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2024 Acura TLX Preview: Subtle style tweaks, fewer trim options

The 2024 Acura TLX sees a number of updates to keep it competitive and address a few customer requests. It also looks a bit different, but you do need to take a closer side-by-side look. The big visual change is the front end. It now looks more like the TLX Concept car – specifically the lower air dam area and crucially, thereÂ’s now a frameless grille. Acura needed to redesign the entire trim piece above the grille and across the fascia to accommodate it. The change is most obvious on the base TLX, which used to have chrome lipstick around the “Diamond Pentagon” grille. ItÂ’s gone now. So are a whole heap of 2024 Acura TLX trim levels. There had been eight and now there are three: TLX with Technology Package, A-Spec and Type S. Front-wheel drive is now exclusively paired with the now-base TLX with Technology Package (thatÂ’s seriously what itÂ’s called) and vice versa, while the other two are only paired with Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD). There was previously a Technology-less Base TLX, a front-wheel-drive A-Spec, a TLX with Advance Package, a Type S w/ Performance Tire and the special-edition Type S PMC Edition. The surviving three were apparently what people were overwhelmingly getting. 2024 Acura TLX action front three quarter View 11 Photos That said, parts of those zombie trims survive. The Advance package may be gone for the base TLX (customers were more interested in the sporty versions than the more luxurious take of Advance cars), but its head-up display and surround-view parking camera are added as standard to the Acura TLX Type S. It already had the AdvanceÂ’s other extras. The PMCÂ’s special lightweight wheels, fashioned in a Copper color are now dealer-installed options for the Type S along with the performance tires. Speaking of wheels, Acura answered another customer request by enlarging the A-Spec wheels to 19 inches and through in a coat of Shark Gray paint. The Type S wheels are now Berlina Black to match the new gloss-black finish in its grille. More gloss black shows up on the A-Spec as well on its new, reshaped rear spoiler. Below it is a similarly gloss black diffuser encasing new round tailpipes in place of the old square covers. Perhaps the most significant visual upgrade, however, is back up front where a new, smaller radar sensor for the adaptive cruise control and forward collision prevention system is now completely encased behind the Acura logo.

8 cars we're most looking forward to driving in 2015

Now that 2014 is officially in the books, it's time to look ahead. And following our list of the cars we liked best last year, we're now setting our sights at the hot new metal that's coming our way in 2015. Some of these, we've already seen. And some are still set to debut during the 2015 auto show season. But these are the machines that keep us going – the things on the horizon that we're particularly stoked to drive, and drive hard. Jeep Renegade Not the Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Not the Ford Mustang GT350. Not the new John Cooper Works Mini. Nope, I'm looking forward to the adorable, trail-rated Jeep Renegade. And that's because I really, really, really like our long-term Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk. I do not, however, care too much for the Cherokee's looks, and I really don't like its $38,059 price tag. The Renegade Trailhawk, meanwhile, promises much of the same rough-and-tumble character as its big brother, but at what we expect will be a more reasonable price (I'm personally wagering on the baby Jeep's off-road model starting at no more than $23,000). With a 2.4-liter four-cylinder and a nine-speed automatic, it should also be a bit easier to fill than the V6-powered Cherokee. Also, I can't help but love the way the Renegade looks. It's like someone took a Wrangler, squished it by 50 percent and then handed it off to George Clinton for a healthy dose of funk. The interior, with its bright, expressive trims and color schemes should also be a really nice place to spend some time. I'll be attending the Renegade's launch later this month, so I'll have a much shorter wait than my colleagues. Here's hoping the baby Jeep lives up to my expectations. – Brandon Turkus Associate Editor Mazda MX-5 Miata Here's an uncomfortable truth: I'd rather spend a day driving a properly sorted Mazda MX-5 Miata of any generation on a winding road than I would nearly any other vehicle, regardless of power, price or prestige. It's not just that I prize top-down driving and enjoy the Miata's small size because it gives me more road to play with. I just find there's more motoring joy to be had with high-fidelity handling and an uncorrupted car-to-driver communication loop than I do with face-distorting power or grip – let alone valet-stand gravitas. But perhaps most of all, I love Miatas because they can deliver that level of feedback and driver reward at modest speeds that won't put the locals on edge or endanger lives – you can use more of the car more of the time.

Inside Honda's ghost town for testing autonomous cars

On the edge of the San Francisco suburb of Concord, California sits a ghost town. Dilapidated buildings and cracked roads are framed by overgrowth and slightly askew street signs. The decommissioned five acre portion of the Concord Naval Weapons Station that once housed military personnel and their families is now home to squirrels, jack rabbits, wild turkeys and Honda's mysterious testing lab for autonomous vehicles. This former town within a Naval base – now dubbed "GoMentum Station" – is the perfect testing ground for Honda's self-driving cars. An almost turn-key solution to the problem of finding somewhere to experiment with autonomous vehicle inside an urban area. Thanks to the GoMentum Station, the automaker has access to 20 miles of various road types, intersections and infrastructure exactly like those found in the real world. Just, you know, without all the people getting in the way. While the faded lane markers and cracked asphalt might initially make it difficult for the car to figure out what's going on around it, that's exactly what you want when training a self-driving system. Many roads in the real world are also in dire need of upkeep. Just because autonomous vehicles are hitting the streets doesn't mean the funding needed to fix all the potholes and faded lane markers will magically appear. The real world doesn't work that way and the robot cars that will eventually make our commutes less of a headache will need to be aware of that. Plus, it's tougher to train a car to drive downtown than to barrel down the highway at 80 miles per hour. A company is going to want to get as much practice as possible. While semi-autonomous driving on the everyone-going-the-same-way-at-a-constant-speed freeway is already a reality, navigating in an urban environment is far more complex. If you've driven on the streets of Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago or Seattle you know that driving downtown takes far more concentration than cruising down the interstate. With all that in mind, Honda's tricked out Acura RLX did a good job during an (admittedly very controlled) hands-free demo. It didn't hit either of the pedestrians walking across its path. It stopped at stop signs and even maneuvered around a mannequin situated in the middle of the road. The reality is, watching a car drive around the block and safely avoid stuff is boring. Not to metion, Google has been doing this for a while in the real world.