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Acura NSX EV puts winner Tetsuya Yamano back on Pikes Peak

With Pikes Peak right around the corner, Acura is showing off more details about its NSX-inspired all-electric racer. The four-motor EV will be driven in the Electric Modified Class by Tetsuya Yamano, who has been testing the car at the Hill Climb for the past few weeks. Acura is also running two NSX hybrids up the hill in the challenge next weekend. So, what's different inside this NSX-like EV? Like the all-electric Honda CR-Z that Yamano drove up Pikes Peak last year – winning the Challenge Exhibition class with a time of 10:23.829 – the NSX-inspired EV uses two Twin Motor Units (TMU) from the company's Sport Hybrid SH-AWD powertrain. Each axle has a TMU and that means that the car, "has achieved independent torque distribution to all four corners – true four-wheel torque vectoring," according to Acura. That sounds nice, but the real test will be out in Colorado in just a few days. Related Video: Acura NSX-Inspired EV Concept Ready to 'Charge Up' Pikes Peak Vehicle Features World's First All-Electric, 4-Motor SH-AWD® Powertrain Jun 20, 2016 TORRANCE, Calif. – Acura will campaign an all-electric, NSX-inspired EV Concept in the Electric Modified Class at the 2016 Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The Acura EV Concept features a further evolution of the experimental, all-electric, 4-motor Super Handling All-Wheel Drive™ (SH-AWD®) powertrain that won last year's Pikes Peak Challenge Exhibition class. The supercar-inspired Acura EV Concept will be driven by Tetsuya Yamano, who campaigned last year's CR-Z-based electric prototype. The Acura EV Concept is the ultimate embodiment of the all-wheel-drive Electric SH-AWD powertrain featuring a world's first technology that enables four-wheel independent torque allocation. The Acura EV Concept's Electric SH-AWD powertrain produces three times the total system output of last year's electric prototype and is mated to the NSX body. "We've been tuning the car for several weeks at Pikes and have advanced its performance significantly," said Tetsuya Yamano. "We're honored to be running at Pikes in this historical, anniversary year – an event respected by racing fans all over the world." 4-Motor Development Honda R&D has been developing "super handling" technology for more than 20 years in the pursuit of ideal vehicle handling.

2015 Acura TLX launch delayed

Last week in New York, Acura pulled the wraps off its all-new TLX sedan - a midsize model that replaces both the TSX and TL in one fell swoop. In a bit of behind-the-scenes full disclosure, we were originally scheduled to get our first drive of the car in early May. But an intrepid reader forwarded us an email to Acura dealers saying that the on-sale date of the TLX will be pushed back, and subsequently, the automaker confirmed to Autoblog that the official media launch has been postponed, as well. Acura spokesperson Chuck Schifsky tells us that the 2015 TLX will now go on sale later this summer.
"We don't view it as a major delay," Schifsky told Autoblog. The TLX is "the most technologically advanced Acura" yet - even more so than the original NSX, Schifsky says - and thus, there are "lots of systems to get sorted out." When asked if there is a specific component to point to regarding this delay, Schifsky told Autoblog that it's "not any one thing."
"We have determined that it is necessary to modify the production schedule for the 2015 TLX, which will move the on-sale date to late summer."

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.