rob-2

Jon you can order it but the dealership gives no ETA on when you might get it! Stop arguing with me about things you don't know. I am stating our experience and you are arguing with me. Get lost.

QUIKAG

My main point was Acura could be doing better. They moved 167k units in 2014. Lexus moved 311k units. Infiniti moved 107k units, but they suck. So, Acura sucks a little less than Infiniti, but Infiniti doesn't have a cheapo model to bolster sales (4 cylinder TLX, ILX, etc.). Lexus is killing Acura and has been doing it forever. BMW moved 2.1 million units, so I won't even get into the German luxury brands.

Acura used to be a fun, aspirational brand. Now, it's a lux Honda. Okay, so they are growing (anemically), but the fun DNA that used to be built into Honda and Acura cars is basically gone.

I want to like the NSX and maybe I will someday, but it's electronic wizardry and bland exhaust note doesn't exactly endear itself to the fun side of car driving for me. I like manual transmission and fairly basic interfaces between engine, wheels, etc. to get an engaging experience instead of a GT-R type video game in real life. That said, the jury is still out on how engaging the NSX may actually be. I'll be reading all the articles and watching all the videos as they come out and talking to real-world owners who are pounding them at the track to see how they hold up, etc.

Jon, I appreciate your stubborn defense of Honda, but they have become another Toyota and Nissan. That is what is sad to me. Chasing sales at the expense of the principles of what Soichiro Honda build the company upon. You should be shilling for Toyota as much as Honda because they are basically the same nowadays. Same car, different styling.

WolfpackS2k

The big difference between Acura, Lexus and Infiniti and Mercedes and BMW is that Mercedes and BMW actually sell a lot of $50k+ vehicles. Most of the Japanese vehicles are more "near" luxury automobiles.

CMK

At least Lexus has the LS going for it. Infiniti gave up on the Q (although I've discovered Nissan still sells the Cima in Japan). Hell, even Hyundai offers a luxury car on par with the RLX (Equus).

rob-2

We are looking at the Lexus GS. We like the Acura interior layout better but it has all the features and a rwd based awd.

Mr.E.G.

I agree, however, and perhaps I'm in the minority, that's actually what appeals to me about them. I'm probably going to buy a new daily driver soon and it will probably be an Acura. Why? Because it's got all the practicality and welcomed blandness of a Japanese commuter car, but is just nice enough that I look reasonably successful when I meet with clients, but restrained enough so that they don't see me as an opportunist. I 100% agree that BMWs and Mercedes are nicer and generally much sportier and / or engaging. But not on a dollar for dollar basis, and they come with so many strings attached.

I mean, if I were to buy a world destroying sports car and it came with strings attached (reliability issues, it was expensive, etc.), I could live with that. But I want my going-to-work car to be dead nuts reliable.

But I feel like most of the German cars have marginally better performance and marginally better interiors, while costing substantially more and while compromising on some of the most basic things I expect from a daily driver.

Here's another way to look at it. Corvettes do 95% of what an (insert super expensive sports car) does for 50% of the price. Well, Acura does most of what a BMW does at a substantial discount. The features wherein the BMW beats the Acura are either not that important to me (e.g. handling or acceleration) or they are only marginally better (e.g. interior quality).

In short, near-luxury is enough for me.

QUIKAG

Agree completely. For a daily computer a nice TLX would be awesome. I'd even probably get the 4 banger with the 8-speed dual clutch because it's quick enough for commuting with good gas mileage and very good reliability. They look decent too. I'd buy a TLX for a commuter before I'd ever buy a BMW/Audi/MB because I just don't trust those cars from a get me to work every single day for many years without any big issue perspective.

It just seems like people that buy MB/BMW/Audi are buying as more for the "prestige" factor than the "value" factor. I guess that is why they exist though. I'm looking at getting my gf an LV purse and it sure as hell isn't worth the money, but that is what they cost, so...... Good business model if you can pull it off.

WolfpackS2k

I agree with both of you, and would probably be in the same boat. That's why the near luxury market exists. We just don't need to confuse the two

Heck I've been thinking about picking up a lightly used first gen TSX 6 speed to be my next DD. Checks all the right boxes for me.

PenguinS2000

The GS is great! Keep in mind that the 2016 is the mid-model refresh, so the looks will slightly change. If you're looking at a used model, the 13-15 models are nearly identical, with the only major difference being the Enform Remote that was added for 2015 models.

How about the GS-F?

alSpeed2k

Didn't they add some minor stuff in '14 (like folding mirrors, which was in the 3GS but was removed for 2013)?