2024 Acura Rdx A-spec Package on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Acura TLX caught naked in production guise, can you spot the differences?

Acura doesn't tend to do concept cars these days that don't foreshadow a specific upcoming production model. The ZDX prototype of 2010 previewed the production version, as did the ILX and RLX showcars of 2012 and the MDX of 2013. The NSX concept is on its way to production, as the SUV-X concept is likely to do as well in the coming years. So when Acura revealed the TLX prototype at the Detroit Auto Show a few months ago, we all but knew it would only be a matter of time before that, too, would be produced. And here it is.
Spied all but completely undisguised while undergoing testing, this pair of TLX prototypes (one in white, one in black) looks almost identical to the show car. You might spot a few minor tweaks here and there - the strip of LEDs in the lower front bumper have been replaced by round fog lamps and some of the chrome accents are missing - but by and large, we're looking at the same vehicle we saw in Detroit earlier this year.
The finished production version of the TLX is expected to debut at the New York Auto Show next month, after which it will replace both the TSX and the TL, slotting in between the smaller ILX and the larger RLX in Acura's sedan lineup.

Acura announces NSX GT3 Evo22 race car will live on

The Acura NSX may be winding down production in 2022, but it still has some life left on the track. Today, Acura announced that it will introduce a new version of its NSX GT3 race car. It features a slew of improvements that should make the platform more competitive. Called the NSX GT3 Evo22, it builds upon the existing NSX GT3 a car that has won multiple championships in IMSA, SRO and Japan's SuperGT. The Evo22 gets improved intercoolers for the 3.5-liter twin-turbo shared with the road car, allowing it to perform consistently in a wider range of conditions and locations. Underneath, the suspension earns some tweaks in revised spring rates and geometry adjustments. To improve the car for endurance racing, the Evo22 reduces pit time with larger fluid tanks, while a revised wheel system allows for quicker tire changes. An FIA-mandated rain light illuminates the rear. Acura will also offer several air conditioning and headlight options. As with the outgoing NSX GT3, the Evo22 eschews the road car's hybrid and all-wheel-drive systems. Instead, it employs an XTRAC semi-automatic six-speed sequential transmission to send power to the rear wheels. Both the race and road car, however, share the same specs for the engine block, heads, valvetrain, crankshaft, pistons, and dry-sump lubrication system. The motors and chassis are both built at Acura's Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio, while final assembly for the GT3 takes place in Milan, Italy. While European GT3s are supported from Italy, Honda Performance Division in Southern California will support North American teams. The NSX GT3 is the defending IMSA GTD and SRO GT Manufacturers’ Champion, and has achieved 25 IMSA and SRO class wins since its North American introduction in 2017. Interestingly, Acura says the the NSX GT3 is homologated globally through 2024. So, while new road cars won't be produced after next year, you'll still see them representing the "A" calipers at the track beyond that.

Junkyard Gem: 1997 Acura SLX

By the second half of the 1990s, the tremendous sales success of the Ford Explorer (introduced as a 1991 model) and Jeep Grand Cherokee (introduced as a 1993 model) had made it clear clear that the future of the American road would be trucks. Any automotive manufacturer not selling a full line of SUV-ish machinery here would be irrelevant soon after the dawn of the new century, and the car-and-bike-centric American Honda Motor Company was therefore in big trouble. The Civic could be used as the basis for a small crossover SUV (which debuted here as the 1997 Honda CR-V), but Honda needed to buy time to design and produce the platform that would underpin the 2001 Acura MDX and 2003 Honda Pilot. That time was purchased via a deal to sell rebadged Isuzu trucks as Hondas and Acuras. Today's Junkyard Gem is one of those Honda-ized Isuzus, found in a Colorado boneyard. Honda began selling the Isuzu Rodeo as the Passport (recycling the name they'd used on the U.S.-market Super Cub motorcycle) for the 1994 model year, and Acura dealers started moving SLX-badged Isuzu Troopers in the 1997 model year. Just to make things interesting in the Isuzu-Honda world, North American Isuzu dealers sold Honda Odysseys with Isuzu Oasis badges at the same time. Isuzu had gone all-truck for the American market after the last Styluses (and closely related Geo Storms) were sold here as 1993 models. Sadly, Isuzu's final (non-commercial) new vehicles sold here were rebadged Chevy Trailblazers and Colorados, more than 30 years after Chevrolet began selling Isuzu Faster pickups here with LUV badges. Honda never did build any body-on-frame trucks, but that proved unnecessary in order to make some money during the CUV/SUV era. The SLX never sold particularly well, but it gave Acura dealers a luxury truck to park next to the Integras, TLs, RLs, CLs and NSXs in their showrooms. After 1999, the SLX was gone, leaving just the 2000 model year as a blank spot for Acura-badged SUVs. This truck held together like a real Honda product, getting fairly close to the 300,000-mile mark (I've found junkyard Accords with better than a half-million miles on their odometers, plus one apiece Civic and CR-V that got past 400,000 miles during their lives). The original owner's manuals were still in the glovebox when I found this truck. At the end, it appears that it was towed away for being parked illegally. Maybe the engine or transmission failed and its final owner just walked away.