Though it represents perhaps the best opportunity in North America for the public to get up close to all the newest models, the Chicago Auto Show can feel anticlimactic for those tasked with covering it as journalists. Manufacturers tend to uncork their biggest debuts at the Los Angeles and Detroit shows, held a few weeks earlier. This can leave the Chicago event feeling a bit stale and picked-over, like a store's clearance bin in the final hours of a big sale.
Continue reading...
Categories: Acura,Hyundai,Kia
Let's get this out of the way: The six-speed manual transmission is only available with the 201-horsepower 2.4-liter inline-4, and the 2.4-liter is only available with the six-speed manual. The good news here is that Acura is hoping to price the ILX with the real transmission very close to the base model car, which comes with a 150-hp 2.0-liter I4 and six-speed automatic. Acura says potential ILX buyers want a mix of fuel economy and performance, and the way they've gone about performance is to keep the weight to about 3,000 pounds and make the car nimble and responsive, "the way all Acuras will be again."
The ILX is Acura's new entry-level car to lure Gen-Y buyers into luxury cars. "They like luxury and feel they deserve luxury," Acura said. But "they're beginning to realize that they may not be as affluent as their parents. They're living the recession." In that vein, Acura is hoping to pack a lot of content and a luxury ride into a car that starts "well under $30,000."
But it's not just a luxury ride Gen Y wants. They want to stay connected and have the coolest features. That's where Premium and Technology packages come in. The Tech pack has Acura's ELS surround-sound system, navigation, real-time traffic and hard-disk drive. Fully loaded, the ILX will run about $30,000. It will be made in Greensburg, Indiana, and go on sale in the spring. Acura's hoping for sales of 40,000 units per year once production/marketing is fully up to speed.
Continue reading...
Categories: Acura,Chicago Auto Show,Sedans
Noted ultra-rich car guys Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld vie for the first Acura NSX in Acura's first Super Bowl ad, "Transactions."
A few million bucks (plus whatever these two charged Acura) to promote a car that won't exist for two years? Bold.
Continue reading...
Categories: Acura,Future Vehicles,Sports Cars,Videos
Detroit isn't necessarily the kind of city that most people want to visit, but each year in early to mid-January, it becomes a prime destination, at least as far as the global automotive community is concerned.
Of course, this has everything to do with the annual North America International Auto Show, which beckons car lovers far and wide with the good, the bad and the ugly of the latest automotive offerings.
Continue reading...
Categories: Acura,Dodge,Ford,Toyota
With the new NSX grabbing most of the attention at the Acura display, it's easy to overlook the other concept. The 2013 Acura ILX Concept is based on the Honda Civic sedan and has its sights aimed at the entry-level luxury shopper. Pricing starts under $30,000 and it's set to go on sale in the spring.
Alistair notes that the drilled rotors and big wheels will likely not survive into production, though. Video after the jump.
Continue reading...
Categories: Acura,Detroit Auto Show,Videos
Acura rolled out the latest iteration of the RDX in Detroit. Based on the Honda CR-V, the RDX features a powerful yet fuel-efficient 3.5-liter V6 and a much more refined interior. Sales are set to start in the spring in either a front-wheel drive model or as an on-demand four-wheel-drive model.
See how Alistair compares it to a posh mom at a post-natal party after the jump.
Continue reading...
Categories: Acura,Detroit Auto Show,Videos
If the Acura NSX Concept is any indication of things to come, it looks as if Honda might have rediscovered its passion for motoring. Details are scarce, but so far the NSX will likely have a hybrid powertrain with a midmounted V6 and head into production within three years.
Check out Alistair's tour of the NSX concept after the jump.
Continue reading...
Categories: Acura,Detroit Auto Show,Videos
This video probably best explains how the NSX's hybrid powertrain will work. It appears, contrary to Acura's press release, that the NSX will utilize three electric motors (not two) -- one for each front wheel as well as one assisting the gasoline engine through the transaxle.
Of course, for now it's all vaporware anyway, but the video is entertaining.
Continue reading...
Categories: Acura,Detroit Auto Show
This is the 2013 Acura ILX, a new entry-level sedan that will arrive this spring with a price "well under $30,000" according to Acura. The cynical among you will no doubt refer to the ILX as Acura's Civic, and to some degree you would be right.
Then again, it's more than just a rebadge job. Just looking at it will tell you that. There are enough new lines on this car to give it a look of its own, one that is decidedly better than the Civic. Acura didn't get specific when it came to drivetrains, at least not in terms of horsepower figures, but most of the engine displacements look familiar.
The base engine will be a 2.0-liter four-cylinder, while the optional engine will displace 2.4 liters. There will also be a hybrid model with a 1.5-liter gas engine. So a step above the Civic, but nothing ground-breaking here.
We didn't get a chance to see the interior, but given that Acura calls this car a concept, it probably doesn't have anything resembling the final setup. To say that it will be nicer than the Civic isn't exactly a stretch, however, so use your imagination. With sales slated to begin this spring, it won't be long before we find out for sure.
Continue reading...
Categories: Acura,Detroit Auto Show,Luxury Cars,Sedans
In what may be the shock of the Detroit auto show, Acura officials admitted that the current RDX gets crappy mileage. Well, not in so many words, but close enough.
To rectify the situation, the redesigned RDX will get a 3.5-liter V6 in place of the current turbocharged four-cylinder. How does putting a larger-displacement six-cylinder in place of a small-displacement four-cylinder cure the mileage issue? Well, that gives you an idea how thirsty the turbo was.
A new six-speed automatic transmission helps the situation along with a lighter all-wheel-drive system. The results are impressive, too. Acura says the new RDX is expected to deliver EPA mileage numbers of 20 city/28 highway. The current RDX only gets 19 mpg city and 24 mpg on the highway.
As you might have guessed by looking at it, the new RDX is based on the recently introduced Honda CR-V. The wheelbase is longer and the tracks are wider so the cabin should have more room than the current model. New technology features like a Pandora radio interface, text-to-voice system and additional sound-deadening materials have been added to beef up the RDX's luxury credentials.
Acura didn't get very specific about pricing other than to say that the new RDX wouldn't stray very far in price from the old one. We'll find out in a few months, as the RDX is slated to go on sale this spring.
Continue reading...
Categories: Acura,Crossovers,Detroit Auto Show,SUVs
Details on Acura's pending NSX are vague at best, but here's what we know for sure:
- It will be powered by a mid-mounted, direct-injected VTEC V6 and two electric motors.
- Utilizing "Sport Hybrid" Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive, the NSX's powertrain will individually adjust torque to each front wheel.
- A dual-clutch transmission packaged with one of the electric motors will deliver power to the ground.
- The car will come to market inside of three years.
Continue reading...
Categories: Acura,Detroit Auto Show
During a journalists' roundtable today with Honda CEO Takanobu Ito at the 2011 Tokyo Auto Show, the obvious highlight was the very last question. One of our colleagues asked Ito-san something like, well, Honda used to be known for its iconic affordable sports cars (CRX, Prelude, Integra), and now you've introduced all this new engine and transmission technology, so isn't there room for an affordable sports car that isn't a hybrid or an EV, a car that just uses a simple internal combustion engine?
CEO Ito's answer: "I completely agree with you. We have to prepare such a kind of car."
So there you go. Apparently, probably, hopefully, there is something with two doors that's better than the Civic Si, not at all like the CR-Z, and less expensive than the reborn NSX in the works. Who knows if it will be called Integra or Prelude, but really, what's in a name so long as the car is good to drive?
Ito wouldn't comment when we inquired about the reports that another NSX concept will debut in Detroit this January. Actually, he chuckled over that one and said, "Stay tuned."
Categories: Acura,Honda,Sports Cars,Tokyo Motor Show
Another Honda Accord? Nope. Just the future of the Acura brand in the body of an Accord.
The most important bit of tech here is version 2.0 of the SH-AWD (Super Handling All Wheel Drive) system. Driveshafts are so yesterday's news with Electric SH-AWD, or E SH-AWD if you like. Instead, you have a pair of rear, 20kW electric motors -- one for each wheel. At low speeds (perhaps up to 30-40 km/h, though Honda hasn't decided the threshold), these motors can drive this prototype on their own, so it's a rear-wheel-drive EV experience.
Up front, there's a direct-injected 3.5-liter V6 engine; it's the same architecture used in today's cars, but now it has a D.I. and benefits from various friction reduction measures -- helping it to "over 310 hp" and a flatter, longer-lasting torque curve. There's also another electric motor up front. This one is rated at 30kW and drives the front wheels. And when you floor the throttle, you have the engine and all three electric motors working to move the car down the road. Of course, there's a lithium-ion battery pack in this car, but the engineers won't tell us how big.
Oh, and we should mention that the front electric motor is built into a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, and this DCT isn't just a specialized hybrid transmission, say the Honda engineers. It could be, and no doubt will be offered in Acuras with regular old internal combustion engines.
Continue reading...
Categories: Acura,Future Vehicles,Honda,Sedans,Sports Cars,Tokyo Motor Show
The rumor mill is once again churning out Acura NSX news and we're completely on the fence about it.
As recently as October, a Honda executive told Britain's Autocar that they are interested in researching a next-gen NSX and that a hybrid/electric "fun as well as economical" sports car project would be interesting.
Now Autocar is reporting that Honda is further along in the project than they had let on earlier. In fact, they're ready to debut a concept, called the Super Sports, at the Detroit Auto Show.
The Super Sports concept will join the Small Sports EV Concept in Honda's stable of future performance vehicles. There are no details on what powers either the Super Sports concept or the Small Sports EV Concept
(Autocar)
Categories: Acura,Concept Vehicles,Detroit Auto Show,Sports Cars
Mere days after we bought a long-term 1991 Acura NSX, Honda's RnD boss Mibe Toshihiro has confirmed that they are working on a new NSX.
Toshihiro told Autocar "We are now at a point where we can consider the next generation of electric and hybrid vehicles. President Ito has already mentioned a new NSX, and we have looked at that in the R&D department. .It would be an interesting project -- electric or hybrid vehicles can be fun as well as economical."
This goes along with earlier reports from Honda president Takanobu Ito that a next-gen NSX would not follow the same formula as the original. Our long term NSX has a mfg estimated weight of 3,010 lbs. Before getting excited, we should keep in mind that Honda claimed that the CRZ was the spiritual successor to the CRX, whether or not Honda has the ability to think the way they did in the late 80's is debatable.
Photos of Tony Stark (RDJ) driving an Acura concept in The Avengers surfaced a few weeks back, expect to see that car wearing NSX badges as early as the Tokyo Motor Show.
Categories: Acura,Future Vehicles,Honda
If the rumor mill is to be trusted the Acura TSX, despite the facelift, is going the way of the Integra come 2013 and will be replaced by....The Acura RSX Sedan. RSX, while not Integra, has a name that resonates with Acura buyers in a way that TSX never really has. Specifically with enthusiasts.
This is the best view we've seen of the new smallish sedan and the design language it uses. There's a mix of current TSX with a more dynamic (and less toothsome) face and the headlights off a 2012 Camry. And does anyone else see a lot of BMW in those taillights?
Either way, we've got a year-or-so of spy photos before this one officially takes shape...and name. Will RSX solve the problem?
Continue reading...
Categories: Acura,Sedans,Spy Photos
The title here pretty much says it all: this guy does a flip over a moving Acura NSX (and someone in a wheelchair) because he can. Unlike Kobe.
Continue reading...
Categories: Acura,Miscellaneous
Clear your calendars, kids because on September 22, 2012, Acura is going to debut the 2012 Acura TSX Special Edition at the world-famous Orange County International Auto Show in Anaheim. (Surprised nobody's tried to call it the Los Angeles International Auto Show of Anaheim yet.)
What it is is a 2012 Acura TSX with a 2.4-liter K24 4-cylinder and either a 6-speed manual or 5-speed automatic (with wheel-mounted paddles) transmission, Special Edition badge on the trunk, polished finish on the TSX's 17s, new front spoiler, new rear fascia, red stitching, Lux Suede seat inserts, aluminum pedal covers and a black headliner.
"The Acura TSX has long been known for its high-revving 4-cylinder engines and sporty driving nature. With the new Special Edition, the TSX becomes even more youthful and sporty in character, furthering its appeal to performance-minded buyers," said Jeff Conrad, vice president of Acura sales in a statement.
Remember when Acura didn't need to tell people it was sporty?
Continue reading...
Categories: Acura,Sedans
Let's just put this out there right away: The 2009-'11 Acura TL was ugly. From the side mirrors back, the TL was handsome, if a little reserved, but what chucked it square into the dark corner of any room was a glaring chrome beak and huge expanse of flat plastic on the butt.
Thank lackluster sales for the nose job and butt-lift you see here on the 2012 Acura TL SH-AWD. When people don't buy your product (Acura sold only 34,000 in 2010 versus 71,000 in '06) dealers complain and when that happens, change happens fast -- nine months sooner than the planned refresh.
What has rarely been in question, though, is the handling of the TL SH-AWD. It's got 305 horsepower from a 3.7-liter V6, Acura's Super Handling all-wheel drive and the availability of a six-speed manual. By all accounts, that should be a combination that car guys can get behind. So now with styling by and for adults, we're revisiting the Acura TL SH-AWD's on-track performance to see if this is the TL we've been expecting for four years now.
Continue reading...
Categories: Acura,IL Track Tested,Sedans
Lots of people are noticing that with its latest makeover, the Beetle's sheet metal has stretched out a few of its cutesy curves to adopt a silhouette that's unmistakably more assertive.
Of course, the Beetle isn't the first car to move in this direction. Over the past few years, there've been a few models that have traded in their organic lines for something more hard-edged and aggressive.
Continue reading...
Categories: Acura,Mazda,Mercedes-Benz,Volkswagen
