Hendrick Certified W/ 100,000 Mile Warranty Leather Navigation Tech Package on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2.1 million vehicles recalled again over faulty airbags

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Honda and Toyota will recall 2.1 million vehicles to fix faulty airbag modules "after the manufacturers' original attempts to fix the defects proved ineffective in some vehicles." These vehicles had all previously been recalled, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that the airbags could still potentially malfunction. This recall will cover Acura MDX, Dodge Viper, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Honda Odyssey, Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Matrix and Toyota Avalon models made in the early 2000s. NHTSA has reportedly received about 40 reports of airbag deployment in such vehicles, even though the vehicle had not been involved in a crash. Roughly one million of these same vehicles, all from Honda and Toyota, are also subject to recalls due to faulty Takata airbag modules, though this particular recall is for "an electronic component manufactured by TRW" that is separate from the actual airbags from Takata. According to NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind: "This is unfortunately a complicated issue for consumers, who may have to return to their dealer more than once. But this is an urgent safety issue, and all consumers with vehicles covered by the previous recalls should have that remedy installed. Even though it's a temporary solution until the new remedy is available, they and their families will be safer if they take the time to learn if their vehicle is covered and follow their manufacturers' instructions. A hassle is much better than a family tragedy." If you're the owner of an affected car, expect to hear more from the official automaker and government channels in short order. In the meantime, we'd suggest getting your car checked and fixed at your local dealer. The official statement and recall information can be found below. Previously Recalled Vehicle Remedies Not Working as Designed; NHTSA Announces Follow up Recall of 2.12 Million Cars and SUVs Saturday, January 31, 2015 Contact: Gordon Trowbridge, 202-366-9550, Public.Affairs@dot.gov WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced today the recall of more than 2.12 million Acura, Dodge, Jeep, Honda, Pontiac, and Toyota vehicles for a defect that may cause airbags to deploy inadvertently. The recalls will provide vehicle owners with a new remedy after the manufacturers' original attempts to fix the defects proved ineffective in some vehicles.

Acura NSX ScienceofSpeed Dream Project brings another wing to SEMA

Acura rolled into SEMA last year with its non-hybrid NSX GT3 race car, that FIA spec-series competitor pulled to Vegas on a trailer behind a GT3-themed Acura MDX. Sticking with the GT3 theme this year but going road-legal, Acura worked with Arizona-based ScienceofSpeed on a GT3 package that NSX owners can put in driveways. The result is the lower, more powerful, more wing-y NSX "Dream Project." Liquid-cooled injecting for the twin-turbo boosts output, adding 37 horsepower for a total of 610, and another 31 pound-feet of torque to register 507. A lightweight steel exhaust sheds 16 pounds and bestows those magnified numbers with magnified bass. A custom suspension drops the coupe by a little more than an inch, a custom iLIFT suspension add-on automatically raises the front axle two inches if the NSX detects a hurdle. The ScienceofSpeed aero kit includes all you'd expect from the alphanumeric "GT3:" front strakes, wider rocker panels, larger rear diffuser, a rear wing, gold powdercoated carbon ceramic Brembo brakes, and wider Pirelli Trofeo R tires wrapped around Advan GT forged wheels. Drench the package in two-tone Andaro Nouvelle Blue Pearl and gloss black roof, and the NSX Dream Project's ready to be driven from climate-controlled garage, to parking-lot car show, back to climate-controlled garage. If the owner decides to test a limit or two, Recaro Pole Position seats and a gaugeART OLED display will keep him locked in and informed. Related Video:

2019 Acura RDX infotainment first impressions | A first step into the touch pad world

One of the greatest design challenges in the modern automotive industry is an infotainment system that provides loads of capabilities, but is also easy-to-use and not overly distracting. Touch screens have been leading the way as the favored option, but Acura is trying a new design that relies on a touch pad with some unique tweaks to separate it from similar systems, such as those seen in competing Lexus models. And we got to try it out in the first production application, the 2019 Acura RDX compact crossover. The key feature of the touch pad is its one-to-one position functionality. What that means is that, if you have a grid of function buttons on the screen, tapping on, say, the upper left corner of the pad will highlight the button in the same area on the screen. And if you were to take your finger off the pad and tap in the opposite corner, that section of the screen would immediately be highlighted. You don't have to slide your finger across the pad to reach selections if you don't want to, and you don't have to slide back from the last function you highlighted. It basically does away with the need to move a cursor around like you would on a laptop with its mouse pad. In practice, it's a little odd to use at first because we mentally connect using a touch pad with the traditional cursor interface of the laptops we use day in and day out. As such, we forgot that we didn't have to scan the screen for the cursor every time we needed to select something. But once we remembered we could skip that, we found it quick and easy to drop our finger down and slide to our preferred function quickly. We could occasionally even pick something on the corners without having to slide at all. This is partly because Acura designed the interface to work with this pad. A representative from Acura's R&D center explained that they tried to put common functions on those corners because they're easy to reach without looking or thinking much. Another bonus to this system is that you don't immediately go to the function the second you press the pad. Instead, the feature is highlighted and still needs a physical click to enter. This is enormously helpful, since it virtually eliminates the chance of going to the wrong selection because you hit a bump or just got lazy with finger placement. Instead, you can get your finger in the right spot and then commit with a button press.