Finishing First! |
| August
7, 1997 A Newsletter By
Colin Sato
Volume 1, Issue 4 |
| 3.5
RL:
Quality Engineering Sets New Standards |
In 1986, Acura changed the
way the world views Luxury Automobiles, now with our new 3.5 RL, we've done it again. Our
cars have always been praised for their excellent ergonomics (how the car "fits"
the driver), impeccable quality and innovative engineering, but now we've raised the ante
again.The 3.5
RL is the largest, roomiest, smoothest, and most luxurious car in Acura’s history. It
offers an impressive array of standard features all designed to increase the feeling of
luxury, or enhance performance, and at the same time provide the latest in safety
advances. The list of features is far too long to cover in this short introduction, but a
brief overview is possible.
 |
One
of reasons the RL is so quiet are its impressive attention to detail. Even the mirrors
have little spoilers to direct the air away from the car. |
 | Quality: |
At Acura, we believe our obsessive
attention to detail will result in a car that is quiet and trouble free for many years to
come. Through out the car, you will find details that many auto makers might overlook, and
taken individually may seem small, but when viewed as a whole, these create a car that is
the new benchmark in luxury sedans. Our cars have a large percentage of galvanized steel
panels for long-term protection from corrosion. A state-of-the-art undercoating process
and special fillers in the pillars and other internal cavities insure a quiet luxurious
feeling. The exterior panels are fit together with such precision that the tolerances are
measured in thousandths of an inch. Finally, a 23-step, five-coat, four-bake, outer paint
process produces a mirror-like, glass-smooth finish. As you can see, when Quality is
engineered into the automobile, and not merely added on, you get more for your money.
| Interior Comfort: |
The 3.5 RLs interior provides the
spaciousness of a much larger car, giving the driver and passengers more room than any
previous Acura. We have achieved this without making the exterior too large and and
difficult to maneuver. Inside this spacious interior we've incorporated driver and
passenger seats that are designed with NASA's NASTRAN computer program.
| The
interior is finished with hand-selected leathers, and genuine walnut trim. |
|
These new seats absorb 50% more shock and
vibration (at frequencies found to be most fatiguing) than conventional designs. The cabin
is cooled by an automatic climate controlled air conditioner that is the most powerful in
its class. The interior air is then filtered with a micron filtration system which
eliminates most particles of bacteria, pollen and smoke.The classic styling is finished
off with a lustrous finish that requires 23 separate steps!
| Safety: |
Sound engineering is especially evident
when you look at the "designed in" safety features. Naturally, we have Dual Air
Bags, Anti-Lock Brakes and Dual Side Impact Beams, making this one of the safest Acuras
ever built. What many don't realize are the subtle improvements that enhance the safety of
the vehicle. Our front seat belts have innovative "pre-tensioners" engineered
into their mechanism. These actually "cinch" the belts tighter in case of an
major collision and take up any slack on the seatbelt reel. When looking for a Premium
Luxury sedan, the 3.5 RL MUST be on your shopping list! I recommend a personal
consultation, and a leisurely test drive. Of course there is no obligation.
|
A
significant re-style for the 1999 model year yielded a more aggressive front and High
Intensity Discharge headlights. |
|
| June
1999 Update! For
the 1999 3.5 RL, Acura has introduced the most advanced Airbag system in the industry. A
sophisticated array of sensors monitor the size and position of the occupant in the
passenger seat. If they are undersized or out of position, the front airbags will deploy
at a slower speed and the side airbags may not deploy at all if its not safe
September 1999 Update!
Unfortunately one of my customers had
the misfortune of an accident in his Acura. Fortunately he was uninjured in the
crash. If you have any doubts about the strength of the RL chassis look at these
pictures. (go there now) |
Technical Update |
Anti-Lock
Brake Systems |
| There has been a lot of
talk about the pros and cons of Anti-Locking Braking Systems (ABS), are they really
effective in reducing accidents? To fully comprehend how a system like ABS works, a more
thorough understanding of vehicle dynamics is helpful. ABS works by pumping the cars brakes to keep the front (steering) wheels
from skidding. The computer can pump the brakes many times per second, much faster than
any human can. Once a cars tires are "locked" or skidding, it does not matter
whether the tires are pointed left or right, the car will continue to plow ahead in the
direction it was last going. Possibly straight into danger.
| If we
can keep the wheels from skidding, we will maintain steering control, and can hopefully
avoid the accident altogether! |
|
To get the most out a car equipped with
ABS, you need to modify your usual driving habits. When you encounter an emergency
situation that requires maximum braking force, you need to step on the brakes as hard as
you can, and then steer away from trouble.
You will feel a chattering in the pedal,
this is normal, do not let up on the brakes, if you do your braking distance will get much
longer. In some cars the "chattering" will feel like a little jackhammer under
your foot, in other cars the pedal will start to sink, again this is normal! Do not pump
the brakes, this reduces the effectiveness of the system. Apply steady pressure to the
brakes and remember to focus on steering away from trouble! |
| A Spin on the Web |
| How I make this Newsletter |
| I have received
comments from many of you wanting to know if Pflueger Acura writes this newsletter and I
just add my name to it. This is definitely not the case! One of my hobbies is personal
computers, and I use my home PC to write, layout and print my newsletters. For those of
you interested, I have a Pentium 150, and 32 megabytes of RAM. I am currently using
Windows 95, and Microsoft Publisher 2.0 to actually format the graphical part of the
design. I use a Hewlett Packard DeskJet 693c to print the master copy. The typical newsletter starts taking shape around the time
you received the last one! It is a continual writing process, with different stories and
ideas jotted down on scratch paper or my Newton MessagePad to be transferred to the
computer as time allows.
I try to start with a main story, and then work
around it with other things of interest. I realize "things of interest" is
highly subjective, but suffice to say they are of interest to me!
After all the articles are written, my wife takes an
unbiased look at my "masterpiece" and usually rips it to shreds. The next few
weeks are spent ironing out the rough edges, and preparing the final draft for printing. I
have been using Best Instant Printing for the newsletters since the first batch jammed our
office copier! They have been courteous and prompt, and deserve a pat on the back.
My wife and I then spend the next several nights
stuffing and sealing the envelopes, and sticking the address labels onto 1300 newsletters.
After they are all done, it is time to take a deep breath, and get ready to start the next
edition of "Finishing First" |
| June 1999 Update! Computers are wonderful devices (maybe I should say "vices")
because as soon as you've got the latest, greatest and fastest, they come out with
something new! In the years since the article above was written, I've moved to a new
system that includes a Celeron 300A processor overclocked to 450 mhz, a beautiful 17"
Sony 200GS monitor, and a new HP DeskJet 693C printer.
My software has moved up to
Windows '98 and Publisher '98. I no longer print a hardcopy for my master, I upload
the finished newsletter to HonBlue, and they print
it directly from the computer file. The result is much better quality and improved
resolution. You've probably noticed from the last two issues. BTW, we're now way past
1300, the list has grown to over 1900 newsletters! |
  
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