The article mentions that the traction was limited where they were testing.


In 1992 the 5speed was clocked 0-60 6.8 and ran the quarter in 15.3-4

 

Hah, I've gone through an SVX before. Including me and my brother's we've had a total of 3!! Of course we got the first one back when they first came out. Mannn that car was sweet! (back then of course). It was nice to have a boxer 6 engine. But nowadays the looks are outdated and just finding parts is a PITA. The rear looks good, the front is just ugly. The bumper on my SC is wider than my brother's widebody SVX.
Anyways, good to see somone else who knows about that car.

 

Trunk brake light was in 94-95. The pneumatic door and trunk closer is amazing, and the rear quarter window rolling down on the coupes. Check out www.legend-forum.com
-hass

 

I had a white 94 LS coupe 6MT and i absolutely loved that car! It was great looking inside and out. If i didnt let my mom drive it that one aweful day, i wouldve still had it. I loved how the rear windows rolled down and how you just have to lightly close the doors and it gets sucked in. Definetely an awesome car. Talking about it just made me realize how much i miss it.....

 

No, it was an LS Coupe. What people mix up is the 93-95 LS Coupes is equal to the 94-95 GS Sedan in terms of features and engine. It had the TYPE II engine, better calipers, 6-Speed, 16" rims and so on. There was no GS Coupe built as that name was for the Sedan only.

 

This is correct.

 

Which brings a question - how come Acura never built another car like Legend? I mean, even the current RL is inferior to the Legend in many many ways.

 

Because IMHO they took the wrong fork in the road after Soichiro Honda died. Besides that though, the 96 RL lacked only a few things, but was otherwise a really good car. It lacked the spirited motor of the TYPE II engine, and the exterior style. Everything else about it though was a great successor to the Legend. The interior was still top notch in fit and finish and much more luxurious than the G2 Legend. Over all quality and reliability was stil among the best in Honda next to the NSX. NSX is considered one of the most reliable cars around from any make. The 05 current RL IMHO is a great car and a great successor to the Legend, only it came out many years too late. It should have come out around 2000-2001, and it would have been one of the best cars around. The 05 should already have been the 3rd generation.

 

Acura is not a global brand and when the RL failed and the 1st gen TL failed, they shifted production of the next gen of cars to America, to share parts and to cut costs. Prices had SKYROCKETD with all Japanese cars, the Lexus LS 400 started at 35k and was now 50k. THe Legend went from low 30s to 45k loaded. Then you had the Germans, LOWER their prices.

Between Lexus and the Germans, Acura got pinched.

Thus we had the first American designed Acura, the 1st gen CL.
Then we had the 2nd gen TL and CL (now discontinued), designed in America for America.

Since they were built here, the price dropped TONS. You could get a loaded TL and TL-S for the price of the outgoing 3.2 TL, first gen. And while the first gen TL is much better built (in Japan), people bought the TL in droves, the price and "value" of it sold. The 3rd gen TL is the best selling Acura sedan ever.

Acura also then went to the LOADED strategy, with Nav basically being the only option.

This worked as well for them.

They dropped the names, picked random letters for their cars and they sell VERY WELL once the price is at the lower end of the luxury car spectrum. All these changes does confuse buyers.

Bottom line, their managment team does not understand the true luxury market or just in the usual Honda fashion, will try it their way, and in this market, that won't work. Look at how Lexus tried to sell the 6 cylinder only GS 300 back from 93-97, it sold miserably after the first year.

Well honestly, outside the Legend, they had good cars but not good luxury cars. The Vigor was very lackluster and the Integra had nothing luxurious about it.

The lineup was confused from the start. Even Lexus can be quoted in their book "the Lexus Story", "We learned from Honda to seperate the brand, their advertising "Acura, a brand by Honda" was not well recieved by luxury car buyers".

As for the RL, it was a disaster. For one, it shared 40% of its parts with the Legend, so it wasn't all new. Second, it was so bland to look at no one knew it was a new car. Third, the huge 3.5 V-6 pumped out a whooping 210hp, less than the outgoing Legend GS and on par with Mazda Millenias and Lexus ES 300s which were a class below it.

The lineup was all over the place in the 90s.
1. NSX, fantastic RWD 2 seat aluminum sport car.
2. SLX, Isuzu Trooper bebadge.
3. Legend, top notch luxury.
4. Vigor, 5 cylinder only lackluster car
5. Intergra, sporty, non luxurious FWD car

 

Well, I dont quite agree that the RL interior was quite on par with the Legend. Look for instance on memory seat controls - in the Legend they were neatly integrated into the door handle insert, but in the RL they were in an ugly separate insert, awkardly placed in the middle of door. Look at the wood, Legends had real wood trim while RL had cheap plastic. The RL didn't have choice of engines or transmission, while Legend with Type II engine and 6 speed was second to none in that segment. The RL didn't have pneumatic doors and overall quality and fit and finish was a step down.

The new 06 RL is a great car, no doubt about it, but it just lacks that shiek that the Legend had.

 

I pretty much agree, although you need to give a little more credit to the Integra. Sure it wasn't luxurious, but neither is 3 series per say. It wasn't mean to be luxorious, but it was an awesome sports car, especially in the GSR and Type R trims. It sold tons and still is one of the most sought after sports cars. Then Acura in their usual fashion decided to fix what wasn't broken, and release the patchetic RSX which failed miserably.

 

legend coupe was an excellent car back then 230 hp 6 speed (extremely rare config)

 

Legend coupes and first gen SC's still turn my head every time I see one. Great, TIMELESS designs that alone should shut up the haters who claim the Japanese only copy German designs.

1SickLex, I pretty much agree with your assessment of Acura above (when you stay unemotional in your arguments, I find that our viewpoints really aren't that far apart!). I've said it in other threads, so I'll say it again: Acura needs to bring back the Legend. If they really did design another car that was groundbreaking in its luxury, comfort, performance, and design then they could wrap it up in a powerful marketing campaign that started with teaser ads (a black full-page with just the words "The return of a Legend..."). The automotive press would drool all over themselves. And for once, like the old days, Acura would really need to back it up with a no-compromise car. It would reinvent the whole brand.

 

The RL used real wood trim just like the Legend LS. The auto closing doors were only for the Legend Coupe and not for the Sedan. The reason was a sensible one because the Coupe door was longer and heavier than the Sedan. The Sedan did not need them. This is something I wish my Lexus SC400 doors had because they were the heaviest things around anbd a PITA when the door hinges wore out.

I agee with the choice of transmissions though. This is something I wish Acua continued and even Lexus continued, but even Lexus discontinued the manual in the SC.

As for quality and fit and finish I gauge that when I start taking the car apart. I'm not talking about overhauling an engine or anything like that because that is beyound my skills, but I'm just talking about stripping the interior and getting to see what is behind the panels and how they all fit together.

 

My 94 LS coupe Auto use to walk away from my 96 LS 400 from 60 MPH every time.