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2023 Acura Integra gets a CVT standard, according to leaked trim chart

The 2023 Acura Integra continues to disappoint — is what fans of the original are likely to say upon hearing that the standard transmission for the upcoming sport sedan is a CVT. Acura made a big deal out of the fact that the revived Integra would have a manual transmission prior to its reveal. However, if a newly leaked spec chart is to be believed, most trim levels will only get a continuously variable transmission. Previously some believed that Acura would offer their 10-speed automatic in the Integra, but specs posted to the Integra Talk forum, indicate that is not the case. They show three levels of trim: base, A-Spec, and A-Spec with Tech Package. All come with the CVT, except the A-Spec Tech, which can be optioned with a six-speed manual transmission. It's not unusual anymore for carmakers to offer manual on only the highest-spec trims. Mazda, for example, does the same by offering its manual a single grade, the Premium package for the Mazda 3 hatchback. Whereas the manual was once the cheapest and most fuel-efficient option, these days the thinking is that only true enthusiasts, ones who would be willing to pay more to option out their car to the gills, would care about whether they row their own or not. In addition, the leak appears to list the Integra's color palette for both interior and exterior. Curiously, the Type R-inspired yellow of the concept doesn't appear to be on the menu. Instead, we get red, blue, white, silver, gray, and black. The A-Spec does get one exclusive hue, Apex Blue Pearl, to set it apart. Interiors get a choice of black, orchid or red, but not all of them can be paired with all exterior paints. We don't think that the manual's appearance on only the top trim is a problem per se. We don't know what the Integra's Tech Package will include, but on cars like the TLX or RDX it includes features like a premium audio system, navigation, and driver assist safety alerts. These aren't necessarily items a true enthusiast driver who prefers a purer driving experience would want. Still, we're glad Acura's offering a stick in an environment downright hostile to sedans, compacts, and manuals. We do think, though, that the Integra A-Spec (without the Tech Package) might have been the sweet spot for the manual. But no one asked us.

Junkyard Gem: 1997 Acura SLX

By the second half of the 1990s, the tremendous sales success of the Ford Explorer (introduced as a 1991 model) and Jeep Grand Cherokee (introduced as a 1993 model) had made it clear clear that the future of the American road would be trucks. Any automotive manufacturer not selling a full line of SUV-ish machinery here would be irrelevant soon after the dawn of the new century, and the car-and-bike-centric American Honda Motor Company was therefore in big trouble. The Civic could be used as the basis for a small crossover SUV (which debuted here as the 1997 Honda CR-V), but Honda needed to buy time to design and produce the platform that would underpin the 2001 Acura MDX and 2003 Honda Pilot. That time was purchased via a deal to sell rebadged Isuzu trucks as Hondas and Acuras. Today's Junkyard Gem is one of those Honda-ized Isuzus, found in a Colorado boneyard. Honda began selling the Isuzu Rodeo as the Passport (recycling the name they'd used on the U.S.-market Super Cub motorcycle) for the 1994 model year, and Acura dealers started moving SLX-badged Isuzu Troopers in the 1997 model year. Just to make things interesting in the Isuzu-Honda world, North American Isuzu dealers sold Honda Odysseys with Isuzu Oasis badges at the same time. Isuzu had gone all-truck for the American market after the last Styluses (and closely related Geo Storms) were sold here as 1993 models. Sadly, Isuzu's final (non-commercial) new vehicles sold here were rebadged Chevy Trailblazers and Colorados, more than 30 years after Chevrolet began selling Isuzu Faster pickups here with LUV badges. Honda never did build any body-on-frame trucks, but that proved unnecessary in order to make some money during the CUV/SUV era. The SLX never sold particularly well, but it gave Acura dealers a luxury truck to park next to the Integras, TLs, RLs, CLs and NSXs in their showrooms. After 1999, the SLX was gone, leaving just the 2000 model year as a blank spot for Acura-badged SUVs. This truck held together like a real Honda product, getting fairly close to the 300,000-mile mark (I've found junkyard Accords with better than a half-million miles on their odometers, plus one apiece Civic and CR-V that got past 400,000 miles during their lives). The original owner's manuals were still in the glovebox when I found this truck. At the end, it appears that it was towed away for being parked illegally. Maybe the engine or transmission failed and its final owner just walked away.

Acura gives us a lightning-quick glimpse of the NSX Type S

Acura released a short preview film to give fans a fast-paced look at the limited-edition NSX Type S. Scheduled to break cover tomorrow, August 12, it's being boldly presented as the final evolution of the second-generation model. The eight-second flick posted on various social media channels provides us with a peek at the Type S' front end. It shows two cars speeding towards the camera down what looks like a race track's main straight. Acura wants to keep the Type S under wraps until its big debut, so the footage gets blurry as the cars speed by; that's why it's called a teaser. We nonetheless think we can squint and discern a redesigned front end with larger air intakes.  Acura might have chiseled bigger vents into the front bumper because the Type S needs additional cooling air. It's powered by a mid-mounted engine, but there are radiators located right behind the front bumper in the regular-production model. Of course, we're not discounting the possibility that the vents were merely added for show. As we previously reported, the visual changes will also include a red engine cover and black exterior accents. Additionally, the Type S will offer more power than the standard, 573-horsepower NSX and sharper handling. Acura will build 350 units of the NSX Type S, and 300 of those have been earmarked for the American market. The model will make its public debut on August 12 on the sidelines of Monterey Car Week, so we won't have to wait long to learn about the improvements the company has made. If you want one, act fast; if you want the first one, bid high. Serial number one will be sold to the highest bidder at Mecum's Monterey sale on August 14, 2021. The proceeds from the sale will benefit a number of charities. As for what's next, nothing suggest there's a third-generation NSX on the way, but the GT3-spec race car will soon receive a round of updates and it might continue racing until 2024. Related video: