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Acura claims MDX is best-selling luxury 3-row ever

Business for Acura has been in a weird place, recently, and the company's latest car launches have been especially rocky. For example, the ILX Hybrid was recently discontinued after just two model years with only about 2,660 sold in that time. The company also delayed the launch of its new TLX by a few months until later this summer. However, despite its issues with sedans, the automaker's utility-vehicle business in absolutely booming. In fact, it now claims that the MDX is the best-selling three-row, luxury SUV, ever.
The MDX is already leading its class this year with 30,664 units sold through June 2014, up 68.4 percent compared 2013. Also, in five of the last six months of reported sales, Acura has posted gains. It appears that the company's utility lineup is really pushing it along.
To take the bestseller ever crown, Acura claims that through its three generations, the MDX has sold a cumulative 692,710 units. The premium model has also been at the top of the annual sales rankings for three-row luxury crossovers every year since 2002. The company believes that its nearest competitor is the Lincoln Navigator with an estimated 420,000 lifetime sales, and even arguably more comparable vehicles like the BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz M-Class only have 350,000 or fewer sales under their belts. Of course, it probably doesn't hurt that the MDX has one of the lower starting prices in its class.

Ludacris discusses Fast and Furious 7 and his 1993 Acura Legend

It's easy to think of most wealthy celebrities as egotistical, materialistic individuals who own a Ferrari for every day of the week. The reality, though, is often much less severe. See, they can get attached to things, like cars, just like normal folks. Take Alfred Morris, for example. A 22-year-old running back with the Washington Redskins. Morris still drives the 1991 Mazda 626 that he had in college, despite a healthy $2.2 million contract.
Rapper/actor Ludacris is an even more extreme example of automotive loyalty. With an estimated net worth of over $70 million, Luda has the money for his own private plane. Yet that wealth doesn't stop him from regularly driving the 1993 Acura Legend he has had since before he found fame.
Ludacris, whose real name is Chris Bridges, recently discussed his old Acura during an appearance on the Ellen DeGeneris Show to promote his new album. It sounds like he's put 10,000 miles on the trusty sedan since it last popped up online less than a year ago, so it's pretty clear that he drives it on the regular. In fact, Ludacris says he still pens new songs sitting inside it, just like he used to back in the day when he was starting out.

Snapshots from Acura NSX prototype run at Mid-Ohio

Acura's achingly slow showing of the new, hybrid NSX saw yet another step yesterday, as we reported late last week. A powder-blue prototype ran ahead of the open-wheelers at the Honda Indy 200 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Why show the NSX Prototype at Mid-Ohio? Honda's Ohio research and development center, which has taken the lead on NSX development, is just 60 miles from the track. And as race sponsor, Honda must have figured it would give the spectators a glimpse of the new supercar it's been teasing for the better part of a decade.
With a planned launch in 2015 (special emphasis on the "planned" part, considering the NSX's history), the NSX Prototype shown here sports graphics that "speak to Acura's intention to go racing with the new NSX." That's great news for fans of endurance racing, although it remains to be seen when a motorsports program for the new NSX will get off the ground.
Take a look at the fresh gallery of images, and be sure to head over to our original Mid-Ohio post for the video footage of the NSX Prototype on track.