2012 Acura TL Sports Modified "Chopper" Grille

At last month's Chicago Auto Show, the 2012 Acura TL took its official bow and we learned that the 'beak' it will sport will not be quite as prominent and perhaps not as controversial as the previous three years' front grille has been. We'll see if that's enough to quiet the critics and get more people into this otherwise beautifully designed car.

It was in 2009 that the TL and other Acura products took a turn for the bizarre with a re-styling of its front fascia that included a large chrome appendage that looked like a buck tooth or (even less charitably, perhaps) a guillotine. The 2011 model is below (photo from Acura.com)

Accentuating the mistake of a large, unfriendly "chopping" grille was the large wrap-around container in which it sat. It dominated the car and frankly, made it look quite scary, rather than the "imposing" feeling that was likely meant.

And that was likely bewildering to Acura enthusiasts, because previous grilles had been restrained, dignified and even handsome. That's what a luxury car should be, and with this experiment, it took Acura down the road well beyond the "making a statement" rest stop right into the scary forest where failed car models go to die, which would have been a shame for such a proud model as the TL.

But mistakes are made to be rectified. The 2012 car that bowed at the Chicago show didn't feature the same, hideous chopper, though the residue of the mistake remains, and should have been remedied a bit further while on the drawing board. (see below, official photo, from caranddriver.com)

This new grille adopts the current Acura RL's grille, which features a smaller "tooth" with three slats in an open faced chevron. Overall, it's far more pleasing. The RL is a more pricey model ($47k vs. $35k) and it was good of the company to offer this option to its lineup, since the entire lineup adopted the ungainly chopper grille.

Acura's website touts the 2012 TL's "sophisticated new styling." And as a video on the site draws attention to the grille design, including the addition of the black matte to the design. As Acura designer Jon Ikeda says in the video, "design on the TL ... is never ending." Indeed.

I love it when car companies take styling risks, but this was a mistake, and the ability to learn from mistakes and occasional over-reaches is admirable, and a three-year experiment probably was as short a trial as could have been expected (though cars like the Ford Taurus have died in that length of time.)

Acura TL is definitely a beautiful car. The rear is distinctive, especially its rear/trunk crease line and its lovely tail lamps and the curvature of its rear roof pillars which (somewhat evoking Cadillac) cradle the rear window. The interior looks plush, inviting and well put-together.

Let's hope people can see beyond the overly distinctive front end for one more year and give this model the chance it deserves.