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Acura dealer association nabs retiring pitcher Mariano Rivera for New York spot

Mariano Rivera, considered one of Major League Baseball's best relief and closing pitchers, bought an Acura when he debuted in the major leagues in 1995, and has owned nothing but Acuras since. So it was only natural for the New York Acura Dealers group to strike up a partnership. The fruits of the deal can be seen in the latest New York Acura commercial, called "Legends," which stars Rivera and Acuras new and old. It's narrated by actor Steve Schirripa, who played Bobby "Bacala" Baccalieri in HBO's The Sopranos.
"The spots are a nod to Acura's history and the years it overlapped with Mariano's career," says Scott Rodgers, chief creative officer at Tier10, the ad agency that developed the campaign's concept. With the "Legends" campaign, Rivera and the New York Acura Dealers continue a partnership that has provided $800,000 to the pitcher's charity, the Mariano Rivera Foundation.
The hardest part of the commercial was was finding the cars to star in it, according to Douglas Sonders, co-founder of 8112 Studios, the production company that shot the commercial. "Social media saved the day for us," he says. "After days of cold calls and e-mails to all of our contacts, we ended up sourcing everything we needed in 24 hours after asking our online contacts for assistance."

Honda to lead Rose Parade with hybrid tech

What are you doing New Year's Day? We're probably going to watch Urban Meyer's retirement bash the Rose Bowl, but we love a nice parade, too. To kick the day off, Honda will be leading the 130th Rose Parade with its own float, an Insight hybrid and an Acura RDX crossover. Not only will Honda be celebrating the new year, it'll also celebrate its 60th anniversary in the U.S. As such, the main float will be shaped like a 25-foot-tall birthday cake. And 60 band members from the historically black colleges and universities' marching bands — which recently took part in a battle of the bands sponsored by Honda — will represent the candles on the cake. It'll also be decorated to re-create the look of the automaker's first storefront in Los Angeles. The float will be called "Celebration of Dreams," a fitting title for a company whose founder Soichiro Honda famously said, "The day I stop dreaming is the day I die." (The first thing you see when entering the amazing Honda Collection Hall at Twin Ring Motegi is a large, circular glass sculpture with the word "Dream" and Soichiro Honda's signature). For the parade, the Honda Insight will serve as the official pace car, while the Acura RDX will play the role of sound car. The float itself will be propelled by a modified Honda hybrid powertrain. The main float will be flanked by five "satellite" floats, each representing facets of the company. These will include a Honda Super Cub motorbike; a floral representation of a 1975 Civic CVCC; a float with crash test dummies and an arch with five stars to represent safety; a Honda Accord, which is built in the U.S.; and a float incorporating elements from the HondaJet to represent the future. The Rose Parade broadcast begins bright and early at 8 a.m. Pacific on Jan. 1. Check out the rendering at the top of the page to get a sense of what to expect. Related Video:

2021 Acura TLX Type S officially goes on sale tomorrow

The 2021 Acura TLX Type S is arriving at Acura dealerships tomorrow. After over a decade hiatus here, we’ll have an Acura with a Type S badge available to buy once again. It wonÂ’t be too much longer until the MDX Type S joins the TLX, too. You can read everything there is to know about the TLX Type S in our first drive review. ItÂ’s the high-performance model of the four-door sedan, featuring a new 3.0-liter turbocharged V6, sport-tuned suspension and AcuraÂ’s excellent SH-AWD system. Power is rated at 355 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque. Acura dropped a video (you can watch below) with todayÂ’s on-sale announcement to dive into some of the nitty gritty details of this new V6.  One item the video misses is the TLXÂ’s new active exhaust system, though. ItÂ’s a new exhaust that is passed down from the NSX. As active exhausts go, this one is fairly standard. There are butterfly valves within the system that open depending on your throttle position or selected mode. Sport+ mode leaves them open 100% of the time, and theyÂ’ll even open in Comfort mode if you rev beyond 4,000 rpm. Acura says the exhaust is 5-7 decibels louder when the valves are open versus closed. If you want a new TLX Type S, the starting price is $53,325. Tack on the High Performance Wheel & Tire Package, and the price goes up to $54,125. YouÂ’ll probably want the wheel and tire package, too. The standard tires are Pirelli Cinturato P7 all-season tires, whereas the upgrade rubber gives you Pirelli P Zero summer tires. Those P Zeros are wrapping lighter wheels that save 5.8 pounds at each corner. The design is also inspired by the five-spoke wheels on the Acura NSX, so youÂ’ll be going faster and looking cooler. We have a feeling that itÂ’s $800 well spent. Related video: