I understand - and believe me, I know that innovation and creativity in engine design and chasis will never come out of Asia. The Japanese are process efficiency experts and marketers much like Ford way back when. I just wish that the Germans would spend a little time on comfort for those of us who spend entirely too much time in their cars. Yeah - I'm one of the knuckleheads that looks for the cupholder first. (I also realize that is my cue to jump ship to another thread before I make myself look more dense!)

I travel to the US regularly and hate the American cars. At least, the cars Hertz give their customers.

Don't get me wrong, they're nice I guess, but just a bit too "squishy" if you know what I mean.

I like firm suspension, tight seats and hard ride.

The same goes for my cars. hahah


Mr Mephisto

Funny.

Unfortunately you would be getting the bottom of the barrel when you have to rent. I mean, I know how I treat those poor rental cars!

In defense of American auto makers, I do have to say that at least Chrysler seems to have stepped up and brought some fresh stuff to the market over here - don't know if you have seen any of it. I guess when you do 20 years of "K" Cars you have the time to finally get it right? Time will tell how well they hold up in 5 years - something that our manufacturers are notoriously bad with.

Does this apply to marked police cars also?

For instace, if I'm on the highway and a marked cop car flys by doing 85.. If I fall in behind him and also do 85, and he pulls me over, would that be entrapment?

Or does this "entrapment" only apply when they are in unmarked cars and clearly trying to trick you into racing?

I love the TLs, you are one lucky dude. Performance, looks...just a little too pricey for me.

If anyone in here wants Japanese reliabilty and German perfomance, I would strongly recommed the Infiniti G35 sedan or coupe. Faster than the 3 series and the TL and handles very well due to the 52/48 weight ratio (they say that it should feel as a true 50/50 under acceleration. The exterior stying to me is beautiful but the interior is not as nice as Halix's TL. Hopefully, the 2005 interior redesign will fix this. Although the interior is not as visually stimulating, the seats are very comfortable yet firm the way a German car would be. MotorTrend named it their car of the year last year and mentioned that the vehicle is a 5 series beater at less than a 3 series price.

I'm gonna have to say Poo on Infiniti. The 2004 G35 Sedan is not faster than the TL... the 2005 has like 5-10 more hp though. Who knows what that does. With an interior that hardly rivals my old Honda Accord, and an exterior that looks plain compared to the coupe version, the only place the G35 sedan beats the TL is in it's RWD setup. That's the only reason why magazines dont recognize the TL as the best car in it's class.. which is lame, because it is. Nowhere will you find a more reliable engine and smoother transmission. I test drove both versions of the G35 before I decided on the TL and these are my original opinions.

I test drove one there 2 weeks back...the coupe is ok but I'm more a sedan guy, I like the sleeper look :D Plus its cheaper on Insurance, I found the G35 sedan to drive vary smooth and man it had nice pick up, just wish I had the cash to buy one :crazy:

Truth be told Hal, I am the SM of a dealership that sells both. Internally, we are young and utilize what the magazines say to help us sell but in our own independant tests, the 260hp G IS faster than the TL. This was no fluke, it happend no matter who was driving. As for looks, we all harbor our personal opinions and I agree with yours but I must remain unbiased to sell them. I was simply offering an alternative to the EXCELLENT TL.

As for your comment on the fact that you will not find a more reliable engine and tranny remains to be seen. The 00-03 trannys on TL and RL have had more troubles and recalls than any other Jap. car that I have been associated with (we also own Nissa and Honda). Through the years, we have certainly sold more Acuras than Infinitis but we have 4 times the Acura techs than Infiniti and we run about 4 times more warranty claims too.

Just the facts...

Well, I'll keep you updated on my situation then. My track record with Honda/Acura has been flawless. I've owned 2 Accords and this TL. It's been over 5 months now, and my TL is still rock solid.

The G35 would be a great option if you didn't see them at absolutely every stop light here. Despite the TL being Acura's best selling car, I hardly ever see it.

The problems per 100 would still blow the average away. I hope you don't think that I don't like the car. Happy motoring!

While I love Audi and respect BMW, I have to admit that for quality and reliability, nothing comes close to Japanese.

Audi and VW are not what they used to be in terms of quality.

I would rank the Japanese the best at quality, the Koreans the worst, and the Europeans somewhere in the middle. (Americans being close to the worst.)

You know, I've read nothing but issues with German reliability with Benz, and Audi and VW.

I personally own a VW Jetta, a 2000 with just about 90,000 miles on it, and the only problem we've ever had was the window popping off the track on the pasenger side. I had an e36 M3, only problem was the fact that rear wheel drive doesn't work in Alaska, I found that out when I moved here. Our Touareg has been flawless. It's the V8, I tow a boat with it, and the only issue was the tire pressue readout in the dash, which I think was a recall item. It has about 16,000 on it now.

I've had good luck with German cars thus far. Although, when I was 17 I bought an '87 Toyota Corolla, came back from college, it was still in the driveway of the guy who bought it from me. Guess I've just had great luck with every car I've bought, except my Chrysler and my Dodge.

I think we plan on trading the Jetta in soon, as it's a commuter car, and my wife looked a TL but I think we've decided on an AWD car instead, it is Alaska, but mysef, I was very impressed with the TL. But, I think a 325 or 330xi is what we've decided on instead.

They make that car in AWD, and they kill the German market. Bottom line.

I wonder if they ever figured out what was wrong with the automatics. I would have a type s, but the tranny issue scared me so i got a used gs400.

It's good to hear the car has been everything you've hoped for. As it stands, the TL is my personal favorite acura at the moment (I hate the rsx styling), from styling to performance it's a notch above any of the domestics in it's market and beats almost every import worth comparing. It would be nice to see a rwd honda other than the S2k, but the TL is an amazingly capable and refined fwd car. Again, excellent choice.

take it the search for the recently deceased granny hasn't taken a turn for the better?

The way it was explained to me, they cannot break the law to get you to break the law in that manner.

Unless they're in pursuit, they're supposed to obey the speeds as well. MrSelfDestruct made a good point, you gotta know your shit to call them on it. Look up your state laws regarding entrapment.

Never had that problem personally.

next to Ford workers

just weird.. this weekend in PA, I saw 5 TLs in a matter of 15 minutes.... and back in NYC I rarely see them.