Oh man, I think this car is pretty sweet. I hope the future cars Pontiac puts out stack up. The only downside I see to this Acura is that it'll probably cost ~$40,000. Then again, that seems about right when comparing this to the TL.

-300HP 3.5L V-6

-AWD (VTM4)

-Aluminum body parts, including hood, roof, trunklid

-Sized larger than 5-series/E-class, but smaller than 7-series/S-class. Perhaps to be positioned against Lexus GS or Infiniti M45.

-"Smartkey" for door, ignition, and trunk

-Sportshift with steering wheel mounted "paddle" controls

-Adaptive headlights (move with the steering)

-Adaptive cruise control

-Power rear seats

http://www.babez.de/acura/rl.php

 

That thing is nice. I bet your right about the price...mid $30K's starting is my bet...

That leather looks very plush

 

SteveO,
It's funny that you mention Pontiac in your post.
Put a twin port grille in this Acura and it would kinda look like a Pontiac.

Very nice looking sedan.

 

I like the TL but i think this car looks pretty boring if you ask me. I don't like it much. But it could just be the pic.

 

Mercedes rear and lots of Pontiac. Says its a prototype, so you can be sure the 20 inch wheels and super low stance wont make it. And thats most of what gives it a nice look.

 

I think it looks quite nice. The headlights do kind of remind me of a new Grand Prix, and I think they look pretty good. I really like the back end and the interior looks great.

 

its nice, but i'm not feeling the front at all and the rear is too much new bimmer 7 with some benz mixed in.

liking the numbers though.

 

It looks like a honda accord, only a little nicer. I'd pay $25,000 for it but not much more. It doesn't look like anything special.

 

$25,000 for a 300hp AWD fully loaded luxury car?

What does that make a Mustang GT worth to you then, $10,000?

 

Lol... outwardly, it looks about as exciting as a Toyota Camry IMO. Specs however are somewhat decent! I'm sure the import crowd will be foaming at the mouth over the 300 HP v6 .

 

Ditto.

 

I love it.

"The Super-Handling All-Wheel-Drive System™ (SH-AWD™) is the first and only all-wheel-drive platform that distributes the optimum amount of torque not only between the front and rear wheels but also between the left and right rear wheels. During straight line cruising and moderate cornering, up to 70 percent of torque is at the front wheels. During full throttle acceleration or spirited driving, up to 70 percent of available torque goes to the rear wheels for increased acceleration and enhanced cornering. In addition to varying the torque front to rear, SH-AWD varies the amount of torque to the left and right rear wheels. When cornering, this ground-breaking technology overdrives the outer rear wheel, sending up to 100 percent of rear torque to that wheel to dramatically enhance the RL’s cornering, steering feel, handling and stability. The result is class-leading cornering performance and cornering stability as well as enhanced traction on dry or wet surfaces. "

 

I -kinda- like it. I was hoping for a slightly more aggressive look.

Impressive engineering specs, but I must say I'm surprised it doesn't have any hybrid tech in it.

I'd look for the price to be close to $50k. No chance of it being under $40k. None.
You really need to take one of these high-strung Honda V6s for a drive. I've owned a TL-S for nearly 3 years now, and the engine really is something to behold, considering the size (3.2l).

The 20s might stay. You can get factory 18s on the TL.
Let's hope this is a mis-type, and they're using the Panasonic-designed setup in the '04 TL. Acura/Bose sucks- it's in my '02. As a matter of fact, I've yet to hear a decent */Bose setup in a car. Bose just cannot put out a system that sounds good to me.

Todd

 

The current RL looks very very dated to me. The interior actually looks like a lot of late 90s Lincolns I've seen, and that's not a good thing.

I think this new one looks very much improved inside and out. Although I'm still disappointed to hear it won't have a V8, as Honda's high-performance V6s seem to by nature have quite a bit less torque output than they do horsepower. And a torque-less flagship luxury sedan is just depressing. At least they got into the AWD game and in a big way.


Yeah, the TL-S' 260hp V6 and the new TL's 270hp V6 are a lot of fun with a manual transmission with a very surprising amount of power. But their lack of torque starts to get annoying if you pair them with an auto tranny, IMO

The Bose system in my 95 Maxima sounded gooood. Not mind-blowing or anything, and it definitely had its deficiencies in the imaging and sub-bass department. But for pure chest-pounding clear mid-bass and crisp highs, it was pretty darned impressive. Strangely enough, all of the Bose systems I've heard in newer Nissans and Acuras have sounded barely better than a standard audio system. Same thing with the Bose system in my fiance's dad's 04 Tahoe... sounds like crap, but then again it is a big improvement over the no-name premium stereo that was in his 02 Tahoe.

The Panasonic is most definitely wayyyy above anything I've heard from Bose, though. And it is disappointing to hear they won't be carrying it over to the RL. Hopefully they will at least carry over DVD-A/SACD playback capability, as that's what really allows the Panasonic to shine. When I demo'd the Panasonic system I was listening to a DVD-A disc. In regular CD mode, my Nakamichi had the Panasonic whipped easy, but man... once you switched to a DVD-A track on the panasonic (which my Nak can't play- even the current Mark Levinson systems don't support anything beyond 2ch CD/XM right now), it made me want to cry. The imaging was downright crazy how deep and precise it was for each instrument, and the bass response was very clean and responsive as well. Blew my Nak out of the water in all respects short of sheer volume and sub bass response.

 

My '02 TL-S is auto, of course, and I don't find it annoying at all (other than the fact that I just prefer stick). The gearing keeps/will put the engine in the "happy zone" at virtually any speed. The torque converter is a little loose, too, so that helps. If the engine wasn't so rev-happy, so smooth, then yes, it would be very annoying.

The 3rd gear pass on the FL back roads puts a smile on my face every time- it sings real nice at 5500rpm, dual stage intake open, and VTEC engaged. Which is good, because I traded my Vette in for this thing.