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Comments
Tayl0rd..(Mazda 3...Hmmmm, my wife thinks it's "cute". Looking at pictures held at a certain angle it's a wannabe, with a long way to go in reality)
But you are right about the Mazda3, which is similar to the RL only in that it has 4 wheels, 4 doors, and a roof.
The facts from the respective websites:
Length Weight Wheelbase Width CargoTrunk
RL 193.6" 3984 lb 110.2 72.1" 13.1cuft
LS 197.4" 3990 lb 115.2 72.0" 20.2cuft
The Lexus LS430s weight and width are nearly identical but has 1/3 more trunk space and a 5" longer wheelbase. I note the RL's less than 4" in length difference.
Contrasting the LS as a full-sized behemoth to the RL as mid-sized ("smaller car") is flat ignorant.
And for the record, I show interest in the RL only because I'm a fan of Honda's. I have not been in the market for an RL, or anything in that class and genre. By the same token, I'm not "complaining" about the price in Canada. I'm not planning on buying one so it doesn't affect me one way or the other. I am simply commenting that I think the price is out-of-line, and may have a negative impact on RL sales in Canada.
You don't need to say anything, or be sorry, or need to try to understand anything, other than that I'm simply an interested observer, which entitles me to comment on TH as much as an actual owner. I think that, with all due respect, you are over-analyzing and over-reacting to my comments, and getting too worked up.
My intention is not to antagonize you, believe me. I've read most of your posts on this thread and you strike me as nothing less than a gentleman. I hope you continue to enjoy your RL, and I look forward to continue to read about your experience with it. Who knows, maybe some day I might be in the market for one.
The V710 would be the answer to my problem as I currently have a Verizon contract. However, Acura CR explicitly described the failings of the V710...that it drops calls....doesn't access numbers from the phone book....a whole litany of criticisms. Upon calling the local Verizon store, they knew nothing of the upgrade and very casually said, yes, it'll work well with the RL. Really hard to pin anyone down. I'm heartened by your post and I'll really nail someone down for a definitive answer. Additionally, I've got to be certain that I can identify an upgraded phone and not take the word of a salesman. Have you any literature that accompanied the phone that describes, or alludes, to the upgrade? I'm currently filling in with ONSTAR, but that's no substitute over the long term.
Many thanks for your comprehensive response. I'm going to get right on it.
Appreciatively,
George
"Regarding your concern, Motorola is developing a new software version for the V710 cellular phone. This software patch will include the OBEX profile, and will allow full Bluetooth connectivity.
Unfortunately we do not have an estimated time frame for the release of this software patch. We invite you to visit our Internet site at www.hellomoto.com or contact your cellular service provider in the future for information on the availability of this upgraded software version."
http://www.v710.org/forums/archive/index.php/t-562.html
Thanks very much.
Now I have a choice of continuing with ONSTAR for a few months knowing that a software upgrade is definitely in the works. The correspondence in the URL was dated late December, early Jan., so perhaps my patience will be rewarded in the next few months. My Verizon contract ends June 21st, I just noticed. If I'm tired of waiting at that time, i can get a different phone and change providers without penalty, although I like Verizon very much.
Thanks, JJ. Nice forum: One for all, all for one.
George
Conversely, if you don't see the resemblance, that is OK too -- for all I know those of us that see Accord-ish overtones (or undertones) in the RL are wrong.
I don't care one way or the other. Honda is a client of mine (so is Toyota for that matter) and when I pull into the parking lot at either one of those companies, it is normal and natural to see lots of Hondas and Acuras at the Honda facility and Lexus and Toyota at the other place.
When you see an RL close to an Accord, they do look like they're related. But that's just me (and a couple other folks here). It's all good (mostly).
The newly upgraded software version for the v710 is referenced in the phone now as 8700_01.40.0R. In the phone menus look under "phone info" and then "other information" for the "s/w version". I can't recall the earlier software version number but I know this is different. There are noticable changes in the phone as well so I know that the 40 minutes that it was hooked up to a computer at the VZW store definetely made some changes, including the enhanced pairing with the RL. At the larger or more prominent VZW stores there is usually a technician in the store and not just sales people so best to ask for the tech person to see if that store has the v710s with the newest software.
I had the update done 2 days ago and found that my doors would attempt to lock intermitently as I was driving. I called my dealer and he spoke to tech line and told me to disconnect the cables from the car battery and touch them to each other for 10-15 seconds. This somehow discharges the lock's control module. I did this yesterday and my locks are working fine today. The only hassle that after you reconnect the battery you have to unlock the audio system and nav system with their pins, and must reset the steering wheel automatic tilt mechanism.
Hendjaz, did you have to re-pair the phone to the RL after the upgrade?
Steve
We had an exchange, a nervous laugh and that was it. When I go to Toyota the parking lot is full of three things: Toyota/Lexus cars, Ford Tauri and lots of pick up trucks. No one has ever mentioned my clearly out of place Audi allroad.
Since we're helping them with their ERP systems and a custom estimating program, we must be doing sufficiently OK to not merit the "eye."
And I saw a very nice looking car this morning, when I caught up with it, I fell over -- it was an Avalon, I thought it was a new Lexus model I had never heard of, from a distance.
The upmarket models of these European and Japanese cars do look more like each other as each new generation is developed. Heck, when I first saw the latest iteration of the Accord, I thought for a fleeting moment that it might be an Acura.
Hopefully all of these world cars don't make the GM mistakes of the not yet forgotten past.
Oh, one more, I vacationed in a wonderful city recently, Prague -- hop off the plane and walk through the airport and, just like here, there are new cars on display: Skoda's. As I approached them I swore they were Passats.
Small, and getting smaller, world.
In 1931, I was six years old. My father was a mechanic/chauffeur and drove a Packard convertible sedan. He and his twin brother briefly owned a service station that they lost in short order to some hungry corporation, or so my mother had told me. I was surrounded by cars and car talk, and even as a child I became familiar with every marque that passed beneath my window. I would rest my chin on the sill and mutter: "DeSoto, Buick, Lincoln Zephyr, Diana" and never tire of the thrill that came with recognition of each marque. There was no means of mistaking one for the other; "night and day" would best desribe their individual contours. I fully understand what's taken place in the interim but CD aside, and the consequent impact on MPG, the virtual samness that pervades car design appears to be more of a safety net for the manufacturers, reflecting the fear of failure should they innovate a design that falls on its face. It's heartwarming to see a Jag pass by. I KNOW it's a Jag! I long for the sight of a Checker Motor taxi with its muscular profile. Aaaah...I think I'll rest my head on the window sill and just....hope.
George
I'm considering an RL and was hoping to get some feedback. I'm a little concerned about the list of problems that people are reporting. I guess some of that is to be expected with a new car, but I don't have the time to keep going back to the dealer.
I also had a few questions about the cars features:
1) Does the navigation routing take the NavTraffic in to account when setting a route? It's hard to tell from the manual if the traffic overlay is for the driver's info only or if the nav system actually "uses" it.
2) It seems that the list of Bluetooth phones is pretty limited. I have the LG PM-325 from Sprint. Does that one work?
3) Does the audio system play MP3 and WMA files?
4) Can I access my phones internal phone book using HandsFreeLink?
The only other car I'm considering is the Infinifi M35 Sport. Does anyone have an opinion on which is a "better" car? How about with respect to all the "bugs" people are talking about in the RL?
Thanks!
2)Don't know about that phone, but I have a sony and a motorola and they both work fine.
3)Yes
4)No
There have been some early minor proplems, but Acua and the dealer have them worked out. If you buy one now those updates will be built in or modified before you take it.
Overall the car is great! Mine has 6000 miles on it...
No issues with the RL though. I got the RL in October and the v710 in November and have yet to actually pick up the phone and use it while in the RL as the HFL is so easy (and safer) to use.
I agree that disconnecting the battery corrects the problems caused by the update that I had done 3 days ago. Instead of completely disconnecting the battery cables and shorting them together, I disconnected just the negative battery cable for a minute before reconnecting. Disconnecting just the negative cable is easier and safer. Everything seems to be OK today after taking several 20+ minute trips today with no relocking.
"reflecting the fear of failure should they innovate a design that falls on its face."
How true. A friend of mine in high school drove us around in his father's '59 Edsel and you brought back that memory real quick! My girl friends mother drove her and her sister around in a Desoto so that one clicks. My grade school basketball coach drove us to nearby towns in his broken down Hudson. Remember the commercials, "Step down into a Hudson"? The boy scout leader drove a Kaiser Frazier. A lutheran minister hummed along in his Ambassador. Talk about style We called it an upside down bathtub. The grocery store owner drove a Studebaker. Most of the young highschool guys had early '50 Fords and Chevies with all kinds of modifications. Yep...there really was great variety in those years too!
My Uncle Charles had a "Diana," a product of the Moon Motor Co. It was a big gray box with two horns, one mounted on the wheel rim and the other at the hub of the wheel. The former went "AAh-ooo-gah," and was acvtivated by a tiny black button, no bigger than a shirt button.
When I was in the Air Force in 1945, my mother sent me a brochure showing the two Kaiser cars - I still have the brochures somewhere. One model was upscale, and I believe that was called the "Frazier." They both were to retail under $2,000.I recall vividly that a new Plymouth coupe with radio and heater cost $660 right after the war. The pricing, reflecting added options and quality, went: 660, 770, 880, etc. All marques were priced in that manner for quite some time.
As for variety: in the old days, when you made a style choice, it was REALLY a strong expression of interest because of the radical design differences!! Now, you try to weed out the least generic style.
Fun to reminisce.
P.S. Moon Motor Co. brochures are still available online!!
Those hidden diagnostics are real neat. Fortunately, there was nothing wrong with my car.
My problem was solved by a "refresh" from XM radio. While the refresh can be accomplished online, I had to endure a phone conversation with a XM representative. In addition to forcing me to listen to an advertisement for XM radio, the rep confirmed that my problem is due to an extended loss of signal. I guess it matters where you park?
To add insult to injury, XM just mailed me a notice that my 3 Month free service was about to expire. And the XM rep pressured me to renew the 3 month free service right away, to lock in the current rates. Of course the RL comes with 12 months of free service, (I wonder if I will get an extra month for the time it did not work?). And after the hard sell, the rep reluctantly confirmed that the RL included 12 months of service.
So my conclusion is, Yes XM is really that hard. It is a pity, because it seems like such a nice idea.
JJ
I got a $ 1000 discount on the car plus $406 worth of free accessories and they gave me $ 700 over Edmunds suggested trade in value on 04 TL. So however you look at it I figure in total I got a $2106 discount.
I selected the Redondo Red Pearl with Parchment interior. I also got the deck lid spoiler. Thats why it wont be ready till Thursday.
I loved my 3.2L 04 TL, but I am really looking forward to the switch to the RL.
People need to drive the RL before saying they think it should be a V8. Had it been a V8 I might have decided to keep my TL!!!
I know I can afford to feed a V8, but as sweet as the 3.5L 300 HP is I just dont see the need to pay for one at the pumps.
dennis
Thanks for the thought. I called the service manager and told him I would rather wait an extra day even if needed to do any current updates prior to delivery. He is going to check and do them. Waiting on my trunk lip spoiler anyway.
dennis
The point is, when you aspire to play on this level, I don't think it is so much as whether it "needs" this or that. Is more a matter of you've got to have the right credentials if you want to run in the same circle.
BTW, I think you should re-read my post, again. I don't think I said that it is MY OPINION that the TL SHOULD be playing in the V8 arena.
Wait a minute, you're going after me on a dial-up?! Isn't that like....how should I say it....a V6 going up against a V8?
jj, my friend, you have gotta lighten up. Aren't people in retirement supposed to lead a sedate lifestyle? Too much anger will ruin your golf game.
Happy motoring!