TSX69
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Next Generation Acura RDX Testing in China
The Chinese luxury car market has become a battle ground of immense proportions for luxury cars, in 2011 it was the only segment of the market that saw considerable growth although that might change in 2012 if the Chinese economy slows. Acura have been in the Chinese market for a number of years, but the brand has never been able to compete with Western luxury names such as BMW, Audi, or Mercedes, or even Jaguar-Land Rover.
Acura has seen some success with the launch of the MDX in the Chinese market, but other SUV models have been slow in arriving to the PRC, however it looks like the latest generation of RDX is likely to be launched in China very soon as it has been spotted testing in China ahead of its Detroit Auto Show launch in January later this year.
The introduction of the RDX at the bottom of the Acura totem pole will give the Acura brand a wider audience, the RDX is likely to be targeted at other compact luxury SUV’s such as the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and also the Mercedes GLK, pricing is expected to be around 400,000 – 500,000rmb when launched.
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PGH
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Exterior wise it looks a little boring and the center stack retains the buttons galore look from Acura. Perhaps once all the camo comes off it will look sharper.
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Midi_Amp
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TSX69 wrote:
Next Generation Acura RDX Testing in China
The Chinese luxury car market has become a battle ground of immense proportions for luxury cars, in 2011 it was the only segment of the market that saw considerable growth although that might change in 2012 if the Chinese economy slows. Acura have been in the Chinese market for a number of years, but the brand has never been able to compete with Western luxury names such as BMW, Audi, or Mercedes, or even Jaguar-Land Rover.
Acura has seen some success with the launch of the MDX in the Chinese market, but other SUV models have been slow in arriving to the PRC, however it looks like the latest generation of RDX is likely to be launched in China very soon as it has been spotted testing in China ahead of its Detroit Auto Show launch in January later this year.
The introduction of the RDX at the bottom of the Acura totem pole will give the Acura brand a wider audience, the RDX is likely to be targeted at other compact luxury SUV’s such as the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and also the Mercedes GLK, pricing is expected to be around 400,000 – 500,000rmb when launched.
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Nice catch! I like the rear, still holding back on the exterior side, but the interior especially the console is a bit boring.
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Torque
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Hmmm. I thought the plenum was being toned down more than this.
It looks like they are still pushing the top of the shield/plenum past the top point of the headlights instead of flowing into it. This is what made the TL (before the refresh) look so ungainly in the front especially with it creeping into where the hood starts.
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NealX
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Torque wrote:
Hmmm. I thought the plenum was being toned down more than this.
It looks like they are still pushing the top of the shield/plenum past the top point of the headlights instead of flowing into it. This is what made the TL (before the refresh) look so ungainly in the front especially with it creeping into where the hood starts.
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This weekend I went through quite a few H/A archive photos and on the refreshed TL I have to say the new grille seems somewhat emasculated. I do like and appreciate all the other refinements. The overall details seem much more unified.
I half wonder how the previous, bolder grille would integrate with the latest revisions.
When I have some time I think I'll do a blend of the past grille on the new front end, with some hints of the NSX/Avengers concept...
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NealX
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I'm surprised to see amber in the taillights. It's another color/design element to integrate with the red and clear and makes me think there will not be LED tails unless only the blinkers are bulbs.
And I see a lot of black, faux-meshed plastic surrounding the fog lights. I consider this as "graphic filler" when designers have run out of ideas. (and competing patterns, too?) I can only think these bold areas are to offset or deflect attention away from a cumbersome plenum they are still wrestling with. A tall front end requires a deeper plenum. NSX equals slim... to the left there seems to be some black between the overall frame and the horizontal bar of the plenum. I wonder if they are trying to "float" it within the frame
The overall silhouette doesn't look very inspiring.
I hope the Mazda isn't more "Acura" than the Acura:
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auto_enthu
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The front beak still seems a bit out of proportion.
May be its too early to say, since there is considerable camo.
Hopefully the RDX looks as nice as MDX, which has the nicest front grill.
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Fan Koni
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Honda makes the civic and the CRV in China.
Their new civic has a lot more plastic mesh in front than even the US Si Version. Must be more popular there.
These China RDX photos don't tell much.
