2009 Acura Tl Sh-awd Sedan 4-door 3.7l on 2040-cars

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2013 Acura ZDX

What Is, What Could Have Been, And What May Yet Be
History is largely unkind to losers. That's true in the world of politics and sports, and it follows on with a few caveats in the realm of automobiles.
In terms of cars, historic losers tend to be remembered in one of two broad ways. Every once in a while, unsuccessful or oddball models actually make reputational gains after some time away from the new-car marketplace. I consider the Saab 9-2X one of the recent poster children for this group; a car that moved like molasses on dealer lots in the mid-2000s but has morphed into a sort of hard-to-find, used gem in recent years. More often, though, that which was unloved when new remains unloved with tens or hundreds of thousands of miles on the odometer. Pontiac's seriously misunderstood Aztek has king status here (despite the wailings of oddball fan clubs across the nation), so much so that invoking "Aztek" as a pejorative stopped being pithy about a dozen years ago.

Acura Integra Luggage Test: How big is the trunk?

The new 2023 Acura Integra, just like the original 1986 Acura Integra, has four doors and a hatchbacked trunk. That lends it more versatility than a regular enclosed trunk, and judging by the official cargo capacity numbers, more space, too. On paper, it wows with 24.3 cubic-feet, which would in theory be better than some small crossovers like the Mazda CX-30 and Subaru Crosstrek. It should also kick the luggage-testing snot out of the Honda Civic, with which it shares so much. That car, including the Civic Si, has a 14.8 cubic-foot trunk.  In theory, the Integra should be able to stuff 10 cubic-feet worth of extra luggage in its hatchbacked cargo area than the Civic can. Let's not bury the lede, here: Ah, no it can't. Not even close. The Integra can carry less stuff than a Civic sedan. Ditto a Mazda CX-30 and Subaru Crosstrek, for that matter. No matter what else is about to follow, though, this shot is ultimately an important one. Look at that opening! It's huge and obviously makes loading so much easier. Remove the cargo cover and lower the seats, and you also have substantially better maximum cargo capacity and versatility than any sedan could provide.  It also lets a 2-year-old do this. OK, now that small people storage is out of the way, let's talk about the cargo cover. It is a gigantic mesh piece bracketed my rigid plastic. This means that you're pretty much screwed if you suddenly need space beyond what's below the cover. You ain't storing this thing inside the car. There is a slight silver lining, however, which I'll get to momentarily.  First, let's see how many bags fit with the cover in place (ish).  As in every luggage test I do, I use two midsize roller suitcases that would need to be checked in at the airport (26 inches long, 16 wide, 11 deep), two roll-aboard suitcases that just barely fit in the overhead (24L x 15W x 10D), and one smaller roll-aboard that fits easily (23L x 15W x 10D). I also include my wife's fancy overnight bag just to spruce things up a bit (21L x 12W x 12D). That's all the big bags up there, but as you can see (above right), the blue bag is totally smashed. I couldn't do that if there was actually something in the bag. Ergo, forget this. This would be the four biggest bags plus the fancy bag, which is still a bit squished but usable. There is still an issue, though. The black bag at the upper right forced the cargo cover up and out of its bracket when the trunk lid was closed. The trunk still closed, though.

Acura announces 2021 TLX Type S on-sale date and approximate price

Acura is clearing up a few nagging questions we had about the 2021 TLX Type S today. The company’s latest announcement spells out both the starting price and a precise on-sale date.  YouÂ’ll be able to drive a 2021 Acura TLX Type S home in May this year, and pricing starts “in the low $50,000s.” We wish Acura could be a little more specific on exact pricing, but apparently itÂ’s not ready to divulge that information yet. Regardless, this price point makes perfect sense when you consider that the regular TLX with its 2.0-liter turbo can be optioned up to about $50,000. ItÂ’s likely going to come in under the BMW M340iÂ’s price (starts at $55,695). On the other hand, the Audi S4 will most likely undercut the Type S with its $50,945 base price. Do keep in mind that both the BMW and Audi will likely need a heavy hand in the options list to equal the AcuraÂ’s equipment, just as the non-performance models require. As a reminder, the TLX Type S is getting a 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 that spits out 355 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque to the standard SH-AWD system. The 10-speed automatic is “sport-tuned,” and the car has a new Sport+ driving mode that isnÂ’t on the regular TLX that notches everything up to another level of aggressiveness. You can get NSX-inspired lightweight wheels that hide big Brembo brakes and can be wrapped in Pirelli P-Zero summer tires. The Tiger Eye Pearl exterior paint pictured here is a Type S-exclusive paint option, too. WeÂ’ll be looking forward to May this year, when we'll finally get behind the wheel of the Type S, which is the first Type S weÂ’ve seen in America for 13 years. Related video: