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2014 Acura RLX

Earlier in the year, I reviewed a powder-blue Volkswagen Beetle Convertible, and I witnessed a group of high-school-aged girls ogling the car as it sat in my driveway. In my head, I found it to be a funny-yet-fitting scene that I didn't think of again until a 2014 Acura RLX showed up in my driveway. This time around, an elderly neighborhood couple stopped to give the big Acura sedan a closer look. The RLX is trying to shed past stereotypes of its predecessor, the Acura RL, just like the Beetle. Hoping to avoid becoming the de facto "grandpa car," Acura has completely reworked - and renamed - its flagship sedan.
As the bookend to the new entry-level ILX, the addition of the 2014 RLX might give Acura its strongest sedan lineup ever as the automaker looks to break the cycle of being a middle-of-the-road luxury brand. Stepping up to the big-boy table isn't going to be easy, though, as the competition keeps getting tougher. Forget cars like the Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5 Series, the Acura RLX is going to have its hands full with the likes of the Cadillac XTS, Lexus GS and Hyundai Genesis, not to mention a strong consortium of lower-priced, mid-luxury sedans like the Hyundai Azera, Toyota Avalon and Chevy Impala. The one thing all of these cars have in common is a reputation for being an old man cruiser.
I spent a week with the new RLX to see if it could shake the stigma of its outdated predecessor or if it would just leave me searching for the nearest early bird specials.

Honda delays JDM Legend over quality concerns

Honda has been having some quality issues lately, to say the least. Most of those have revolved around the airbags supplied by Takata, but not exclusively. The new Fit Hybrid, for example, has been subject to five consecutive recalls in the year since it launched. And now the Japanese automaker is reportedly delaying the launch of its new Legend sedan. The Legend, for those unfamiliar, is what Honda calls the Acura RLX in the Japanese Domestic Market – a model that has been subject to a handful of recalls in the United States, affecting components ranging from headlights to seatbelts to suspension bolts. Such quality control issues have prompted Honda to delay the introduction of its flagship sedan in its home market, pushing its arrival in Japanese showrooms back from the fall (when the model was revealed) initially to January 22 and now to February 20, according to the report from Bloomberg. The extra time is earmarked the give Honda engineers the opportunity to look into potential problems with the vehicle's radar safety system and its advanced hybrid powertrain, before introducing it to the local market. Hopefully further recalls can be avoided once deliveries have commenced.

2021 Acura TLX outed in European patent images

Acura brought its Type S concept to last year's Monterey Car Week as a glimmer of what we could expect from the all-new TLX coming next year. Since then, we've had better glimpses of the sedan in unintended leaks, the first in Acura's own infotainment system, now in patent images from the European Union Intellectual Property Office. Discovered by French forum Worldscoop, the details in the grayscale drawings match the color image from the infotainment software, giving us another look at hotly anticipated sedan that will infuse much-needed excitement into Acura's lineup. Even though the images show rear bumper cutouts plenty large enough to house quad pipes, the patent is presumed to show the standard TLX trim, not the Type S trim we know is coming. Even so, we can see plenty of Type S concept influence even with the less aggressive bodywork, such as the narrower upper grille and more pronounced lower grille, the garnish on the lower intakes, the side mirror design, and flared rear fenders. The rear end in the patent shows the same taillamps and decklid shutline, aero vents in the bumper, and the reshaped license plate holder moved from the trunk to the bumper.  The bodywork will sit on a new platform, and the bulk of betting money has Honda's 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo four-cylinder from the RDX as the base engine. That mill making 272 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque in the RDX, compared to the 2.4-liter four-cylinder in the current TLX that makes 206 hp and 182 lb-ft. The Type S is expected to inaugurate a brand new 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 developed specifically for Acura with more than 350 hp, a meaty bump beyond the 290 hp and 267 lb-ft in the present range-topping 3.5-liter V6. The TLX comes in two standard flavors now, so the question is whether Acura will give the 2021 model another engine or output option between standard and the Type S. The MDX Sport Hybrid crossover fits a 3.0-liter V6 powertrain producing a combined 321 hp and 289 lb-ft. On the 2021 TLX, a 10-speed automatic will manage shifting duties, sending power either to the front wheels or to all four through Acura's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive.  The automaker had planned on debuting the car at the New York Auto Show, and the rescheduled debut will come online and is likely not far away. If Acura doesn't show the Type S at the same time, an unveiling of that should come by early next year. Related Video: