1992 Acura Integra Gs Hatchback 3-door 1.8l on 2040-cars

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A look inside Honda’s “Safety For Everyone” research and development operation

RAYMOND, Ohio—As part of its long-running “Safety for Everyone” campaign, Honda has established the audacious goal of what it calls a “zero-collision society.” But rather than making big claims about developing a fully-autonomous vehicle, which Honda hasnÂ’t done, the company is trying to chip away at the more than 37,000 vehicle-related fatalities that occurred in the U.S. in 2017 with a multi-pronged approach. Here in central Ohio, engineers are working with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment to boost active safety systems like its HondaSensing suite of safety technology with old fashioned passive systems like structural steel frames or new airbag designs that protect passengers in a crash. Honda provided members of the press with a rare tour inside its Honda R&D Americas headquarters this week. Honda officials say that increasingly, safety — and specifically, third-party ratings from the likes of the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety — figure into the top three factors consumers weigh when purchasing a vehicle. Honda and Acura have 10, 2019 models that have earned IIHSÂ’s Top Safety Pick or Top Safety Pick+ ratings, and all 15, 2019 model-year Honda and Acura vehicles that have undergone NHTSA crash testing have earned a 5-star overall rating. And Honda prides itself on its growing list of safety firsts, including the first upward-deploying front passenger airbag, in 1990 in the Acura Legend; first omni-directional crash-test facility, in 2000; and the first autonomous braking system, in the 2006 Acura RL. It hopes its new three-chamber airbag goes industry-wide and joins that list. “ItÂ’s part of our companyÂ’s culture,” said Art St. Cyr, business head unit and vice president of auto operations for American Honda Motor Co. “We have a philosophy at Honda that we want to be a company that society wants to exist. That means we have to protect our customers. ThatÂ’s part of the whole mantra of doing this.” Opened in 1984, the 1.6 million square-foot Honda R&D Americas facility, located in the countryside about 45 miles northwest of Columbus, employs around 1,600 people and is HondaÂ’s largest research-and-development facility outside of Japan. Its Advanced Safety Research facility opened in 2003.

Honda, SolarCity expand sun-powered partnership with new $50 million fund

It must be solar-power announcement time. The DOE is ready to throw $25 million at concentrating solar power and New York State just announced $94 million for solar projects. At the broadly green-minded South By Southwest Eco festival in Austin, TX this week, Honda announced an expansion of its work with SolarCity to include a new fund that could finance up to $50 million in solar projects for dealerships and homes. Well, the homes of people who have purchased a Honda or Acura vehicle, at least. Stop us if this all sounds familiar. Honda and SolarCity announced back in early 2013 that they would work together on a $65-million fund to partially subsidize the installation of solar-panels at Honda dealers and on homes of Honda and Acura drivers. The new $50 million will be used to pay for not only the equipment but also the installation, which means that if you can get access to the money, you're looking at a pretty sweet 20-year lease deal to get solar energy for your home and could make it a bit more like the Honda Smart Home in Davis, CA (pictured). How sweet a deal? Well, there's zero down payment required and a 3-kW system starts could cost you just $25 a month, according to the fine print. Rates will vary, for sure, but if that sounds like something you're interested in, check out the Honda SolarCity site. The new fund builds on the previous work that, the two companies say, created enough solar capacity to offset "more than 400 million pounds of CO2 over a 30-year lifecycle." There's more in the press release below. SolarCity and Honda Announce $50 Million Commitment to Provide Solar Power to Honda and Acura Customers and Dealerships SAN MATEO and TORRANCE, Calif., Oct. 8, 2014 – Today, at the SXSW Eco conference in Austin, TX, SolarCity® (Nasdaq: SCTY) and Honda have renewed their partnership with a new fund expected to finance $50 million in solar projects. The new commitment will make solar power more affordable and available to Honda and Acura customers and dealerships in the U.S. The companies have completed or initiated a range of solar projects for homeowners, dealerships and corporate facilities that total more than 12.5 MW of solar generation capacity. The two companies have already brought enough solar capacity online to offset more than 400 million pounds of CO2 over a 30-year lifecycle . The $50 million fund is a follow-up to a $65 million fund the companies created in 2013.

2024 Acura Integra Type S revealed as the luxurious foil to the Type R

The 2024 Acura Integra Type S is exactly what we imagined it might be. Acura took all the Civic Type R go-fast parts and shoved them into the Integra, but then added luxuries the Type R is missing and fettled with a few performance bits. Just as was teased ahead of time, the Integra Type S is fitted with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that produces 320 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque — thatÂ’s up five horses over the Type R. ItÂ’s fitted with a six-speed manual transmission (no auto available) and sends its power through the front wheels via a helical-type limited-slip differential. The same dual-axis front suspension design pioneered by the Type R to quell torque steer is on display here, so you should expect little to no torque steer from the Integra. Of course, all that extra power meant Acura needed much more cooling capability, leading them to design a much more aggressive and air-hungry front end for the Integra. In fact, every single body panel from the A-pillars forward is unique to the Type S. The larger top and lower grilles and vented hood improve airflow by 170% versus a standard Integra, Acura says. Look to the sides, and youÂ’ll see dramatic fender flares both in front and rear that accommodate the massive 265-section-width Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires that wrap around 19-inch wheels — the Type S is 2.8 inches wider than a standard Integra. For those wondering, yes, itÂ’s the same tire package as youÂ’ll find on a Type R. Out back, youÂ’ll notice substantial diffusers flanking a new triple-tipped center-mounted exhaust. Said exhaust is less restrictive than the Type R, features an active exhaust valve and adjusts depending on the drive mode. Acura says a special “pops and bangs” auditory experience presents itself in “Sport+” mode. The suspension tuning is another differentiator between the Integra Type S and Civic Type R. It uses the same adaptive damper system as the Civic, but Acura adjusted the tune for the Type S in its Comfort, Sport and Sport+ driving modes, presumably to be more street-friendly. Acura emphasizes that this car delivers “ultimate street performance” numerous times in its press release, suggesting that the Integra is set up as more of a daily driver, while the Civic Type R is very much designed to excel on the racetrack.