Acura Mdx on 2040-cars

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Autoblog's guilty pleasure cars

Guilty pleasures are part of life – don't even try to pretend like you don't have one (or two, or six). In the non-automotive space, this could come down to that secret playlist in your iPhone of songs you'll only listen to when you're alone; or think of that one TV show you really do love, but won't admit to your friends. I've got plenty, and so do you. Going back to cars, here's a particularly juicy one for me: several years ago, I had a mad crush on the very last iteration of the Cadillac DTS. Oh yes, the front-wheel-drive, Northstar V8-powered sofa-on-wheels that was the last remaining shred of the elderly-swooning days of Cadillac's past. Every time I had the chance to drive one, I was secretly giddy. Don't hate me, okay? These days, the DTS is gone, but I've still got a mess of other cars that hold a special place in my heart. And in the spirit of camaraderie, I've asked my other Autoblog editors to tell me some of their guilty pleasure cars, as well – Seyth Miersma, as you can see above, has a few choice emotions to share about the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. Read on to find out what cars make us secretly happy. Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG This decadent convertible is the epitome of the guilty pleasure. It's big, powerful, fairly heavy and it's richly appointed inside and out. It's a chocolate eclair with the three-pointed star on the hood. Given my druthers, I'd take the SL65 AMG, which delivers 621 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. That output is borderline absurd for this laid-back convertible. I don't care. You don't need dessert. Sometimes you just crave it. The SL line is about the feel you get on the road. The roof is open. The air, sun and engine sounds all embrace you. It's the same dynamic you could have experienced in a Mercedes a century ago, yet the SL gives you the most modern of luxuries. An Airscarf feature that warms my neck and shoulders through a vent embedded in the seat? Yes, please. Sure, it's an old-guy car. Mr. Burns and Lord Grantham are probably too young and hip for an SL65. I don't care. This is my guilty pleasure. Release the hounds. – Greg Migliore Senior Editor Ford Flex I drove my first Flex in 2009 when my mother let me borrow hers for the summer while I was away at college. The incredibly spacious interior made moving twice that summer a breeze, and the 200-mile trips up north were quite comfortable.

Acura TLX GT racecar to make motorsports debut at Detroit Grand Prix

Acura debuted its TLX GT racecar at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show earlier this year, and it looks like the racer is set to get its first competitive outing in Motown as well. The RealTime Racing team is competing with a single car driven by Peter Cunningham for the Pirelli World Challenge rounds during the Detroit Grand Prix from May 30 through June 1.
Honda Performance Development is developing the TLX GT with a direct-injected, twin-turbocharged V6 engine, based on the production, naturally aspirated version, and all-wheel drive helps maintain traction. A second car is being added to the effort later.
The turbocharged Acura sedan will face competition in the series from vehicles like the Audi R8 LMS, Cadillac CTS-V, Dodge Viper, Nissan GT-R, Porsche 911 and more. With the Detroit Grand Prix hosting the sixth and seventh races in the Pirelli World Challenge GT class schedule, it doesn't seem that Acura is expecting to win the series in its debut season, but it will surely gain valuable experience.

2017 Acura MDX Sport Hybrid goes on sale in April for $52,935

If you like the hybrid tech of the Acura NSX, but don't need a six-figure, 191-mph supercar as your daily driver, you might enjoy the extra room of the Acura MDX Sport Hybrid. It uses the same SH-AWD system with three electric motors as its racier stablemate – and puts a naturally aspirated 3.0-liter V6 up front – but seats up to seven people. It goes on sale in early April, and Acura has announced a starting MSRP of $52,935. The MDX Sport Hybrid starts at $7,910 higher than the base, front-wheel-drive MDX, but only $1,500 more than the comparably equipped, non-hybrid MDX SH-AWD. It offers 31 more ponies, for a total of 321 peak horsepower and of 289 pound-feet of torque. It's less expensive than the other Acura to use the Sport Hybrid system, the RLX sedan, which starts at $59,950. (That car incurs a price premium of $5,500 over its P-AWS-equipped FWD base model; there's no non-hybrid AWD RLX.) The MDX Sport Hybrid gets an EPA-rated 26 mpg city, 27 highway, and 27 combined. Compared to the conventional MDX SH-AWD's 18/26/21 mpg rating, its biggest fuel economy gains are to be found in city driving. The Sport Hybrid's figures are even slightly better than the 25/26/26 mpg Acura expected when the car debuted in New York last year. The MDX Sport Hybrid should be fairly entertaining to drive, too, at least for a utility vehicle. It's Acura's most powerful SUV to date, and it offers four driving modes: Comfort, Normal, Sport, and Sport+. A seven-speed dual-clutch transmission handles the gear changes, but the driver can take control via a pair of paddles on the back of the steering wheel. The SH-AWD system's torque vectoring feature promises to help make the MDX proficient in the twisty bits, too. Related Video: