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Honda, Acura lay out future plans: HR-V and more coming in 2022

Automakers and PR representatives are notoriously tight-lipped about upcoming vehicles. The infamous line that all of us in the car news business are familiar with is, "We cannot comment on future product." But this week, Honda opened up a little bit and laid out its big reveals for the coming year, and it's going to be a busy one. It all starts with the 2023 Honda HR-V, shown in the renderings above. The company didn't share a whole lot of details since it was focusing on the broad product plans, but it did note that it will be "unique to North America." It's not clear if it's just styling, which is abundantly obvious compared to the European HR-V and Japanese Vezel shown below, or if it will have a different platform and powertrains. We suspect the latter, since looking at the renderings, not only does it have a meaner, more aggressive look, but the glass in the greenhouse is different, as are the door handles. The HR-V is only the start of the big product rollout. More SUVs follow starting with the new CR-V, and then the new Pilot. A new Accord is coming, and of course there's the imminent Civic Type R. Acura's rollout is a bit more modest, with the big launches being the new Integra and the Type-S version of the MDX. Honda HR-V / Vezel View 11 Photos Plug-in hybrids aren't part of the plan There's one thing that Honda isn't including in its plans, and that's plug-in hybrids. When asked why, American Honda's executive Vice President of National Operations Dave Gardner noted that public and governmental feelings have moved from just reducing emissions to eliminating them entirely. As such, the time and effort to develop plug-in hybrids doesn't make sense when that could be applied to fully electric cars. Conventional, non-plug-in hybrids are still planned, and Honda is expecting ever increasing hybrid sales in the next few years. The company is expecting half of Accord sales will eventually be hybrid. As for Acura, hybrids aren't planned to be a big part of sales, with the brand jumping straight to EVs. Speaking of EVs, Honda's first North American electric car is still planned to be the Prologue. It's the electric model that's going to be based on a General Motors product. It's slated for the 2024 model year, and Honda is anticipating around 70,000 annual sales for it to start. Acura will get a counterpart to the Prologue, which may be named ADX. Related video:

2023 Acura Integra looks a little Civic-like in spy photos

After a couple of fairly revealing teasers, we finally have a good look at what seems to be the real-life 2023 Acura Integra. It comes to us via a member of IntegraForums.com, and, certainly a number of the styling cues match up to the teasers, but we're also detecting a bit of Civic influence. Of course, that wouldn't be a surprise considering the size of the upcoming Integra, or even the model's history. Up at the front, the Integra is Acura business as usual. It has the hawk-eye headlights and wide pentagonal grille with a sort of starburst grille mesh. The hood has nice creases and curves that flow into the front fascia. Along the sides are where we see a bit of what seems like Civic influence bleed through, mainly with the greenhouse. The shape of the windows and frames in the doors look very close to those on the Civic hatchback. Even the door-mounted mirrors look similar. But there are aspects that differentiate it. Most notably, there seems to be a diagonal crease that starts low on the front wheel well and rises up toward the rear fenders. It gives the car a lower, more curvy look than the square-shouldered Civic. It also helps add some visual heft to the rear fenders. At the back, the hatchback design is obvious, and also lends further credence to our theory the car is Civic-based. But obviously it's been majorly tweaked for the Acura. The bottom sill for the hatch looks much higher than on the Civic, and the shut line matches the slender taillights (which seem to be dead ringers for the teaser rendering). All of this helps the tail of the Acura look low and wide, including the location of the license plate in the bumper instead of the hatch. So it seems like the Integra will be based on the Civic, but with plenty of changes. And that's pretty much how the Integra and even its interim replacement, the ILX, have been. They've all been derived from the Civic, often with major design and mechanical differences. Also, with how excellent we've found the new Civic, it's a great starting point for Acura's new entry-level model. The car will be revealed fully next spring, and we should have many more details then. Related Video: 2022 Honda Civic Hatchback Sport Touring Inside and Out | Autoblog

2016 Acura ILX, for better or worse [UPDATE]

Unfortunately, the slick-shifting six-speed manual transmission has been discontinued. UPDATE: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the 2.4-liter engine in the 2016 ILX is the same unit found in the Honda Civic Si. The ILX's new engine is the same direct-injected four-cylinder found in the new TLX. The text has been edited to reflect this. "It's just a badge-engineered Honda Civic." This (uninformed) criticism has been leveled at the Acura ILX since the premium compact arrived on the scene to duke it out with the Buick Verano and, more recently, the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz CLA-class. For model year 2016, Acura will attempt to address the car's critics, issuing a major reshuffle of the sedan's lineup along with the typical sheen of a mid-cycle refresh. Following up on the discontinuation of the ILX Hybrid for 2015, Acura is dispatching the antiquated pairing of the base 2.0-liter four-cylinder and five-speed automatic for 2016, and simply slotting in the standard powertrain of the TLX. The 2.4-liter four-cylinder produces 201 horsepower and 180 pound-feet of torque, with peak output arriving at 3,600 rpm. The ILX also benefits from the same eight-speed, dual-clutch transmission found in the TLX. Unfortunately, the slick-shifting six-speed manual transmission we've always enjoyed has been discontinued. Sad trombone, indeed. Powertrain tweaks aside, Acura has issued a pretty handsome freshening for 2016. The ILX was always a handsome offering, but the new front and rear clips are improvements. Acura's love-it-or-hate-it JewelEye headlights have been grafted onto the ILX, while the grille, a traditional weak point for the brand, is perhaps one of the best we've seen out of the company in several years. The rear taillights also received some attention, although it was the back bumper that saw the biggest update, with the lower section getting a sportier look. Acura will also add a new A-Spec package for 2016, which replaces the standard 17-inch wheels with 18s, adds "Euro-style" stitching to the steering wheel and adds black Lux Suede inserts to the seats, along with a flurry of smaller aesthetic tweaks. The A-Spec can be added alongside the existing Premium and Technology Packs. Acura hasn't released any interior images as of this writing, although we'll be sure to snap a few following today's debut conference at the 2014 Los Angeles Auto Show. Until then, scroll down for the official press release from Acura.