Honda is lossing it

[cmhs75]

boy am I mad

Honda RL is really bad, and they promissed so much of it

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Drives/Comparos/articleId=104808/pageId=62800

Honda is really lossing sight of what is right and what is wrong

they cut down the HSC, they let the NSX stall for over 12 years, and now this!

I'm really starting to hate the H brand now, I wish the company founder was alive today to see this, I bet he would grab a shot gun and have a detour around the company


we need to have a talk with Honda's president

 

[RP-Motorsports]

??????

Obviously you never saw the previous RL???? This new 05 is WAY better.

 

[loNfastNSX]

I drove the RL and found it quite enjoyable. Its actually pretty fast and i would buy it for what it is, a nice comfy car. Ill drive the NSX for the sports car. You should go drive the car and determine for yourself wheather or not its THAT bad.

Cheers

 

[cmhs75]

??????

Obviously you never saw the previous RL???? This new 05 is WAY better.

it's not about the RL in itse;f

it's the direction Honda is heading to right now

they don't seem to be doing a great job like they once did, they're losing thier cut, they're no longer the Japanese BMW, these days, they're more like, a shadow than a piller, their products are no longer something breath taking, they're becoming so dull and mainstream, they're becoming Toyota!!

 

[DutchBlackNsx]

Wow....... almost sounds like i hear europeans talking about Honda.

Sure hope your Honda/Acura is not going the direction like they run the show here.

 

[Ponyboy]

What? The RL comes in a close second and Honda is losing it? It's a sport luxury sedan. Which means it's comfortable, sporting, safe, and luxurious. Plus, it's the best value of the group.

I don't get your reasoning.

 

[Ojas]

Poorly written article

I don’t get your conclusion either. The author said "for all intents and purposes, it was a tie." They had to rank them, so the attributes of the Lexus appealed slightly more to the reviewer than the RL. Big deal.

Also, I would never put much weight in the opinions expressed by an editor who incorrectly uses the word "thou."

 

[White92]

In my opinion, the new RL is 10 times the car that the previous RL was. The previous RL was about as advanced as a DX Civic. I think Honda is making huge leaps and bounds with the new RL. I don't think Honda has ever been one to be a huge show off company. They make great advancements and introduce them to the market. They don't have to be the fastest, biggest displacement, showiest cars out there. They just do their job and do it well. And that is enough for me as long as the build quality is still there. I've always been a fit and finish guy and always will be.

 

[cmhs75]

What? The RL comes in a close second and Honda is losing it? It's a sport luxury sedan. Which means it's comfortable, sporting, safe, and luxurious. Plus, it's the best value of the group.

I don't get your reasoning.

Never mind the editor’s words, “they all win” all car magazines “especially American magazines” say that. They use points and numbers to value the cars, and that doesn’t really work! If you use numbers to judge which is the best car you will always be off the point, we NSX enthusiasts are the ones who know this the most

Picture this, the same magazine making a comparison between an NSX and a 350Z, if they use numbers, of course the 350Z will win, but in real life when you jump into both cars and drive them, you’ll see that there is no comparison.

So don’t give much credit to the magazines conclusion that they’re all the same, concentrate on what they say between the lines, namely that the RL is dull as with most Honda products today save for the NSX and S2000.

Do you remember the ads on the RL before it was released? Things like AWD that was honed on a race track to deliver a great driving experience. I even remember them saying it outpaced a skyline GT-R. Well, looking at the end results now, it’s quite clear that MBA’s are taking over Honda

 

[ANYTIME]

This may be off topic, but all of that footage was filmed around my stomping grounds. The pylons they went thru were at the Camarillo Airport, which was host to a few of our autocrosses (rented out most of the time to magazines and driving control schools). The canyons they filmed have been part of our Prime Drives, including the Malibu shots. The end was at Point Mugu rock(a few miles north of Malibu), which was a resting point during one of the Prime Drives. Woohoo! :biggrin:

 

[Viper Driver]

This may be off topic, but all of that footage was filmed around my stomping grounds. The pylons they went thru were at the Camarillo Airport, which was host to a few of our autocrosses (rented out most of the time to magazines and driving control schools). The canyons they filmed have been part of our Prime Drives, including the Malibu shots. The end was at Point Mugu rock(a few miles north of Malibu), which was a resting point during one of the Prime Drives. Woohoo! :biggrin:

Even more off topic.......spent the last week here in the Oxnard/Ventura/Camarillo area and didn't see ONE NSX. Went into L.A. twice.....saw several Ferarris and no NSXs. Sigh......

Flying out of Pt. Mugu doing some manned raids against the AEGIS cruisers offshore. See a couple of F-16 flying around the area tomorrow (Tuesday) and I'll be in one of them!

 

[cmhs75]

Even more off topic.......spent the last week here in the Oxnard/Ventura/Camarillo area and didn't see ONE NSX.

this is profe that the Honda image is dieing out

brand image is very important and it needs to be buit up to have an effect on people, not the other way around

killing off good products such as the NSX and producing Mediocre products will kill of the brand image for sure, it's already starting to take effect, what are they waiting for to realize it? sales drops? don't these guys have a better feedback system?

 

[ChrisK]

Well, if you throw out the prestige factor, sitting in the RL and sitting in the new Lexus 06 GS is a toss up. Material quality on both are equal, fit and finish on the RL is probably better than my 04 Lexus, style is subjective and while I don't think either are breath taking, both are nice looking sedans with some odd angles to them. I like the smooth interior of the RL over the sharp lined interior of the GS. Comparing performance between the GS300 V6 and RL V6 you see the RL has a minor lead by 0.1 seconds. Driving the RL was a blast in my opinion. Haven't had a change to drive the 06 GS or the Infiniti M yet. However, being that this test compared the V6 RL to the V8 GS430 and M45 shows the RL to be quite capable. That whole MSRP thing is BS IMHO. $50K Sedans my ass. The GS430 tested was nearly $60K. The test I want to see is between the SH-AWD RL, the AWD GS300, and the AWD M35. Throw in the GS300 RWD and M35 RWD for fun as well. Now that would be a more worth while comparison. Also, if you price on a near equally equiped GS300 and M35 you will see it surpases the RLs $49K MSRP and goes over $50K. I know prestige is importent in a luxury car segment, but throw out the badge on the car and evaluate them evenly and the RL is very competitve.

I will agree though that I wish Acura/Honda built up their brand image and prestige since that is what the masses want. They really need a halo car like the NSX and S2000. I also believe they should bring out that rumord large V8 sedan above the RL to compete with the Lexus LS430 and BMW 7 series. This would do a lot to solidify Acura as a real top tier luxury brand vs just a 2nd tier brand. Personally, the RL comes extremely close and matches everything in its class excet for the V8 that people want.

 

[ANYTIME]

Even more off topic.......spent the last week here in the Oxnard/Ventura/Camarillo area and didn't see ONE NSX. Went into L.A. twice.....saw several Ferarris and no NSXs. Sigh......

Flying out of Pt. Mugu doing some manned raids against the AEGIS cruisers offshore. See a couple of F-16 flying around the area tomorrow (Tuesday) and I'll be in one of them!

I'm about 10 mins. from Point Mugu airbase! If you are going to be around and want to meet, I could either buy you a coffee or dinner. Serving this countryis admirable. Check your PM.
Take care,
John :biggrin:

 

[The Kid]

Personally, Ive logged over 20k miles on the previous RL's.... I really liked the car. I wasnt as nice as the Lexus, BMW, or Mercedes but It was still really nice. Good pickup for a big car but very luxurious and comfortable. A great buy on the pre-owned market. New $46k, used 2002 - still the same car for $23k as a certified used car. :biggrin: The new RL is simply amazing.

 

[NetViper]

I also believe they should bring out that rumord large V8 sedan above the RL to compete with the Lexus LS430 and BMW 7 series. This would do a lot to solidify Acura as a real top tier luxury brand vs just a 2nd tier brand. Personally, the RL comes extremely close and matches everything in its class excet for the V8 that people want.

I agree. Honda needs to just do it. Come out with the V8. I personally think a truck needs a V8 to be taken seriously by "Truck Guys".

I also think if there was a V8 option in the RL for an extra $5000, I have a feeling there would be a lot of them sold.

I am a little confused with the current line up honesly. TO me, the TSX is really the 3-series competitor. Most magazines say the TL is the 3 series competitor. To me, the TL is more competitive with the 530 BMW. That leaves the RL for the 545 or 7 series. It falls pretty short of those two, IMO.

 

[Ponyboy]

Never mind the editor’s words...So don’t give much credit to the magazines conclusion that they’re all the same, concentrate on what they say between the lines

Sure, I'll pay attention to what a professional communicator isn't saying while paying no attention to what they've actually wrote. Sorry, doesn't make sense. I think you have a preconceived misconception that Honda is a company similar to Ferrari/Maseratti. Obviously, Honda is not. Never has. Millions of Civic and Accords and Preludes and Odysseys (most of which were designed and built when Sochiro was still alive) will attest to that.

 

[cmhs75]

Sure, I'll pay attention to what a professional communicator isn't saying while paying no attention to what they've actually wrote. .

I was talking about ignoring their ratings and hearing their impressions.

You listen to their impressions and then, you be the judge of which car is better for you personally and ignore what they think is better.

It’s like when there is a comparison between 4 cars and they place the best driver’s car in third place because the comparison was focusing on things other than drivers appeal. Do for them the driver’s car would be the third choice, but for an enthusiast it would be the first choice. Or in another case, they make a comparison between a Porsche 911, an NSX and a Corvette C5. The corvette is the one that gets the most negative comments on driver appeal but it still wins first place because it is really unbeatable in a scoring on paper. 50,000 and you can go as fast as a 75,000 Porsche or an 85,000 NSX. That’s why I tell you not to listen to everything they say.

But I guess you’re right about Honda not claiming to be Ferrari, It’s just that I really wish they could do a lot better than what they are doing now.