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Junkyard Gem: 1997 Acura SLX

By the second half of the 1990s, the tremendous sales success of the Ford Explorer (introduced as a 1991 model) and Jeep Grand Cherokee (introduced as a 1993 model) had made it clear clear that the future of the American road would be trucks. Any automotive manufacturer not selling a full line of SUV-ish machinery here would be irrelevant soon after the dawn of the new century, and the car-and-bike-centric American Honda Motor Company was therefore in big trouble. The Civic could be used as the basis for a small crossover SUV (which debuted here as the 1997 Honda CR-V), but Honda needed to buy time to design and produce the platform that would underpin the 2001 Acura MDX and 2003 Honda Pilot. That time was purchased via a deal to sell rebadged Isuzu trucks as Hondas and Acuras. Today's Junkyard Gem is one of those Honda-ized Isuzus, found in a Colorado boneyard. Honda began selling the Isuzu Rodeo as the Passport (recycling the name they'd used on the U.S.-market Super Cub motorcycle) for the 1994 model year, and Acura dealers started moving SLX-badged Isuzu Troopers in the 1997 model year. Just to make things interesting in the Isuzu-Honda world, North American Isuzu dealers sold Honda Odysseys with Isuzu Oasis badges at the same time. Isuzu had gone all-truck for the American market after the last Styluses (and closely related Geo Storms) were sold here as 1993 models. Sadly, Isuzu's final (non-commercial) new vehicles sold here were rebadged Chevy Trailblazers and Colorados, more than 30 years after Chevrolet began selling Isuzu Faster pickups here with LUV badges. Honda never did build any body-on-frame trucks, but that proved unnecessary in order to make some money during the CUV/SUV era. The SLX never sold particularly well, but it gave Acura dealers a luxury truck to park next to the Integras, TLs, RLs, CLs and NSXs in their showrooms. After 1999, the SLX was gone, leaving just the 2000 model year as a blank spot for Acura-badged SUVs. This truck held together like a real Honda product, getting fairly close to the 300,000-mile mark (I've found junkyard Accords with better than a half-million miles on their odometers, plus one apiece Civic and CR-V that got past 400,000 miles during their lives). The original owner's manuals were still in the glovebox when I found this truck. At the end, it appears that it was towed away for being parked illegally. Maybe the engine or transmission failed and its final owner just walked away.

2016 Acura NSX: Everything there is to know [w/video]

The road to supercar stardom is littered with missteps. For every slam-dunk like the McLaren F1 and Ferrari F40, there are contenders that never quite reach their full potential – think Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and Jaguar XJ220. Fear of building a mediocre halo car is why automakers take costly detours like reverse-engineering a carbon fiber chassis when aluminum just won't do (we're looking at you, Lexus LFA), and it's often those second, third, and even fourth major redirects that can make the difference between has-been and hero. History has been kind to the late, great Acura NSX. Though its final years saw it lagging in power, ballooning in price and burdened by unsightly bubble headlamps, the NSX went to pasture in 2005 with a reputation for being an innovative, driver-focused ride that also happened to be practical enough for daily use. Despite its lofty aspirations and attainable price point, fifteen years of production saw just under 9,000 NSXs on the road, which begs the inevitable question: was Acura's mid-engine top dog too tame to be great, yet too ubiquitous to be exotic? Considering how the NSX redux has been worked (and re-worked as a stillborn front-engine V10 GT, only to return to a mid-engine layout), it's safe to say Acura is intent on securing supercar greatness. While the essential spirit of the original NSX program targeted the "New Sports Experimental" idea, Large Project Leader Ted Klaus says that Shigeru Uehara, the man responsible for the original NSX (and Honda S2000, among others) advised the US-based development team that they ought to be "... open-minded to doing things for the emotional benefit of the customer," and not come from a place that was "hyper rational." In other words, build a car that makes the heart skip a beat. View 8 Photos As such, the next-generation NSX has departed from the 2013 concept and assumed a more emotional, expressive design language that hides a more engineering-intensive drivetrain. Gone is the naturally aspirated, transverse-mounted V6, replaced with a longitudinally mounted, turbocharged, dry-sump V6 that produces "north of 550 horsepower," according to Acura brass. As before, the internal combustion mill works with three electric motors to deliver power to all four wheels. Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, indeed – or, as Acura refers to it in this application, Sport Hybrid Super Handling All-Wheel Drive. Why the shift?

Acura Pikes Peak lineup is out, and there's a race-prepped MDX Sport Hybrid

Acura is coming back to Pikes Peak for the 2019 edition of the hillclimb, and it's bringing four vehicles to attack the mountain. Not the fastest, but perhaps the most interesting of the bunch is a race-prepped 2019 MDX Sport Hybrid. Engineers took the 3.5-liter V6 from the non-hybrid version (Hybrid has a 3.0-liter V6) of the MDX and bored it out to 3.7-liters. It then works together with Acura's three-motor hybrid system for a combined 400 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque. Shifting is still done by Acura's 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. The extra power is thanks to the larger displacement and special tuning for the engine and electric motors. Further upgrades to the MDX include a race-tuned active-damper suspension system and a roll cage. Acura says it goes a long way to increase structural rigidity. Additionally, Acura removed most of the vehicle's interior, including every seat but the driver's seat. Piloting the MDX is Jordan Guitar of Acura R&D's chassis development team. A couple NSXs, one "Time Attack" car and one mostly stock, will also run up the mountain. The Time Attack NSX has more power from larger turbos, bringing the system output up to 625 horsepower. Weight-saving measures have dropped 200 pounds from the structure, and there's plenty more downforce thanks to a big wing front splitter. Not much has been done to the production-spec NSX, as it simply adds a roll cage and racing seat with a harness. The Acura RDX that ran up the mountain last year is returning for this 2019 run. It features a modified 2.0-liter turbo that makes a respectable 350 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque. That extra power comes courtesy of a larger turbocharger, short-path intercooler and an electric supercharger. Can we have all that for production, please? The last Acura in the field is the same RealTime Racing TLX GT that won its class last year. There's one more NSX that'll be going up and down Pikes Peak, but not in anger. Acura is providing an NSX to act as the official pace car of the event, and it's predictably painted in the easy to pick out Thermal Orange.