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Inside Honda's ghost town for testing autonomous cars

On the edge of the San Francisco suburb of Concord, California sits a ghost town. Dilapidated buildings and cracked roads are framed by overgrowth and slightly askew street signs. The decommissioned five acre portion of the Concord Naval Weapons Station that once housed military personnel and their families is now home to squirrels, jack rabbits, wild turkeys and Honda's mysterious testing lab for autonomous vehicles. This former town within a Naval base – now dubbed "GoMentum Station" – is the perfect testing ground for Honda's self-driving cars. An almost turn-key solution to the problem of finding somewhere to experiment with autonomous vehicle inside an urban area. Thanks to the GoMentum Station, the automaker has access to 20 miles of various road types, intersections and infrastructure exactly like those found in the real world. Just, you know, without all the people getting in the way. While the faded lane markers and cracked asphalt might initially make it difficult for the car to figure out what's going on around it, that's exactly what you want when training a self-driving system. Many roads in the real world are also in dire need of upkeep. Just because autonomous vehicles are hitting the streets doesn't mean the funding needed to fix all the potholes and faded lane markers will magically appear. The real world doesn't work that way and the robot cars that will eventually make our commutes less of a headache will need to be aware of that. Plus, it's tougher to train a car to drive downtown than to barrel down the highway at 80 miles per hour. A company is going to want to get as much practice as possible. While semi-autonomous driving on the everyone-going-the-same-way-at-a-constant-speed freeway is already a reality, navigating in an urban environment is far more complex. If you've driven on the streets of Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago or Seattle you know that driving downtown takes far more concentration than cruising down the interstate. With all that in mind, Honda's tricked out Acura RLX did a good job during an (admittedly very controlled) hands-free demo. It didn't hit either of the pedestrians walking across its path. It stopped at stop signs and even maneuvered around a mannequin situated in the middle of the road. The reality is, watching a car drive around the block and safely avoid stuff is boring. Not to metion, Google has been doing this for a while in the real world.

Watch two Acura NSXs scorch the Nurburgring

Some intrepid spy shooter captured these two Acura NSXs blasting around the Nurburgring. Without being there in person with a decibel meter, it's hard to tell if they're necessarily louder than stock cars, but they sure seem quick. Why test the cars now, when they've been on sale for a while now? Rumors are swirling that this could be a hardcore variant. It's unclear if Honda would call it a Type R, but a midlife refresh with a bit more power or a special limited edition with some extra kick wouldn't be unprecedented. The original NSX had several such models, and recent sports cars like the S2000 had low-volume editions, like the Club Racer variant in the United States and the Type S in Japan. Watch the video and draw your own conclusions about what this is or isn't. One thing's for sure: It's not a pure-EV variant. In other things recent about the NSX, we learned last month that an NSX GT3 non-hybrid race car version will go on sale soon. And here's our first drive of the US Acura-badged NSX from back in 2015. And here's another video from inside the cockpit during an open track day back in June. Watch all the other cars get out of the way and get left behind: Motorsports Acura Honda Coupe Hybrid Racing Vehicles Performance Videos honda nsx

How the Autoblog staff would configure the 2017 Acura NSX

The configurator for the 2017 Acura NSX is now online, and it finally lets people spec this long-delayed supercar. Technically prices start at $157,800 (after $1,800 for destination), but you can't actually get one like that yet. The iron brake rotors aren't available until late 2016, which means the carbon-ceramic rotors with black calipers are the least expensive choice at $9,900. The cost ticks up to $10,600 if you want calipers in silver or red. The build process inspired so much conversation among the Autoblog staff that we decided to share our choices with you and explain why we picked them. Let us know what you think in the comments. MICHAEL AUSTIN - $198,950: Mine's expensive, but I figure another 15 percent or so is irrelevant when the car already costs so much. I love the blue - it's alluring without being too flashy. Saddle leather is a must for me; it's definitely the best interior color. I skipped the carbon-fiber exterior sport package, just because I like the cleaner look of the standard body. Otherwise, carbon-fiber overkill: roof, rear spoiler, interior trim, and engine cover. If I had to cut costs I could sacrifice the $10,600 carbon ceramic brakes, which are probably unnecessary – but I'd have to wait until later this year. My only question is: where are the optional Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires I loved during our First Drive? CHRIS BRUCE - $180,700: I tried not to go too wild when speccing mine, but some upgrades seemed necessary. The standard black leather was too dark, so I opted for the Saddle and Alcantara, which added $1,500 to the price. I also picked with the matching black Alcantara headliner for $1,300 and the upgraded audio system for $2,800. For the outside, I loved the Nord Gray Paint, which has a little green in it, and I splurged for the $6,000 carbon fiber roof. To finish things off, I went with the silver calipers on the carbon-ceramic brakes for $10,600. STEVEN EWING - $172,700: I'm not the extravagant type. I don't want flashy colors, red calipers, or unnecessary carbon fiber crap on the outside. Give me something that flies under the radar, with the only the options I need. Plus, the NSX hardly feels like a $200,000 supercar to me. ALEX KIERSTEIN - $176,500: Japanese cars tend to look best in classic white, so I went with that for the exterior. I like a dark interior, but I also love Alcantara – so that goes on the headliner. The carbon-fiber roof is a bit of an extravagance, but this is all fantasy, right?