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| The MDX has won another award, Truck Trend magazine (May/June issue) has it as "Best in Class" for mid-size four-door SUV beating out the '02 Explorer, X5, and ML320 and 15 others. "Mid-size price with luxury performance feel." |
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| I hope the world will now start to see what we already knew... ;) |
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| The fact that truck trend ranked it first should make Ard happy :) |
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Wow,
Just yesterday I remarked to my wife that this thing is feeling more like a truck today.
:)
Ard |
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Let me say the MDX IS A TRUCK ! Let me REPEAT THAT ONE MORE FINAL TIME: THE MDX IS A TRUCK ! AND LET ME ALSO REPEAT THAT THAT'S A G-O-O-D THING and not a B-A-D thing like many make it out to be. Please do not call "my soon to be vehicle" a 'car' or 'minivan' or anything else like that
:mad: :mad: :mad: ( to many people like me cars are the most useless things in the world - THEY'RE NOT T-O-U-G-H LIKE A TRUCK AND THEY WILL RIP THEIR GUTS APART IF THEY TRY TO GO ON ANYTHING THAT DOES NOT RESEMBLE A ROAD. Have you guys seen the conditions of some of our roads today??????? They more closely resemble the rubicon trail ;) AND ONCE AGAIN, nothing can match the all-round practicality of - you guessed it - a TRUCK. There, I feel better already |
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I'm sorry in all my excitement to get my message across, I forgot the real question I wanted to ask:
Maynrd, could you please tell us if that was the May/June issue of 2001 - could not find it at my local grocery store newsstand, maybe they haven't got it yet. Will try to find it at the local Borders bookstore
Thanks!!
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quote:
Originally posted by MDXtra
I hope the world will now start to see what we already knew... ;)
Amen !
:D |
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quote:
Originally posted by vicpai
Let me say the MDX IS A TRUCK ! Let me REPEAT THAT ONE MORE FINAL TIME: THE MDX IS A TRUCK ! AND LET ME ALSO REPEAT THAT THAT'S A G-O-O-D THING and not a B-A-D thing like many make it out to be. Please do not call "my soon to be vehicle" a 'car' or 'minivan' or anything else like that
:mad: :mad: :mad: ( to many people like me cars are the most useless things in the world - THEY'RE NOT T-O-U-G-H LIKE A TRUCK AND THEY WILL RIP THEIR GUTS APART IF THEY TRY TO GO ON ANYTHING THAT DOES NOT RESEMBLE A ROAD. Have you guys seen the conditions of some of our roads today??????? They more closely resemble the rubicon trail ;) AND ONCE AGAIN, nothing can match the all-round practicality of - you guessed it - a TRUCK. There, I feel better already
So, that means that SUVs are trucks? I disagree. A SUV is a Sports Utility Vehicle. Not a truck, car, minivan, motorcycle, airplane, train, bicycle, skateboard, or anything other than a Sports Utility Vehicle. Just as many car magazines have rated the MDX as truck magazines. Even the SUV magazines have rated it. ;) |
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Yes it is the May/June issue, arrived in the mail yesterday. Don't think its on the newsstand yet. There was a paragraph describing the winner in each class, as well as specs for all the vehicles. No scoring or much detail at all.
Here's what it said:
"Certainly our largest category with a significant range in pricing and abilities, staffers noted the Acura's impressive 3.5L V6, simple-to-use third-row seat, and excellent ride and handling. Although it doesn't hold the most, tow the most, or carry the most, it does all those things pretty well, at an affordable price--and it's a luxury SUV. Midsize price with luxury-performance feel."
Other category winners:
2door SUV- Rodeo Sport
Compact 4door SUV - Ford Escape
Full-size SUV- Toyota Sequoia
One-ton four-dor diesel dualie longbed 2wd pickup (ok this is a testosterone magazine)- Chevy/GMC Silverado/Sierra HD Duramax
Ultimate performance SUV - BMW X5 4.4L AWD (the base X5 was in the category MDX won)
- Maynard's wife (who never gets a chance to drive) |
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| The Mdx does not use a truck frame, it uses the Honda MINIvan unibody that has been converted to be a SUV. The body and frame are made as one unit, called a unibody. True trucks have their own frame with a body mounted on it. A frame is more riggid and is better used for hauling and pulling heavy loads and can handle more abuse. Unibodies are used in less expensive vehicles to save money. I would prefer to be in an accident in a vehicle with a truck frame than a unibody or MINIvan. The Mdx is a front wheel drive MINIvan that Acura markets as a SUV, not a true 4 wheel drive SUV. Acura has had problems with there front wheel drive axles, we know because we have had two Acura's. It will be interesting to see how Acura does with their so-called four wheel drives. |
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| Do you own an MDX, or are you just into bashing!!! |
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quote:
Originally posted by jd4300ray
Unibodies are used in less expensive vehicles to save money... The Mdx is a front wheel drive MINIvan that Acura markets as a SUV, not a true 4 wheel drive SUV.
Oh, come now, jd ray. I don't believe there is a 'Webster's' official definition of what an SUV is. Unibodies are used in many vehicles to enhance ride, not to save costs. The MDX is a sophisticated 4 wheel drive SUV, a Hummer or an Explorer it is not, I agree, and thank goodness! Spend a little more time reading up on the MDX, you have obviously much to learn about it. |
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quote:
Originally posted by jd4300ray
Unibodies are used in less expensive vehicles to save money.
jd,
What? |
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jd4300ray:
Your knowledge of the MDX is actually even worse than your spelling! Please go read some more and then come back and tell us how bad our SUVs are only after you've learned that the MDX is a true 4WD (that intelligently kicks into FWD only at a cruise). Do you also realize that the X5, RX300, ML320 and MDX are all unibody vehicles? Sure--we're not pulling stumps out of the ground in our MDXs, but we're also riding in high style while out-accelerating and out-maneuvering most of the body-on-frame trucks on the road.
I've owned three Acuras, including two FWD Integras (an 88 RS and a '93 GS-R) and I have no idea what you're saying about problems with FWD vehicles. Again--go read some more and test drive an MDX, and then post your retraction below. |
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Back in February, you posted:
quote:
...I love test driving new vehicles, so we drove all of them, about 15 SUVs. I own and drive a 2000 Toyota Tundra, which I love, so I lean towards the Sequoia, but I have to remember it's "my wife's" new SUV. She prefers the MDX, so we ordered it on 12/1/00. She likes the size, looks, mileage, Acura reliability and feels very comfortable in it and I like the handling, performance and mileage...
Isn't the handling and performance you like(d) in part due to the unibody design?
Insofar as FWD vs AWD vs 4WD, one thing that has continued to impress me w/the MDX is the total absence of torque steer despite the fact that the car/truck does switch between 4WD and FWD modes based on speed and traction.
This is our 3rd Honda product; we've never had any problems with FWD. Actually, we've never had any problems, period. |
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quote:
Originally posted by jd4300ray
The Mdx does not use a truck frame, it uses the Honda MINIvan unibody that has been converted to be a SUV. The body and frame are made as one unit, called a unibody. True trucks have their own frame with a body mounted on it. A frame is more riggid and is better used for hauling and pulling heavy loads and can handle more abuse. Unibodies are used in less expensive vehicles to save money. I would prefer to be in an accident in a vehicle with a truck frame than a unibody or MINIvan. The Mdx is a front wheel drive MINIvan that Acura markets as a SUV, not a true 4 wheel drive SUV. Acura has had problems with there front wheel drive axles, we know because we have had two Acura's. It will be interesting to see how Acura does with their so-called four wheel drives.
All other things being equal, a truck frame is indeed more durable than a unibody frame.
That said, there are plenty of unibody-based SUV's that score better in crash tests than body-on-frame SUV's. It's not just the basic chassis, it's everything around it. Witness some of the horrible crash test scores of some GM body-on-frame SUV's. Meanwhile, the highest-scoring SUV (ever) in the IIHS crash test, the BMW X5, is unibody. While the current one is body-on-frame, even the next-generation MB M-class will be unibody. The Lexus RX300 is already unibody and does very well in crash tests. The MDX is also expected to do so.
I would agree that body-on-frame would be more durable for heavy-duty towing, heavy-duty-offroading. But let's face it, less than 5% of SUV owners ever take their vehicle off-road, and most of them won't pound a $40k vehicle on a really tough course. I daresay heavy-duty towing also is not in the works for many owners of vehicles in this class.
Body-on-frame will still be useful for big, brutal full-sized SUV's, where the trade-offs it has (heavier weight, poorer fuel economy, potentially rougher ride) are offset. |
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quote:
Originally posted by jd4300ray
The Mdx does not use a truck frame, it uses the Honda MINIvan unibody that has been converted to be a SUV. The body and frame are made as one unit, called a unibody. True trucks have their own frame with a body mounted on it. A frame is more riggid and is better used for hauling and pulling heavy loads and can handle more abuse. Unibodies are used in less expensive vehicles to save money. I would prefer to be in an accident in a vehicle with a truck frame than a unibody or MINIvan. The Mdx is a front wheel drive MINIvan that Acura markets as a SUV, not a true 4 wheel drive SUV. Acura has had problems with there front wheel drive axles, we know because we have had two Acura's. It will be interesting to see how Acura does with their so-called four wheel drives.
I'm sorry, but you do not seem to have your facts straight. Let me first of all say that a unibody structure is MUCH MUCH more safer than a body-on-frame design. The BMW X5 which is not just the safest SUVs, but the safest vehicle, period uses a unibody structure. - And if you did your homework - you will realize that the MDX (as in the BMW) uses a unibody structure reinforced with strong frame rails
The reason a unibody structure is safer, is because it can absorb and dissapate the large amount of Kinetic energy that is produced on impact by crushing and not transmitting it to the passengers. A vehicle with a frame might be "technically" stronger, but it is too stiff and does not absorb this energy, fatally transmitting it to passengers
And as far as hard-core off roading goes, may I say that the MITSUBISHI MONTERO - one of the toughest and BEST off-road vehicles, ever, employs unibody construction - I rest my case. |
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jd4300ray,
OK, I checked out your good ol' boy, Toyota Tundra lovin', farmer john, Nashville mainstream, Yahoo profile.
I can dig it. You got it goin' on up there.
http://profiles.yahoo.com/jd4300ray
But if you really want to be happy you need to get a grip on this MDX jealousy you've displayed to us.
Your Chi will be in complete balance and your Yin and Yang will have a harmonious flow once you give in to your urges and order your new MDX!!
Can ya dig it?
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| It's an SUV. Trucks are those things that I pass upsidedown in the median strip on the mornings we get black ice on the freeway (5 one day!). |
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| Since that was only jd4300ray's second post since Feburary, I doubt we'll be hearing from him again real soon... |
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