1999 Acura Cl Premium Coupe 2-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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2021 Acura TLX Long-Term Introduction | Loving the style, testing the substance

It’s not an understatement to say that the 2021 TLX is AcuraÂ’s most important car in years. Its purpose is ambitious: to be an authentic sports sedan with premium flair. When Acura is at its best, thatÂ’s what it does, as exemplified by the Legend and the third-generation TL. Can the TLX live up to that pedigree? WeÂ’ll spend the next year seeking answers as the attractive TLX joins our long-term fleet. The TLX is the sedan for Acura, carrying most of its aspirations as a sporting brand. Sure, thereÂ’s still the NSX, but a halo car needs to shine its light on something for mainstream enthusiasts to buy. As a reminder, the ILX is a dressed-up Civic and AcuraÂ’s former flagship, the RLX, is done. Put simply, thereÂ’s a lot riding on the TLX, but early indications are promising.  You will be able to find all future posts on our Long-Term 2021 Acura TLX page.  What we got Our new long-termer is a TLX A-Spec with Super Handling All-Wheel Drive. ItÂ’s powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder rated at 272 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque teamed with a 10-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters. It costs $47,775, including destination charges, which puts it near the top of the TLX range. Among the TLX's standard features are LED head- and taillights, a sunroof, heated front seats, satellite radio, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Acura's unusual True Touchpad interface. Beyond the basic equipment, Acura then breaks down content into three packages, but they're more like trim levels since you can't mix and match them, nor are there any additional options beyond SH-AWD. As such, the A-Spec basically takes the Technology package items (blind-spot warning, navigation, leather upholstery, ambient cabin lighting) and adds additional content, including 19-inch Shark Grey aluminum alloy wheels, LED fog lamps, ventilated front seats, a sport steering wheel, a wireless phone charger, and a 17-speaker Panasonic/ELS sound system. The A-Spec also looks different with gloss black accents, smoked light casings and a matte grey diamond grille that really stand out when paired with our long-termer's striking Apex Blue Pearl Paint ($500 option). Our car also arrived on 255/40 R19 all-season tires but we plan to swap them for winter rubber. Why we got it The A-Spec is the enthusiast version. It looks and feels the part of a proper sports sedan. The interior, with the supportive seats and flat-bottom steering wheel, reinforces the idea of athleticism.

Acura NSX bodywork to be sheathed in zirconium e-coat, fewer paint layers

Automakers make halo cars to drum up excitement and show off what they can do, but there's more to it than that. Advanced platforms allow a company's engineers to experiment with all sorts of technologies. And in the case of the upcoming new Acura NSX, that includes new paint processes.
Speaking with Autoline in this video interview, Honda's North American Senior VP Jon Minto talked about an innovative zirconium e-coat which it's applying to the new NSX. Unlike some experimental paints developed for Formula One, however, this coating is not designed to minimize drag or enhance cooling: it's designed to be more environmentally friendly.
It's one of a few measures which Honda is implementing on the NSX before expanding it to more accessible models, along with another process that uses fewer coats to reduce energy consumption by 40 percent. Watch the interview with Autoline host John McElroy right here.

19% of Acura Integras have been sold with a manual transmission

While you'll need to wait another week to read our review of the upcoming 2024 Acura Integra Type S, there is a nice little nugget of information we can share in the meantime. Between May 2022 and April 2023, Acura reports that it sold 19,643 Integras. According to the figures Acura shared, so grain of salt, that is grossly more than other entry-level luxury sedans: the Audi A3 (8,866), Mercedes-Benz CLA (6,656) and BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe (3,913). Update: Acura confirmed to us since this was originally posted that the A3 numbers also includes S3 and RS 3. The thing that most piqued our interest, however, was Acura saying that 19% of those 19,643 Integras came with the six-speed manual transmission. Now, that's a colossal change from the earliest days of Integra orders when the manual take-rate was hovering around 70%. Clearly, late adopters weren't as eager to row their own. It's also important to note that the manual is exclusively tied to the loaded A-Spec with Technology package, so it's effectively a pricey option.  While 19% — roughly 3,732 units — may not seem like a lot, it's actually not bad these days, and not that far off the entire 2 Series Gran Coupe lineup. That number is also about to go up since the Type S is exclusively available with a six-speed manual.  A few other sales-related Integra tidbits: It has the youngest buyers in the segment, as defined by those cars listed above, with 36% being younger than 35. Also, about 70% of buyers were of the "conquest" variety, meaning they were former Spanish Conquistadors. Wait, what's that? Oh, that makes more sense: So 70% of Integra buyers previously owned a car that wasn't an Acura, although when asked, Acura mentioned that it was possible that the buyers in question owned an Acura at some point in the distant past (you know, like an Integra) and were making a return to the brand.