2019 Acura Rdx W/tech on 2040-cars

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Singer Porsche, Koenigsegg, NSX: Leno's life doesn't suck

Jay Leno had quite a productive trip this year during Monterey Car Week. Not only did he get to pal around with Ian Callum and check out the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, but the denim-clad comedian also headed to The Quail to talk to some prominent figures in the modern sports car scene. Capping off the fun, he got to take a drive in a Mercedes-AMG GT S, too Perhaps the highlight of this show is a nearly 10-minute interview with Christian von Koenigsegg. The founder of the Swedish hypercar company digs deep into the Agera One:1's engineering details, relating interesting facts about the aerodynamics and transmission. In addition, Leno chats with Rob Dickenson of Singer about its newly reimagined Porsche 911 Targa, and he gets the latest scoop on the Acura NSX's progress from newly promoted Acura Vice President and General Manager Jon Ikeda. If you like hearing about the nuts and bolts of sports car development, then this video can't be missed. Of course, we were there at Monterey, too, and we pointed our own cameras at some of the amazing machinery, both vintage and modern, at all the various car-focused events of the week. Take a look back at some of our own cool footage in the videos below. Related Video:

Acura 2019 RDX Prototype | New era for a popular crossover

Acura took the wraps off its sleek new RDX Prototype today at the Detroit Auto Show, displaying a completely redesigned, re-engineered crossover that heralds a new era for design and technology for the automaker. Acura says it's a pretty close representation of the production version due out midyear as a 2019 model, save for the highly stylized side mirrors and wheels. The Prototype serves as the third generation of the RDX, and Acura says it's the first full embodiment of the new exterior and interior design language first introduced on the Precision Concept, shown in Detroit in 2016, and the Precision Cockpit, a concept interior it unveiled in Los Angeles in 2016. So in addition to the Precision's diamond pentagon grille, which has already made it to the TLX, the crossover adopts the Precision sedan's low, wide stance and sculpted body panels. Compared to the outgoing RDX, the new version adds 1.2 inches of width and 2.5 inches to the wheelbase, with a shortened front overhang and wheels pushed to the corners. Headlamps and exterior lights are all LED. The RDX Prototype debuts the all-new Acura True Touchpad interface, which combines a touchscreen and remote interface in one Android-based operating system. There's a 10.2-inch full-HD display atop the center console that's operated via a remote tracking pad mapped to the center display, plus an interactive heads-up display. (Here's a good video explainer for how it works.) It also has a new and improved natural-language voice-recognition system. View 12 Photos Inside, there's more space, rear legroom and cargo space. A floating center console is inspired by the Precision Cockpit, plus high-grade materials including nappa leather, brushed aluminum and Olive Ash wood. It'll also be the first Acura SUV offered with the brand's sporty A-Spec trim, which will eventually be part of all core Acura models developed moving forward. And all RDX models will come equipped with a new ultra-wide panoramic sliding moonroof, the largest in its class. Acura is building the new RDX on an Acura-only platform that gives it a lighter and stiffened body, new chassis and all-new powertrain that it says will be its quickest and best-handling RDX to date.

2020 Acura TLX PMC Edition Driveway Test | Shine bright like a ... ruby

Valencia Red Pearl. That’s the story with the 2020 Acura TLX PMC Edition. We got to see this limited edition TLX sedan at the New York Auto Show last year, but now itÂ’s in my driveway. The show lights donÂ’t do this paint justice. The setting sun reflecting off the deep and vibrant red ... now that's how this car is meant to be gazed upon. Like I mentioned in the video walkaround above, the TLX PMC Edition is hand-assembled at the Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio. The body-in-white is trundled across town to the NSX supercar factory where those technicians do the rest to make it road-worthy. All 360 of them are being wrapped in their own special car covers and delivered to dealers on an enclosed truck to make sure it arrives without a single exterior flaw. About that paint Valencia Red Pearl is a $6,000 paint option on the Acura NSX. On the TLX PMC, itÂ’s $0. The paint process itself is time consuming and intensive. Acura says the vibrancy and high-color saturation is thanks to nano pigment technology.  “Engineered using mica, metal flake and super-high transparency nano pigments, the paint is applied using PMC's advanced robotic paint system in multiple base coats to enhance color intensity. This is followed by two clear coats to increase the paint's luster,” AcuraÂ’s description reads. 2020 Acura TLX PMC Edition View 43 Photos The five-day process is well worth it. IÂ’ve tried my best to illustrate it through photos and video, but itÂ’s still not representative enough of this red paint. It has a depth and shimmer to it, as if the body panels were a swimming pool, awaiting a cannonball dive into the deep end. This car being an exclusive, special edition vehicle hasnÂ’t destroyed the value proposition either. In actuality, the TLX PMC is the one to buy if you want a fully-loaded TLX. Acura doesnÂ’t allow you to option the A-Spec and Advance packages together with the standard TLX, but both of those are included with the PMC Edition. If you were able to combine all those packages, the final price would ring up to $50,650. The final price on our test car is $50,945, including the $1,995 destination charge on the sticker. Basically, youÂ’re getting every option in the book at around list price, plus all of the special PMC Edition extras for next to nothing. Why yes, of course weÂ’ll have the PMC Edition. It drives just like the TLX A-Spec — check out our full review of that car here.