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2019 Acura RDX named a Top Safety Pick+ by IIHS

To the accolades being heaped on the all-new 2019 Acura RDX, the automaker can now add another: a Top Safety Pick+ designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the organization's coveted top rating. IIHS cites the SUV's good crashworthiness ratings, standard front crash prevention technology and even the availability of "good"-rated headlights, which has become perhaps the group's most daunting hurdle. To qualify for IIHS's top award, a vehicle must earn "good" ratings in the driver-side small overlap front crash test, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests and an "acceptable" or "good" rating in passenger-side small overlap test. The RDX earns "good" ratings across the board. IIHS also rated the standard AcuraWatch safety technology as "superior," saying it avoided collisions at 12 and 25 mph, and it rated the base LED headlights as "good" and the curve-adapted headlights on the top-of-the-line Advance trim as "acceptable." Autoblog recently learned that 40 vehicle models earned good enough crash ratings to qualify for IIHS' Top Safety Pick rating but fall short because they don't meet the organization's criteria for good headlights. Acura says the 2019 RDX features the newest generation of its Advanced Compatibility Engineering body structure, plus new high-strength steel door stiffener rings and eight airbags. The AcuraWatch suite of safety technologies includes collision mitigation braking, adaptive cruise control and road departure mitigation, all standard. The RDX is powered by a 2.0-liter turbo-four engine that makes 272 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque and comes with a 10-speed automatic. The compact luxury crossover went on sale June 1 and set monthly sales records in both June and July. You can find Autoblog's driving review of the 2019 RDX here. Related Video:

Acura NSX GT3 data 'will inform future iterations' of the street car

Motorsports programs exist to drive innovation in road vehicles, and that's precisely what's happening at Honda. Acura NSX development boss Nick Robinson told Autocar that the company's work on the GT3 racing variant is directly informing future development on the road car. "In North America, we've just unveiled the GT3 version of the car, and the development team of the street car has had some involvement in its development," Robinson said. "What works well on the track will inform future iterations and updates of the street car and vice versa." But Honda is a big company that does more than build cars. Robinson paid tribute to the impact his employer's well-known motorcycle program had on the NSX. Apparently, building stuff like the CBR helped Honda with the NSX's complicated packaging. "For many years our motorcycle development teams have strived to ensure the optimum centralization of mass, ensuring the lowest possible center of gravity," Robinson told Autocar. "This leads to the best possible yaw response." Is this all a sign that a long-rumored lighter, faster NSX, potentially wearing the vaunted Type R badge, will be especially track-focused? Maybe. Robinson's comments indicate that the company is doing something with the mountains of data it collects running a GT3 program. While a pure road-focused NSX-R successor seems like it'd be a waste of that data, an NSX-based rival to the Porsche 911 GT3 RS might make a lot more sense. Related Video: News Source: AutocarImage Credit: Brendan McDermid / Reuters Motorsports Rumormill Acura Honda Coupe Racing Vehicles Performance gt3

Acura will let you reserve a 2023 Integra starting next month

For anybody who is trying to get their hands on the 2023 Acura Integra right when it comes out, this one’s for you. Instead of a normal launch, Acura is launching the Integra with a reservation list.  YouÂ’ll be able to reserve and pre-order an Integra online starting March 10. Of course, the reservation process still fully involves dealerships, as Acura states, “reservations handled by participating dealers” at the bottom of its press release. Acura hasnÂ’t revealed production details or even shown us photos of the IntegraÂ’s interior yet, but since itÂ’s going to ask folks to reserve a car to buy, we suspect those details and photos will be coming soon. If you want a sneak peek, we got some photos of the partially-covered interior of the Integra Prototype. Pricing is just as vague as before, too, as Acura simply states that it “will start around $30,000.” The actual website where Acura directs you says “supply will be limited” of the Integra. In todayÂ’s market, that very well may be true. However, the base Integra has never been, nor do we expect it to be, a limited-availability model. ItÂ’s an entry-level, sporty hatchback that will eventually be widely available, even if a certain level of hype makes them thin on the ground upon initially launching. Basically, donÂ’t be fooled by the messaging. If you do want to reserve one, Acura has a sign-up on its website that will put you on a list to be notified the second the reservation site goes live. ThereÂ’s no suggestion that any deposit will be required to reserve a spot for now, but weÂ’ll be looking out for details on that closer to the launch of reservations on March 10. Related video: