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Acura built just 91 examples of the ILX last month, here's why

The short life of the Acura ILX has been vexed by one glaringly odd standard equipment choice, mediocre reviews, getting outsold by its competition as it posted slower-than-projected sales and a pledge by Honda to upgrade its supposedly upgraded offering. Therefore, when Automotive News reports that just 91 of the Civic-based Acura sedans were manufactured last month - after a string of production months in double-digits - it would be easy to press the button for the alarm bells.
But that would be hasty, because it is actually the 2013 Honda Civic that is crimping the production pipeline of the ILX. The vastly higher sales numbers of the Honda meant that all three North American plants that produce it needed to crank up output to satisfy dealer inventory needs, including the Greenburg, Indiana plant that makes both the Civic and the ILX. As the classic guns-vs-butter Economy 101 lesson taught us - in which making more of one necessarily means making less of the other - well, the Civic is the gun.
Honda prepared for this eventuality by cranking out the Acuras while it got ready for Civic production. The ILX has held steady at about 500 units shy of company projections every month, and the current inventory represents about 90 days worth of sales. That makes Greenburg's ostensibly low numbers in line with the realities of the ILX, and the situation probably won't change much as Acura gets ready for the improved 2014 ILX.

Question of the Day: What's the most irritating car name?

You hear a lot about how the Chevrolet Nova was a sales flop in Mexico because "No va" means "it doesn't go" in Spanish; in fact, the Nova sold pretty well south of the border, and in any case most Spanish-speakers know that "Nova" means "new" in Latin and Portuguese. However, General Motors doesn't deserve to be let off the hook for bad car names, because the Oldsmobile Achieva— no doubt inspired by the excruciating "coffee achievers" ads of the 1980s— scrapes the biggest fingernails down the screechiest chalkboard in the US-market car-name world. That is, unless you think Daihatsu's incomprehensible choice of Charade was worse. Meanwhile, Japanese car buyers could get machines with cool names like Mazda Bongo Friendee or Honda Life Dunk. It's just not fair! So, what car name drives you the craziest? Related Video: Auto News Design/Style Chevrolet Honda Mazda Daihatsu Automotive History questions car names

Honda unveils new 3.5-liter racing engine

Honda is following Ford's lead and debuting the second twin-turbocharged V6 to be used by Daytona Prototypes in the United Sports Car Championship. The wait won't be long to see it on track because the new engine will debut with the Starworks Motorsport team in a Riley Gen3 prototype chassis at the 12 Hours of Sebring from March 12-15.
The new HR35TT engine is based on Honda's J35 production V6 found in a variety of its models, including the current Accord. The racing version benefits from dry sump lubrication, but is still similar to the production version with an aluminum block, direct injection and single overhead camshafts. It is fueled by 100-octane E10 fuel, but like many racing engines, exact power figures have not been released.
Starworks has had a close relationship with Honda since it won the LMP2 class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2012 with a Honda Performance Development ARX-03b chassis and Honda engine. We can't wait to see this new mill hit the track, and see how it fairs against Chip Ganassi Racing's EcoBoost-powered Riley. Scroll down to read the press release for the full details.