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Acura TLX Type S PMC Edition reservations open tomorrow

The good news: If you decided you must have the 2023 Acura TLX Type S PMC Edition, Acura would like you to know the reservation system opens tomorrow at 1 p.m. Eastern time, 10 a.m. Pacific time. The not-exactly-good news: Acura doesn't yet want you to know the price. All the automaker would say about MSRP is that it's "expected to be in the low-to-mid $60K range." That doesn't strike us as an unreasonable premium in relation to the standard sedan's $55,000 starting price, when the PMC Edition is built like an NSX, comes in NSX colors and exclusive color combos, and is limited to 300 units. We have to admit, however, that the times we live in have warped all our reference points. Now for the bad news: Acura is releasing the run one color at a time, so today's reservations will only be for the 100 units of the Curva Red special model. Another 100 examples in 130R White can be reserved at an unknown time on November 9, the final 100 in Long Beach Blue can be reserved on December 8. In an age when mass-market makers can't build enough vehicles and buyers are paying 5% or more over sticker for a Honda or a Hyundai, we can already imagine the carnage headed to the Acura website when the horde moves in to fight for 100 spots. If you want this car and you have a lamp, now's the time to start rubbing the lamp.  All PMC Edition cars get a Berlina Black (also an NSX shade) painted roof, antenna, and door handles, the quad exhaust finished in black chrome instead of the bright chrome that comes standard. You get the same Y-spoke 20-inch wheels as the regular Type S, finished in a new copper paint. There's a carbon fiber lip spoiler in front, a carbon fiber decklid spoiler, a rear diffuser in the same weave, alongside glossy black side sill garnish and model badging.  Inside, carbon fiber trim keeps the cabin on brand, accessorized with illuminated side sills, unique Type S-badged floor mats with color-matched edging, and serialized plaques on the center console. The Curva Red sedan gets an Ebony black interior with red stitching. Long Beach Blue cars get an Orchid (cream) interior with blue stitching. The 130R White cars will get a red interior. Occupants recline in Milano leather seats with Ultrasuede inserts, driver and passenger able to adjust them 16 ways.  Similar to other Acura PMC cars, this one is put through the same quality control checks as the NSX, including a dyno check, rough road simulation, and paint inspection.

Best places to get your car maintained and repaired

In this era of rampant inflation and high interest rates, the challenges of acquiring a car or SUV have been well documented. And so it has never been more important to protect that expensive investment by maintaining it. In recent months, Autoblog has shared Consumer Reports' evaluation of the least and most expensive car brands to keep running, as well as tips to prolong a car’s useful life. Especially since the pandemic, a number of factors have impacted these costs: more complex vehicles, new materials and manufacturing methods, a shortage of qualified technicians and replacement parts. Since 2022, repairs costs have jumped each year by about 10 percent. This month, Consumer Reports is offering a useful primer on keeping your ride in great shape, suggesting what might be the best options for searching out a repair shop, depending, as CR says, “on your car and your situation.” Author Ben Preston identifies three basic types of repair facilities: dealership service departments, independently owned repair shops, and chain repair shops. Building up trust with a specific shop and feeling comfortable going there is important. Preston quotes John Ibbotson, chief mechanic at Consumer ReportsÂ’ Auto Test Center: "You might be able to save a few bucks by going to whichever shop offers the cheapest prices, but if you want consistent, reliable service, itÂ’s best to find a repair shop you trust and stick with it,” Ibbotson says. The story goes on to evaluate each type of service facility. HereÂ’s a breakdown of CRÂ’s findings: Dealerships These work well for owners of newer cars, especially for covered warranty work. But the disadvantage is the high labor rates common to dealer service. Satisfaction ratings for dealer service departments range from very good (Acura, Lexus, Mazda, and Volvo) to not-so-good (Jeep and Kia). Dealers are best for: Fixing infotainment system glitches: "If the screen in the center of your dash has a habit of freezing up, or the touchscreen-activated climate controls arenÂ’t working, the dealership is the most likely place to find someone with the know-how to fix problems that maybe only a factory-authorized technician can access," Ibbotson says. Safety system recalibration: "Anything from a crack in your windshield to a minor fender dent can upset the calibration of the sensors that make features like automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise control work," says Ibbotson.

2015 Acura NSX burns to the ground at the 'Ring [w/video]

Assuming all goes to plan, automakers test their vehicles to the breaking point in the months and years leading up to that vehicle's actual release into the public. Which is good, because it's much better for a car to break in glorious fashion in the hands of the company that produces it than in the driveway of an owner who just spent their hard-earned cash to get it.
Such was the case with this production-guise Acura NSX prototype that we saw running around the Nürburgring just the other day. We can't be 100-percent certain, but the burned-out carcass is wearing the same number plate as the car that was spotted earlier, so it's likely the very same NSX. We have no idea what was the cause of the blaze that turned this Acura into the car-b-q you see pictured above, but our spy shooters on the ground in Germany say it was not involved in any collision, having caught on fire all on its own with engineers behind the wheel.
The good news is that nobody was hurt, though the car is quite clearly a complete loss. We're sure there's another ready to to test in the burned car's place... just as soon as the engineers at Honda figure out exactly what went wrong. Have a look at the smoldering aftermath up above, and feel free to scroll down below to see a video of the car in much better circumstances.