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Why Acura should build a hybrid Integra successor using NSX tech

Yes, it sounds like a heresy. Yes, the Honda CR-Z was not a good hybrid sports car. Yes, we know the RSX officially replaced the Integra here (but was called the Integra in Japan). But, no, we're not crazy. Well, maybe a little bit. But hear us out. At the moment Acura is a bit of an unfocused mess. Its line-up is thoroughly uninspiring, save for its $200,000 NSX supercar – a great mid-engined supercar with an impressive, performance-oriented hybrid AWD system. And yet few people would draw a line connecting Acura's other SH-AWD hybrids, the RLX Sport Hybrid and MDX Sport Hybrid, to the NSX. The first NSX told the world that Acura built cars with world-class technology and performance, and the Integra carried it to people with normal pocketbooks. Since the new NSX communicates a similar message as its forbearer, so too would a new Integra. Now making an entry-level sports car with hybrid technology is tricky business. As we already established, the Honda CR-Z was a colossal flop. It's balance was all off: heavy, expensive, and not very sporty – and it didn't even get very good fuel economy. However, Honda and Acura can learn from these mistakes. First, to keep costs in check, Acura can borrow from Honda's ever-improving parts bin. It would logical to borrow the excellent Civic coupe platform – something the old Integra did as well. It could also attach the proposed hybrid powertrain to the upcoming Si turbocharged four-cylinder. Some added cost will be unavoidable, since the batteries and motors will have to go somewhere. That will cost some engineering dollars, and inflate the price tag a bit. However, since Acura is a premium brand, it has some wiggle room to bump up the price without losing buyers. Weight is another potential issue this hypothetical hybrid will face, and was one of the chief complaints with the CR-Z. Looking at the RLX and the RLX Sport Hybrid, the hybrid bits weigh about an extra 340 pounds. That's not insignificant, but added to the turbocharged Civic EX-T coupe's 2,900 pound curb weight, you would have a car that would weigh 3,240 pounds. That's comparable to the very fun Mustang EcoBoost. As long as Acura keeps the weight under 3,500 pounds, the brand should have an entertaining coupe on its hands. The final piece of the puzzle is to make sure it isn't compromised. Every bit of hybrid tech in the NSX is there for performance. It helps eliminate turbo lag, and it improves acceleration and handling.

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.

Hands-on with Acura's novel touchpad infotainment interface

After Acura's Precision Cockpit was unveiled here in LA, I sat in the, uh, driver's seat of the wheel-less interior mockup to get a feel for how this new touchscreen-free touch interface works. There are a lot of good ideas inside. Here are 11 things you should know. It's less like a trackpad and more like a remote-control tablet. So instead of letting you move a cursor relative to its last location like the trackpad on a laptop, each point on Acura's trackpad is mapped to a corresponding point on the center display. If you want what's in the upper right corner of the display, you touch and click in the upper right corner of the trackpad. Simple. I figured it out in two minutes. Maybe less. The whole thing is surprisingly intuitive. The ease of use is helped by the fact that the targets on the screen are pretty big – no tiny "buttons" to fiddle with. The clicks are real. The trackpad actually moves when you press down, so no need for simulated haptic feedback. In their research, Acura engineers found that accidental touches and presses are a real issue. We could have told them that – hit a bump while using a finicky remote interface like Lexus's all-but-abandoned joystick thing, and you select an item half-way across the screen from the one you intended. The placement of the trackpad in this concept interior also helps avoid unintentional inputs – it's not in the middle of the center console where it might get brushed or bumped, but instead in its own little cave at the base of the center-stack waterfall. (Acura's low-profile button-based transmission selector suddenly makes a whole lot of sense.) View 13 Photos Lots of cues cut down on distraction. You hover over the option you want before positively confirming the selection with a hard press. There's no cursor to find and reposition like in the Lexus trackpad system The red highlight gives the necessary visual cue that you put your finger in the right place. The pad is slightly dished to give you a tactile cue of where the center and edges are. It allows you to build up muscle memory, sort of like how you know generally where the "keys" are on your smartphone or tablet's virtual keyboard by now. Or at least I do on mine. You look at the screen, not what you're touching. The problem with touch screens is that they have to be low down in the car so you can reach them. That means you have to look down from the road to stab at what you want.