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2021 Acura TLX A-Spec Long-Term Update | How's it handle?

A couple of months have passed since we took delivery of our new 2021 Acura TLX A-Spec long-term tester, and the miles are starting to pile on — the odometer just clicked past 6,000. I was particularly eager to get behind the wheel of our TLX, as my first go-round in AcuraÂ’s new sports sedan left me feeling good about where Acura was headed with this car. That said, I only spent about an hour in the saddle during my first drive experience, and that time was on unfamiliar roads. The stint I just completed was a full month, and in that time I treated the TLX as if I owned it. So much so, that I completed the same mini road trip with it that I took in my 2001 Acura Integra GS-R last fall. The destination was southern Indiana, an unexpected but heavenly place to test the handling of a car. Just go south or east from Bloomington, Ind., on the squiggly lines you see on Google Maps. I promise you wonÂ’t be disappointed. Photo evidence of both trips below, including my friendÂ’s Alfa Romeo Giulia(s). The TLX was an absolute peach on the hundreds of miles of winding pavement. Despite its BMW 5 Series size, the TLX handles like a compact car. Its chassis is rigid and unbending through every kind of corner. This isnÂ’t the Type S (nor is it an Advance trim with the adaptive dampers), but itÂ’s all the chassis you could want on a backroad. ThereÂ’s enough give from the dampers to smooth out the bad spots, but itÂ’s dialed in to provide unwavering stability in big weight transfers, too. Acura struck a happy balance. Credit for this carÂ’s poise under stress on less-than-ideal roads should also be given to the new independent double wishbone front suspension design. You can sense it sorting out dips and changes in the road as youÂ’re battling through a rough corner. The big 255-section-width tires stay confidently glued to the pavement, communicating grip levels through the wheel and chassis as you go. The super-quick steering ratio from the new electric rack does a decent job of simulating road feel, but the best part about it is the rackÂ’s sheer speed. Acura takes full advantage of this sedanÂ’s rigid chassis with that quick, precise turn-in. ItÂ’s not quite as fast as the Alfa Romeo GiuliaÂ’s energetic steering, but the end result is a car that changes direction the moment your brain decides it wants to. What really ties this carÂ’s handling together is AcuraÂ’s torque-vectoring SH-AWD system.

Honda recalling 405K vehicles over airbag issue

Honda is in hot water due to an airbag glitch that is causing it to recall 405,400 vehicles. According to the campaign, the supplemental restraints might fire for no apparent reason. 342,000 of the affected vehicles are 2003 and 2004 Odyssey minivans, which gels with a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation we reported on in June.
Joining the Odyssey in the recall is the Acura MDX, with 63,400 units covered from the 2003 model year. Unlike the van, though, the MDX's recall covers Japan and Australia, in addition to the US and Canada. Both vehicles are suffering from an airbag control unit that is prone to malfunction when exposed to electrical noise, a condition that can cause the airbags to deploy without warning. Although no crashes have been reported in such scenarios, there have been some injuries typical of airbag deployment - abrasions and such.
Honda will be mailing recall notices to owners near the end of October, asking them to bring their vehicles into the dealership for installation of an electrical noise filter. The repair will take about an hour and be free of charge. Scroll down for the official announcement from Honda.

2022 Acura NSX Type S Track Drive | One lap of Daytona

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Stadium lights shine their bright white glow on the tarmac as I power out of the infield and up to the banking of NASCAR 1 at Daytona International Speedway in the 2022 Acura NSX Type S. The force of gravity quickly changes from normal to feeling like IÂ’m being shoved down by a compactor. I gingerly arc down from the top of DaytonaÂ’s steep 31-degree incline and settle into the middle, right pedal down and holding the wheel steady. That last part, I quickly learn, is unnecessary, as the banking holds the car in place without needing to exert much steering force. An immersive and sonorous note trumpets through the cabin as I stay in the throttle out of NASCAR 2. The Bus Stop Chicane (just renamed the Le Mans Chicane for this yearÂ’s Rolex 24) arrives quickly and with little warning when you have 600 horsepower hustling you there, and itÂ’s perhaps the worst-lit corner on the track — ironic, considering youÂ’re going as fast as anywhere at Daytona before having to apply the brakes. A loud, brap, brap, brap accompanies the slowdown. I smash over the rumble strips while exiting the chicane, and head back onto the oval for another go in the compactor for NASCAR 3 and 4. And then that's it, my one flying lap in the one-year-only NSX Type S is over. Rolling back into pit lane, IÂ’m attempting to process what just happened, but am reduced to one-word exclamations from the adrenaline rush. Piloting anything on-track at the Daytona road course at night is a bucket list, dream-come-true moment for a racing enthusiast, and I had just done it in AcuraÂ’s mid-engine supercar. Turns out, those hundreds of hours playing Gran Turismo and dreaming finally came in handy. This brief and high-speed track drive is our first go at the new-for-2022 NSX Type S. Acura says that more seat time is coming in the future, but weÂ’re to make do with this quick taste for the time being. That said, even if you wanted to at this point, the chances of buying a new NSX Type S are next to zero. The NSX swan song — yes, this is the NSXÂ’s last model year — sold out in mere minutes, and all thatÂ’s left is a waiting list. Acura is building 350 total, and 300 are allocated for the United States. There will be no “standard” NSXs for 2022 either, so itÂ’s either the $171,495 Type S or nothing. Despite the rarity and short life, it's surprising how much effort Acura put into enhancing the NSX's complex engine and three-motor hybrid system.