2010 Acura Tl Base Sedan 4-door 3.5l on 2040-cars

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Acura gives us a peek at 'Type S' concept debuting at Monterey Car Week

We’ve known that Acura is bringing the Type S moniker back since the Detroit Auto Show in 2018. Spy shots have shown what may be Type S versions of current Acuras out testing in heavy camouflage, but we still arenÂ’t sure what the first new Type S will be after the long drought. What weÂ’re getting today is a teaser for an Acura Type S Concept slated to debut at Monterey Car Week. The car is shrouded in plenty of shadows and darkness, but a body shape emerges from the teaser video. Just like the stunning Acura Precision Concept, the Type S Concept is going to take the form of a four-door coupe. A report from earlier this year pegged this show car to be a near production-ready vehicle in the likes of the Precision Concept. Looking at the silhouette tells us that prediction was on to something. Acura says that this conceptÂ’s purpose will be to “set the design direction for the return of Type S variants to the Acura lineup in the years ahead.” WeÂ’ll be seeing it in an event Aug. 15. Folks will be able to check it out at The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering the following day or at the actual Pebble Beach Concours dÂ’Elegance on that Sunday. The one teaser image Acura provided shows a rather striking taillight element and an assumed quad exhaust design. ThereÂ’s an aggressive-looking diffuser and a prominent spoiler gracing the rear-end. It also proudly displays the Type S badge on the trunk lid. We get some hints at the new Type S direction here, but weÂ’ll reserve judgment for seeing the car as a whole. You'll find a quick teaser video at the bottom of this post, too. WeÂ’re sure youÂ’re all as excited as we are about the return of Type S. Acura made some pretty sweet Type S variants over the years, our favorite most likely being the sporty RSX Type S. There were other even more intriguing S-badged Honda vehicles overseas, too. It was never sold in America, but the original NSX received both Type S and Type S Zero variants in Japan. ItÂ’ll be interesting to see which current models Acura decides are worthy of the Type S badge this time around. Our bet is on the TLX and RDX to begin with. However, what weÂ’d really love to see is a return to the hot compact car segment. Honda has done such an impressive job with the Civic Type R at its relatively low price point. Why not spread some love to a small, sporty Acura, because the ILX in its current form just doesnÂ’t cut it when your history is full of fun-to-drive Integras.

Junkyard Gem: 1996 Acura 3.5 RL, Rocky Mountain Rambler 500 Edition

Honda had a good sales run with the Acura Legend, the first of the luxury-marque spinoffs from well-known Japanese carmakers to appear on our shores, but times change and the RL replaced the Legend as Acura's flagship starting in the 1996 model year. Here's one of those first-year RLs, found in a Denver boneyard covered in decorations from the Rocky Mountain Rambler 500 road rally. The Rocky Mountain Rambler 500 involves a lot of punitive off-road driving, so cars that have no business on the dirt seem to get coolness points. That makes Honda's most expensive vehicle of 24 years ago a fine choice of ride. I can't determine how well this car did, but the drivers looked optimistic during the inspections last month. Since the ignition key is still in the switch, I'm assuming it wasn't running so well after the rally and the team decided to bid farewell to their Acura in the lowest-hassle way possible: sell it to the nearest U-Pull-&-Pay. The team appears to have gone for a Pirates of the Caribbean theme with their big land yacht. The evil-looking wheel covers looked sharp. However, the Lord Humungus-grade roof spikes really make this car stand out, both on the rally and, now, in the junkyard. It seemed very clean, with the original owner's manual still in the glovebox. The MSRP on this car came to $41,000 in 1996, which amounts to about $69,000 in 2020 dollars. A new Lexus LS 400 cost $52,900 that year, though the $45,700 Lexus GS 300 was more likely to have battled for the money of potential 3.5 RL buyers. The 1996 Infiniti Q45 went for $53,520, while the J30 cost $39,920. The 1996 BMW 530i had a $42,750 price tag, but your Mitsubishi dealer had $25,525 Diamantes that year. Built on the idea that luxury doesn't have to be boring. Take that, Lexus!

2015 Acura TLX launch delayed

Last week in New York, Acura pulled the wraps off its all-new TLX sedan - a midsize model that replaces both the TSX and TL in one fell swoop. In a bit of behind-the-scenes full disclosure, we were originally scheduled to get our first drive of the car in early May. But an intrepid reader forwarded us an email to Acura dealers saying that the on-sale date of the TLX will be pushed back, and subsequently, the automaker confirmed to Autoblog that the official media launch has been postponed, as well. Acura spokesperson Chuck Schifsky tells us that the 2015 TLX will now go on sale later this summer.
"We don't view it as a major delay," Schifsky told Autoblog. The TLX is "the most technologically advanced Acura" yet - even more so than the original NSX, Schifsky says - and thus, there are "lots of systems to get sorted out." When asked if there is a specific component to point to regarding this delay, Schifsky told Autoblog that it's "not any one thing."
"We have determined that it is necessary to modify the production schedule for the 2015 TLX, which will move the on-sale date to late summer."