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I'm assuming the blue that was shown is Opulent Pearl Blue, which is the choice I picked for my RL.
There was a link to the the new mini-site -- which is still under construction -- saw the car in two colors -- the dark red stands out in my mind. Taken from a slightly high vantage point and showing the right side profile of the car, which included a view of the tail, this red RL sure looked an awful lot like an Accord to me.
Do you happen to know whether the black paint is a "flat" enamel or a metallic finish?
RL, there are minor similarities, such as the belt line crease, roof arch, c pillar. Though these are common design themes used by many manufacturers.
The RL does look very good at this angle.
Hmmm... I see the brand identity cues that have been discussed uptopic, but that picture doesn't look especially "Accord-like" to me.
Different strokes and all that...
Here is an excerpt from a guy posted in other site. It seems to be consistent with what I have read.
Desert Mist Metallic with Ebony ( Gold on TL)
Desert Mist Metallic with Parchment
Nighthawk Black Pearl with Ebony ( Black on Everything)
Nighthawk Black Pearl with Parchment
Opulent Blue Pearl with Ebony ( Dark Blue ?)
Opulent Blue Pearl with Taupe
Carbon Gray Pearl with Ebony ( Dark Gray on TSX)
Carbon Gray Pearl with Taupe
Redondo Red Pearl with Ebony ( Deep Red on TL)
Redondo Red Pearl with Parchment
Premium White Pearl with Ebony ( Pearl White on TSX)
Premium White Pearl with Parchment
Lakeshore Silver Metallic with Ebony ( Greenish Silver in PR Photo)
Lakeshore Silver Metallic with Taupe
Celestial Silver Metallic with Ebony ( Regular Silver in PR Photo)
Celestial Silver Metallic with Taupe
Meteor Silver Metallic with Ebony ( Blueish Silver on TSX)
Meteor Silver Metallic with Taupe
Among all my top two choices are
Nighthawk Black Pearl with Parchment
Opulent Blue Pearl with Taupe
curb weight = the weight of a fully fueled vehicle with coolant, lubricant properly filled and all standard equipments included, and excluding drivers, passengers and cargo....
For a vehicle like the new RL with EVERYTHING standard, no wonder the curb weight is higher than I expected. Just a thought, any comments to add? This definition also penalizes a bigger fuel tank, doesn't it?
With the outgoing RL tipping the scale at 3893 lb, even with addition of features, biggest of them all AWD, the weight gain is just 55 lb. So, Honda has managed to shave off a good few pounds to compensate for the addition of AWD. A typical AWD is said to add 270-300 lb. but SH-AWD is expected to weigh in around 220 lb.
I asked about their allotment. He says they expect about 20 cars a month; that number (supposedly) going to the larger volume dealerships. Price: Acura HQ continued the "under $50K" refrain to those dealers who attended the local area introduction event. The salesman thinks $48 or $49K is the number, though he says they won't know for sure until the trucks show up with the cars on the trailer.
Sounds like Acura is going to keep close tabs on inventory movement which translates to me as not wanting to produce more than demand dictates (stale inventory killed profts on 2003 and 2004 RL models) and perhaps also to keep availability artificially low in order to create the impression of a "hard to get" car.
curious why they don't feature taupe interior with the white pearl
Considering Acura has about 250 dealerships in USA, allotment of, on average, 15 for one dealership per month would be enough for 3750 units of sales. That is on par with G35 sales number for August. Not bad for a $50K+ vehicles. GS300 only sold 700 units last month. 2004 RL? Around 300 units. Acura would be extremely happy if they can sell more than 2000 units in the first month. After all, their annual target for 2005 RL is about 12,000 to 15,000 units.
Meanwhile, October Issue of Automobile has a rave review of the car. ( and lists an "estimated price of $49,000)
They also compare the SH-AWD system to the "stellar handling" of the AWD system on a Bently Continental GT which "blew them away".
On the track, tested along side Audi A6, MB 320E and BMW 530i, the RL "more than held its own and felt absolutely teriffic at speed."
I've not read the Automobile magazine article, but the way it's going now with all of the "preview" reports on the RL being so "glowing" ... I think we have an unqualified winner on our hands. Go Acura!!!
I kind of suspected that the price might be the 04 price although I cannot find the footnote saying so in my issue.
Ditto! I've loved my 99RL, but can hardly wait to take delivery of my 05. I'm number one on the waiting list at my dealer. The SH-AWD, the voice activated NAV, the real-time traffic reports, etc., etc. All of it has my blood racing! And count me as one who loves the styling. I fell in love with it at the NYC show and every picture I've seen has added to it. Bring it on!
There is a lot being written about the RL's increased car interior space and soft leather on the new seats. What I want to know is, are the new seats wide and comfortable or are they tight and pinching (heavily bolsetered)?
Actually, RL (Legend in Japan) had a big announcement in Japan as well. It will be produced entirely in Japan (sources of parts vary, of course). You can read a lot of the news in response.jp. If you read Japanese... otherwise, see some good pictures from crash test of the RL, the ACE structure, etc.
Also has pictures of base model center stack without the central control knob. I thought that was standard equipment but it appears to be optional.
I guess there was a discussion a few pages back about the comparo of the new RL with other sport luxury vehicles. I do not recall reading which models where involved so I'll cite a reliable source that was invited to test the RL.
Audi 6 3.0 Tiptronic Quattro
BMW 530i
MB E320
RL 2004
RL 2005
Of course, we know that the new models for some of the above mentioned cars would be tougher contenders in a race track test comparo, but nevertheless the 2005 RL simply dispatched them all.
The lucky dog I was referring to had also the chance of driving the car out of the testing track as it was raining 'cats and dogs'.
His real world testing was as positive as the race track one. He reports that the vehicle simply corrected flawlessly an aquaplaning episode and that tabling the gas at intersection and abruptly steering left with the very rain coming down would still results in a flawless turn. I should mention that the account points out that VSA never was activated (hinting that the engineering is such that the car was behaving well within its handling capabilities) and that while the Audi diplayed heavy front wheel traction behaviour it was possible to obtain rotation under throttle condition (this was done in the race track).
So my impressions that this vehicle will be the best on the road stand strengthened. I should be as cautious as the editor in question was, we still need to wait full evaluations but my impression is that all initial reports were actually on the conservative side so LET's GLOAT ON.
P.S. I guess I cannot reveal the godly site from which the details were cited but I guess a lot of you already have seen it or they will soon do so in the printed press.
As for pricing, I suspect $46-48K.
Any tips on how we can navigate to see those photos? I went to that Japanese language site, but it was all Greek to me.
The new RL looks very muscular from this angle.
I am very pleased to see that the press on the car has been so favorable. Its also nice to see some decent photographs of the car -- much better than those originally teased out by Acura. Had they used this current crop of photos, instead of the little slices, sneaks and peaks provided earlier, Acura would have faired better in the styling remarks it received. Of course, these new pix appear to be done by an entirely different photographer using altogether different shooting styles, lenses, aperature settings, and low angle and strategic compositional positioning (rule of thirds & spatial division) within the image frame. Some of these new photos will very likely be seen in the new 2005 RL brochure.
I would be curious to know more about the "(we) don't do stying" comment" quoted in the article. If that in fact that was said by a Honda exec, did they mean that they (Honda) don't concern themselves much with styling, or that they farm that out to a 3rd party design studio?
P.S. Ceric my friend Please help us out!
Here's my question: Did Acura really need to wait until now (fall of 2004) to produce the new RL model that will arrive at showrooms next month?
I think it fair to say that most would agree that the RL has been overdue for revamping and restyling for some time now. Need Acura have waited until now in order to produce the new RL model we see today; or, would a car that, even minus a few whiz-bang features, have sufficiently captured the imagination of the car buying public and the praise of the automobile magazine critics?
My follow-up question: will the new RL finally change minds and mindsets? Will the 2005 RL finally get some respect; something that Rodney Dangerfield -- and prior RLs -- couldn't seem to get?
I've read elsewhere that Honda had scratched an earlier design before they finalized on this one. As far as success is concerned, this could instill the same flavor that 1999 TL did to the less known first generation TL.
"That Is One Large Transformation To Super Sedan"
Use Of Aluminum
Cancellation of Self Imposed 280 HP Restriction?
But, beware, that the translation comes out in a funny language but better than getting confused with Greek. ;-)
All 7 articles
Scroll down the page to see them.
The rarest pictures of all are here
Crash-test Picture, ACE, etc
Enjoy.
STS: 252 lb.-ft
GS300: 228 lb.-ft (new)
530i: 214 lb.-ft
E320: 231 lb.-ft
A6/3.2: ~240 lb.-ft
M35: 260-270 lb.-ft
A 3.5/V6 can get you only so much! For 300 lb.-ft or more, at least 4.0-liter engine would be needed. That said, this car should perform more like V8 (since it is geared short!).
The car looked great on that beautifully groomed track with the treeline in the background.
I couldn't help but notice that some of these "prototype" cars had what looked a little like a molding strip running horizontally across the two side doors (driver and rear passenger) -- in other photos the strip looked a little like the carve out's in the doors on the new TL. Whatever it was, I liked it. I think that it adds some muscularity and more styling finesse to the car. I hope like heck that this detail survived the prototype phase and will materialize in the final car. Is that possible or am I just dreaming at this late date?
A Japanese magazine claims, new RL at 100km/h (~62mph)
Gear RPM
2nd 5500
3rd 3800
4th 2500
5th 1800
See Here
STS: 252 lb.-ft"
But the STS does at least offer the option of a V8 - with TQ = 315.
- Ray
Wondering what 'hidden' might mean in this context . . .