1998 Acura Cl Premium Coupe 2-door 2.3l on 2040-cars

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Why the 2015 Detroit Auto Show will be the best since The Crisis

The Detroit Auto Show clearly has its swagger back, and the 2015 edition will be a veritable feast for the enthusiast senses. We're talking serious performance, and it will be exhibited in a variety of forms. Sports cars. Supercars. Muscle-bound luxury cars. They're all set for splashy debuts in January in the Motor City. It's another signpost that companies have recovered from the global economic crisis that gripped the industry from 2008-09. For a while, automakers played it safe at Detroit and other shows. Environmentally friendly cars were important, especially for General Motors and Chrysler that were living on loans from Uncle Sam. Ford, Toyota and other companies generally focused on their best-selling or core models. With a few notable exceptions, recent auto shows have been a bit more buttoned-down than in the past. Boring probably isn't the right word, but austerity has been reality. That's changing. Car companies are making money. Sales are up. Aside from the many nagging recalls – and they are notable – the industry now has the time and energy to make performance cars a priority. That will be offered in hard evidence in Detroit. A year from now when we look back at this auto show, we'll sum it up with one word: Horsepower. But make no mistake, this isn't frivolous. Sports and luxury cars are expensive. They're profitable. They boost images and highlight strengths. With that in mind, here are five significant performance-oriented reveals to watch for when the show kicks off in less than two weeks. 2016 Acura NSX Acura's reborn NSX is a strong bet to earn plenty of votes for our Editors' Choice awards. It's one of the most anticipated – and strung-out – reveals of the year. Think back: we actually saw an NSX concept at the 2012 Detroit show, and Acura has spent the last three years teasing the car in a variety of ways. The slow burn, however, means we know a lot about the NSX. It's will use a mid-mounted twin-turbo hybrid powertrain and run with all-wheel drive. It will also wear an innovative zirconium e-coat paint, a new paint process that Honda says is more environmentally friendly. Honda has also said it will build the new NSX in Ohio, where a large part of the car's development work has been done. The original NSX was produced from 1990-2005 and helped establish Acura's performance credentials in the United States. It was a landmark car and a shot across the bow of Ferrari, Lamborghini and others.

Sony Honda EV venture's plan for online sales has dealers squirming

TOKYO/DETROIT — A new joint venture formed by Japan's Sony Group Corp and Honda Motor plans to introduce a premium electric vehicle later this decade, and the automaker's U.S. dealers are anxious to be part of the sales process. Sony Honda Mobility said on Thursday it was aiming to deliver the first of the unnamed EV by 2026, starting in the United States, and will sell them online. The success of Tesla at selling EVs without franchised dealers is putting pressure on established automakers to overhaul their retail networks. That leaves dealers across most brands concerned about their place in the changing world and whether profits will be squeezed. The online aspect of the Sony Honda plan, as well as the lack of details around how the vehicle will be sold and serviced, has raised questions with the Honda and Acura brand dealers. Many nonetheless expect Honda to work through the existing retail network. "These issues are certainly a concern," said Brian Benstock, general manager and vice president of Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura in Queens, New York. "The best path forward is with the dealers." "We have a role (automakers) can't replicate," said Benstock, who also is on the Acura national dealer advisory board and has spoken with Honda officials about the new vehicle. "There's no way that Honda wants to hurt their existing dealer body." Some dealers questioned why Honda would even consider trying to work outside the current U.S. sales network given its national reach. Honda has about 1,100 Honda dealers and 270 Acura dealers. A Honda spokesperson referred questions about the joint venture to the new company. Sony Honda spokesperson Mai Nagadome said there are still a lot of details to finalize, but selling through the dealers has not been ruled out and customers would feel uneasy without some kind of after-sales service process. "The cost of continuing to develop (internal combustion engine) products along with EVs and autonomous tech and software for the next generation vehicles is proving to be quite the challenge," said Peter Hennessy, dealer principal of Atlanta-based Hennessy Automobile Companies, which includes a Honda store. "I get teaming up with Sony, but it should be done in conjunction with the dealer network, not outside it," he added.

Rare 1999 Acura NSX Zanardi Edition sells for $135,000

Somebody just bought a 1999 Acura NSX Zanardi Edition for $135,000 on Bring a Trailer. And to that we say, we’re jealous. The Zanardi Edition is one of the more sought-after NSX models out there. Acura only ever sold 51 of them (named after racer Alex Zanardi), and they were sold during a time that nearly every NSX sold here was an NSX-T with the T-top. The hardtop Zanardi Edition features a number of performance improvements over a typical 1999 NSX. Acura took a sizable chunk of weight out of the car. Versus a hardtop coupe, itÂ’s about 54 pounds lighter. Compared to the more popular NSX-T, itÂ’s 149 pounds lighter. This was done in a few ways, but the single biggest weight reduction was due to the power steering delete, making it more like the older NSXs that never had power steering. Lightweight BBS wheels, a lighter battery, single-pane rear glass and a lighter rear spoiler also helped to reduce weight. It received a “racetrack-tuned suspension” that was considerably stiffer than the regular NSX. The shocks, springs and bushings were all revised, and Acura lowered the ride height (0.6 inch in front, 0.3 inch in rear). A stiffer and larger rear stabilizer bar was fitted, too. The Zanardi Edition is rather distinctive looking because of its New Formula Red paint and dark BBS wheels. Acura added red stitching to the all black interior, and owners also got to use a sweet titanium shift knob. And of course, thereÂ’s a special edition plaque on the interior to officially declare it a Zanardi.  Acura did nothing to the engine or transmission. Therefore, it retains the 3.2-liter V6 (290 horsepower and 224 pound-feet of torque) and six-speed manual. We donÂ’t get to see many Zanardi Editions go up for sale, but when they do, they get the big bucks. At 57,000 miles, this one is still on the low side, hence the $135,000 final bid. A regular (albeit newer) 2004 NSX-T with 1,900 miles just sold for $133,000 earlier today. So yeah Â… NSX values donÂ’t seem to be going anywhere but up these days. Related video: