2006 Acura Tl on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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.

2014 Acura MDX [w/video]

Refinement Rather Than Revolution
Before we get into the meat and potatoes of the 2014 Acura MDX, let's pause for just a moment and talk about the current, still-sitting-at-dealerships 2013 model. It's a pretty good machine. Perhaps guilty only of falling to the backburners of our minds in recent years because, well, the old girl's not gotten any younger. But every time we drove this second-generation MDX, our thoughts were the same - good to drive, pleasant to sit in and a pretty decent value.
Acura's customers felt the same way, and so when it came time to design and engineer the third-generation MDX, the vehicle's formula wasn't shaken up at all. Despite the fact that it uses a brand-new platform and offers a host of upgrades, the key points addressed by the company's engineers were the specific requests of customers and shoppers in the segment - changes that amounted to nothing radical. After all, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Why Acura should build a hybrid Integra successor using NSX tech

Yes, it sounds like a heresy. Yes, the Honda CR-Z was not a good hybrid sports car. Yes, we know the RSX officially replaced the Integra here (but was called the Integra in Japan). But, no, we're not crazy. Well, maybe a little bit. But hear us out. At the moment Acura is a bit of an unfocused mess. Its line-up is thoroughly uninspiring, save for its $200,000 NSX supercar – a great mid-engined supercar with an impressive, performance-oriented hybrid AWD system. And yet few people would draw a line connecting Acura's other SH-AWD hybrids, the RLX Sport Hybrid and MDX Sport Hybrid, to the NSX. The first NSX told the world that Acura built cars with world-class technology and performance, and the Integra carried it to people with normal pocketbooks. Since the new NSX communicates a similar message as its forbearer, so too would a new Integra. Now making an entry-level sports car with hybrid technology is tricky business. As we already established, the Honda CR-Z was a colossal flop. It's balance was all off: heavy, expensive, and not very sporty – and it didn't even get very good fuel economy. However, Honda and Acura can learn from these mistakes. First, to keep costs in check, Acura can borrow from Honda's ever-improving parts bin. It would logical to borrow the excellent Civic coupe platform – something the old Integra did as well. It could also attach the proposed hybrid powertrain to the upcoming Si turbocharged four-cylinder. Some added cost will be unavoidable, since the batteries and motors will have to go somewhere. That will cost some engineering dollars, and inflate the price tag a bit. However, since Acura is a premium brand, it has some wiggle room to bump up the price without losing buyers. Weight is another potential issue this hypothetical hybrid will face, and was one of the chief complaints with the CR-Z. Looking at the RLX and the RLX Sport Hybrid, the hybrid bits weigh about an extra 340 pounds. That's not insignificant, but added to the turbocharged Civic EX-T coupe's 2,900 pound curb weight, you would have a car that would weigh 3,240 pounds. That's comparable to the very fun Mustang EcoBoost. As long as Acura keeps the weight under 3,500 pounds, the brand should have an entertaining coupe on its hands. The final piece of the puzzle is to make sure it isn't compromised. Every bit of hybrid tech in the NSX is there for performance. It helps eliminate turbo lag, and it improves acceleration and handling.