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He works at Marysville though, so he should know if the CR-V will be going there... (which according to him, is apparently not)
Unfortunately, no one at Honda seems to know anything... or even care... :surprise:
regards,
kyfdx
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It does not make sense to me that they would split the lines. But, technically, it's possible.
So the RDX will probably debut at Detroit.
That way, I can buy the RDX for less...
A kick-butt RAV4 is a win-win situation for Acura buyers..
regards,
kyfdx
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With what? A Q45 v. the 750? The FX45 v. the X54.8? The G35 v. 330? And surely you couldn't have been thinking of the Infiniti M, any M, matching up with the 550, or M5?
The RDX hasn't been released. It hasn't even been previewed in its final form. For instance, no consumer (or automotive journalist) knows what engine it uses. No consumer (or automotive journalist) knows what the interior looks like. No consumer (or automotive journalist) has driven it to be able to judge it's performance and handling.
So it seems a little premature for you to suggest that the RAV4 "kick's [the RDX' s] [non-permissible content removed]" and that Acura needs to "scurry back" to the drawing board before launch.
Funny thing, though. You don't seem to be at all active on the Toyota thread discussing the 2006 RAV4.
Perhaps you need to stop by the Toyota boards to educate all those posters -- the ones who actually CARE. There seems to be more than a little concern being expressed about Toyota's equipment and design decisions, including frequent criticism of the interior quality, criticism of the apparent lack of satellite radio even as an option, and concern that the Toyota transmission has software glitches.
Or perhaps you just enjoy tweaking owners of other vehicles. :P
Looks good to me, but I don't really see it as a competitor to the likely smaller, sportier RD-X. Plus the Toyota interior is pretty "budget", which is OK with me.
In fact I predict the Forester XT will be a closer match up, since Subaru offers a manual with their turbo.
Another forced induction SUV will be the Mazda CX-7.
So I see the RD-X going up against the X3 primarily, then the CX-7, and to a smaller extent the Forester XT and RAV4.
The MDX is smaller than the Pilot, yet it competes quite well despite its age.
The Acura should have a more sophisticated AWD system and sportier handling, plus a nicer interior with a lot more content. I think it will do just fine.
-juice
Can't get dazzled by the engine. Ya gotta look at the total package, folks.
What makes you think the RDX has been delayed? AFAIK it's still a go for late spring/early summer of 2006. That's been the projected release since the "production" concept debuted.
Explorer, Ridgeline, and I forget the 3rd, XTerra was it?
-juice
C'mon Honda, quit being so "tight" and invest in your Acura products.
Didn't the concept have a hybrid powertrain? That's hardly what I'd call being tight. :confuse:
-juice
Acura has done several concepts over the past few years. The most recent one is the only one that should be taken seriously. Earlier versions were simply studies, but, yes, one of them had a hybrid powertrain. Anyway, the one shown at the 2005 NAIAS was powered by a four cylinder engine. But it was made pretty clear the engine was just a way to get the vehicle from the flatbed to the display.
I quess I am rooting for an early date because I have a lease on an RX330 that is up soon, and I am looking forward to dumping it. I would much rather go with Acura than the RAV4, all things being equal. However, if Acura puts 4 cylinder, forced induction or not, into the RDX, I think that would be a deal breaker for me.
Here is a rumor for you. What if the totally new engine Acura is developing for the RDX is a small V8. Maybe Toyota found out about it, and as a preemptive strike, put their 3.5 V6 in the RAV4. You have to admit, it doesn't make much sense for Toyota to put their best V6 in their $25,000 SUV, upstaging both their $30,000 SUV (Highlander) and their $40,000 SUV (RX330). Pure rumor. No basis in fact what so ever.
-juice
Personally, I doubt the V8 will be a small unit for the small vehicles in their lineup. Honda has tested the Ridgeline with another manufacturer's V8 to gauge how well it works in the chassis. So, it's more likely the engine will be a light truck/large car unit.
IMHO, Honda's move to larger engines is three years too late. I don't think they expected the horsepower war to drive the market as fast as it has. I expect they were thinking the J35s would get them through another full model cycle. It looks to me like they'll need something more than the J series much sooner.
One possible solution for them is to move from the SOHC to a DOHC head on the J engines. But I don't see that making a huge difference.
Either way, I doubt that even the first generation RD-X would see that engine.
-juice
Well, lets SEE the Acura and Honda and what they can come up with. :sick:
But there are a lot of people that just want the basic "bang for the buck" recipe, and it offers that.
-juice
I mean, the 2nd gen RAV4 could be loaded up to a price tag of $29K. And that was without a V6. Very few were sold in that price range and I expect the same to be true of the new model.
-SH-AWD
-HID headlights
-2.3 liter 4-cylinder turbo
-ELS DVD Audio
-XM Radio
-Navigation w/AcuraLink
-Paddle Shifters
Built in Marysville, Ohio and is expected to arrive in dealers this summer.
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Kudos to whoever called it...
Also, there is a picture in the magazine that's very clos to the concept. The main differences are the headlights, side mirrors, door handles and fog lights. It's an angled picture from the front and no picture of the rear or inside.
And still skeptical as to the success of a Turboed powertrain with i-Vtec... Would have much rather seen a J30 with 3 pedals...
We'll see, though. Honda resisted diesels for a very long time. When they finally built one, they made one bad-boy engine.
The same may happen with the turbo. Contrary to popular opinion, Honda has done a good deal of work with turbo'd engines. They seriously considered forced induction when they built the S2000, but rejected it because they couldn't completely eliminate turbo lag. Well... maybe they've done that. The optimistic Honda fan in me is not expecting a garden variety turbo system.
They also used those nasty gray rims. Kill those for production and the look should improve a good 50%. But they've also installed gray cladding on the chin spoiler along with the same circular fogs from the TSX. Looks tacked on. Too busy for an otherwise clean design.
At least they kept true to the headlights from the last concept.
-juice
Oh man! They ruined it! That's awful, the concept was so much better looking. Say it ain't so!
The headlights are oddly shaped, too many angles. The bumper's too busy, too many horizontal splits. Chrome side mirrors should be body color, and the rims look like they're covered in brake dust.
OK, this is just a chop, I hope it's not an accurate one. The concept looked so much better!
-juice
http://www.auto-wallpapers.com/acura/07rdxwebgallery/images/07rdx2.jpg
I think it had a tiny little side camera instead of a mirror, but to be fair it was in chrome. It just did not stand out. I *hate* chrome!
The concept was silver so that did hide the amount of chrome.
The concept's wheels looks fantastic, 100x better really. Perfect, they should just use that exact design. They are beefy, modern, substantial, and sporty.
The bumper/grille is also much cleaner, it looks like a built-in rhino bar in the an otherwise simple bumper opening.
Here the two-tone is limited to the black fender flares, which look better then the photochop image above. The headlights also look better here.
-juice
The headlights did not translate well into production.
Door handles and side mirrors appeared, fair enough, you need those.
The black fender flares are gone, it loses some of its stance.
The greenhouse is the only thing that actually looks better. They ditched the chrome surrounds and added visible pillars.
-juice
It is still a "concept", but it supposed to be closer to the production version than the last show car.
I like the headlights. They come (more or less) straight from the last concept car. The chrome mirrors and gun metal rims are just show car bling. They won't make production, so I'm not concerned about them.
But what they've done to the bumper and chin is just nasty.
When is the production model supposed to debut? NAIAS? Chicago? NY?
-juice
The nose is a little busy... three grill openings?
How about those red brake calipers? That just screams "performance"! (sarcasm)
This one is Concept1 from last year. Juice posted an enlarged version of it above.
Concept2 isn't bad. I just think Concept1 had more mature styling below the grill.
I prefer the look of the "Concept2" wheels. I wonder if they will offer two trim levels with different wheels as is the trend these days...
There's also a picture of a blue prototype RDX in the latest issue of Acura Style. It has the Concept1 front end but features painted side mirrors.
-juice
Wait a second...
Are you saying this pic is NOT the one in the Acura Style magazine? There's a different pic in there showing a blue vehicle with a front end more similar to concept1?
Jan 27- Feb 5
The wheels are horrid, liked the concept ones alot better, but then again the TSX has some optional ones with the same "Dirty Chrome" look so maybe these are optional too.
I think the actual production is model (before options) is going to be much more basic, because two-tone has a limited market, like a Special Edition model (ie Camry, 1st-2nd gen ES, cough*Eddie Bauer Fords*cough...)