A pre-cursor to the '09 TL? It looks like a cross between a 5 series and a TL in the commercials. I have an '06 TL and love it but wouldn't mind a bit more size a bit more power without the RL price. It looks like an Acura version of that Accord may accomplish that. Any thoughts or insight?
I also own a TL and after owning several Accords I'm ready for a RWD. I'm not even considering another FWD. I'm thinking either 3-Series or Lexus IS. Do you think Honda/Acura will ever try for a piece of the RWD market share? I don't want AWD either, I already own an Impreza as well. MZ
Buy a S2000, or a used NSX. I think those are your only options if you stick with Honda. Not that either choice of car is a bad one, but it kind of assumes that you don't have to worry about wife & kids & dogs, etc.
Before writing off AWD you might want to try an Acura RL. Honda's SH- AWD is supposed to improve the car's ability to put down the power in corners. It's very likely SH-AWD will be available in the next TL (if Honda wishes to keep that car competitive).
Honda RWD: every RWD car Honda has produced in the last 20 years (and the list is short) has been allowed to die a slow and agonizing death (no significant upgrades, improvements or make-overs). Honda wasted a ton of money developing their trucklets. I don't see them investing in anything other than proven moneymakers in the near future. If the C7 Corvette is a mid-engined car (as Autoextremist.com predicts) I wouldn't be surprised to see Honda kill their NSX replacement.
Have you driven a mid-engined RWD car (Porsche Boxster or Caymen)?
I have a TL and an NSX. I know people are all hung up on RWD, but to tell the truth, my TL has never given me any problems related to FWD operation. In fact, I am not sure I would even be able to tell whether it's driving from the front or back wheels for 99.5% of the time. I think it's much ado about nothing, unless you are driving like a maniac and in that case, you shouldn't be driving on a public road anyway.
My NSX is perhaps one of the best cars ever made. It looks great and is so well built that I have never had any trouble in the five years I've owned it. Nothing at all has gone wrong. I recommend it without reservation. You can get a nice used one for about $50K. And it will still be worth that for years to come. I see people buying old muscle cars in the six figures and wonder what they are thinking. An NSX is better and faster than all the muscle cars ever built. 0-60 in 4.5 seconds and high 12's in the quarter mile. And it handles better than nearly every car ever built.
I would tend to agree. Unless you are really looking for all-out performance (ala NSX or S2000) you would probably get better overall service with FWD or AWD. I think RWD has become a fad item. No doubt BMWs and the like are great performing vehicles, but I seldom see any indication that the typical BMW driver is inclined to ever use that performance, or even that he knows how. When you see cars like the Chrysler 300 with RWD, you know it has progressed to joke status.
Personally, I can get better street performance from a FWD car like my GSR, because it is more forgiving of mistakes. On a race track, it is a different story. I have gone off the track backwards on more than one occasion and I don't really see that kind of behavior as desirable in a street car.
Now Gordon, you know damn well that you'd be steering with the throttle if you were in a RWD car. True the typical BMW driver would be better served by an Acura TL but the typical BMW ( and apparently NSX) driver doesn't know the difference between oversteer and understeer. While I agree that generally it's more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow I wouldn't trade my Corvette for my old Integra. It's a lot more fun way more than 0.5% of the time.
Regarding the RWD 300 or GM's plans for large RWD cars; I got nothing.
4000 lb. cars sliding thru winter; wow it's the '60s all over again but with ABS (that won't save anyone's ass unless the car is pointed in the right direction).
It seems highly unlikely. Honda is a master of platform sharing and it seems unlikely they will ever build a passenger car RWD platform. The obvious place to make a RWD vehicle would have been the Ridgeline, but instead it was created off the Odyssey/Pilot platform.
There are, however, some very nice RWD vehicles on the market. The Infinity G35 is also worth looking at.
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