Acura Integra Type R on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Buy a new NSX and you can put the badges on as it rolls off the line in Ohio

Acura announced today that new NSX owners now have an opportunity to see their cars being built at the Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) in Marysville, Ohio. At the starting price of $2,700, owners can participate in the "NSX Insider Experience" in which they'll tour the factory, as well as the Honda Heritage Center. The latter of which houses a HondaJet, an iteration of ASIMO, Honda's famous humanoid robot, and other pieces of Honda history. Owners on the tour also have the chance to talk with people on the assembly line about how it all comes together, and can even install the badges on their very own cars. If that's not enough, Honda offers a few other optional extras to make the trip special. They can add a tour of the factory in Anna, Ohio, where the NSX engines are made, as well as sign up for a performance driving experience in a new NSX. The driving portion is available in two- and four-hour sessions, and it takes place at the Transportation Research Center, which doubles as Acura's NSX proving grounds. Of course these extras will add to the cost, as will bringing guests. Honda even offers help with travel planning through Acura Concierge. The service can book your flight and other travel arrangements. It will also allow you to stay at the special NSX suite at the Joseph Hotel in Columbus, Ohio. Acura didn't go into detail as to what makes the suite specific to the NSX, but we're sure it's a nice place nonetheless. NSX owners interested in the program should check out the program's website, here. For people without the means to buy an NSX, you can still get a look into the factory by checking out our visit to the facility. Related Video: Featured Gallery Acura NSX Insider Experience Image Credit: Acura Green Plants/Manufacturing Acura Coupe Hybrid Supercars

Acura RLX will die after 2020 model year

Only Acura knows why its flagship RLX sedan is still on sale; every year that we had occasion to remember the RLX — which wasn't every year — seemed like a good year to let the car die peacefully. Automotive News reports the deed is finally done, or rather, will be at the end of 2020, when Acura discontinues the model that started with the RL in 1996. Honda told U.S. dealers yesterday that in other markets like Japan, the four-door will continue to sell as the Honda Legend. Honda's comment to AN included, "With SUVs leading the luxury market, the highly successful RDX and MDX now serve as volume leaders of the Acura brand," and, "We will further strengthen our sports sedans, consistent with the performance-focused direction we have been taking Acura over the past four years." Speaking of the devil, the RL and RLX — and Acura as a brand — never got out from under the weight of the Legend sedan, that ancestor being the second of Acura's three albatrosses after the original NSX and the Integra. The RL never equaled the Legend's worst year of U.S. sales. The RLX, a combination of arousing performance under anodyne styling costing premium German money, might have performed the same feat viz the RL, but the RL sold less than 5,000 units here for the last five years of its life. The RLX has only exceeded 5,000 sales once, in 2013. Last year, 1,019 units found buyers.  Acura's focus now is the NSX halo and the continuing overhaul of the volume lineup. The new RDX is going great guns, the new MDX crossover is due this year. The slightly larger and Type S concept-inspired TLX sedan is expected to be another gift to 2020, followed by the return of a bona fide Type S next year, after which the ILX compact sedan gets its turn. Last year was the first time in five years the TLX dipped below 30,000 sales in the U.S., impressively steady going for a segment with shocking attrition. Although the demise of the RLX gives up on the aspiration for a big luxury flagship, the coming TLX should help us forget what the RLX represented. If we hadn't already.

Acura Precision EV Concept reveal predicts the future at Monterey Car Week

Monterey Car Week is getting into full swing, and Acura showed up with its new Precision EV Concept. Acura makes it fairly clear that this concept isn’t a preview for any particular future electric SUV, but instead is showing it as an example of what the companyÂ’s design themes will be for all upcoming EVs. The exterior is striking from the first glance as it wears a new-for-Acura Double Apex Blue shade of paint with a matte finish. AcuraÂ’s designers say the car's shape was inspired by luxury Italian power boats. As is the case with many new EVs and EV concepts, the exterior lighting is as integral to the design as anything. The Pentagon grille weÂ’re accustomed to seeing on Acuras is replaced with a light-up fascia that mimics the look and shape of AcuraÂ’s regular passthrough grille. YouÂ’ll also notice the patchy lighting in the corners of the front and rear bumpers, and Acura is calling this “Particle Glitch” lighting that is meant to look like the spokes on the 23-inch wheels. Both the headlight and taillight designs look like an evolution of AcuraÂ’s “chicane” light signature seen on current production cars. While Acura says this SUV isnÂ’t a concept for a specific car, it sure looks like it could serve as a preview to the brandÂ’s first electric SUV based off the Honda Prologue. Acura has previously said that its version of the Prologue would come in 2024, and it mentions that the design language you see here would first be witnessed in that SUV. Things look and feel a little less real when you step inside the Precision EV Concept. Acura says it was inspired by a Formula 1 cockpit and features lots of recycled/sustainable materials. You sit low down. And a yoke steering device replaces a traditional steering wheel — we genuinely hope this stays in the concept and never makes it to production. Two drive modes, a manual driving mode and an autonomous driving mode, change up the cabin. The “Instinctive” drive mode leaves the yoke in place, allowing you to drive and control the car. It brings up racing style instrumentation and makes all the in-cabin lighting red. Meanwhile, “Spiritual Lounge” mode transforms the Precision EV Concept into an autonomous vehicle, retracting the steering yoke and projecting underwater animations on the various screens. Speaking of those screens, Acura calls this a preview of a new infotainment system. ItÂ’s a super-wide, curved screen, and itÂ’s a touchscreen.