Acura CL History

Acura CL

Following the end of the 1995 model year, The Acura Legend coupe disappeared from Acura's line-up when the sedan version was renamed the Acura RL. The coupe was replaced by the Acura CL for the 1997 model year, following Acura's transition to alphanumeric naming of all of its vehicles except for the Integra, which continued until the 2001 model year. For the 1997 model year, the CL was initially either offered with a 3.0 L J30 V6 or a 2.2 L straight-4 engine , which was later bumped up to 2.3 L for the 1998 and 1999 models. Also, the were four different versions of the CL known as the 2.x Base, 2.x Premium, 3.0 Base, and finally the 3.0 Premium. The Premium models had numerous extra features such heated leather seats as well as a premium Bose stereo system. For the non-premium CLs, interior choices were either cloth or leather (the premium version had heated leather). CL stands for "Contemporary Luxury". All Acura CLs were built at Honda's plant in Marysville, Ohio alongside the TL and the Honda Accord upon which the Acuras were based. Also, the CL is the first Acura to be built in the United States.

For the 2000 model year, the Acura CL's sibling, the TL, was redesigned. The CL, however, was never produced as a 2000 model and instead in March of 2000 the completely redesigned Acura CL was released as a 2001 model featuring a 3.2 L SOHC VTEC J-series V6. A navigation system was also available along with the Type-S model, denoting Acura's 'Sport' edition. While the regular CL featured a 225 horsepower V6, the Type-S boasted a 260 horsepower V6 with 17" wheels, a firmer suspension, slightly larger brakes, and firmer seats.

In 2002, the CL Type-S was offered, as a 2003 model, with a close ratio 6 speed manual transmission with a Limited Slip Differential. One of the main criticisms of the CL was that a manual transmission had been dropped when the car was redesigned for the 2001 model year. Very few manual transmission models were built; there were 2,691 without navigation and 820 with navigation for a total of 3511. Despite such small numbers of manual transmissions there was still a greater demand than Acura had expected. However, with the CL's sister car, the TL, coming up on a redesign for the 2004 model year, the CL was dropped from Acura's lineup due to declining sales, and was replaced by the Acura TSX sedan for 2004. Total Acura CL sales from 2000 until 2005 when the last new model was sold totalled less than 31,000 units. The CL's manual transmission survives in the TL.