2018 Acura Ilx Special Edition on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Acura puts on display of mechanical horsepower in new ad

Originally forged with a brand identity based on luxury, sportiness and practicality, Acura has spent the last decade or so struggling with its image. The sporting credibility suffered a mighty blow with the loss of cars like the Integra, RSX and NSX, and recent years have seen the Japanese company attempting to recast itself as a technology leader.
All of that makes this latest Acura commercial, Let The Race Begin, even more difficult to understand, metaphorically speaking. The horsepower-horse race 'theme' certainly isn't difficult to fathom, with mecca-equine versions of popular luxury brands filling the screen. But the choice to make Acura's filly a flesh-and-blood creation seems odd, for the high-tech theme. Acura as "thoroughbred apart from the rest of the field" seems to be the rough message here, though we're not sure we're buying it. We're also not sure we're comfortable with how much these ponies reminded us of a certain off-putting robotic dog...
Looks expensive, at any rate. Watch the robot ponies run for yourself, below.

2023 Acura TLX adds a couple of service amenities, price increases

The Acura TLX busted out an all-new second generation for the 2021 model year, one-upping that with a TLX Type S, and ringing the bell with the TLX Type S PMC Edition for the 2023 model year. With the fireworks still echoing from all that, 2023 will be an otherwise quiet year for the sedan range. The upgrades are service oriented, the automaker throwing in three years of AcuraLink and the Security and Remote packages free. The Remote Package can speak directly to the car with commands like remote start and stop or lock and unlock, or owners can give the car commands through Amazon Alexa Auto. Alerts like Find My Car and Stolen Vehicle Locator can keep tabs on the car's location, worried parents can keep tabs on teens with features like Geofence Alert and Speed Alert. The Security Package handles matters like crash notifications, calls to emergency services, and roadside assistance. Acura's also added its Maintenance Package to the stock offering. This gets two years or 24,000 miles of scheduled maintenance like oil changes and tire rotations. Any remaining balance can be transferred to a new owner if the car is sold before the time or mileage limits are reached. Finally, it's not mentioned in the press release, but the 2.0T in base spec with SH-AWD and the 2.0T with the Technology Pack and SH-AWD are missing from the 2023 price list. That leaves eight models in the range thanks to the addition of the PMC Edition.  Prices for the holdovers are up, surprise, surprise. MSRPs for the 2023 TLX range, including the $1,095 destination charge for the standard sedans and the $1,995 destination charge for the PMC Edition, and the changes from 2022, are: TLX 2.0T: $40,745 ($750) TLX 2.0T Technology Pack: $44,745 ($750) TLX 2.0T A-Spec Pack: $47,495 ($750) TLX 2.0T A-Spec Pack SH-AWD: $49,695 ($750) TLX 2.0T Advanced Pack SH-AWD: $51,945 ($950) TLX 3.0T Type S SH-AWD: $56,445 ($1,650) TLX 3.0T Type S SH-AWD with Performance Wheels and Tires: $57,245 ($1,650) TLX 3.0T Type S SH-AWD PMC Edition: $63,995

Acura reveals performance EV concept called Performance EV Concept

After teasing a new EV concept for Monterey, Acura made good on its promise Thursday with the unveiling of its rather plainly named Performance EV Concept. Good news: Acura's first in-house EV will be a performance car. Bad news: It's not the one we all hoped it would be. Instead, we're getting another model in the grand tradition of the ZDX — pronounced front end and all. It seems that look is here to stay, so get used to it, because Acura says it plans to build a production model based on this concept starting in late 2025.  That's noteworthy not just because this is Acura's first in-house EV, but because it'll be the first production car to ride on any variant of Honda's new BEV architecture. The mainstream brand is planning to put something based on its 0 Series "Saloon" concept into production in 2026. That's quite the coup (no "e") for Acura, which spent most of the past two years talking about the Ultium-based ZDX project, which by all accounts will be the first and last Acura-badged product of Honda's tie-up with General Motors and its Ultium EV platform.  As you can probably surmise, Acura remains tight-lipped about specifics. Honda (and by extension, Acura) "concept" vehicles have a funny habit of being put into production almost exactly as they sit, so what you see here is likely pretty close to the mystery CUV's final physical form, but battery and motor specs remain nebulous for the time being. We expect a multi-motor setup engineered to mimic the behavior of the SH-AWD system Acura offers in its ICE vehicles. The concept's massive 23-inch wheels encircle a set of four-piston calipers and crossed-drilled rotors — the two most significant hints that we're looking at something meant to move quickly.  If you're in Northern California for Car Week, you can check out Acura's concept at The Quail. The company's presentation is scheduled for 10:36 a.m. local time (What is this, a train schedule?) on Friday.