2004 Acura Tl Base Sedan 4-door 3.2l on 2040-cars

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2024 Acura TLX Preview: Subtle style tweaks, fewer trim options

The 2024 Acura TLX sees a number of updates to keep it competitive and address a few customer requests. It also looks a bit different, but you do need to take a closer side-by-side look. The big visual change is the front end. It now looks more like the TLX Concept car – specifically the lower air dam area and crucially, thereÂ’s now a frameless grille. Acura needed to redesign the entire trim piece above the grille and across the fascia to accommodate it. The change is most obvious on the base TLX, which used to have chrome lipstick around the “Diamond Pentagon” grille. ItÂ’s gone now. So are a whole heap of 2024 Acura TLX trim levels. There had been eight and now there are three: TLX with Technology Package, A-Spec and Type S. Front-wheel drive is now exclusively paired with the now-base TLX with Technology Package (thatÂ’s seriously what itÂ’s called) and vice versa, while the other two are only paired with Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD). There was previously a Technology-less Base TLX, a front-wheel-drive A-Spec, a TLX with Advance Package, a Type S w/ Performance Tire and the special-edition Type S PMC Edition. The surviving three were apparently what people were overwhelmingly getting. 2024 Acura TLX action front three quarter View 11 Photos That said, parts of those zombie trims survive. The Advance package may be gone for the base TLX (customers were more interested in the sporty versions than the more luxurious take of Advance cars), but its head-up display and surround-view parking camera are added as standard to the Acura TLX Type S. It already had the AdvanceÂ’s other extras. The PMCÂ’s special lightweight wheels, fashioned in a Copper color are now dealer-installed options for the Type S along with the performance tires. Speaking of wheels, Acura answered another customer request by enlarging the A-Spec wheels to 19 inches and through in a coat of Shark Gray paint. The Type S wheels are now Berlina Black to match the new gloss-black finish in its grille. More gloss black shows up on the A-Spec as well on its new, reshaped rear spoiler. Below it is a similarly gloss black diffuser encasing new round tailpipes in place of the old square covers. Perhaps the most significant visual upgrade, however, is back up front where a new, smaller radar sensor for the adaptive cruise control and forward collision prevention system is now completely encased behind the Acura logo.

Acura ILX Type S could get 300-hp turbo four

There's good news and bad news when it comes to the new Honda Civic Type R. The good news is that after more than a year of prototypes and concepts, the Japanese automaker's new hot hatch is about to make its production debut next month. The bad news is that it's not coming here, but there is a silver lining in even that dark rain cloud – namely, that Honda plans on slotting its 2.0-liter VTEC turbo four into something that it will actually offer Stateside. Earlier rumors suggested the US donor vehicle would also be a Civic, but the latest intel indicates it could be something different, albeit related. According to Car and Driver, which spoke recently with Acura product planning manager Gary Robinson, Honda's luxury division could be gearing up to shoehorn the engine into the recently updated ILX – which itself is based on the Civic. "Acura is always going to get the best engines Honda makes," said Robinson. "Obviously a 2.0-liter turbo is more of a must-have in the luxury world than it is in the mainstream" market, suggesting that an ILX Type S could be in the works with upwards of 300 horsepower. Getting it to fit, though, could prove a rather large challenge – and could mean the engine swap would have to wait until the next-generation model comes around. Considering that the ILX was just updated for 2016, C/D doesn't expect the full redesign to come until 2018 at the earliest. Here's hoping that if it takes that long, Honda will slot the engine into something else for US showrooms in the meantime. The revival of the Type S badge in and of itself, however, makes for an enticing prospect. The last time we saw it used was on the larger TL sedan, which upgraded the 3.2-liter V6 from the 225 horsepower to 260. Before that, the RSX jumped from 160 horsepower in the base model to 200 in the first Type S, 210 in the second and 217 in the ultimate Type R. As it stands, the new ILX (after dropping the hybrid and base 2.0 models, is powered exclusively by a 2.4-liter inline four with 201 hp on tap.

Singer Porsche, Koenigsegg, NSX: Leno's life doesn't suck

Jay Leno had quite a productive trip this year during Monterey Car Week. Not only did he get to pal around with Ian Callum and check out the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, but the denim-clad comedian also headed to The Quail to talk to some prominent figures in the modern sports car scene. Capping off the fun, he got to take a drive in a Mercedes-AMG GT S, too Perhaps the highlight of this show is a nearly 10-minute interview with Christian von Koenigsegg. The founder of the Swedish hypercar company digs deep into the Agera One:1's engineering details, relating interesting facts about the aerodynamics and transmission. In addition, Leno chats with Rob Dickenson of Singer about its newly reimagined Porsche 911 Targa, and he gets the latest scoop on the Acura NSX's progress from newly promoted Acura Vice President and General Manager Jon Ikeda. If you like hearing about the nuts and bolts of sports car development, then this video can't be missed. Of course, we were there at Monterey, too, and we pointed our own cameras at some of the amazing machinery, both vintage and modern, at all the various car-focused events of the week. Take a look back at some of our own cool footage in the videos below. Related Video: