1998 Acura Cl Premium Coupe 2-door 2.3l Smogged & Clean Title. on 2040-cars

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A car writer's year in new vehicles [w/video]

Christmas is only a week away. The New Year is just around the corner. As 2014 draws to a close, I'm not the only one taking stock of the year that's we're almost shut of. Depending on who you are or what you do, the end of the year can bring to mind tax bills, school semesters or scheduling dental appointments. For me, for the last eight or nine years, at least a small part of this transitory time is occupied with recalling the cars I've driven over the preceding 12 months. Since I started writing about and reviewing cars in 2006, I've done an uneven job of tracking every vehicle I've been in, each year. Last year I made a resolution to be better about it, and the result is a spreadsheet with model names, dates, notes and some basic facts and figures. Armed with this basic data and a yen for year-end stories, I figured it would be interesting to parse the figures and quantify my year in cars in a way I'd never done before. The results are, well, they're a little bizarre, honestly. And I think they'll affect how I approach this gig in 2015. {C} My tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015 it'll be as high as 73. Let me give you a tiny bit of background about how automotive journalists typically get cars to test. There are basically two pools of vehicles I drive on a regular basis: media fleet vehicles and those available on "first drive" programs. The latter group is pretty self-explanatory. Journalists are gathered in one location (sometimes local, sometimes far-flung) with a new model(s), there's usually a day of driving, then we report back to you with our impressions. Media fleet vehicles are different. These are distributed to publications and individual journalists far and wide, and the test period goes from a few days to a week or more. Whereas first drives almost always result in a piece of review content, fleet loans only sometimes do. Other times they serve to give context about brands, segments, technology and the like, to editors and writers. So, adding up the loans I've had out of the press fleet and things I've driven at events, my tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015, it'll be as high as 73. At one of the buff books like Car and Driver or Motor Trend, reviewers might rotate through five cars a week, or more. I know that number sounds high, but as best I can tell, it's pretty average for the full-time professionals in this business.

100th Pikes Peak Hill Climb brings bad weather, heartbreak

Hill climb? Please. While Europeans spent the weekend driving up a nobleman's driveway at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, we in 'Murica got down and dirty with the 100th running up Pikes Peak. In a reversal of stereotypes, it is we who have understated. The "hill" climb ascends one of the tallest peaks in the Rockies, to a finish line that's 14,115 feet above sea level. To get there, it takes 156 turns over 12.42 miles, some of which just look like paved sky, because they have have no guardrails between the asphalt's edge and sheer dropoffs. In reality, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is even older than 100 years. The first event took place in 1916, but in 1917-19 and 1942-45, the so-called Race to the Clouds was put on hiatus due to a couple of world wars. This year's event was marked by damp weather that dashed the hopes of several teams' efforts to break new records. David Donner's Porsche 911 Turbo S Lightweight Package, for example, was widely expected to reclaim the production car record this year. Donner is a three-time PPIHC champ, and set the 2014 production car record in a 991-generation Turbo S.  A Bentley Continental GT piloted by Rhys Millen beat it in 2019, so Porsche was keen on taking it back. Donner broke the production qualifying time earlier in the week, but even the seasoned pro couldn't put his skills to tarmac due to moisture-laden surfaces and low-visibility from thick fog on race day. The result was 10:34.053, over 15 seconds slower than Millen's 10:18.488, still good enough to land the class's top spot and second overall. Acura arrived in Colorado to conduct its much-touted motorsports debut of the 2023 Integra. While the entry-level sports sedan, equipped with a stock engine but modified with a slew of HPD goodies, came in ninth in the production class, Acura didn't go home emptyhanded. A 2022 NSX Type S driven by Nick Robinson took the category's third spot. Taking second was Daijiro Yoshihara with a Tesla Model S. In recent years, electric cars have become a force to be reckoned with, especially since they are immune to high altitudes that negatively impact internal combustion cars. Poor conditions sent newcomer Levi Shirley's Ultra 4 buggy off course. Fortunately, it was near the lower sections, where there's still a significant amount of runoff past the pavement's end. Amazingly, Shirley landed wheels down in the video above, and simply continued driving through the pea soup haze.

2023 Acura Integra production specs and photos revealed

We have waited five months since the Integra Prototype was revealed, and now what we’ve been long awaiting is finally here. This is the 2023 Acura Integra in final production form. Today not only gives us photos of the Integra in its final guise, but Acura also dropped all the information and details weÂ’ve been anticipating. LetÂ’s dig in. Per usual with Acura Prototype models, the production version mirrors the prototype closely. The obvious prototype elements are gone, like the big “Integra” side graphic and color exhaust inserts, but most of what we saw last year remains on this hatchback. One notable omission is the lack of photos with the yellow exterior paint Acura launched the Prototype in. A leak of the available paint colors suggested that yellow wasnÂ’t on the table for initial launch, but that doesnÂ’t mean Acura wonÂ’t introduce it as an option down the road. Just as was teased in the Proto, the only available engine will be a 1.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, and itÂ’ll be officially rated at 200 horsepower and 192 pound-feet of torque (same output as the new Civic Si). A six-speed manual transmission with auto rev-matching will be available on the A-Spec model, but a continuously variable transmission (CVT) will be standard across the line. The CVT features “Step Shift” programming to simulate shifts, and also allows you to move the engine speed around with paddle shifters. We wouldÂ’ve loved to see Acura figure out a way to use its 10-speed automatic in the Civic platform, but alas, the CivicÂ’s CVT will be the only automatic option here. If you choose the six-speed manual — which we strongly suggest you do — the Integra gains a helical limited-slip differential that is not equipped to automatic cars. Delving further into the performance realm, the Integra gets an optional adaptive damper system. If you recall, Honda dropped the adaptive dampers from this generation of Civic Si, making it a reason to upgrade to an Integra. The adaptive dampers have three settings: Comfort, Normal and Sport. Similar to other Acura models, the Integra features various drive modes to adjust throttle response, automatic transmission mapping, steering feel and gauge coloration. If you get the “A-Spec with Technology Package” model, an Individual mode is added that allows you to independently change all the modes separate from one another. It also adds an option to change the in-cabin sound.