2008 Acura Mdx; Nav; Camera; Loaded; Mint! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Autoblog Podcast #372

Episode #372 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth and Chris Paukert are joined by Peter Leung of RichlandF1 to talk Formula One, the impending demise of Bertone, and Honda spinning Acura off into its own division. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the new rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #372: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: Bertone goes bust Mercedes F1 Power Unit Honda spinning off Acura In the Autoblog Garage: 2014 Jeep Cherokee Limited 2015 Subaru WRX STI 2014 Land Rover Range Rover Autobiography Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Paukert Guest: Peter Leung Runtime: 01:37:41 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Formula 1 - 26:39 Bertone - 50:42 Acura - 01:02:19 Q&A - 01:14:38 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Design/Style Marketing/Advertising Motorsports Podcasts Acura Honda Jeep Land Rover Subaru

Precision Concept previews the future of Acura design [w/video]

When we drove the 2014 Acura RLX Sport Hybrid two years ago we celebrated its massive handling and carped on its milquetoast styling. We'd have done backflips if the internals of the brand's flagship sedan had been wrapped in the sheetmetal of the Acura Precision Concept. Don't get us wrong, we still have some questions about the front end of the car in these images, but we're all-in on the side view and, more importantly, we applaud Acura for making a bold design statement. Acura says the Precision concept "literally will shape the direction of all future Acura products," bringing a "bolder, more distinctive future for Acura vehicle design." Hallelujah. As if you couldn't tell, this is the product of the Acura Design Studio in California, where Acura NSX veteran Michelle Christensen led the exterior work and NSX veteran John Norman led the interior design. Up front is what's called a Diamond Pentagon grille, which looks fussy here but we won't make final judgments until we see it on the Detroit Auto Show floor later today. Come around to the side and the low-slung, rear-wheel-drive proportions on 22-inch wheels are the last thing we'd expect from a design study for an Acura sedan. It is about two inches shorter than the 2016 BMW 750i with a wheelbase that is 4.4 inches shorter, and sits six inches lower. Intensely sculpted surfaces flow from the exterior into the cabin, like the CHMSL that breaks the rear backlight to roll into the rear headrests. Interior elements thrust like geologic formations, popping with mixed materials, floating rear seats, a small steering wheel and floating gauge locked onto a tiered instrument panel. The wide, curved screen atop the center console experiments with a floating touchpad to control a concept human-machine interface. Acura says everything about the Precision concept is an expression of the company's "Precision Crafted Performance DNA." We have no idea how Acura plans to integrate this into its product line; put the Precision on a showroom floor right now and every other current Acura model save the NSX would squeal away and hide. But we welcome the attempt. We can't wait to see what happens. Acura Precision Concept Points to Bold Future for Acura Design DETROIT, January 12, 2016 – The Acura Precision Concept model made its world debut at the 2016 North American International Auto Show today, pointing toward a bolder, more distinctive future for Acura vehicle design.

The Acura Integra is coming back, but what exactly will it be?

Yep, the Acura Integra is back! Acura has offered limited information about the revival of its compact nameplate, and while we suspect it will replace the ILX outright when it debuts in 2022, Honda's luxury subsidiary has yet to cough up any more useful information. That's fine; it means we can fill the void with baseless speculation educated guesses as to what form the next-generation Integra will take.  While we're all excited about its resurrection, Autoblog is not a hive mind, and each of us has a different idea of what a new Integra could (or should) be. Here are our takes, for whatever they're worth, which could easily be absolutely nothing.  Associate Editor Byron Hurd: Yes, that's a photo of a CR-Z model at Honda's design studio. Bear with me here; I promise I'm going somewhere with this. Frankly, as cool as it would be to see Acura take the fight to the likes of the Audi A3, Mercedes-Benz CLA and BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe, I can't help but look at the (lack of) success of the ILX and wonder whether there's any hope for something so formulaic.  While I'm sure this will offend at least a few "purists," I'd love to see Honda leverage whatever equity the Integra nameplate has left to pivot its more mainstream cars toward electrification. Sure, an all-wheel-drive take on a Civic Si or Type-R sounds really cool, but how about an accessible fastback coupe or sedan with a scaled-down version of the NSX's powertrain, flipped front-to-back? Base it on a smaller (turbocharged?) ICE, stick the electrified axle in the rear, and voila. Ford has proven that hybrids don't have to be expensive; heck, even the CR-Z was cheap back in the day.  As bothersome as this idea may seem to the faithful, consider this: The ILX wasn't a bust because it was called "ILX." Small sedans just aren't worthwhile investments for automakers right now, so as abhorrent as hybridization or electrification may seem, the alternative could very well be a subtle crossoverification of the Integra nameplate. Does that sound more appealing? Because I sure don't think so.  News Editor Joel Stocksdale: So, just as was the case with the Integra and even the ILX, I have no doubt the new Integra will be based on the Honda Civic. And I think that will probably be a very good thing. The new 11th-generation Civic seems to be as good if not better than the outgoing one, so add some nicer interior pieces and some sound-deadening, and it should be a great, roomy entry-level luxury alternative.