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2022 Acura NSX Type S Road Test Review | An ode to itself, and a gift for drivers

As we say goodbye to the modern NSX, Acura saw fit to leave the world with a parting gift. As a last blast, the hybrid supercar got a Type S variant as a mighty sendoff, with more performance and improved handling. It’s a rare treat, though, for those who could afford its $171,495 starting price. The first example sold for over a million dollars, and the remaining 299 units were scooped up in a day. Road Test Editor Zac Palmer had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take the NSX Type S for a lap around Daytona, and this fall our driveway had the privilege of being graced by the carÂ’s presence for a few days. And this NSX looks as extreme as it drives, a sharp wedge that combines aesthetics of exoticism and straight-up evil. This one, in particular, cut a mean figure, with its matte charcoal finish, blacked-out badging, plenty of carbon fiber, sharp angles and an odd-looking engine cover covering an odd powerplant, all under glass right behind the cockpit. Though the general shape of the car is familiar to supercar fans from the mid-1970s and beyond, thereÂ’s no mistaking this Acura for something else, its honed exterior a reflection of the carÂ’s performance. Zac already outlined what performance upgrades set this Type S apart from the rest of the generation, but itÂ’s good to know this wasnÂ’t mostly about looks. Acura upgraded the V6Â’s twin turbochargers, improved its air and thermal management capabilities, and lowered the gear ratios of the twin electric motors up front. It even got a higher-capacity, higher-output battery powering the hybrid system. The result is a cool 600 horsepower and 492 pound-feet of torque. It's shockingly quick, but itÂ’s hard to tell if itÂ’s actually faster in a straight line than the lesser NSX. The overall driving experience is improved, however. In the Type S, Acura has achieved incredibly quick shifts from the retuned nine-speed automatic. It works well on its own, but the response you get from pulling one of the paddles almost feels as though the car had predicted your move, and is supremely rewarding in terms of driver engagement. ItÂ’s quite generous in its compliance to your whims, too, allowing you downshifts that land you higher in the rev range than youÂ’d expect it to allow — in fact, Acura actually raised the manual downshift rev limit by 1,500 rpm. What a wonderful treat to give customers as a parting gift.

A look inside Honda’s “Safety For Everyone” research and development operation

RAYMOND, Ohio—As part of its long-running “Safety for Everyone” campaign, Honda has established the audacious goal of what it calls a “zero-collision society.” But rather than making big claims about developing a fully-autonomous vehicle, which Honda hasnÂ’t done, the company is trying to chip away at the more than 37,000 vehicle-related fatalities that occurred in the U.S. in 2017 with a multi-pronged approach. Here in central Ohio, engineers are working with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment to boost active safety systems like its HondaSensing suite of safety technology with old fashioned passive systems like structural steel frames or new airbag designs that protect passengers in a crash. Honda provided members of the press with a rare tour inside its Honda R&D Americas headquarters this week. Honda officials say that increasingly, safety — and specifically, third-party ratings from the likes of the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety — figure into the top three factors consumers weigh when purchasing a vehicle. Honda and Acura have 10, 2019 models that have earned IIHSÂ’s Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ ratings, and all 15, 2019 model-year Honda and Acura vehicles that have undergone NHTSA crash testing have earned a 5-star overall rating. And Honda prides itself on its growing list of safety firsts, including the first upward-deploying front passenger airbag, in 1990 in the Acura Legend; first omni-directional crash-test facility, in 2000; and the first autonomous braking system, in the 2006 Acura RL. It hopes its new three-chamber airbag goes industry-wide and joins that list. “ItÂ’s part of our companyÂ’s culture,” said Art St. Cyr, business head unit and vice president of auto operations for American Honda Motor Co. “We have a philosophy at Honda that we want to be a company that society wants to exist. That means we have to protect our customers. ThatÂ’s part of the whole mantra of doing this.” Opened in 1984, the 1.6 million square-foot Honda R&D Americas facility, located in the countryside about 45 miles northwest of Columbus, employs around 1,600 people and is HondaÂ’s largest research-and-development facility outside of Japan. Its Advanced Safety Research facility opened in 2003.

Acura may go all AWD in bid to mimic Subaru's success

Acura's struggles have been well publicized. The Honda-owned luxury brand doesn't seem sure of where it's going or what it's trying to accomplish, with its cars and marketing lacking a coherent theme. Now, a new report from Automotive News claims that the brand could follow the success of Subaru and (to a lesser extent) Audi, and adopt all-wheel-drive as standard across its model range.
"I think that's the way we should go," Acura boss Koichi Fukuo told Automotive News.
Acura already offers some form of all-wheel drive on every vehicle in its line aside from the lamentable ILX sedan. That could change as Acura begins rolling out next-generation versions of its still relatively new stable of sedans and crossovers.