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Acura ILX headed for Civic-like early upgrades

The not-yet-ready-for-primetime 2012 Honda Civic saw it quickly returned to sender for refurbishment, now the Acura ILX is headed in the same direction in its very first year. Automotive News reports that the small, Civic-based sedan from Honda's luxury brand isn't meeting sales expectations, with an annualized rate of 22,000 to 24,000 sales instead of the 30,000 the company is after. More telling is that the ILX "is being outsold by the Buick Verano, Volkswagen CC and Audi A4," and, except for two months since it launched, it has also been outdone by the Acura TSX it is meant to replace.
Part of the cause has been the 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine: its 150 horsepower to motivate a sedan that can weigh up to 2,970 pounds doesn't offer the kind of performance or value experience that buyers in the segment respond to. Another big issue is that the top-level 2.4-liter engine is only offered with a six-speed manual even though most buyers of the highest trim don't really want to shift their own gears. Lastly, the ILX might not put enough space between it and its frugal underpinnings - our first drive review pegged it as "the world's nicest Honda Civic."
An automatic transmission is on the way for the 2.4-liter, but it isn't clear when. And while Honda admits that the 2.0-liter is underpowered and Automotive News says it's on the way out, the company hasn't yet said how that situation will be corrected.

1997 Acura SLX gets 350 actual Acura horsepower for Radwood

For the Radwood Orange County, Calif., car show, a show themed around 1980s and 1990s cars, Acura is bringing a variety of its original models including a 1991 NSX and a 1986 Integra. The company is also bringing something obscure, a 1997 Acura SLX, the brand's first SUV, offered from model years 1996 to 1999. In some ways, it's something Acura might not want to highlight, since it's really a rebadged Isuzu Trooper, just as the original Honda Passport was a rebadged Isuzu Rodeo. But this SLX is special; it has real Acura power under the hood. The project was led by Acura engineers and Pikes Peak racing drivers James Robinson, Paul Hubers and Jordan Guitar, and the frame and body restoration as well as the powertrain swap was done entirely in-house at Honda R&D in Ohio, according to Acura rep Andrew Quillin. The team pulled out the original naturally aspirated 3.2-liter V6 that made just 190 horsepower and 188 pound-feet of torque, and dropped in a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four from a new Acura RDX. That engine also received a new intake, exhaust, turbo and ECU tune, which brought power up to an estimated 350 horsepower and 340 pound-feet of torque, similar to the Graham Rahal Performance RDX. Not only that, but the old-school four-wheel-drive system and live rear axle were dropped in favor of the RDX's indpendent suspension and torque vectoring "Super Handling All-Wheel Drive." "Dropped in" is a mischaracterization, though, as Acura had to weld new subframes front and rear to the existing frame to get the transverse engine and modern suspension to fit. Acura was careful to keep the SLX looking as close to the original as possible. On the outside, Acura repainted the SLX in a modern red paint available on the RDX, but retained the champagne lower moldings. The stock wheels were replaced with 17-inch Fifteen52 wheels, but they have a very similar design and finish to the original wheels. A hard-shell spare tire cover was added, and a simple "SH-AWD" badge on the back is the only hint at what's under the body. The interior was restored at the company's L.A. design studio, where the upholstery was redone in a gray "gathered" leather like you would have seen when it was new. A bit of gray wood trim updates the interior slightly. The RDX's push-button starter and shifter buttons have been added to the center console, shift paddles behind the original steering wheel, and an aftermarket instrument cluster mounted to the steering column.

2024 Acura RDX is another model dropping front-wheel drive

After Acura made small changes to the RDX for the 2022 and 2023 model years, Honda's premium arm is carrying the 2023 version nearly unchanged into 2024. There's a familiar drivetrain tweak that we've covered across the automaker spectrum, though, with Acura dropping the front-wheel-drive option that had been available on the base, Technology, and A-Spec trims. For now, every RDX comes fitted with Acura's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD). The effect is also familiar: Compared to 2023 RDX pricing at launch, the minimum price for the entry-level base and the Technology trims is up $2,300, the A-Spec price climbs $2,000. MSRPs for the RDX lineup including the $1,195 destination charge, and their changes from 2023 launch pricing, are: RDX Base: $45,245 ($2,300) Technology: $47,895 ($2,300) A-Spec: $50,895 ($2,000) Advance: $53,045 ($500) A-Spec Advance: $55,045 ($500) Now for the small print. We specified launch pricing because the 2023 RDX has already gone up in price by all but $100 of the increases noted above. Meaning, if you wanted to configure a 2023 RDX on Acura's website instead of a 2024, you'd only save $100. Also, the automaker didn't put out a press release for the coming model year, but it did publish a fact sheet. The first footnote of the fact sheet explains, "Destination & Handling charge for sedans (excluding PMC Edition) and SUVs (excluding PMC Edition) is $1,400." At the time of writing this post, destination charges are still shown as $1,195 on the 2024 Acura RDX Build & Price page. Take this as warning that the brand's cars could get at least $205 more expensive soon. Every RDX is powered by a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder making 272 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque, shifting through a 10-speed automatic and sending power to both axles. We've had nothing bad to say about the RDX, praising its gutsy engine, responsive chassis, quality interior, sharp styling, spacious interior and plentiful standard features. And even with the price bumps, the RDX remains either much less expensive or notably more powerful than the luxury competitors Acura wants to challenge with the RDX.