Autoblog

Acura is again tossing enthusiasts a bone with a new six-speed manual transmission option for their 2010 Acura TL SH-AWD model. While the 2009 model is only available with a five-speed automatic with paddle shifters, next year will mark the return of the stick shift -- and the first time Acura has paired their SH-AWD with a manual transmission. The six-speed is all-new, and stronger than the manual last used in the 2008 model. It features a more rigid aluminum case and heavy-duty internals. New gear synchronizers improve accuracy while a standard short-throw shifter improves feel. In addition to the six-speed manual, the TL SH-AWD receives "Hill Start Assistant" to hold the vehicle on hills during a start, and special enthusiast-oriented suspension tuning for flatter cornering. The manual transmission also comes with stiffer engine and transmission bushings, heavy-duty front driveshafts, and stronger CV joints. Best of all, the manual transmission weighs 88 lbs. less than the automatic, moving the TL's weight distribution even further rearward.

[Source: Honda]

Acura's new design language, as seen on the 2009 TL, is fronted by a shield-like appendage that has received mixed reviews. The Acura 2+1 -- the numbers describe the seating arrangement -- by design student Leon Paz is what would happen if you took the shield theme to one natural conclusion. By maintaining the edge throughout the concept's "modern baroque styling," Paz has come up we something we kinda dig.

The body is fashioned from a plastic that is harder than fiberglass, and Paz has done a great job in creating lines that evoke skin stretched over a frame. The upper surface is one continuous window that shows off the twin-turbo V6 and the Acura logo for the cylinder covers. There is no hood -- at your yearly service, the dealer would lift the glass and perform any engine maintenance.

The 2+1 would be an aspirational step for those who want an NSX but can't afford one yet. Based on what we've seen of the NSX so far, we'd probably rather have the 2+1. However, our most pressing question about the car isn't about the design -- we really want to know what is the meaning of "OW AHH" scrolled in LED's across the rear? Check out the gallery of high-res images below, and maybe you can tell us...


[Source: Diseno Art]

Acura has finally revealed the pricing structure of its new 2009 TL sedan, and the base price jumps to $34,995, a little over a thousand bucks more than the last entry-level model. Replacing last year's Type-S is a new model with a version of Acura's SH-AWD and, at 305-horsepower, the most powerful V6 that parent company Honda has ever offered for sale. That top-level model will run you $38,505, which is pretty close to what the abandoned Type-S went for last year, though standard navigation is dropped. Adding the Technology Package -- which includes niceties like GPS, keyless access, push-button start and the Acura/ELS Surround sound audio system we liked so much when we got our first drive -- to either model will add about $4K to the asking price.

The looks are extremely polarizing, and these price increases aren't likely to win over the TL's detractors. Still, there is no doubting that the TL remains a lot of car for the money. Time will tell if it remains the sales success that its younger self undoubtedly was. Get all of the pricing details after the break.


[Source: Acura]

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Honda Legend

Remember when Superman chose to relinquish his super powers for love in the Man of Steel's first sequel? Without that 'S' on his chest, Clark Kent quickly got the crap kicked out of him by a truck driver. If the 2009 Acura RL (right) with its giant shield grille is Superman, then the Euro-only 2009 Honda Legend is surely Clark Kent. So many people have decried the new shield grille that we thought it'd be interesting to gauge reaction to the new Legend, which is basically the same car as the RL without the Acura overtones. To our eyes the Legend's new face is as boring and uninteresting as Acura's new grille is obnoxious, which truly does it make it the Clark Kent of cars.


[Source: Autoblog Spanish]

Click the C6.R for a high-res gallery from the race

As part of the revival of the Detroit Grand Prix at Belle Isle last year, the Detroit Sports Car Challenge was added as the highlight of Saturday's activities. The sports car race is back this year as the ninth round of the American Le Mans Series. For those who have never checked out an ALMS race, it's one of the best and most exciting forms of motorsport anywhere. Highcroft Racing's Acura ARX-01B captured the pole and led much of the first half of the race ahead of the De Ferran Racing Acura. If you TiVoed the race and don't want to ruin the surprise, you can just check out the gallery and come back later to see the full results after the jump. Otherwise, you know what to do.


Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Acura has announced at the Detroit Grand Prix that they will enter the LMP1 class in the American Le Mans Series in 2009, adding to its existing LMP2 effort. Honda's premium brand entered ALMS in the lighter LMP2 class at the beginning of 2007 with the Highcroft, Fernandez and Andretti-Green teams and won a single race that year. This year De Ferran motorsports has joined the lineup and Acura has four victories, including an overall win at Lime Rock in early July.

For 2009, De Ferran and Highcroft will run the all new ARX-02A LMP1 car, while Fernandez and possibly one other team will continue with the LMP2 program. No mention was made of AGR. The new car is being developed in cooperation with existing partner Wirth Research in the UK. Honda Performance Development president Erik Berkman declined to reveal any other details about the new car. However, with the currently dominant P1 cars in North America and Europe being the diesel powered Audis and Peugeots, and a production diesel joining the Acura lineup next spring, a diesel powered ARX-02A would seem a likely choice. The new car will debut at the 2009 12 Hours of Sebring in March, but Berkman said no decision has been made on a Le Mans run yet.

[Source: Acura]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Honda NSX-R.

Honda's decision to only offer one Type-R model in the U.S. – the DC2 Integra – is still considered a crime among Hondaphiles. And of all the models that could have benefited from a serious performance injection later in life, the NSX was a prime candidate.

Thankfully, Spoon Sports, a long-time motorsport partner with Honda, will rectify the matter by converting left-hand-drive US-spec NSXs into NSX-Rs. The conversion involves a long list of modifications, including stiffer springs and shocks, larger anti-roll bars, forged 17-inch wheels, a shorter final-drive gear ratio, slotted brake rotors, flat underbody trays and a rear diffuser. Part of the NSX-R's appeal was a product of Honda's desire to keep weight in check, so in order to get as close to the JDM version's 2,800-pound curb weight, Spoon will replace the hood, rear spoiler and seats with carbon fiber pieces, fit a smaller battery, manually-adjustable mirrors, thinner rear window glass, lightweight carpets and will rip out all of the sound deadening material and replace the spare tire with a can of expanding goo.

Spoon hasn't released details on how much the conversion will cost or when it will begin taking orders, but if it has Honda's blessing on the project, expect to see the first few models on the road just ahead of the new NSX's launch in 2010.


[Source: JPCNews]

Click above for high-res gallery of the 2009 Acura TL

Beginning in February at the Chicago Auto Show, Acura began rolling out redesigned versions of its three sedans in the span of six months. Beginning with the RL in Chicago, Acura has rolled out its new design ethos intended to make these cars stand out in the increasingly crowded entry luxury segment. When we first showed you the RL, it got what would charitably be described as a negative reception. The new shield grille design was almost universally reviled both in the media and amongst you readers. By the time the entry-level TSX arrived a month later, reactions softened somewhat as people became accustomed to the look. In its first few months on the street, sales of the new TSX have jumped more than 20 percent compared to the old model.

The last to arrive and arguably the best looking of the three is the mid-level TL, which arrives this September to replace the best selling sedan in Acura's lineup. Acura invited us to New York to sample its new mainstream model on the roads of Connecticut and the Empire State in mid-July. While the TL was the last to be unveiled, it is actually the first and only one of the three sedans to be completely designed around this new look. Read more about the new TL and our first drive impressions after the jump.



Photos Copyright ©2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Click above for more photos of the 2009 Acura TL

The floodgates will open on the '09 Acura TL soon enough, but in the meantime, Inside Line has posted a set of press photos and confirmed the car's final specs. As has been previously reported, there are two versions: a base 3.5L front-drive car with 285 horses and the range-topping TL SH-AWD, which gets a 305-horsepower 3.7L V6. The Type S is history, replaced in essence by the SH-AWD. Both TL models are mated to 5-speed automatics, and a stiffer chassis should help make time spent behind the wheel more engaging.

Inside, the layout is one that should be familiar to anyone who's spent time in a new Honda or Acura. Metallic-look wings arc out from a center stack topped by a multifunction LCD screen and finished at the bottom by Honda's all-in-one controller for audio/info/nav interfaces. In short, techno-gadgetry abounds. The new TL is a larger car than it predecessor, with a 1.4-inch longer wheelbase and 6.2 inches added to its overall length. Consequently, interior space also improves over the outgoing sedan.

While the current-gen TL is Acura's most attractive vehicle, we have a feeling the new-for-2009 edition may not age as gracefully. The new corporate shield grille is in place, adding bling to the nose and offering enough frontal reflective surface to repel a Klingon phaser bombardment. If you miss the obviously-an-Acura front end, you might need to do a double-take to recognize in profile thanks to a C-pillar kink that apes BMW...and Infiniti, and the Jaguar XF, just to name a few. Out back, the trunklid repeats the shield motif that started up front. Regarding the car's styling, there's much for you to discuss in the comments below. Stay tuned for plenty more information and our first drive impressions of the new TL in the days to come.


[Source: Inside Line]

Click above for high-res gallery of spy shots

Honda/Acura engineers were recently caught testing a new sport crossover in the dead of night around the deserts of California, and while they came wielding flashlights to blind our spy photographer's lens, we got these pictures of what the luxury brand is up to in the quickly softening market for crossovers. The vehicle appears to be similar in shape to the BMW X6 despite the heavy camouflaging obscuring its profile. The windshield is very steeply raked and the shape of the cutout allowing the grille to breathe is reminiscent of Acura's new Superman-shaped grilles. Indeed, even the wheel and tire combination suggests that this is a crossover with sporting intentions. It may be a big brother to the RDX with more athletic moves than the MDX. Still, we can't help but wonder why Acura would be working on yet another crossover with those two already in its lineup, especially considering the market's current exodus to passenger cars. Check out more spy shots of the vehicle in question below.


[Source: KGP Photography]