While You Were Sleeping: March 12th, 2015

by Derek Kreindler

Published: March 12th, 2015

Acura is making a car softer. When’s the last time we ever heard of an auto maker doing that?

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Derek Kreindler

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Vulpine on Mar 12, 2015

Well... VW has now canceled one of the few cars they make that I would have considered. How soon before they cancel the 3-door Golf, which is another of the few. In short, I do not want four or five doors and will only buy such in very specific models--which are NOT sedans.

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- Sportyaccordy on Mar 12, 2015
  
  I feel like we may have had this conversation before but remind me why a 4 door sedan is OK but a 5 door hatch isn't?
  
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- Sigivald on Mar 12, 2015
  
  @sportyaccordy Well, some people like having a trunk, for security reasons. (I understand that, though I'm currently driving a wagon.) I'm just baffled by anyone in the US/Canada market caring about VW axing the Polo as a car they'd have considered. Not like VW was ever going to import it.
  
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- Vulpine on Mar 12, 2015
  
  @sportyaccordy Read again what I said, Sporty. A 4-door sedan is NOT OK, for me. I don't want a sedan of any type or even one of these so-called '4-door coupes'. If it's a coupe, I want only 2 doors with either a hatch or a trunk. The only 4-door models I would personally consider would be a true SUV (station wagon on steroids). I own a JKU Jeep Wrangler (4-door) and am looking to replace it with either a Jeep Renegade (four doors), or a compact, extended cab pickup truck (2 doors + 2 half-doors in 'suicide' layout). I have never liked sedans and have never, ONCE in my life purchased a sedan, though I have had two different ones given to me by family (and I hated both of them). The old '68+ Chevy Nova 2-door hatch (and siblings), Vega, other cars in that basic style are what I really liked but my first cars I purchased for myself were a '73 Olds Cutlass S (2-door coupe) and '75 Olds Cutlass Supreme (2-door coupe). I later owned a Buick LeSabre 'T-type' (2-door coupe), Olds Toronado (2-door) and Chevy Camaro (2-door sport coupe). Since then I've owned a Saturn Vue (SUV/SUW), a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited (SUV) and now a Fiat 500 Pop (2-door). So no, a 4-door sedan is NOT ok. For me.
  
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- Vulpine on Mar 12, 2015
  
  @Sigivald Sig, I spent time in Germany. I rented a Polo there because I wasn't old enough to rent a Golf despite being 24 years old at the time.
  
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- Shadow mozes on Mar 12, 2015
  
  Yeah. I like 2-door cars the best too, especially 2 door SUV's. I don't really like 4 door cars/suvs in general.
  
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Wmba on Mar 12, 2015

I hang around the Acurazine website ever since a TLX tried to kill me on a test drive in September, just to see if the same behavior of a box of neutrals in the DCT has happened to anyone else. It has, and to more than a few. I even got a PM from a man who was at his wit's end after I posted there recently, said he'd had 7 such failures and won't let his family drive with him. So I tend to believe the horror stories about the current RLX as well when it comes to rattles, faulty struts, very poor ride as the ambient temperature dips, etc. etc. http://acurazine.com/forums/third-generation-rlx-2013-412/suspension-rattle-anyone-rlx-903826/ Many people complaining about the ride, so that's why they've softened it up no doubt. Sure, I know the old saw that only complainers visit manufacturer-specific forums, and that the other 99% experience only blue skies and 200,000 mile trouble-free reliability. However, not that many RLXs have been sold and it's not cheap. The letter to a State AG is hilarious. Go on, have a read of that one thread. You know you want to, it's only 8 pages long. And there are many threads. Then have a look around the site. Kind of ruins my previously held opinion of Honda. Acura seems to be the champion of "They all do that, sir." and "Normal Operation (for the torque converter to trash itself on 4G TLs". Pretty obvious that in this semi-uppercrust price segment, buy a Lexus. Not many problems in their Forums. Or in recent Audis. The BMW crowd are so far up inside their own - well, I'll stop there. Of course, if you really want a car that goes wrong in style an MB will do just fine.

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- LectroByte on Mar 12, 2015
  
  Say What? It tried to kill you on a test drive? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAlNrtcPCLw
  
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Shadow mozes on Mar 12, 2015

Acuras are so butt-ugly. Only the NSX is the good-looking one.

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Richard on Mar 12, 2015

Good news. I drive a Citroen with hydropnematic suspension. Life is very comfortable but the steering is alert so the car moves nicely. Peugeot's 406 is another smooth drive that still handles well. A hard ride and thin tyres are a styling and handling fad.

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