2004 Acura Mdx on 2040-cars

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Honda to lead Rose Parade with hybrid tech

What are you doing New Year's Day? We're probably going to watch Urban Meyer's retirement bash the Rose Bowl, but we love a nice parade, too. To kick the day off, Honda will be leading the 130th Rose Parade with its own float, an Insight hybrid and an Acura RDX crossover. Not only will Honda be celebrating the new year, it'll also celebrate its 60th anniversary in the U.S. As such, the main float will be shaped like a 25-foot-tall birthday cake. And 60 band members from the historically black colleges and universities' marching bands — which recently took part in a battle of the bands sponsored by Honda — will represent the candles on the cake. It'll also be decorated to re-create the look of the automaker's first storefront in Los Angeles. The float will be called "Celebration of Dreams," a fitting title for a company whose founder Soichiro Honda famously said, "The day I stop dreaming is the day I die." (The first thing you see when entering the amazing Honda Collection Hall at Twin Ring Motegi is a large, circular glass sculpture with the word "Dream" and Soichiro Honda's signature). For the parade, the Honda Insight will serve as the official pace car, while the Acura RDX will play the role of sound car. The float itself will be propelled by a modified Honda hybrid powertrain. The main float will be flanked by five "satellite" floats, each representing facets of the company. These will include a Honda Super Cub motorbike; a floral representation of a 1975 Civic CVCC; a float with crash test dummies and an arch with five stars to represent safety; a Honda Accord, which is built in the U.S.; and a float incorporating elements from the HondaJet to represent the future. The Rose Parade broadcast begins bright and early at 8 a.m. Pacific on Jan. 1. Check out the rendering at the top of the page to get a sense of what to expect. Related Video:

2021 Acura TLX Long-Term Introduction | Loving the style, testing the substance

It’s not an understatement to say that the 2021 TLX is AcuraÂ’s most important car in years. Its purpose is ambitious: to be an authentic sports sedan with premium flair. When Acura is at its best, thatÂ’s what it does, as exemplified by the Legend and the third-generation TL. Can the TLX live up to that pedigree? WeÂ’ll spend the next year seeking answers as the attractive TLX joins our long-term fleet. The TLX is the sedan for Acura, carrying most of its aspirations as a sporting brand. Sure, thereÂ’s still the NSX, but a halo car needs to shine its light on something for mainstream enthusiasts to buy. As a reminder, the ILX is a dressed-up Civic and AcuraÂ’s former flagship, the RLX, is done. Put simply, thereÂ’s a lot riding on the TLX, but early indications are promising.  You will be able to find all future posts on our Long-Term 2021 Acura TLX page.  What we got Our new long-termer is a TLX A-Spec with Super Handling All-Wheel Drive. ItÂ’s powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder rated at 272 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque teamed with a 10-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters. It costs $47,775, including destination charges, which puts it near the top of the TLX range. Among the TLX's standard features are LED head- and taillights, a sunroof, heated front seats, satellite radio, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Acura's unusual True Touchpad interface. Beyond the basic equipment, Acura then breaks down content into three packages, but they're more like trim levels since you can't mix and match them, nor are there any additional options beyond SH-AWD. As such, the A-Spec basically takes the Technology package items (blind-spot warning, navigation, leather upholstery, ambient cabin lighting) and adds additional content, including 19-inch Shark Grey aluminum alloy wheels, LED fog lamps, ventilated front seats, a sport steering wheel, a wireless phone charger, and a 17-speaker Panasonic/ELS sound system. The A-Spec also looks different with gloss black accents, smoked light casings and a matte grey diamond grille that really stand out when paired with our long-termer's striking Apex Blue Pearl Paint ($500 option). Our car also arrived on 255/40 R19 all-season tires but we plan to swap them for winter rubber. Why we got it The A-Spec is the enthusiast version. It looks and feels the part of a proper sports sedan. The interior, with the supportive seats and flat-bottom steering wheel, reinforces the idea of athleticism.

2020 Acura RDX Driveway Test | How does a stroller fit?

From the people who brought you the Luggage Test, it's the Stroller Test! I know, sequels, right?  However, as someone who was recently in the market for a stroller and didn't want to buy a new/gigantic family vehicle to accommodate it (not to mention needing to potentially store it in every vehicle currently sold), knowing how big strollers were and how they might fit in cars was important.  Now, I can't do much in terms of testing a variety of strollers. For that, I would direct you to Baby Gear Lab, which has quite the comprehensive stroller testing program (Wire Cutter is another good source). One of the things I appreciated about Baby Gear Lab was their independent measurements of each stroller, which through the magic of maths, they translate into more easily comparable cubic-inch measurements.  I ultimately chose the new Thule Spring, which is one of the most compact regular strollers on the market, with a folded volume of 5,402 cubic inches (my own independent measurement based on 30 inches long, 16.75 inches wide and 10.75 inches tall). By comparison, the comparable Baby Jogger City Mini 2 when folded is 8,300 cubic-inches according to Baby Gear Lab, while Thule's top-rated jogging stroller, the Urban Glide 2, is 15,388 cubic inches. In other words, if the Thule Spring takes up a lot of space in a trunk, virtually everything else apart from ultra-compact travel strollers will take up even more. This is essentially a best-case scenario.  First up, the 2020 Acura RDX, which is one of the most family friendly compact luxury crossovers. Actually, "compact" is almost a misnomer given how much passenger and cargo space is present. And don't you worry dear friends, that cargo space will be fully put to the test soon with good old-fashioned luggage. Since the RDX is first to be tested, we'll just have to consider it in a vacuum. Not many words to spill here. Now here's the Spring on its side. I already know that it can't fit like this in my Audi Allroad when the cargo cover and cargo net cartridges are in place. It would in the RDX with its cargo cover.  And that's all she wrote. Hopefully this series will prove helpful. Please let me know if there's anything else to be considered — I'm new to this.