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2024 Acura ZDX getting Google in its infotainment

Acura is joining a number of automakers (such as Polestar, Chevrolet and others) in integrating Google apps directly in its infotainment system, first on the 2024 ZDX electric SUV. The integration includes Google Maps, Google Assistant and other Google apps. Additionally, the infotainment will continue to support phone mirroring apps such as Apple CarPlay and Google's own Android Auto. Among those apps, perhaps the most useful will be Google Maps. The reason being that it will be able to plan routes that include charging stops and charging time estimates. In addition to the routing, Google Maps will be able to tell the car to start preconditioning the battery for the fastest possible charge times when going to a DC fast charger. Of course, other Google apps will let you sign in with your account so that you have access to them without connecting your phone. But fortunately, you can connect and mirror your phone. This is notable as the ZDX will be on the GM Ultium platform, like the Honda Prologue. And GM is removing Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support from its upcoming Ultium models. So if you do like those features and are interested in the Ultium electrics, you may want to consider the Acura and Honda models. Another interesting tidbit from the Acura infotainment announcement is the fact that the ZDX will feature a touchscreen for the infotainment system. Almost all of Acura's current gas-powered vehicles use an infotainment system built around a touchpad, which is the only way to interact with the system. The one exception so far has been the Integra, which simply lifted the Civic system wholesale. Acura didn't say if the touchpad would also be included in the ZDX, though the screenshot of the system seems touchscreen-focused. The ZDX is going on sale early next year, with a reveal presumably happening between now and then. As previously mentioned, it will be Ultium-based, and we're expecting it to be similar in size and performance to the Chevy Blazer EV. A high-performance Type S version will be offered, and we wouldn't be surprised if it gets something similar to the 557 horsepower of the Blazer EV SS. Related Video: Chevy Blazer EV SS makes 557 horsepower

Hands-on with Acura's novel touchpad infotainment interface

After Acura's Precision Cockpit was unveiled here in LA, I sat in the, uh, driver's seat of the wheel-less interior mockup to get a feel for how this new touchscreen-free touch interface works. There are a lot of good ideas inside. Here are 11 things you should know. It's less like a trackpad and more like a remote-control tablet. So instead of letting you move a cursor relative to its last location like the trackpad on a laptop, each point on Acura's trackpad is mapped to a corresponding point on the center display. If you want what's in the upper right corner of the display, you touch and click in the upper right corner of the trackpad. Simple. I figured it out in two minutes. Maybe less. The whole thing is surprisingly intuitive. The ease of use is helped by the fact that the targets on the screen are pretty big – no tiny "buttons" to fiddle with. The clicks are real. The trackpad actually moves when you press down, so no need for simulated haptic feedback. In their research, Acura engineers found that accidental touches and presses are a real issue. We could have told them that – hit a bump while using a finicky remote interface like Lexus's all-but-abandoned joystick thing, and you select an item half-way across the screen from the one you intended. The placement of the trackpad in this concept interior also helps avoid unintentional inputs – it's not in the middle of the center console where it might get brushed or bumped, but instead in its own little cave at the base of the center-stack waterfall. (Acura's low-profile button-based transmission selector suddenly makes a whole lot of sense.) View 13 Photos Lots of cues cut down on distraction. You hover over the option you want before positively confirming the selection with a hard press. There's no cursor to find and reposition like in the Lexus trackpad system The red highlight gives the necessary visual cue that you put your finger in the right place. The pad is slightly dished to give you a tactile cue of where the center and edges are. It allows you to build up muscle memory, sort of like how you know generally where the "keys" are on your smartphone or tablet's virtual keyboard by now. Or at least I do on mine. You look at the screen, not what you're touching. The problem with touch screens is that they have to be low down in the car so you can reach them. That means you have to look down from the road to stab at what you want.

Honda signs on as Pikes Peak sponsor, race participant

Honda plans to storm the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 30, entering ten cars in nine classes at the race to the sky, and signing on as a corporate sponsor. Part of the company's return to grassroots racing - if that's what you can call factory-backed efforts - the banners of Honda R&D and Honda North America will fly on these entries: a first-gen Acura NSX, an Acura TL SH-AWD, Honda CR-Z, Honda Fit EV, one CRF450R and two CRF250R motorcycles, a CBR1000RR motorcycle and a TRX450 ATV.
One more entry, details of which are to be announced later, will be driven by IndyCar pilot Simon Pagenaud of Schmidt Hamilton HP Motorsports. LoveFab (pictured above during practice last year) will be there with its new, NSX-based Enviate, but as a privateer entry.
Honda's been to the mountain before, with high-powered gear in 2012 and record-setting EVs in 1994 and 1999, but it's never made noise like this. Have a read of the press release below for more info.