I didn't know the IS250 sold that poorly? When I was interested in purchasing one (IS), it seemed hard to find the one I wanted. I knew the TL averaged 5,000 or so a month and thought that was poor. Of course it's poor when I'm comparing it to Accord/Civic sales which are in the 30-40k range/month. I retract what I said, you owned me, hehe. I guess I'll look forward to the next generation TL as well. I'm still sour over a 96TL we had. Transmission defect Honda didn't acknowledge until waaaay later which means we had to foot the bill ($3k ish).
It was hard to find initially, but then so were the G35 and TL when they first came out... people were on waiting lists for one to two months or more waiting for the exact one they wanted. Yeah, if there's a weak link in Acura/Honda, it's the transmissions of previous years. I haven't had any problems with my TL. There was an initial recall on Honda engines to add an oil-jet and there's an odometer issue, but as far as mechanical failures, I haven't had any problems. I've been one lucky b*stard. This is the 3rd car I've owned and none of them have had any major issues - the other two were a Toyota Camry and Nissan Maxima. I like Honda/Acura because I think their interiors are awesome. I think the next TL will have all-wheel drive and 300+ hp. I was thinking it may be a hybrid as well, but with Honda giving the axe to the Accord hybrid, I'm not sure now. I've got about 77,000 miles on this one, so I'm only about halfway towards starting to look for a new car.
where did you hear that about the Accord hybrid? does anyone know why? man, i was looking forward to making that our family's 5th Honda. this is depressing.
Doesn't Acura already have that in the RL? $35k TL with SH-AWD/300HP would definately be killer, but impossible at that price. I hope Honda makes the next TL RWD. I've been pretty unlucky with my Acura (2001 with 50k miles). Clutch master cylinder went out earlier this year so I had to replace that and the slave cylinder. A month later the CEL is on and the code said it was the o2 sensor. I purchased a new o2 sensor (pricey) and replaced it but the CEL is still on =/ I also changed the shocks on my vehicle but I must've broken something in the process (axle out of joint probally) because the ride is loppy.
DoD is just an American-car snob. Meet me with your front-wheel drive upsized Civic tweener and I will smoke you in this
What a nerd! Like I run around racing cars - that's for kids with money to burn. I like reliable cars... not gangsta-pimped-out Chryslers that a German company just dumped for poor sales. Besides, if I ran a 1/4 mile with that Chrysler against my car, the Chrysler would be looking for a repair shop at the 1/8th mile mark. I'm just kidding with ya, but seriously there are few American cars I like simply because until recently they've been disgustingly poor in reliability. I'm sure the Fords and GM's have been stomped on enough now that they've started learning their lessons... they're making better cars. When I was looking for my TL, I actually was looking at the G35, TL, and CTS. But the CTS was a rip-off at the time... everything was an option and it wasn't a very good performer. By the time you got what you wanted on a CTS back then, it was a $40k+ car.
They do, but the current RL is a dud in terms of sales. I think they need to upscale that model or get rid of it altogether. The Acura car segment just doesn't align well with anything else out there. The TL sells well simply because most people think it's a better looking car with a better interior than other cars in the segment. Let's face it, most people that buy the G35 or 3-series aren't exactly racing them through the twisties, so why pay for that and get shorted on everything else. The G35 and 3-series now are better cars than the TL because the TL is one generation behind them now. If Honda can keep the interior as slick as it is in the TL, keep the reliability, and position the price around the same, but increase HP and make it RWD or AWD (hopefully the latter), the next one they bring out will be a hit. Its sales have been so poor that they really need to either do something drastic with it or get rid of it. I loved the interior on the car, but for a $40-$50k car, it was bland looking to me. I think only about 600 of them sold in May. It sold well initially, but the rest of the segment has caught up. The biggest complaint I have is that over time, there are one or two things I think are kinda cheap-feeling about the interior. The leather and some of the trim. But it's an entry-level "pseudo-luxury" car so what the heck. I'm happy I've had no major or out-of-warranty repairs yet. Hopefully I haven't jinxed it.
Sorry to hear that, but maybe you can get a new "regular" Accord? I'm curious, but why were you interested in the hybrid version of the car? The gas mileage wasn't really that great for the hybrid premium which is why it was discontinued. Unless you were doing it for environmental reasons alone, there are very few hybrid cars worth the cost premium even if you factor in the mileage bonus. Here's an article describing the discontinuation of the model : http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/la-fi-accord5jun05,0,95459.story?coll=chi-bizfront-hed
Well, I'm not going to be one of those trolls that comes in a tries to trash something you like just because they think they're cool or know what's best for you. If that's your car, I know how cool it is to find the sneak peaks. Good luck on your venture.
Uh-huh...I am doing the 'chicken dance' as we speak Japanese pilots in WWII: "Those Americans with their unreliable machines can NEVER defeat us." Ironic I am just messin' wit ya! I know what you're saying, but there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that not only have the American brands made significant gains in quality/reliability (all the recent reviews have reflected that; I subscribe to six car magazines in case you're wondering ), but the Koreans themselves have made significant gains in that field. As for the TL, it's a terrific value and I can't blame you for going that route. Frankly, the only thing that's hurting it against the competition is the fact that it's not a rear-wheel drive vehicle, which is a BIG strike against it with a lot of buyers within that particular demographic. As for the CTS, the older model was somewhat 'overpriced', no argument there. However, the all-new CTS model due out later this year will be something I would consider somewhere down the line; it looks like a winner for GM. Chill out, I was joking around. Just giving Doc a hard time.
To be honest, I doubt I'll buy an Accord, but I know a lot of people out there love them for a good reason - they're great family cars that are reliable, get good mileage, you usually don't have to dump a lot of money into after buying them, and well, they're one of the best-selling cars in the US, so I figured there would be an interest.
