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Acura NSX is industry's first supercar with a female design lead

Michelle Christensen. Unless you've been casting about the web for some behind-the-scenes takes on recent exotic car launches or were unusually curious during the early days of the sport crossover trend, her name probably means nothing to you. She grew up in Northern California, where her family drag-raced. Venerables like the 1932 Ford, Plymouth GTX, and Dodge Super Bee rolled through her family garage. And Christensen grew up designing prom dresses for friends and dreaming of working in a pit crew. In fact, she didn't even realize car design was a real profession until junior high, when her father pointed out Chip Foose at a car show. After that, she was hooked, so she went to Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, where she reimagined the Plymouth Barracuda as her senior project. Today, Christensen can add the title of lead exterior designer on the 2016 Acura NSX to her resume. The first woman to lead the shape of a supercar, Christensen actually opened up her "First!" account with Acura in 2005 when the company swooped her up the night of graduation and she became its first female exterior car designer. Her first sketch on the job was a concept for the ZDX, and the bigwigs chose her design for production. She joined the NSX team after the mid-engined concept was introduced at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, replacing the front-engined V10 concept (we encourage you to go back and look at what was versus what is). Christensen thereafter led a crew of eight through a rework of the sheetmetal, with the focus being to keep the "emotional, 3-D kind of feeling." Reminiscing about her family's utterly unadorned '32 Ford hot rod, she said the NSX team was committed to keeping the design simple and light. Wind tunnel work led to larger bumper, hood and side intakes for better airflow on the production model. That, along with a switch in engine position, gave them a chance to go aggressive and to not only "punch more holes in it and make it more exotic," but also "take it to the gym and beef it up." In line with its decidedly un-retro rebirth, the third brake light that runs across the decklid is about the only nod to its predecessor. At age 34, we're certain we haven't seen the last of Christensen or her designs. Related Video:  

Acura recalling nearly 20k new MDX crossovers over AWD driveshafts

Acura is recalling nearly 20,000 of its 2014 MDX crossovers fitted with all-wheel drive over driveshaft concerns. The affected vehicles were built between May 6, 2013 and October 14, 2013, and have bolts that attach the driveshaft to the transmission that may not have been tightened properly.
Needless to say, an improperly secured driveshaft could lead to a number of problems, including everything from excessive drivetrain noise to full driveshaft detachment, a condition which could result in a loss of power and crash.
There's been no reports of accidents, injuries or deaths relating to the driveshaft issues. Acura will begin notifying all 19,197 owners in question of the recall, and will request that they report in for repairs, which will consist of tightening the driveshaft-attaching bolts. Scroll down for the official bulletin from NHTSA.

Race a Type S Concept and an 8-bit 1991 NSX in Acura's new video game

Acura has unveiled a new mobile video game that features a variety of the brand's notable cars from throughout the past three decades. The game is a spin-off of the brand's "Beat That" commercial, and each level is programmed to look how video games looked when the different cars were in production. Players have the option to drive a race car, new and old Acura sports cars, or a crossover. As part of the “Less Talk, More Drive” advertising campaign, Acura has released a series of commercials with the catchphrase, "Beat That." They're meant to demonstrate the company's competitive spirit, and now Honda's luxury brand has brought about a new way to get those fiery juices going. In the same week as the 2020 Chicago Auto Show, Acura has launched "Beat That" the mobile video game. The game has six levels, each of which features a different car. Each race is a time trial, and the graphics are designed in a way that they match the years of the vehicles. Level 1 takes place at the 8-Bit Beach and features the 1991 Acura NSX. Level 2 takes place at the Warehouse Complex and features the 1998 Acura Integra Type R. Level 3 features a Snowy Summit stage an includes the 2020 Acura RDX A-Spec, while Level 3 is at a Grand Prix Circuit with the ARX-05 Daytona Prototype racecar. A 2020 NSX drives on the Super Skyway in Level 5, and the Type S Concept can be driven in a Cyber Tunnel in Level 6.  The only way to reach the next level within the game is to beat a specific lap time designated for each level. Users can play against themselves, or they can send challenges to friends through social media or other chat platforms. To compete against the best of the best, users can click on a leaderboard time and compete against ghost cars from the previous record laps.  To play the game on a mobile device, click here.