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Jesse
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Exterior and interior looks good to me. I know why some of you guys find the interior boring 'coz you're looking at the door styling which looks plain plus the picture colours are desaturated (reckon it's taken from a mobile phone camera).
The plenum is getting better and better - less brightwork. I've always have a negative impression on the use of chrome and shiny metals on an automobile because many have used it as a distraction from a failed or botched design/styling).
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JeffX
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Neal wrote:
Torque wrote:
Hmmm. I thought the plenum was being toned down more than this.
It looks like they are still pushing the top of the shield/plenum past the top point of the headlights instead of flowing into it. This is what made the TL (before the refresh) look so ungainly in the front especially with it creeping into where the hood starts.
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This weekend I went through quite a few H/A archive photos and on the refreshed TL I have to say the new grille seems somewhat emasculated. I do like and appreciate all the other refinements. The overall details seem much more unified.
I half wonder how the previous, bolder grille would integrate with the latest revisions.
When I have some time I think I'll do a blend of the past grille on the new front end, with some hints of the NSX/Avengers concept...
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re: the "emasculated" grille, my first thought when i saw it (and I think i posted somethign about it here) was I had gotten used to the original one and actually liked it better than the MMC one. It was the rear and other elements of the car that needed serious attention, IMHO.
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NealX
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^ Sometimes it seems they just can't win...
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Torque
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Neal, I think you may be on to something. The CX-5 does look more like previous gen Acuras than current Acuras do. Mazda has their own set of problems with their "power grin-um" but looks to be resolving their design cohesiveness issues quite nicely.
We shall see though on January 9 when Acura rolls out their new designs.
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Nick GravesX
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Neal wrote:
^ Sometimes it seems they just can't win...
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:D
The Audi Q5's so much nicer - why don't they go off & buy those instead? Oh yes - too expensive/just as ugly.
Seriously, I love the way Honda has masked the grille/front clip crooked; it really totally distorts the 3/4 view image & does some weird things to the powdery perineum.
Yes, the door trim does lack its final central applique - it's a pre-production car.
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NealX
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Nick Graves wrote:
Neal wrote:
^ Sometimes it seems they just can't win...
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Seriously, I love the way Honda has masked the grille/front clip crooked; it really totally distorts the 3/4 view image & does some weird things to the powdery perineum.
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I thought the camo was crooked because it contains lead.
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TSX69
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Neal wrote:
I'm surprised to see amber in the taillights. It's another color/design element to integrate with the red and clear and makes me think there will not be LED tails unless only the blinkers are bulbs. |
The interior looks typical Acura (esp the center stack), guess they are not straying from that design language. Hopefully they are upgrading the materials as that was one of my biggest complaints about the current RDX.
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Waldo
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TSX69 wrote:
Neal wrote:
I'm surprised to see amber in the taillights. It's another color/design element to integrate with the red and clear and makes me think there will not be LED tails unless only the blinkers are bulbs. |
The interior looks typical Acura (esp the center stack), guess they are not straying from that design language. Hopefully they are upgrading the materials as that was one of my biggest complaints about the current RDX.
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I believe some places in Europe require amber turn signals by law. Could this be true in China? On the surface, it seems that differentiating the brake and turn signal color is a good idea, but maybe there is actually no real safety benefit. Honda has been in the habit of changing them in the US as a MMC refresh point with no apparent reason.
I wonder if there is any real world safety benefit to LED brake lights? They certainly raise the cost.
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auto_enthu
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Waldo wrote:
TSX69 wrote:
Neal wrote:
I'm surprised to see amber in the taillights. It's another color/design element to integrate with the red and clear and makes me think there will not be LED tails unless only the blinkers are bulbs. |
The interior looks typical Acura (esp the center stack), guess they are not straying from that design language. Hopefully they are upgrading the materials as that was one of my biggest complaints about the current RDX.
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I believe some places in Europe require amber turn signals by law. Could this be true in China? On the surface, it seems that differentiating the brake and turn signal color is a good idea, but maybe there is actually no real safety benefit. Honda has been in the habit of changing them in the US as a MMC refresh point with no apparent reason.
I wonder if there is any real world safety benefit to LED brake lights? They certainly raise the cost.
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Technically yes, it is supposed to have a small benefit.
Compared to regular lights, LED brake lights illuminate a very small fraction of a second quicker when the brake is pressed, which means it could alert the driver behind you quicker, giving him additional buffer (may translate to a few feet of distance) to prevent an accident by stopping too late.
In reality, it might be too small a benefit, because you might rarely get into a situation where that little fraction of a second could help avoid an accident.
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NealX
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^ Upon debut, I believe Mercedes mentioned that LEDs cut reaction times - translating in to braking distances that were up to 12 feet shorter. (for the follower at highway speeds?)
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Waldo
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Neal wrote:
^ Upon debut, I believe Mercedes mentioned that LEDs cut reaction times - translating in to braking distances that were up to 12 feet shorter. (for the follower at highway speeds?)
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LEDs do "attack and decay" their output faster. What I would like to see is proof that this causes a better reaction on the part of the driver. In other words, does it cause a faster useful reflex response in actual driving situations, not a reflex test in a laboratory (such as what Mercedes cited). About the only way to prove this would be to statistically show that cars with LED brake lights get hit in the rear significantly fewer times. Perhaps by now there are enough such cars on the road that this information could be gleaned. Honda could probably conduct such a study just by analyzing rear end body part purchases for similar cars with and without LEDs such as the 7th gen Accords.
I think there may be a slight startle reflex from LEDs that negates the faster light "attack". My wife (who at the time knew nothing about the existence of LED lamps) commented on this once when we were following a Toyota with LEDs. She wondered why every time its brake lights came on, she tensed up. But perhaps it's just a matter of getting used to them when all cars have LEDs.
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dominik331
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Waldo wrote:
TSX69 wrote:
Neal wrote:
I'm surprised to see amber in the taillights. It's another color/design element to integrate with the red and clear and makes me think there will not be LED tails unless only the blinkers are bulbs. |
The interior looks typical Acura (esp the center stack), guess they are not straying from that design language. Hopefully they are upgrading the materials as that was one of my biggest complaints about the current RDX.
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I believe some places in Europe require amber turn signals by law. Could this be true in China? On the surface, it seems that differentiating the brake and turn signal color is a good idea, but maybe there is actually no real safety benefit. Honda has been in the habit of changing them in the US as a MMC refresh point with no apparent reason.
I wonder if there is any real world safety benefit to LED brake lights? They certainly raise the cost.
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Amber turn signals are required in China. The Chinese MDX uses different taillights, which some US MDX owners have shown some interest in obtaining but are really expensive to obtain.
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Nick GravesX
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Neal wrote:
Nick Graves wrote:
Neal wrote:
^ Sometimes it seems they just can't win...
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Seriously, I love the way Honda has masked the grille/front clip crooked; it really totally distorts the 3/4 view image & does some weird things to the powdery perineum.
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I thought the camo was crooked because it contains lead.
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Ah, you are familiar with the Guangzhou Lead Paint & Small Toy Corporation Camouflage Division!
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TSX69
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Is that a brake light b/n the 2 exhausts on that MDX, or just a reflector?
Thanks!
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according2kev
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TSX69 wrote:
Is that a brake light b/n the 2 exhausts on that MDX, or just a reflector?
Thanks!
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It may be a rear fog lamp.
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dominik331
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TSX69 wrote:
Is that a brake light b/n the 2 exhausts on that MDX, or just a reflector?
Thanks!
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It's said to be some sort of fog light, that I think it's also required in China.
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TSX69
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That is so interesting. I have long envied how the Chinese makes tended to not have the amber colored parts of the headlights that the US versions do (usually just white replacing the amber) ... it appears the opposite is true of the tailllights.
.jpg)
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Nick GravesX
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Nor do we; just orange turn signal bulbs:
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sadlerau
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That your toy Nick?
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Nick GravesX
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One of them, yes.
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xBeastx
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TSX69 wrote:
That is so interesting. I have long envied how the Chinese makes tended to not have the amber colored parts of the headlights that the US versions do (usually just white replacing the amber) ... it appears the opposite is true of the tailllights.
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Other countries don't require the amber reflectors or sidemarker lights on the front. That's why many of the headlamps housings are clear.
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