1997 Acura Integra Gs Hatchback 3-door 1.8l 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.

Toyota tops Consumer Reports best, worst used car values

We often mock Toyota for building boring, soulless cars, but a new study by Consumer Reports suggests that regardless of whether that's true, the company has some of the best used cars on the market. In its report on used cars from 2004-2013, the Japanese automaker had 11 vehicles among its brands on the list - more than any other automaker.
CR breaks the list down by cost and vehicle size, and Toyota has at least one entry at every price point and in nearly every segment. To score a recommendation, a vehicle had to perform well in the magazine's initial tests and score above-average reliability results. It also tried to only suggest cars with electronic stability control. Of the 28 recommended vehicles, Honda/Acura had the second most mentions at six, and Ford, Hyundai and Subaru managed two each.
The Detroit brands also made it to the list, but not in a positive way. Consumer Reports compiled a list of 22 vehicles it wouldn't recommend because "they have multiple years of much-worse-than-average overall reliability." General Motors had the most unrecommended models on the list at six, but Chrysler and Ford weren't far behind, with five cars each from their brands not making the grade. The full list of recommendations is available on CR's website.

IIHS says these are the safest cars of 2013

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has revealed its annual list of Top Safety Picks, an award that highlights automobiles it says offer "superior crash protection." A new and still more significant award, the Top Safety Pick+ honor, is given to those vehicles that earn good ratings for occupant protection in four out of five areas of measure. And while some 117 vehicles were given the TSP seal of approval for 2013, just 13 passed muster for TSP+.
To be fair, IIHS only evaluated 29 vehicles with its new testing procedures for TSP+ (we'd expect that the number of qualified cars will rise substantially for 2014). Luxury and Near Luxury midsize cars were the first groups evaluated, followed by midsizers in the Moderately Priced Cars category - unsurprisingly, it's only midsize cars that you'll find among the class this year.
Only two luxury sedans made the list of 13 for 2013: the Acura TL and Volvo S60. The other 11 cars on the list included entries from domestic, Japanese and German car makers: Dodge Avenger, Chrysler 200, Ford Fusion, Honda Accord (sedan and coupe), Kia Optima (but not its close kin, the Hyundai Sonata, strangely), Nissan Altima, Subaru Legacy and Outback, Suzuki Kizashi and the Volkswagen Passat all made the grade.