MILD83

A friend just told me that Acura was stopping production of the RL. If that's true, did Acura just give up on the full size market?

brianlin87

iTrader: (11)

My friends built an Acura RLX last year for SEMA that replaces the RL. Acura stopped production of the RL and replaced it with the RLX.

Devh

Just like Mazda did with the 929.
Acura can make a good midsize luxury car like the TL but they cannot make a flagship anywhere near the LS.
Honda is a much smaller company with nowhere near the level of resources Toyota has let alone the Manhattan project like dedication when the first LS was produced that brought them into the luxury club.
I have test driven the RL with that super handling AWD and it was a terrible drive.

sick21

What about the RLX? I'm confused.

HondaChuck

I test drove a 2011 Acura RL and a brand new RLX. They don't even come close to completing with the LS460. And I am long time Honda/Acura owner and fan. It drove like a really nice Accord, which is a great car. It would be competitive in the $35-$40 price range not the $55-$60 that it is in. A CPO LS460 is much better value!

GXAlan

It's hard to have a luxury car that's FWD. The torque steer makes the car feel less refined. Additionally, the RL/RLX never had the same fit and finish as it's closest competitors.

The new RLX Hybrid doesn't look exotic enough for the price and the Acura beak is even more polarizing than Lexus grille.

I would say that if Honda really wanted to reboot the RLX, they would have to give up the FWD platform and start from scratch. Honda still made the Integra Type-R, s2000 and NSX, so it's not as if they can't make a performance car. They just haven't been able to make a luxury car to compete against today's market. I suspect that Acura would have more success if they approached their cars like Cadillac with higher performance as the strategy. Infiniti has sort of lost it's sportiness with the Q50 and the infotainment is horrendous.

The last problem is that the RLX isn't built to the fit and finish of a luxury car. If you look at the MDX forums, you see a lot of problems with panel gaps and inconsistent build quality. If anything I would say that the Hyundai Genesis will take the market that Acura once envisioned for the RL/RLX.

MILD83

I too, was always really Honda brand loyal for daily drivers. Admittedly, I wouldn't ever have considered something like my GS until I drive my brothers 98 ls400. I used to have an Acura legend coupe and always wished it was rwd. Now that I've been in a few lexuses(sp?), it seems like there is no comparison the level of refinement. Even the 02 RL I drove was extremely nice, but my bro's 98 LS was a lot nicer, more power, and just felt more upscale.

I'm honestly shocked that the RL lasted as long as it did.

LexFather

The RL and RLX compete now against the caddy xts, Avalon, and other fwd cars. Its the newest entry against cars like the GS/E/5 and sells very bad, It's sold poorly since 1996 and the RLX is selling as bad as anything new created.

The RLX is based on the old accord platform. Not exactly a great starting point for a 50-65k car. It was never meant to compete with the LS at all.

SlangBlade

I completely agree. I feel like right now Honda/Acura is lost. They're trying to compete with everyone and that's getting them no where. The Accord is striving to be upscale, and yet it still has fit and finish problems, along with poor quality control. Acura wants to be German, but it's still working with a FWD platform, not to mention the (admittedly subjective) ugly recent/current exterior designs.

I had an Integra Type R, a few civics and more recently a 2012 Accord, and I couldn't WAIT to get rid of that Accord. The Civics and that Type R though were fantastic.

Johnny Rad

IMHO, Acura's ext designs are completely off and have been for awhile. They've totally lost the plot.

I can't imagine being an Acura salesman. Aside from the TL (thank goodness for that one and the MDX), I don't know if they suffer more from the uglies or the borings. The ZDX? Couldn't give it away. The RL was milquetoast with zero personality and no motor to make amends; at least it offered AWD. The new RLX looks like more of the same, BUT the Hybrid looks like it'll at least hustle down the road with its fancy AWD and extra power. The smallish RDX looks to be getting better, but I don't think it or the MDX has been a smashing sales success.

Remember the '01-03 CL Type S coupe? While big, it was a very nice car at the time. It wasn't the most luxurious nor the best handler out there, but it was a solid pkg and aged gracefully.

Of course we remember the Legend sedans and coupes. Who wouldn't? Elegant lines inside and out. The ext is still relevant after so many years, but I'll admit the int is hit (newer ones) and miss (older ones).

MILD83

Wasn't the RL intended to be the LS competitor?

The legend was a solid car, just wrong wheel drive.

HondaChuck

I exclusively drove Honda/Acura cars for literally the last 20 years (Prelude, Integra, 3 Accords, TL). I wanted to buy another one and move up the luxury ladder. Acura has nothing that competes at the level of Audi and Lexus. I believe Honda has the engineering ability to build an LS competitor but simply choses not to. They add luxury options to existing models but refuse to build a luxury specific model (RWD V8). The Honda/Acura forums have lamented this choice every time they release a new flagship which falls short.
I've been driving my LS460 for about 3 weeks now and am thrilled with my decision to "jump ship." This car's ride is amazing; I love the effortless power and the Mark Levinson sound is astounding.

GXAlan

I saw the TL as the ES competitor, the RLX as the GS competitor and the TLX as the IS competitor.

Kia Cadenza as ES competitor.
Hyundai Genesis as GS competitor. Equus and K900 as LS competitor.

triniexr

The RL was all wheel drive from 2005 and up(I had a 2005 RL A Spec). They are adding the X to all their vehicle names as they are all pretty much going to be all wheel drive standard now.

Devh

Honda was at a crossroad at the turn of the century. They were going to take the next step and develop a commercial V8 which they ended up scraping because of the fuel crunch at the time. If I remember that engine was going to be a naturally aspirated V8 that developed near 400hp. It would have set the stage for not only the luxury market but their newly introduced truck line.
Even then Honda could not compete against Toyota but they would have taken a small market share and made Honda a little bigger then they are now.