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2016 Acura ILX First Drive [w/video]

Luxury carmakers love getting 'em when they're young. Sure, it takes older, well-heeled buyers to move high-margin flagships like S-Classes, 7 Series, and LSes, but to borrow from the late, great Ms. Houston, the children are the future – specifically, the ones buying entry-level sleds like the Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz CLA. Since youthful buyers tend to cultivate lifelong patterns of loyalty (and thus, spending), Acura has invested effort in shoving its entry-level ILX into more upmarket territory. "The ILX was originally conceived during the recession," one Acura executive admitted during the launch of the facelifted 2016 model, conceding that the original compact sedan's priorities were biased towards economy, not plushness. Because Acura originally didn't see the $30,000-ish competitors from Audi and Mercedes coming, they didn't think twice about equipping the base, prior-gen ILX with rather uninspired styling and a meager 150-horsepower engine, the combination of which made it more of a glorified Honda Civic than a contender for European power players. What's an aspiring Japanese automaker to do in 2015's golden age of affordable luxury? If you're Acura, you scramble to release a mid-cycle upgrade to elevate the ILX's status. Upmarket Moves: Fresher Skin And A Friskier Soul With its ho-hum sheet metal, the outgoing ILX simply couldn't stand up to its more crisply styled competitors. The 2016 model comes to the rescue by adding Acura's signature "Jewel Eye" row of LED headlights, which joins a reworked grille and fascia to form a more aggressive front end that's been moved lower and wider. A redesigned rear deck incorporates new LED taillamps, while the ILX's proportions now boast a more hunkered-down stance. The look is sexier (especially thanks to those glimmering headlights), though the stodgy, Buick-like character line and rear haunches remain. Inside, a new multimedia and navigation system brings a level of modernity to the cabin, with an eight-inch upper display and seven-inch lower touchscreen gracing Premium and Tech Plus models. A multi-view rear camera is standard on all ILXs, and the Premium gets a seven-speaker sound system while the Tech Plus receives a 10-speaker ELS premium audio setup. Acura's new Navi link feature enables iPhones to display navigation functionality on the car's screen using a $99 cable kit and a $60 app, offering an affordable way to know where you're going. The kit was not available on the models we drove.

Acura aiming for Chinese production by 2016

Not wanting to be left out of the emerging luxury car bonanza in China, Automotive News is reporting that Acura could begin producing vehicles in the Asian country by 2016. Like Audi, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, Acura will reportedly build vehicles in China using a local partner - Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. in Acura's case - while Cadillac and Infiniti will build their own vehicles locally.
Guangzhou already produces Honda models in China, but the article says that the first Acura produced in that country could be a new compact model based on the Acura SUV-X Concept (shown above), a showcar revealed in April at the Shanghai Motor Show. China's luxury car market is expected to grow to 2.7 million units a year by the end of this decade, which would put it on pace to make it the largest premium car market in the world.

Acura NSX ScienceofSpeed Dream Project brings another wing to SEMA

Acura rolled into SEMA last year with its non-hybrid NSX GT3 race car, that FIA spec-series competitor pulled to Vegas on a trailer behind a GT3-themed Acura MDX. Sticking with the GT3 theme this year but going road-legal, Acura worked with Arizona-based ScienceofSpeed on a GT3 package that NSX owners can put in driveways. The result is the lower, more powerful, more wing-y NSX "Dream Project." Liquid-cooled injecting for the twin-turbo boosts output, adding 37 horsepower for a total of 610, and another 31 pound-feet of torque to register 507. A lightweight steel exhaust sheds 16 pounds and bestows those magnified numbers with magnified bass. A custom suspension drops the coupe by a little more than an inch, a custom iLIFT suspension add-on automatically raises the front axle two inches if the NSX detects a hurdle. The ScienceofSpeed aero kit includes all you'd expect from the alphanumeric "GT3:" front strakes, wider rocker panels, larger rear diffuser, a rear wing, gold powdercoated carbon ceramic Brembo brakes, and wider Pirelli Trofeo R tires wrapped around Advan GT forged wheels. Drench the package in two-tone Andaro Nouvelle Blue Pearl and gloss black roof, and the NSX Dream Project's ready to be driven from climate-controlled garage, to parking-lot car show, back to climate-controlled garage. If the owner decides to test a limit or two, Recaro Pole Position seats and a gaugeART OLED display will keep him locked in and informed. Related Video: