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Acura recalls 2013-2014 ILX, ILX Hybrid over fire-prone headlamps

The Acura ILX just can't seem to catch a break. The Japanese automaker recently decided that the ILX Hybrid would no longer be offered in the US for the 2015 model year. Now, a possibility for fires has also cropped up in the compact luxury sedan. Acura has announced a recall of 14,078 examples from the 2013 and 2014 model years because the headlights could overheat and ignite the car. The company also issued a stop-sale for examples still at dealers until they can be repaired.
The campaign covers ILX and ILX Hybrid models with halogen projector headlights from specific build dates. The problem is that the headlights aren't cooled sufficiently when the cars aren't moving. After several hours of sitting with them on, it's possible for the lights to build up so much heat that they melt and potentially cause a fire.
To Acura's knowledge, there was only one case of an ILX actually catching fire due to this problem, though. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defect notice, a car was idling at a dealer for about two hours when the model went up in flames. The automaker brought the vehicle in for a detailed investigation to find what caused the blaze.

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.

2019 Acura NSX Track Test Review | Exotic tech, exhilarating performance

EAST LIBERTY, Ohio — The 2019 Acura NSX makes sonorous noises behind my ear as the tachometer soars toward 7,500 rpm. My hands grip the squared-off steering wheel a bit too hard as I scrub off about 60 mph and dive into the first corner of the Transportation Research Center (TRC) dynamic handling course. There's 3,878 pounds of car beneath me, but the front tires do exactly what my hands tell them to, without hesitation, and I'm through the double apex corner without even thinking about the defiance of physics I just witnessed. On paper, a nearly 4,000-pound track car makes no sense. Yet in practice, it's just as tossable and eager to change direction as something much lighter. This is the NSX's party trick, thanks to some magic with the suspension and all-wheel drive system on this car. And while the new NSX is a very different vehicle than its predecessor, it was born of a similar spirit of innovation and forward thinking. The original Acura NSX hit the streets in 1991, establishing a new set of rules for every supercar released since. Constructed of an aluminum body — still an exotic material mainly used in competition vehicles — with curves that still drop jaws today, it was every bit as sophisticated as a Ferrari. But unlike Ferraris of the time, it was also reliable and easy to drive. Slide behind the wheel of a 1991 NSX, and you'll be transported back to a time when outward visibility was still in style. You can see the ground right in front of the nose. Turn around, and there's nothing blocking your view but a low wing. It's essentially a bubble canopy. Acura knows owners of the original NSX, your author included, absolutely love this about their cars. The effort to make the cockpit of the NSX similar is appreciated, even if modern crash standards prevent a perfect implementation. There are other subtle throwbacks. Every original NSX made a distinctive intake whine when winding it up to 8,000 rpm, and the new NSX has real intake noise physically pumped into the cabin to replicate this sweet sound all the way through the rev band. Another echo of the original is the simplified, sedate dash layout — eminently usable and likely to age well. A simplified version of the new RDX infotainment system would have fit the bill, too, but sadly it's not present. Under way, however, the generational similarities cease. Our time on this trip in the 2019 model was spent solely on track at TRC, and it was a wholly different experience from the old car.