2004 Acura Mdx Touring Sport Utility 4-door 3.5l on 2040-cars

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Acura Street Performance ILX had an unfortunate smelting accident

There's a fun cliche for all-black cars based on an old Chevrolet Impala SS advertisement - "Lord Vader, your car is ready." It's been reproduced seemingly every time an automaker comes out with a menacing, black car. This Acura Street Performance ILX is for a different movie villain, though. Its advertisement should read, "Goldmember, your car is ready."
Yes, this is a matte gold car, and would probably be lusted after by that freaky deeky Dutch villain. And while it's easy to poke fun at the car's paint job, we're actually quite impressed with what Acura and MAD Industries have done with the car's mechanicals. The 2.4-liter, four-cylinder engine has been boosted to 250 horsepower at the front wheels, thanks to a CT Engineering supercharger and an ECU reflash. A CT Engineering intake adds to the grunt, as does a new, prototype Greddy exhaust.
The car rides on 19-inch Nitto NT05 Max tires and TSW Max wheels, while Tein Super Street coilovers and a Stoptech big brake kit make the compact Acura a bit more controllable. Outside the car, an Acura Accessories body kit has been fitted, while the cabin sports a CT Engineering short shift kit, and a few other items from the Acura catalog.

Autoblog Podcast #343

George Kennedy from Boldride.com, BMW i3, NACTOY long list, Bentley SUV
Episode #343 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth and Steven Ewing are joined by George Kennedy, Autoblog alum and Editor-in-Chief of Boldride.com. Topics include the unveiling of the BMW i3, the 2014 North American Car and Truck of the Year long list, and the green-lighted Bentley SUV. As always, we start with what's in the garage, but then answer some of your questions before diving into the week's news. For those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. You can follow along after the jump with our Q&A. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #343:

Acura rejoins with Seinfeld, sponsors Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee [w/videos]

We enjoyed the opening season of Seinfeld's offbeat Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee web series, a video serial where Jerry Seinfeld picked up his friends in some of his classic cars and... chatted. It was a simple premise that offered some genuinely enjoyable moments, even if the 'cars' connection was often a bit incidental. In any case, Acura must have felt the same way, as it has just inked a deal to be the sole sponsor for the series' next season.
Acura, you may recall, already enjoys a relationship with the comedian - Seinfeld starred in the company's 2012 Super Bowl ad alongside the NSX supercar concept. So perhaps it's no surprise that it has signed on to sponsor 24 episodes of the series, due to roll out this year and next. Naturally, with any title sponsorship these days, you can expect to see some integration of the sponsor - in this case, Acura says such measures will involve its new 2014 MDX crossover, integrating "short, contextually relevant ads at the beginning and end of the episode."
Will you watch? For a refresher on Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee, check out a couple of our favorite first season episodes with Michael Richards and Alec Baldwin by scrolling below.