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Acura will show all-new MDX Prototype in Detroit

Acura says it will show a prototype of its 2014 MDX crossover at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, and we'll admit that the announcement has left us in a bit of confusion. See, the Acura press release says that the MDX proto will present "Aero Sculpture" design language, "alluring proportions" and "arching body lines." It has been accompanied by a sketch (above, click to enlarge) that, indeed, shows off a swoopy, alluring CUV.
Yet we have spy shots from two months ago of what is supposed to be the 2014 MDX, and unless the camouflage is actually some sort of vehicular moo moo, there isn't really a swoopy line on it. It is stout and substantial, but not in a way that makes us think of "Aero Sculpture." We'll know in a few weeks where the truth resides. It would appear that Acura's rendering artist has done a masterful fade on the rear glass/D-pillar area of the vehicle.
If you want to see the answer in real time, the reveal will be broadcast as it happens on Acura's webcast site. There's a press release below with the details.

Motorweek goes retro with '80s hot hatch shootout

Motorweek's decades of history on television make it the perfect medium to look back into the automotive past and see how things are different now. It recently added old road test videos to its YouTube channel of the Acura NSX and Toyota Supra, as well as the Ferrari F40. For one of its newest flashback clips, Motorweek has exhumed an affordable five-car challenge of 1986's premiere hot hatches.
By today's standards, this is an eclectic field that features fondly remembered classics like the Volkswagen GTI 16-valve and Acura Integra. However, it also throws in some nearly forgotten contenders like the Dodge Colt Turbo and Ford Escort GT. The angular Toyota Corolla FX16 GT-S rounds out the group.
It's fascinating to watch Motorweek run the quintet through the slalom, down the drag strip and on various roads. What's most striking in this clip is the difference in the definition of a performance car between then and now. With its 16-valve, 1.8-liter four-cylinder, the GTI is the burliest of the contenders with 123 horsepower, but it still takes 8.8 seconds to reach 60 miles per hour. By today's standards, that would make it a plain-jane economy car, and not even a particularly quick one.

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.