Auto blog

2017 Acura NSX #001 is finally here | Autoblog Minute

The first 2017 Acura NZX rolls off the line in Ohio and Lincoln may be ditching some initials for a classic nameplate. Senior Editor Greg Migliore reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] The first 2017 Acura NSX rolled off the assembly line this week in Marysville, Ohio. Marking the return of the iconic supercar. VIN #001 went to Nascar Owner Rick Handpick. He paid $1.2M at auction for the first NSX. The proceeds went to charity. The 2017 NSX uses a twin turbo V6 teamed with three electric motors to make a total of 573-hp and 476-lb.ft of torque. The supercar also runs a nine speed dual clutch transmission and AWD. The starting price is $157,800 but you can option this thing out to well over $200k. Ford Motor Company applied this month to get the rights to the trademark for the word Zephyr. Lincoln is using some real names again aside from these MKC and MKX things that don't mean a lot to the general public. The Navigator is going strong and a new one comes on next year. Plus it brought back the Continental which was a well revived move. So Zephyr should ring a bell it was used in the 1930s and 40s, it was also used a little less memorably in 2006 on a Lincoln model that was essentially a rebadged Ford Fusion. Here's the take away: we think the MKZ might be rebadge as the Lincoln Zephyr. For Autoblog I'm Greg Migliore. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. Acura Lincoln Coupe Luxury Performance Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video trademark Lincoln Zephyr

Daily Driver: 2015 Acura TLX

Daily Driver videos are micro-reviews of vehicles in the Autoblog press fleet, reviewed by the staffers who drive them every day. Today's Daily Driver features the 2015 Acura TLX, reviewed by Seyth Miersma. You can watch the video above or read a transcript below. Watch more Autoblog videos at /videos. Show full video transcript text Hey all, this is Seyth with Autoblog and I'm here in the 2015 Acura TLX. Right off the bat I can tell that the TLX doesn't feel anything like as sporting a sedan as the TL it replaced, at least not in the versions that I last drove, which admittedly were TL's with V6 power and the SH all wheel drive. This TLX has got a 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine, it's making 206 horsepower, and 182 pound-feet of torque, and it is connected up to a eight-speed, dual-clutch transmission. As you can tell by the power output this isn't an impressively fast car. It weighs about 3,500 pounds so it's lugging around some weight. At the same time the eight-speed transmission is really responsive especially as you go through the selectable gear programs, you can make the throttle response pretty good. It is a throttle by wire as well and I haven't noticed any weirdness there, it feels very linear, and like I said, when I turned the system into the sport plus mode the gas pedal becomes really responsive. The exhaust note is muted, you really have to get up over 5,000 rpm before you start feeling like the engine is really pushing you. One of the things that struck me first about this Acura when I got in it was how quiet it was at speed. I feel like in the luxury segment, Acuras have historically done a little bit better for being sportier versions of cars in their segment and not necessarily more refined, but that seems to have been changing a lot on the last few generations of Acura. What it lacks in athletic ability it makes up for in composure. I'm on a pretty good right now, there are plenty of bad ones around where I live so this suspension soaks up a lot of the impacts and it dampens the sound of them as well too. Acura is clearly going after a much more mainstream customer these days and I think a car like this could be very attractive, more attractive than ever for a shopper of something like a Lexus ES. One feature I did play around with was Acura's active lane keep assist which works actually by moving the steering wheel to a degree to keep you centered in your lane if your hands are off the wheel.

Acura races into anime with 'Chiaki's Journey' web series

For the twelfth year in a row, Acura is a presenting sponsor and the official vehicle of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Acura created a four-part anime series called Chiaki's Journey combining the medium Sundance celebrates, Japanese anime, the automaker's fuller Type-S lineup, and the new Acura Integra hatch. Unlike most of the films at the festival, however, Chiaki's Journey runs a total of four minutes and 12 seconds, each episode lasting just over a minute. The story centers on Chiaki, a young Japanese woman from a family of racers who knows how to hustle a car around a track, but who has a temper that runs faster than her vintage Integra can rev. The villain is Erich Kang, the same rich and insufferably arrogant hotshot from every video game and car movie, piloting a non-descript blue hot rod. He's clearly the guy everyone would like to beat, and he knows he's that guy. When Chiaki gets behind the wheel to teach Kang a lesson in lap times, her uncle Noboru steps in to teach her the lessons she'll need to need to win.  Being so condensed, each installment plays like a trailer for a longer episode. Acura managed to fit in all the cars, though: Spot the 2022 MDX Type S, NSX Type S, TLX Type S, and 2023 Integra. The car brand got the obligatory Japanese rock anime intro as well, thanks to the all-female metal band NEMOPHILA doing the song "Raitei.” You can see the first episode above and the rest at Acura's dedicated Type S site.  Related video: