Acura RDX family hauler priced below rivals

When the totally redesigned 2013 Acura RDX goes on sale later this spring, it will have a starting price of $34,320, the automaker said today. The price excludes a destination fee of $885.

That's somewhat pricier than the outgoing RDX, which started at $32,895, but the latest-generation RDX has a substantial increase in features, better fuel efficiency and more performance.

The 2013 RDX comes with a more fuel-efficient and powerful V-6 engine that produces 273 horsepower (33 hp more than the outgoing 2012 model's four-cylinder motor) and should achieve an estimated 20/28/23 mpg city/highway/combined or 19/27/22 mpg when equipped with all-wheel drive. The boost in fuel efficiency is aided by a new adaptive electric power-steering system that replaces the old model's hydraulic system.

There is a long list of standard features:

They include leather upholstery, heated front seats, a power moonroof, backup camera, 360-watt stereo, passive keyless entry, push-button start and a noise-canceling system. If you compare it with the outgoing RDX, you actually lose some standard features, such as automatic climate control and high-intensity-discharge headlights. Also standard are 18-inch alloy wheels and a more sophisticated rear suspension damping system, comparable to the Honda CR-V (on which the RDX is based).
All-wheel drive adds $1,400.

The new model is longer and wider than the RDX it replaces, and it compares favorably with its competition. The 2012 Lexus RX 350 starts at $39,075 and doesn't include features like a backup camera. The 2013 BMW X3 starts at $37,995, but with its new fuel-efficient four-cylinder motor and standard power liftgate, it is fairly competitive in terms of pricing. The 2012 Cadillac SRX starts at $35,485 and isn't nearly as fuel efficient as the RDX, nor, arguably, is it as well-equipped. The 2012 Audi Q5 starts at $35,600 and is comparably equipped to the RDX. None of the Acura's competition is as fuel efficient as the RDX, however.

 

Courtesy of USAToday

RDX and ZDX Make Top 10 List of Least Toxic Vehicles

Most potential car buyers probably don’t have toxic chemicals on their mind when searching for that next new vehicle. Maybe it’s something to consider, because according to HealthyStuff.org, the toxic chemicals given off by parts in a car’s interior could be a danger to your long-term health. Those chemicals have been linked to health problems such as allergies, birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, and cancer.

“Research shows that vehicle interiors contain a unique cocktail of hundreds of toxic chemicals that off-gas in small, confined spaces,” said Jeff Gearhart, Research Director at the Ecology Center. “Since these chemicals are not regulated, consumers have no way of knowing the dangers they face. Our testing is intended to expose those dangers and encourage manufacturers to use safer alternatives.”

In the Ecology Center’s fourth consumer guide to toxic chemicals, the 2012 RDX and ZDX both tested very low for toxins and were tied for 5th place in HealthyStuff.org’s ”Ten Best Picks” list. The 2012 TL and 2011 TSX models also received low ratings, making Acura one of the leaders when it comes to “healthy” interiors. The 2011 MDX received a “medium” rating which is considered average, while a recent model of the RL was not tested.

Courtesy of AcuraConnected

Do you believe in miracles? Thirty two years ago today, the American Olympic Hockey team defeated the highly regarded Soviets at Lake Placid in one of the most memorable sports upsets in U.S. History. What is your all-time favorite sports finale?

Acura ILX Coupe Rendered into Reality

With the recent introduction of the ILX entry-level luxury sedan at the Chicago Auto Show, Acura is reportedly planning a two-door version to follow. Like the sedan, the ILX Coupe will borrow its underpinnings from the Civic – which already has a two-door offering.

To illustrate just how the ILX Coupe  could look, we’ve employed the rendering expertise of Jon Sibal, who has had remarkable success in the past with cars like the Camaro ZL1. Along with the conversion to a coupe, this “concept car ” showcases a new side skirt design, a sloping rear roofline, new wheels and a modified headlight design.

Available powertrains include the same 2.0-liter 4-cylinder base engine, a larger performance-oriented 2.4-liter and a hybrid 1.5-liter. Of note, however, by the time the Coupe does arrive Acura’s Earth Dreams Technology line of new engine technologies will be in full swing, meaning that we should expect the addition of direct-injection to each engine, as well as CVTs, with improved performance and fuel economy.

 

The new technology could make for a 160 hp 2.0-liter with fuel economy above 40 mpg on the highway, while the 2.4-liter should produce as much as 220 hp.

Courtesy of AutoGuide

 

 

 

Acura’s Super Bowl “Transaction” ad did its job, says Honda’s chief marketing officer.

[[posterous-content:pid___0]]The Super Bowl ad that featured Jerry Seinfeld and Jay Leno competing with each other to get the upcoming Acura NSX sports car was so effective that its Web site crashed just moments after the Super Bowl ended.

Its traffic increased by 3,000%. According to Mike Accavitti, American Honda's chief marketing officer, the Web site was down for around 10 minutes. The ad was posted Jan. 30 on its Web site. Since that day until Feb. 6, it had received 16 million views. Accavitti was interviewed last Tuesday at an Acura press event before the  Chicago Auto Show opened.

In this ad, Seinfeld and Leno attempt to bribe the man who possesses the rights to the first 2015 NSX supercar. The NSX concept made its debut at the Detroit auto show last month. It will go on sale  in around three years. Accavitti pointed out that this direction that Acura has taken “isn't by accident.” He said this “well thought-out, laser-focused plan” will get Acura on people's shopping lists since it has these new products to be revealed soon.

 

Courtesy of AutoSpies

A tribute to the Acura NSX: Video

This short film from Format67 stirs the passion that made the original Honda (Acura in the United States) NSX such an influential and desirable car.

Though made and released prior to the second-generation NSX concept reveal, the poem in the film, by poet and musician Alisa Apps, is an appropriate prelude for the next NSX.

Audio dialogue incorporates interviews with Formula One champion Ayrton Senna, who helped develop the original NSX.

Follow this Honda NSX as it journeys from Frankfurt, Germany, east to the Nürburgring nearly 200 kilometers away, an appropriate home-away-from-home for a car that was “designed for the pure enjoyment of driving.”

Will the second-generation NSX stir your soul like the first one?

<p>HONDA NSX (EXTENDED VERSION) BY FORMAT67.NET from FORMAT67.NET on Vimeo.</p>

Courtesy of AutoWeek

Styling Size-Up: 2013 Acura ILX

The new Acura has presence and a bit of style for what’s intended to be an entry-level, compact, premium sedan. Don’t believe us? Take a closer look at the gallery below, which features the 2013 Acura ILX alongside the 2012 Honda Civic and 2012 Acura TSX. Compared to the Civic and TSX designs, we think the ILX’s styling is sufficiently different to justify its existence.

From the front, the 2013 Acura ILX is instantly identifiable as an Acura thanks to the power plenum badge. Unlike the 2012 Acura TSX sedan, though, the 2013 ILX features a carefully sculpted hood that draws more attention to the grille. The ILX’s lower front fascia is more subtle than the TSX’s layout, and that theme continues to the wheel well flares.

From the side, the 2013 Acura ILX ditches the 2012 Honda Civic’s black plastic panel forward of the door-mounted sideview mirrors. Like the TSX, the ILX has sideview mirrors mounted at the corner of the greenhouse, which is trimmed in chrome on both cars. The upward kink in the ILX’s rear side window more closely resembles the Civic than the TSX, but neither car has the swoopy character line that would look at home on a Buick.

Move to the rear and it’s evident the 2013 Acura ILX features a more flowing design than the crisper 2012 Acura TSX. The taillight shape recalls other Acuras like the ZDX but the smallest Acura lacks the chrome trim strip that connects the taillights on the TSX. On the ILX, you also won’t find the TSX’s prominently displayed dual exhaust setup.

Inside, the 2013 Acura ILX is nothing like the interior design in the Civic that seemed radical in 2006 compared to the rest of the compact segment. The ILX’s center stack appears to have lost the driver-focused orientation on the 2012 Honda Civic but does gain a more optimally placed navigation screen at the top of the dash, like the TSX. There’s plenty of silver trim in the ILX to match the TSX, and, as you’d expect, both Acuras have leather seats that look richer than those in the Honda Civic.

Read more on Motor Trend

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Home > ILX, Videos > Drive to Five’s Tyson Hugie Discusses the ILX Drive to Five’s Tyson Hugie Discusses the ILX

The newest model of the Acura family showed its true production form yesterday, revealing some improved adjustments to an already beautiful concept design. If the 2013 ILX is an indication of where Acura design is headed, I’m definitely looking forward to the next generation of vehicles.

Back in January, Acura launched a full-on assault with the unveiling of three new concepts at the North American International Auto Show. Among the invited media in Detroit was the “Legendary” Tyson Hugie of Drive to Five, seen scoping out the hot new ILX Concept fresh out of its box. Hear some of Tyson’s first impressions of the ILX as he chats with Acura’s John Watts, John Ikeda and Jeff Conrad in the series of clips below.

Courtesy of AcuraConnected

What would you give up to get the keys to the first Acura NSX?

2013 Acura ILX puts a familiar face on entry-level luxury

The 2013 Acura ILX is here, and it will be one of the new first-responders to address the perception of Acura's weakened health. It might just be our eyes, but the transition to Acura-spec wheels and paint job makes this look much more of-the-family than the concept shown in Detroit. However, the production lines remain true, minus some of the chrome showy bits from the concept.

Motivation will be provided by either a 150-horsepower, 2.0-liter four-cylinder working through a five-speed automatic, a 201-hp, 2.4-liter with a six-speed manual, or the first Acura hybrid with a 111-hp, 1.5-liter four-cylinder getting help from Integrated Motor Assist and a CVT, good for fuel economy estimates of 35/38 miles per gallon, city/highway. 

 

Courtesy of AutoBlog

The Paragon Acura 3 Good Reasons Sales Event is Going on Now! Find out why you should be driving an Acura!

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Future Shock: 2015 Acura NSX

Acura's 1991 NSX put an end to the era when sexy supercars could be unreliable, ill-handling, ergonomic disasters. The all-aluminum mid-engine marvel delivered laser-sharp handling and high-revving acceleration suffused with Japanese quality, while advancing the state of the production-car art with firsts like four-channel ABS, titanium con-rods, and electric power steering.

Since NSX production ended in 2005, the world has eagerly awaited its replacement. A front-engine V-10 layout was proposed and developed by Acura Design as the Advanced Sports Car Concept. Everyone involved agreed that it was cool, but it wasn't an NSX. The car you see here is.

Expected by 2015, the new NSX will employ a mid-mounted V-6, complete with titanium connecting rods coupled to a wet twin-clutch seven-speed transmission and hybridized with an electric motor driving the rear wheels. Two more electric motors will spin the front wheels, providing torque-vectoring under acceleration and braking to help the NSX turn into corners better under all conditions. This Sports Hybrid AWD system is purported to deliver big-V-8 performance with "better-than-four-cylinder" fuel economy (let's assume they're talking big turbo fours there).

We asked Honda's global CEO Takanabu Ito (who started his career as an engineer working on the NSX's aluminum monocoque structure) whether he felt it was important that the next NSX still be made of aluminum. He replied what was more important was that the engineering team face as great a challenge as his did as they work to offset the new car's hybrid drivetrain mass. When asked whether he'd established a weight-to-power target for the team, his coy answer was, "I hope it is better than the first car's."

But if we assume that here again he expects to challenge his engineers to an equal extent, and we know that the first NSX matched Ferrari's 348 with 11 lb/horsepower, we can expect the 2015 car to at least match the current 458 Italia (and Lamborghini Gallardo) with around 6 lb/hp.

The sexy, show-stopping shape features Acura's softening Keen Edge design. Dimensionally, it measures 3.7 inches shorter in length on a 1.8-inch longer wheelbase, so overhangs are cropped. It's also 3.3 inches wider and 0.4 inch lower than the 2005 NSX. The concept rides on 255/35-19 front and 275/30-20 rear rubber. The low-profile headlamps are LED-based, and while there is no interior in the concept, design chief Jon Ikedo presumes the battery will package in the center tunnel, luggage compartments will be fitted fore and aft, and the fuel tank will slot in just ahead of the engine as before to preserve weight distribution as the fuel level drops. With production slated for "within three years," the shape has yet to undergo extensive computer or physical testing. Ikedo says early scale-model clays are performing well in the wind tunnel, but cautions that crash development is likely to grow the car somewhat. That development work, by the way, is all happening in the USA, and the car will be built in Ohio.

Acura claims the next NSX will represent the "ultimate expression of man-machine synergy," with driver and car working in unison, rather than the driver being taken for a ride by a highly robotized car.

Indeed a three-motor, mid-engine supercar sounds like the ideal halo car for a brand attempting to distinguish itself as delivering luxury and performance without waste or excess. It may even shake up the supercar-world order again. We just hope Ito's engineers overcome their biggest challenge: programming those electronics to deliver realistic, not robotic, road feel.

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New Tech

The NSX won't be first with a hybridized twin-clutch tranny, but, unlike the Jetta Hybrid's, its electric motor connects to (we're guessing the odd) gear shaft instead of the input shaft. By releasing both clutches, more energy can be regenerated with no engine braking effect, and by connecting the motor to the (odd or even) gear with the most advantageous ratio. Under acceleration, power is transmitted through a preselected odd gear even when an even gear is in use.

Courtesy of MotorTrend

 

 

 

Here are some great Jerry Seinfeld Web Extras from Acura! Enjoy the Super Bowl this Sunday Fans

Can’t get enough of Jerry Seinfeld’s crazy antics from Acura’s Super Bowl Ad? Acura has released a series of web extras from their big game ad and we’ve compiled them all in one post. 

See what else Jerry would do for the first Acura NSX in the hilarious clips below.

Courtesy of AcuraConnected

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With the big game only a few days from now many people's preparations are already underway! Do you have a favorite Super Bowl food?