular gaz.

FWD may have understeer when trying to corner fast but again the buying public don't race those cars on the roads.

All these RWD drive cars have all these electronic aids so that the rear end doesn't oversteer or slide out.

Another point whats the use of having a big V8 with 300 to 400 HP when most drivers don't even drive over the speed limit and those who do get a speeding ticket. I believe the average age of people who own big luxury cars such as the Lexus LS 430, MB S series and BMW 7 series are in their late 40's and upwards.

The new TL makes 270 HP out of its V6 & you also have the Honda S2000 that pumps out 240 HP pretty impressive for a 4 cylinder that dethroned the Lotus Esprit for having the most output for a 4 cylinder.

The new RL is still in its prototype stage and I am sure more will be more refined before it hits the showroom. Lets not forget it will also be a hybrid with electric motors that will pump an extra 100bhp and that technology will also go into the TL a year later.

 

[ReplacedLegend]

John R-
Welcome to the board! Since this is your first post, will go easy on you but I still need to set the record straight on a couple of your points.

The 2005 RL will be AWD (not FWD) so hopefully understeer will not be a problem here. I am not sure, we were talking about the RL here, correct?

The 2005 RL will have 300 HP but, as you point out, should get better mileage than most of the V8s. Of course we don't know the mileage rating yet.

No hybrid yet on the 2005 RL (this was established with the prototype shown in New York). It will have a "Super-Handling" AWD though and this has most members of this board pretty excited. No promises for the TL to have hybrid or AWD so far as I've heard (anyone else??).

So, my northern friend, your enthusiasm is appreciated here and I hope that you learn much. Thanks for your comments.

 

[ChrisK]

I'm guessing John R's post was a result of my post, but let's just say my posts came out like I was complaining but I was just mentioning where the prices are in my area at the time. I think if you had the time to go back and read my somewhat 10,000+ posts through the different variations of Legend forums you will see I hardly ever complain about gaas prices, always use premium if my car requires it, and actually think through goverernment subsidies we in America don't pay the true cost of gas anyway. So I see your point.

I'm also one who has always said I don't care if it is FWD (I own a FWD SUV RX330) or RWD (I own a RWD Sports Car), or AWD as long it it gets the job done. During normal street driving you can't tell the differernce anyway and I don't have any snow where I live.

I'm all for hybrid cars. I was actually thinking of selling our fairly new 04 RX330 to buy the new 05 RX400H which is a hybrid. But, I'll loose to much money on the 330 right now so I'll wait a while.

I also have said I don't see a need for a V8 if a V6 will get the job done. That is why I drive one of the worlds most criticized cars for having a V6 in a sports car, but it performs so that is all I care about.

The new RL is all but finiallized already as rear production cars have already been sent out for media and dealership viewing and testing. Basically, the only major difference is we are unsure what size tims the productin RL will use. The prototype had 20" rims, the production photos look like 17 or 18" rims, but my dealer said they (Acura) was still talking about 19" rims. Probably an option, but nothing was set yet as far as he knew.

 

[John_R]

ReplacedLegend,

Thanks for your welcome.

I just wanted to point out that I do know that the RL is an AWD.

I was just merely pointing out that people in general say that Honda should have a rear wheel drive with a V8.

My comparison had little to do with the 2005 SH-AWD RL but more to do with V8 RWD versus V6 FWD. (My fault for not explaining myself clearly.)

2nd point I'd like to make was that after you had replied to me, I didn't reply immediately because I was looking for the website that mentioned the
SH-AWD would be found in the new TL 1 year later after the RL official launch. Followed by the Hybrid version that would boost the RL HP to 400 HP.

I wanted to find that in oreder to share this with everyone on this forum.

***As usual we always tend to see and read certain articles but when we need to quote from them in order to share with other memebers we no longer remember which site it was on hehe. Don't worry i will try my best to locate this article.

_________________________________________________________________

ChrisK,

With all due respect you didn't seem like you were complaining to me. To be honest I was just merely agreeing with you about gaz prices going up. When you posted the price of gaz prices in your area, I was just simply showing a comparison that the 87 octane (regular) gaz here (Montreal,Quebec) costs about $4 dollars a gallon.

As for wheel dimensions you are right, the 20's won't make it into production. They are still refining everything about the car exterior and all.
_________________________________________________________________

I apologise for any misunderstanding that my previous post might have caused.

Also ChrisK in no way was I singling you out or any other members.

John

 

[ReplacedLegend]

John:

Maybe I just read some of your comments wrong so no worries. I haven't been keeping up all that well lately on the TL so if you have info on SH-AWD being applied to the TL or especially the RL going hybrid that would be cool!! However my Legend is almost 13 years old and I don't think I can wait any longer to replace it!!

While were on the subject of comparing cars to the RL (we did sortof go onto that track), there was an interesting article today by Jim Mateja of the Chicago Trib that talks about the new Caddy STS. It will be offered in both V-6 and V-8 and RWD or AWD variety. To get the AWD however, you have to go V-8 and pay a gas guzzler tax! You will be able to get AWD in '06 with the V-6 however. Hopefully, Acura will avoid the gas guzzler tax (I would certainly hope so).

According to the article "After decades of preaching the gospel of front-wheel-drive and its ability to maneuver in the snow, Cadillac is singing the praises of rear-drive and its ability to maneuver on dry roads, whether straight or twisting."

I don't see the need for all this aggressive driving that the manufactures THINK we want to do. Anyway, the RL should offer best of both worlds with the AWD. I hope the RL is nimble (like the :bowdown: TSX ) but still be stable in the snow.

 

[ChrisK]

___________

I apologise for any misunderstanding that my previous post might have caused.

Also ChrisK in no way was I singling you out or any other members.

John

I didn't take it personal. Just like you I was trying to clear up my position on the issues. It's no big deal

 

[Boffo]

Hey Replaced Legend,

Being a fellow Chicagoan, I am looking forward to the AWD RL. I really don't mind FWD in this varied weather we see here. Honda seems to go their own way and likes to be efficient with their cars. I look forward to the reviews of the '05 RL to see what the driving dynamics are.

Cadillac really needs to get that brand going so rwd/awd helps their aquirement of new customers.

On another note, I got to tell ya, Mateja can really be a tool sometimes in his reviews. I never take what he says to seriously.

 

[ReplacedLegend]

Chicago winters can be brutal some years and non-existent on others, go figure. I have considered switching to snow tires but never have done it, prefering to struggle through with all-seasons with the help of FWD. I too will look forward to the AWD to help with the snow as well as tame the potential torque-steer that could possibly afflict a 300 HP beast had it been FWD.

I too believe that Honda looks to the wisdom of its engineers more so than most companies that simply try to find out what will sell quickly to the consumer. Good job!

For the most part, I like Mateja's work as he tells it the way he sees it. Mostly his articles are entertaining and opinionated. I don't think he sells out to advertisers the way some auto writers do. Just my opinion though.