2003 Acura Tl-s Looks And Runs Like New-no Reserve-warranty on 2040-cars

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Acura TL gets its top chopped

The roofless Acura TL you see above is a product of Newport Convertible Engineering. No stranger to taking the lids off of Acuras - and a bunch of other cars, like this Jaguar XJ and this Toyota FJ Cruiser - NCE says it was the first US coachbuilder to produce an Acura NSX convertible.
NCE says the conversion takes about six weeks to complete, comes with a five-year warranty from the supplier and doesn't void the original warranty from Acura. On top of that, the interior fitments like sun visors, trunk space and rear seat belts all remain unaltered. Customers who are absolutely against the B-pillar can have it removed, but NCE says "The vehicle will be designed differently without the center bar."
To our eyes the TL looks pretty all right without a roof, and with stripes. NCE will shortly be preparing convertible versions of the 2013 Range Rover Supercharged Autobiography, Porsche Cayenne and Cadillac XTS. For Acura owners, there's a press release below with information on NCE if you have a TL and an urge to go way beyond the sunroof.

Honda protective of Type R name; NSX Type R not in the works

During a roundtable during a recent event hosted by Honda, we joined in on a roundtable interview with Honda Technical Consultant Ko Yamamoto and Honda Civic Type R Project Leader Hideki Kakinuma. Questions were asked about the Type R brand broadly, as well as the potential for some new projects. The answers were both good news and disappointing news for Honda fans. The good news is that Honda takes the Type R name and brand very seriously. Yamamoto and Kakinuma explained that the name and its associated red "H" badge are only for vehicles with a racing connection, such as the Honda Civic Type R that has a couple of racing variants. As such, you won't be seeing a CR-V, Odyssey or Insight with the Type R name. Furthermore, the Type R name is only for Honda-badged vehicles, despite the existence of the Acura Integra Type R a couple decades ago. We also asked about the potential of an NSX Type R, which certainly meets the performance and racing credentials mentioned, but is much more of an Acura product and is badged as such in the U.S. Kakinuma and Yamamoto couldn't go into deep detail, but they said that there aren't plans for one at the moment, and the chances of one for the U.S. are unlikely. They noted that the previous NSX Type R was a Japanese-market exclusive, and if such a car did come to fruition, that might be the case yet again. Kakinuma did say that if he was the one in charge of NSX, he would have already had it in the works. So it's not impossible that there could be an NSX Type R in the future, but don't look for one anytime soon. Related Video:

2023 Acura Integra gets a CVT standard, according to leaked trim chart

The 2023 Acura Integra continues to disappoint — is what fans of the original are likely to say upon hearing that the standard transmission for the upcoming sport sedan is a CVT. Acura made a big deal out of the fact that the revived Integra would have a manual transmission prior to its reveal. However, if a newly leaked spec chart is to be believed, most trim levels will only get a continuously variable transmission. Previously some believed that Acura would offer their 10-speed automatic in the Integra, but specs posted to the Integra Talk forum, indicate that is not the case. They show three levels of trim: base, A-Spec, and A-Spec with Tech Package. All come with the CVT, except the A-Spec Tech, which can be optioned with a six-speed manual transmission. It's not unusual anymore for carmakers to offer manual on only the highest-spec trims. Mazda, for example, does the same by offering its manual a single grade, the Premium package for the Mazda 3 hatchback. Whereas the manual was once the cheapest and most fuel-efficient option, these days the thinking is that only true enthusiasts, ones who would be willing to pay more to option out their car to the gills, would care about whether they row their own or not. In addition, the leak appears to list the Integra's color palette for both interior and exterior. Curiously, the Type R-inspired yellow of the concept doesn't appear to be on the menu. Instead, we get red, blue, white, silver, gray, and black. The A-Spec does get one exclusive hue, Apex Blue Pearl, to set it apart. Interiors get a choice of black, orchid or red, but not all of them can be paired with all exterior paints. We don't think that the manual's appearance on only the top trim is a problem per se. We don't know what the Integra's Tech Package will include, but on cars like the TLX or RDX it includes features like a premium audio system, navigation, and driver assist safety alerts. These aren't necessarily items a true enthusiast driver who prefers a purer driving experience would want. Still, we're glad Acura's offering a stick in an environment downright hostile to sedans, compacts, and manuals. We do think, though, that the Integra A-Spec (without the Tech Package) might have been the sweet spot for the manual. But no one asked us.