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- has an AUX port in the head unit?
- Is XM ready?
- What XM units willintegrate will with the stock unit and are not the crappy RF modulator (uses radio ant. as input to the head unit)
Has anyone installed XM? If so, what radio did you use and where did you install it?
Thanks!!
I don't believe that it is a "review" since at the top, it states that the text is from Honda.
I believe you will find that this is from www.hondanews.com.
Just as an aside, I've been trying to buy a TL in the San Francisco area. I have had a very poor experience with the dealers. I cannot get a consistent story on availability and they want to play games with deposits. I'm giving it about another two weeks and then will shop for a different (non-Acura) car. So far, I'm unhappy with the dealer experience and thought that these kinds of games were a thing of the past.
Although it may not make a difference I would send all these dealerships a missive and cc: to American Honda. Considering the competition in this market segment only a fool would treat serious customers poorly.
What color combo did you get?
Such systems also frequently require some “learning” period to adapt to differing voices and speech patterns, but Honda may not have implemented this approach sense it might be difficult to let the system know when it has incorrectly interpreted a command. This may lead to the system arbitrarily choosing its interpretation of the “nearest” match on a command set that doesn’t provide the option the driver is really trying to invoke. If they haven’t already done it, Honda may need to develop some added logic layers to help filter/confirm potentially illogical commands. Perhaps they can implement this approach in a switchable learning/training mode that will help the system learn the speech of the driver while the driver learns the proper command set. This mode would require confirmation of commands that were not exact matches and might offer up a few automatic options. Once the mutual learning curves are overcome, the mode could be turned off for maximum efficiency.
The only conclusion that I can draw is that since I want a car they don't have or would have to trade for, I don't represent an additional sale but only more work and cost.
By the way, I am a serious buyer and have told each of the dealers if they can convince me that they can get the car I want, I will buy it from them. None of them can provide me with any concrete assurance that they can get the car in a finite time.
One dealer says he ordered the car for me, but says that he doesn't get any confirmation from Acura of the order. I don't really believe that there is no paper or electronic record for the order of a $30+K car. Even if I order just some nuts and bolts at work, we get a confirmation from the vendor.
I'm not usually in such a rush to get a car, but my current car will require considerable investment to keep it running through the rainy season.
Well, please excuse the ranting and raving. It is just that I can't understand the irrational behavior. If it were just driven by greed or some other standard motivation, I would understand their behavior.
Right now, I'm in the wait and see mode. I figure that maybe the car is really on order or that one of the dealers will come to their senses and actually get me the car I want. If not, I'll go find another car to buy.
To me their behavior seems rather strange, since Honda has been losing market share (especially slow in Japan) and Acura has lost sales for the last two years. Based on the car, Honda engineering is first rate, but they have much to learn in sales and marketing and customer satisfaction.
If the damned thing was rear wheel drive, I would be trading in right now. To me, all future great cars will be RWD or AWD.
As for pricing, work from the Invoice (see Edmunds New Cars); I would order the car, add perhaps $600 to $800 and leave the offer with the dealer.
http://www.acura.com/models/model_index.asp?module=tl
The best part is if you go to “Specifications” on the menu. It gives a list of all the specifications and on the side it gives you movie clips and presentations on each feature. The best is the interior and exterior showroom. I spent two hours looking at the specifications menu last night and didn’t even get half way through!! I haven’t seen any of these cars in person since I have been in Iraq since July and will be here until March, but since I started my extensive research on entry level luxury sedans exclusively on the internet, in my mind the 04 TL 6MT is the right car for me and blows the rest away in features and performance combined with value. I just hope prices come off the MSRP a bit by April.
Thanks
Which cell phone companies currently support Bluetooth?
fyi...In case you guys do not know...beginning sometime this month (Nov 03), all Cell phone companies are supposed to start allowing/supporting Number Portability. Which means we can now change between cell phone companies and keep our numbers. (This should make competition better since we will no longer have to change our numbers if we find a "Better Deal".)
Original message that brought about my comment -
1500 of 1566 Petition for Bluetooth Technology for Verizon by gregory28 Oct 31, 2003 (1:25 am)
For everyone who intends to purchase a 2004 TL, please go to the following link and sign this petition. Even if you don't use Verizon Wireless as your cell phone carrier. They are a major player and if they start purchasing blue tooth technology phones all the others will too. One of the highlights of the new TL is the hands free device built into the stereo, but you need a phone that's compatible.
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?ver123&1
thanks again.
I think it pays to wait until after the first year if you can. But, if you need to buy now, I wouldn't worry about it. Acura's quality control is pretty high.
so any more news?
The reasons why Acura will not be raising prices like you suggest is because their is far too much competition in that bracket. The only real chance of a raise in MSRP would be if there was some sort of upscale version introduced with extra features.
If anything, the TL will be CHEAPER next year. By that time, supply will have caught up with demand and their more discounting.
http://www.circlebmw.com/parts/blue/blue.htm
ksso, a bluetooth fan for years...
bartalk2 - When was the last time a manufacturer raised prices thousands of dollars over the course of a model run? It just doesn't happen, particularly in a competitive market. You are suggesting that Acura is somehow going to raise the price on the TL to a fairly substantial degree without adding any features. But, to the best of my knowledge, Acura and Honda have never done this on any model in their history.
Anyway, as far as competitors are concerned: The new Passat, with a V6, will have about as many features as the TL and cost only a few thousand less. So, it is reasonable to portray it as a competitor.
Direct competitors for the TL include:
Saab 9-5 (which will shortly be revised)
BMW 3 series
IS330 (new version in the fall)
Audi A4 (new features coming in the fall)
Volvo T5
New Infiniti FWD sedan in the fall
Caddy
VW Passat
And, btw, I priced both 3-series and the Audi A4 V6 version and neither was "thousands more" than he TL. The MSRP on a well equiped 325i is in the same price range, same as an Audi A4 V6 frontrack. Both could be had cheaper than a TL right now.
And, Lexus' new version of the IS300 will be several thousand dollars cheaper, but offer comparable performance and features.
Acura did not maintain prices on the last TL for several years. Discounts were available after the first year. They just weren't big discounts.
If what you're saying is true, then why are some Acura dealers already selling TL $500 under MSRP and throwing in a bunch of free accessories?
I had tried the Sony/Ericsson T616 GSM phone from ATT and it worked well, at least as good as my TDAM phone here in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, the color display SUCKED in bright light, so I returned it and will wait for the T630 coming out soon that has this problem fixed.
I do wish there were more BlueTooth phones available, as I prefer the operating system in the Nokia phones. It is the most intuitive and easiest to use.
FWD is a more compact drive train, with more weight on the driving wheels. The advantages are better traction, more interior and trunk room, and better fuel economy.
RWD offers better weight balance between front and rear, often approaching the ideal 50/50 balance. When the car is pushed hard, the RWD car will steer better and more precisely around turns.
Of course, TRUE All-Wheel Drive is best, such as in an Audi, where the wheels are pulling and pushing and the power is distributed as needed. This is not to be confused with 4 Wheel drive, where the power is distributed equally to all wheels, and should only be used off-road. The problem with AWD is added weight, cost and complexity. For myself, driving around So. Calif., and not racing through the mountains, FWD is just fine.
The BMW website shows that ATT Wireless, Cingular, & T-Mobile have phones that can be Bluetooth enabled. The cell phone makers are Sony Ericson, Nokia, and Siemans.
I have a Kyocera 7135, which is a one of those Smartphones with a Palm Pilot built-in. My provider is Verizon. I have not tried it yet, but I understand that there are a number of bluetooth solutions available for the phone. In any case, three of the major providers in my area have bluetooth phones.
And when the S40 T5 comes out in the spring, that, by all accounts, will even sticker for less than the TL (and will be much larger than the current S40, so the "its much smaller" argument is not quite effective).
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '08 Charger R/T Daytona; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '08 Maser QP; '11 Mini Cooper S
You had asked if there were any high-mileage TLs without transmission problems. Let me present mine, a very early '99. It'll hit 106,000 miles this week and I've had no transmission problems. No other problems, either, for that matter. Dealers have told me that the key to transmission reliability is to change fluid at 15,000 miles, not the 30,000 miles that the factory recommends.
I've replaced the factory tires, brake pads, battery, and catalytic converter (which I think I damaged on a high curb). The rest is just maintenance by the book. It had some minor warranty attention years ago, but nothing that even resembles a problem lately.
My sister and several of my friends own TLs. I have never heard of any of them having problems, either. Not to say that there haven't been some failures, just as there are on any make of car; but my first-hand experience suggests that it's a highly reliable and well built car.
Good luck - enjoy yours.