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2019 Acura RDX named a Top Safety Pick+ by IIHS

To the accolades being heaped on the all-new 2019 Acura RDX, the automaker can now add another: a Top Safety Pick+ designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the organization's coveted top rating. IIHS cites the SUV's good crashworthiness ratings, standard front crash prevention technology and even the availability of "good"-rated headlights, which has become perhaps the group's most daunting hurdle. To qualify for IIHS's top award, a vehicle must earn "good" ratings in the driver-side small overlap front crash test, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests and an "acceptable" or "good" rating in passenger-side small overlap test. The RDX earns "good" ratings across the board. IIHS also rated the standard AcuraWatch safety technology as "superior," saying it avoided collisions at 12 and 25 mph, and it rated the base LED headlights as "good" and the curve-adapted headlights on the top-of-the-line Advance trim as "acceptable." Autoblog recently learned that 40 vehicle models earned good enough crash ratings to qualify for IIHS' Top Safety Pick rating but fall short because they don't meet the organization's criteria for good headlights. Acura says the 2019 RDX features the newest generation of its Advanced Compatibility Engineering body structure, plus new high-strength steel door stiffener rings and eight airbags. The AcuraWatch suite of safety technologies includes collision mitigation braking, adaptive cruise control and road departure mitigation, all standard. The RDX is powered by a 2.0-liter turbo-four engine that makes 272 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque and comes with a 10-speed automatic. The compact luxury crossover went on sale June 1 and set monthly sales records in both June and July. You can find Autoblog's driving review of the 2019 RDX here. Related Video:

Acura NSX to race in GT3 or GTE

Honda is reportedly planning to roll out a racing version of the new Acura NSX. It just hasn't decided yet on which class it wants to enter it into, to whose specifications it will build it, and which department will be tasked with the project. The original NSX competed principally in Japan's own Super GT series. So did the subsequent HSV-010 GT that was originally designed to be the NSX's replacement. But Acura's new supercar is as much an American vehicle as a Japanese one, and as such it looks more likely to compete on American soil. The options which Honda is considering boil down to GTE and GT3. What's the difference, you ask? Until just a few years ago, international sports car racing was split between GT1, GT2, GT3, and (to a lesser extent) GT4 classes. GT1 was phased out in 2009, GT2 was reformatted into GTE (with both Pro and Am categories), while both GT3 and GT4 carried on. Today GTE is run at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and its associated championships around the globe: the FIA World Endurance Championship, the European Le Mans Series, the Asian Le Mans Series, and the United SportsCar Championship. Meanwhile GT3 is run in series like the Blancpain Endurance Series and a growing number of regional championships. (GT4 is run in lower-level series for amateur racers.) Acura currently runs the TLX-GT in the Pirelli World Challenge here in America. But as the series moves to GT3 specifications as well, the company is facing the decision of either adapting the existing racer to the new regulations (and coming away with a potentially compromised package), or replace it entirely. The NSX could prove just the ticket, however the GTE class may ultimately give it more exposure. Whichever rulebook Acura opts to play by, it likely won't be running under hybrid power – an element which would add complication but not necessarily much benefit under current regulations. The automaker will also have to decide who will develop the new NSX racer, with both California-based Honda Performance Development (HPD) and Italian outfit JAS Motorsport (which fields Honda's WTCC team) eyed as potential candidates. Related Video:

2017 Acura NSX production launches in April

After a decade of waiting and a few false starts, the new Acura NSX will finally start rolling out of its Marysville, OH, factory in late April. Customer deliveries won't be too far behind. We can't wait to hear whether buyers find the supercar as fast and comfortable as we did during the First Drive. Trial production is already underway at the NSX's bespoke factory called the Performance Manufacturing Center. The plant is specifically for production of low-volume vehicles with cutting-edge tech. The site employs 100 people to construct, paint, and check the quality of the new supercar, and they need 14 hours to build each one. Robots take care of some of the more intricate tasks like MIG welding the space frame. View 6 Photos It also takes workers six hours to build each NSX's 3.5-liter V6 by hand at the nearby engine plant in Anna, OH. They machine balance every one and run the powerplant through a 150-mile break-in procedure. While the supercar isn't at dealers yet, you can already build your own 2017 NSX online. Prices start at $157,800 (after $1,800 for destination), but the first examples only come with carbon-ceramic brakes, which add at least $9,900 to the price. When Autoblog editors optioned them out, the cheapest we managed was $172,700. Related Video: ACURA ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR START OF SERIAL PRODUCTION OF THE 2017 ACURA NSX Performance Manufacturing Center is exclusive global production home for Acura NSX with serial production to begin late April World-class facility boasts quality, craftsmanship and technological innovation Mar 17, 2016 - MARYSVILLE, Ohio -- Acura today announced that the all-new Performance Manufacturing Center will begin serial production of the next-generation Acura NSX supercar in late April, with customer deliveries to commence thereafter. The new Performance Manufacturing Center (PMC) is the exclusive global manufacturing facility for the all-new Acura NSX supercar and is structured around an innovative blend of people and technology. Combining human craftsmanship and technological innovation, the PMC utilizes new approaches to vehicle construction, paint, assembly and quality confirmation to deliver on the Acura brand DNA of Precision Crafted Performance.