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Acura MDX teaser photos show an upscale interior

After teasing us with an exterior image of the fourth-generation Acura MDX a week ago, Acura has now followed up with images of the interior. The exterior teaser was done up in "Tron" style, but these interior shots go beyond outlines to reveal some details that are much less obscured. Acura promises the MDX will be the "most premium and performance-focused" version of the SUV yet and has earned "elevated status" as the brand's flagship. (Only about 1,000 of the RLX were sold in North America last year, vs. 52,000 of the MDX, so it seems the big sedan got demoted as flagship. Aw.) The MDX's instrument panel is lower and wider, Acura says, and the interior is trimmed out in real open-pore wood. The leather dash is "hand-wrapped" with French seams. All three rows of seating surfaces are quilted, with perforations done in a gradated design, and there is contrasting piping and stitching. Massaging front seats add to the premium experience. Acura promises a variety of new technologies in the cabin, including what it calls the Acura Precision Cockpit, along with a mighty wide-looking HD infotainment screen and Acura's dynamic ELS Studio 3D sound system with 25 speakers. (Where do they put them all?) After Acura did great things with the RDX and the new 2021 TLX, we expect the MDX redesign will follow suit in reinvigorating the brand. The MDX will likely offer the same engines as in the TLX: a 272-horsepower turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder as the base engine, and a 355-horsepower turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 engine as an option. But we should know more about all of the above when the prototype Acura MDX — albeit a very-near-production prototype — will be revealed next Wednesday, Oct. 14.  Related Video:

Consumer Reports no longer recommends Honda Civic

Consumer Reports annual Car Reliability Survey is out, and yes, there are some big surprises. First and foremost? The venerable publication no longer recommends the Honda Civic. In fact, aside from the walking-dead CR-Z and limited-release Clarity fuel-cell car, the Civic is the only Honda to miss out on CR's prestigious nod. At the opposite end there's a surprise as well – Toyota and Lexus remain the most reliable brands on the market, but Buick cracked the top three. That's up from seventh last year, and the first time for an American brand to stand on the Consumer Reports podium. Mazda's entire lineup earned Recommended checks as well. Consumer Reports dinged the Civic for its "infuriating" touch-screen radio, lack of driver lumbar adjustability, the limited selection of cars on dealer lots fitted with Honda's popular Sensing system, and the company's decision to offer LaneWatch instead of a full-tilt blind-spot monitoring system. Its score? A lowly 58. The Civic isn't the only surprise drop from CR's Recommended ranks. The Audi A3, Ford F-150, Subaru WRX/STI, and Volkswagen Jetta, GTI, and Passat all lost the Consumer Reports' checkmark. On the flipside, a number of popular vehicles graduated to the Recommended ranks, including the BMW X5, Chevrolet Camaro, Corvette, and Cruze, Hyundai Santa Fe, Porsche Macan, and Tesla Model S. Perhaps the biggest surprise is the hilariously recall-prone Ford Escape getting a Recommended check – considering the popularity of Ford's small crossover, this is likely a coup for the brand, as it puts the Escape on a level playing field with the Recommended Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Nissan Rogue. While Ford is probably happy to see CR promote the Escape, the list wasn't as kind for every brand. For example, of the entire Fiat Chrysler Automobiles catalog, the ancient Chrysler 300 was the only car to score a check – there wasn't a single Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, or Ram on the list. That hurts. FCA isn't alone at the low end, either. GMC, Jaguar Land Rover, Mini, and Mitsubishi don't have a vehicle on CR's list between them, while brands like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Nissan, Lincoln, Infiniti, and Cadillac only have a few models each. You can check out Consumer Reports entire reliability roundup, even without a subscription, here.

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.