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Acura NSX #001 sells for $1.2 million

When the new Acura NSX hits showrooms in the Spring, it will cost at least $156,000 in "base" spec, or as much as $205k fully loaded. But at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale Saturday, one notable buyer paid a record $1.2 million for the privilege of ordering the very first one. That works out to a good six or seven times the list price, but fortunately it's all going to a good cause. The winning bid for the very first production example of the new Acura NSX was placed by none other than Rick Hendrick, a man best known for his NASCAR team but also for other projects like the modified Jeeps his company is pitching to the US Army. His $1.2 million will allow him to order the first one off the line, to his specifications. Proceeds are earmarked towards the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and Camp Southern Ground in Georgia, which focuses on at-risk kids, children of military families, and those with neurobehavioral disorders. Hendrick's winning bid marks the highest price that Barrett-Jackson has ever recorded for a VIN 001 vehicle. And make no mistake about it: it has handled a lot of them. This weekend alone also saw the first new Chevy COPO Camaro raise $300,000 for United Way, and Jay Leno's 2006 Ford F-150 Harley-Davidson edition (also the first of its kind) bring in $200k for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Related Video: FIRST 2017 ACURA NSX SCORES RECORD AUCTION PRICE OF $1.2 MILLION AT BARRETT-JACKSON - Final hammer price of $1.2 million sets record auction price for a designated VIN 001 vehicle - All proceeds go to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and Camp Southern Ground Jan 29, 2016 - SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- At the auctioneer's final call, the next-generation 2017 Acura NSX supercar tonight smashed the record for a vehicle auction at Barrett-Jackson for the highest-selling designated vehicle identification number (VIN) 001 with the final hammer price set at $1.2 million. Winning bidder Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports and founder of Hendrick Automotive Group, has earned the right to custom order the first production model of Acura's highly anticipated NSX, which comes to market this spring. All proceeds of the auction will go to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, based in North Carolina, and Camp Southern Ground in Georgia, the passion project of Grammy® Award-winning music artist Zac Brown.

Honda spinning off Acura as stand-alone division in bid to wake up brand

Every major automaker has a different way of relating between its various divisions and brands. At Volkswagen, for example, the individual brands seem to operate with a large degree of autonomy. Under the Renault-Nissan Alliance, the two units share a common chief executive, but little else. The relationship between Honda and its luxury division Acura has always been rather close, but that's all about to change.
American Honda Motor Company has always handled sales and marketing in the North American market for both the Honda and Acura divisions, but new reorganization plans call for the two units to be separated under their own direction. Leading the Acura division will be Michael Accavitti, who moves into the position from his role as Senior Vice President for Auto Operations at American Honda. The Honda division will meanwhile be taken over by the current head of Acura sales, Jeff Conrad.
Both will report to John Mendel, the current executive vice president of the Automobile Sales Division that is being rebranded as the American Honda Auto Division. Unlike rivals Lexus and Infiniti - two brands that Acura beat to the market - Honda barely markets its luxury brand outside of North America. Its overseas presence is felt only in China, though we've yet to receive word on how the reorganization might effect that market - or for that matter, any potential of expanding into others.

Ford, Toyota clean up in Best Car For The Money Awards

The U.S. News Best Cars for the Money Awards picks winners by looking at the average transaction price, five-year total cost of ownership, the regard a car has from the automotive press, reliability figures from J.D. Power and Associates and safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The result, according to the magazine, is "the best combination of critical acclaim and long-term value."
Ford nabbed six of the 21 categories that received awards this year, the Focus, Fusion, Fusion Hybrid, Taurus, Escape and Edge getting trophies. Toyota and its Lexus and Scion sub-brands took another five, the Tacoma and Tundra owning the two categories given to pickup trucks. The other ten awards were split between Honda with three, Buick with two, and one each for Subaru, BMW, Hyundai, Chevrolet and Mazda.
Follow the link to see all the winners and read about why they were chosen.