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2021 Acura TLX to use dedicated platform and wishbone front suspension

Acura claims the 2021 TLX will be the "quickest, best-handling, and most well-appointed sport sedan in Acura history." The experts at Autoblog won't be able to put that statement to the test for several months, but all signs thus far are positive. After showing off the rear of the car a week ago, Acura just released a new teaser of the front fascia. Along with the photo, Acura announced the upcoming TLX will use its own brand-exclusive sports sedan platform and will have a double wishbone front suspension. Before the 2021 TLX's digital unveiling that will take place, May 28 at 1:00 p.m. EST (10:00 a.m. PDT) on Acura.com, Honda's luxury branch has slowly been releasing enticing tidbits about the all-new four-door. The teasers show the car will look very similar to the beautiful Type S Concept, and a Type S performance variant will use a powerful turbocharged 3.0-liter V6.   The new teaser focuses on the car's handling. In addition to the crude silhouette of the car's front end, the dark image shows that the TLX will ditch the Macpherson struts and use double wishbone control arms for the front suspension. Although the TLX nameplate is not old, as it first debuted for the 2015 model year as a replacement to the TL and TSX, this is a return-to-roots type of move. Acura has had success with the wishbone suspension in past performance cars that gave the brand name its weight such as the 1986-1995 Legend, 1990-2001 Integra, 1996-2014 TL and TL Type S, and 1991-2005 NSX. The current NSX hybrid supercar also uses the same setup, which Acura says has "more precise control of wheel camber, caster, and toe angles," and increases tire contact patches. The TLX is also expected to have a "highly rigid body" and a "performance-focused chassis."  For now, that's all that is known about the upcoming TLX, but enthusiasts won't have to wait long to learn more. Full info will arrive May 28. Related Video:

Honda airbags are being stolen

The latest hot target for car thieves might just be the airbag mounted inside your steering wheel. And late-model Honda and Acura vehicles are a particularly hot target right now, for reasons not well understood. USA Today reports that criminals across the country are stealing airbags out of relatively new Honda models for apparent resale online or to black market repair shops. It's a trend that has caught the attention of law enforcement agencies in cities like Miami, New York City and Washington D.C. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) estimates that around 50,000 airbags are stolen each year. In Miami-Dade County, thieves stole 875 airbags in 2017, up from just 13 in 2013, according to police records obtained by USA Today. In the Virginia suburbs outside Washington D.C., thieves recently smashed the windows of 10 Hondas at an apartment complex to steal the airbags. Second Lt. Jonathan Bryant told the local Fox affiliate that stolen Honda airbags often end up in chop shops and can command between $300 and $500 each. A quick search of eBay listings for Honda steering wheel airbags turns up results being sold for as high as $700, though most are listing for hundreds less than that. New replacement versions purchased from dealerships approach $1,000. Many dishonest repair shops install the stolen airbags as new and charge the owner or their insurer full price for the replacement, a version of insurance fraud. Last year, police in Coral Springs, Fla. published an alert on the neighborhood social networking site Nextdoor urging residents who own a Honda or Acura to park in a garage or well-lit area, "or if you have another vehicle, pull it as close to your driver's side door as possible," they wrote. "We have seen an increase in airbag thefts, primarily in Acura and Honda models," the posting added. "The suspect(s) often disarm the alarm by cutting the battery, punch the driver side door lock or smash the window. It is believed these criminals take approx. 5-10 minutes to steal the airbag." One theory for the apparent rise in airbag thefts is that a spate of airbag recalls in recent years — including the ongoing recall of nearly 50 million potentially explosive Takata airbag inflators that left suppliers scrambling to make new parts — may have boosted demand for replacements. Most of the vehicles involved are late-model Honda Civics and Accords, but it's not clear exactly why Honda is being targeted.

Acura Integra to capstone combustion era as EV transition begins

The recent launch of the resurrected Integra nameplate is just part of a larger shift in mission at Acura. Its leaders have repeatedly said they want Acura to be the performance brand of Honda, where driving fun and dynamics come first. However, in a new report, Acura says it plans to go big on fully electric vehicles, at even greater speed than its parent company, by skipping the hybrid step altogether. According to Acura assistant VP of sales Emile Korkor, the Integra was a capstone to the internal combustion era at Acura. It marked a sort of homecoming to the marque's performance pedigree, and once Integra is launched, the brand will move forward with electrifying its lineup. The company's plans were revealed in an Automotive News interview, where Korkor said, "We're going to bypass hybrids altogether. So our shift is going very rapidly into BEV. That's our main focus." At first blush, that seems to be at odds with brand boss Jon Ikeda's public statements about Acura. As recently as a couple of weeks ago, Ikeda was saying that he wanted to take the Integra racing, as something of a mascot for the "fun" brand at Honda. Perhaps we've been desensitized to automakers making big proclamations about EV transitions a la Jaguar, Land Rover, Bentley, and Infiniti, but typically the green messaging has not been about performance in the traditional sense. Says Korkor, "We're not just dipping our toe in the water with electric at Acura, we are jumping all in. And that's not just because we need to. It's because we want to. Acura is really focused on performance, and electrification is one of the greatest ways we can augment that performance." While electrification and performance are not mutually exclusive, we have yet to drive an EV that connects to the road as beautifully as a 1990s Integra or NSX did. Acuras have never been about power and torque. Yet they were still compelling performance cars thanks to brilliant steering and driving dynamics. Then there's the issue of what Acura represents. Back in February, Ikeda said that Acura was purposefully holding off on an EV strategy because it needed to re-establish its performance bona fides. Now, Korkor says, "The benefit of returning to the Integra right now is that it's going to help shepherd a new generation of customers and build loyalty as we move into a new era." The problem is, the Integra alone isn't enough to establish that performance cred.