2001 Acura Integra Gs-r Hatchback 3-door 1.8l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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.

Singer Porsche, Koenigsegg, NSX: Leno's life doesn't suck

Jay Leno had quite a productive trip this year during Monterey Car Week. Not only did he get to pal around with Ian Callum and check out the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, but the denim-clad comedian also headed to The Quail to talk to some prominent figures in the modern sports car scene. Capping off the fun, he got to take a drive in a Mercedes-AMG GT S, too Perhaps the highlight of this show is a nearly 10-minute interview with Christian von Koenigsegg. The founder of the Swedish hypercar company digs deep into the Agera One:1's engineering details, relating interesting facts about the aerodynamics and transmission. In addition, Leno chats with Rob Dickenson of Singer about its newly reimagined Porsche 911 Targa, and he gets the latest scoop on the Acura NSX's progress from newly promoted Acura Vice President and General Manager Jon Ikeda. If you like hearing about the nuts and bolts of sports car development, then this video can't be missed. Of course, we were there at Monterey, too, and we pointed our own cameras at some of the amazing machinery, both vintage and modern, at all the various car-focused events of the week. Take a look back at some of our own cool footage in the videos below. Related Video:

2021 Acura TLX A-Spec Long-Term Update | Infotainment system hits a pothole

The first few thousand miles of motoring in our 2021 Acura TLX A-Spec long-term test car were problem-free, but that changed after we took it on a spirited drive through the winding hills of southern Indiana. You can read about how it handled a full day of thrashing here, but this story will focus on the dead infotainment system previewed in the headline. About halfway through the twisty route, every sizable pothole or big bump in the road would cause the infotainment system to black out. A message would appear declaring “MOST NET LOSS,” and it would quickly dip to black after that. The next big pothole would cause it to flicker back on, but it never remained on for any long periods of time after this. In addition to the screen loss, the speakers would make some rather disturbing crackling noises. This continued throughout the day and for several days beyond that. If the roads I was driving on were flat or devoid of major problems, the infotainment system would generally be fine. It took a major jostling of the carÂ’s bones to cause it to act up, but Michigan provided enough of those to make the problem exceedingly annoying in a hurry. So, to the dealership it went. 2021 Acura TLX A-Spec View 51 Photos After the local dealer looked it over, they said there was a TSB out for this issue, and that theyÂ’ve seen it pop up on other RDXs and TLXs already. Turns out, there are a number of wire connectors between the infotainment system and wiring harness that are causing the problems and coming loose. The fix? Newly designed connectors from Acura, plus the wiring harness is ever so slightly freed up to allow for a bit of movement from violent impacts. Doing this (plus using the stronger new connectors) should ensure that the stress on these connectors is never so great as to cause issues again.  The job was completed under warranty and took a full day from diagnosis to the return of the car. WeÂ’ve put several hundred miles on the car since the fix, and theyÂ’ve been completely trouble-free — it sure was nice to listen to AcuraÂ’s excellent ELS audio system again. That said, this issue is one weÂ’ll follow closely to see if AcuraÂ’s fix truly is a long-term solution. WeÂ’ll have a deeper dive on how AcuraÂ’s TouchPad infotainment system works (now that itÂ’s actually working again) soon, so watch out for that update in the near future. You will be able to find all other posts on our Long-Term 2021 Acura TLX page.  Related: