Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Acura Minivan?

Rumors on the internet show a possible Acura minivan. Both AutoBlog and LeftLane have images up showing a full covered minivan with an Acura MDX style grill. The galleries also show what seems to be a covered up Acura logo on the steering wheel.



Rumored features of Acura minivan:
  • Standard all-wheel drive
  • 9 speed automatic transmission
  • V6 engine (possible hybrid)
  • Luxurious interior with emphasis on 2nd row comfort

No one expected this, at least I didn't. Any guess on the name? MVX?

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Next Gen Acura NSX Delayed?

Rumor has it that the next generation Acura NSX will be delayed for at least 6 months. A couple of things could have helped cause this schedule change.

First, there was a crash at Honda's Takasu Proving Ground in May (2014). Reports are saying that a car went off course while testing and two men in their 20's were hurt. The passenger was transported to a nearby hospital while the driver sustained minor injuries. Rumors are saying the vehicle was the new NSX.



If that wasn't bad enough, now there are images of a charred NSX destroyed due to fire while testing on the Nurburgring in Germany. The camo-ed prototype was completely destroyed after the engine compartment caught fire at the end of July (2014).



Here's video of the test NSX without fire:


Tuesday, April 22, 2014

2015 Acura TLX Specs Revailed at New York International Auto Show

Acura unveiled the 2015 Acura TLX at the New York International Auto Show. The concept car reveled early this year looked awesome! The production model looks ok, very RLX-ish and somewhat bland.






TLX ModelAvailable PackagesEngineTransmissionSteering/
Drivetrain
Anticipated EPA Ratings3
TLXTechnology2.4-liter, I-48DCTP-AWS24/35/283
TLX V-6Technology, Advance3.5-liter, V-69ATP-AWS21/34/253
TLX V-6 SH-AWDTechnology, Advance3.5-liter, V-69ATSH-AWD21/31/253










Complaints on the interwebs:
  • No manual transmission.
  • Fake leatherette in base model.
  • Bland/ugly exterior.
  • Weird extra line on the side skirt.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

My 2005 Acura TSX Alternator Died

So it happened, my alternator died leaving me dead on the road in the rain last Thursday, February 6, 2014. My day started out normal, wake up, get ready for work, and jumped in the car to drive to work. Not even a quarter mile into, I see the battery icon light up. I thought to myself, "I don't think this means the battery is low because I have had to change a low battery before and this never popped up before." Maybe it's just a false warning. I work only about 5 miles away so I get to work without any issues. Told myself that I will look up this indicator light when I'm at my desk, but never actually do because of the busy day and totally forget about it.

Fast forward about 8 hours, I jump back into my car and start it. Again the battery light is on! So it's probably not a false warning but I don't really know exactly what this light is warning me about, something battery/electrical related. I start heading home, but it's rush hour in the rain, and for some reason most San Diegans are terrible drivers in the rain. All of a sudden, my radio goes silence. I thought to myself, is it just this station or is it my radio? Checked the next station... no sound... Quickly turned off the radio and started to make my way to the left lane in case I am going to breakdown. As I was thinking that, my fuel and temperature gauges drop all the way down to zero. About a minute later, my dash fully lights up! I don't know what's exactly going on, but I told myself, "You need to pull over into this parking lot!"

I parked somewhere out in the open in case I needed to jump my car. I texted my fiancee and brother, both who didn't respond right away. My plan was to wait for traffic to die and try to make it 4 miles home. As I was waiting around, I was googling on my phone the battery indicator. Basically, the internet didn't tell me anything new: electrical problem most-likely alternator. My fiancee finally got back to me about 30 minutes later asking what I wanted her to do. I told her I wanted to drive it home after traffic died down, but as I was saying that, it occurred to me that even if I get it home, it might be stuck there and I will probably need to tow it to my mechanic anyways. So now I wanted to wait until traffic died and drive it to my mechanic, which was about 7 miles away, 6 of which are on the freeway.

My fiancee picks me up and we eat dinner while waiting for the traffic to die down. I get jumper cables out of my car after getting back to it. They're basically part of my bug out bag in my car. I used my fiancee's car to charge my battery. After what seemed like a long time, but was really only 20 mins, we headed out. The plan was to have her drive behind me to block car if anything happened.

After waiting at the first light for 3 mins, which seemed like forever, all the symptoms of electrical problems appeared again! However, this time there was another symptom, my car couldn't really move when I stepped on the gas! My engine revved but I wasn't going anywhere. I played with changing the gears for a little bit and somehow my car started rolling again. I accelerated to the next light and I could see that my headlights are out. So my dash is basically all dead, car isn't going when I tell it to, my headlights are out, all in the rain. There's no way I'm getting on the freeway like this, I need to pull over and get this towed! So I turned off onto a side street to try to turn into the first parking lot I see... but I couldn't make it. My car died at the intersection to the parking lot. :( The lucky thing was I was no longer on the main road, and I wasn't caught in the middle of the intersection. My fiancee pulls up next to me and I start charging my battery again, just trying to make into the parking lot. As the battery was charging, I called a tow truck, $45 hook plus $5 per mile.

The tow truck arrived moderately fast, took about 30 minutes. I towed my car to my mechanic, the tow guy knew where it was. After paying the tow truck, I took my car key off my ring and threw it in my mechanic's mailbox. I thought to myself, I couldn't drive it for 4 miles, good luck to anyone who wants to steal it and drive 4 miles.

The next day, I worked from home and called my mechanic to tell him what's up. He said he would check the battery and alternator and would call me back. As promised, I received his phone call and told me my alternator is bad and I would need a new battery too. $275 for the alternator and $100 for the battery so $375 installed. I asked what happened and his response over the phone was "the battery is too strong and it killed the alternator". I didn't really get it but the conversation ended there.

I picked up my car the next day and wanted to clarify what he meant about the battery being too strong because I changed my battery at Walmart 2 years ago and this is they battery they said went with my car. He told me when he tested my alternator, it was smoking. When he tested my battery it was about 14 volts. The battery is supposed to be around 12 volts. He said the alternator was overworked because it always needed to charge the "strong" battery.

I bought my 2005 Acura TSX in the December of 2005.

Friday, January 17, 2014

RIP Acura ZDX

Although you still can configure a ZDX on Acura.com, 2013 was the last year for the crossover vehicle. The Acura ZDX Prototype debuted at the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) in 2009. The model was killed because it wasn't making sales and only lived for about 4 years. Nice try Acura, rest in peace ZDX.


For more details please see Acura's press release from last year.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Acura Plans To Move Up To GT Category In Pirelli World Challenge Championship

Acura Motorsports today pulled the wraps off the new 2015 Acura TLX GT Race Car at the North American International Auto Show, announcing plans to move up to the GT category of the growing and highly competitive Pirelli World Challenge Championship.

To be campaigned by long time Acura Motorsports partner RealTime Racing, the new TLX GT will move Acura into the top category of the Pirelli World Challenge, facing competition that includes the Audi R8 LMS, Cadillac CTS-V, Chevrolet Corvette, Dodge Viper, Lamborghini Gallardo, Mercedes SLS, Nissan GTR, Porsche 911 and Ferrari 458.

Developed from the production 2015 Acura TLX by HPD, the racing arm of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., the Acura TLX GT Race Car will feature HPD chassis and aerodynamic performance parts approved for Pirelli World Challenge competition, and will be powered by a direct-injected, twin-turbocharged V6 engine, developed by HPD from the normally aspirated, production TLX luxury sport sedan. It will utilize all-wheel drive, as found in Acura's Super-Handling All Wheel Drive™ (SH-AWD™).

HPD was founded in 1993 as the performance arm of American Honda, to spearhead the company's entry into Indy car racing. No other manufacturer has matched Honda's success in Indy cars, which includes 204 race victories, 15 drivers' championships, six manufacturers' championships and nine consecutive Indianapolis 500 victories. In 2013, Honda powered veteran Scott Dixon to four race wins and the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series championship; and Tristan Vautier to series Rookie of the Year honors.



HPD's prototype racing efforts have resulted in more than 60 victories and multiple American Le Mans Series championships. The company's sports car racing debut in 2007 at the 12 Hours of Sebring marked the first win for HPD's LM-V8 engine; and the first for a Honda racing engine designed and developed outside of Japan. HPD won the LMP2 title in the inaugural 2012 World Endurance Championship and has twice won the LMP2 category at the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 2010. In 2013, HPD and Honda again swept the LMP1 and LMP2 manufacturers', engine, team and drivers' championships in the American Le Mans Series; while HPD-equipped Strakka Racing claimed the LMP1 class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for private team entries.

HPD participates in competition on both two wheels and four. The company offers a complete line of race engines for cars from grass roots to pinnacle; for professional, amateur and entry-level racers.

The Acura TLX GT Race Car will be campaigned by Wisconsin-based RealTime Racing, the most successful team in Pirelli World Challenge history. Established in 1987 by owner/driver Peter Cunningham, RTR has raced and won with both Honda and Acura products. Since entering the Sports Car Club of America Pro Racing-sanctioned World Challenge series in 1993, the team has scored a record 85 race victories on its way to 14 Manufacturers' Championships and 14 Drivers' Championships.


Don't forget to check out the Acura TLX Debut.

2015 Acura TLX Prototype

Acura today unveiled the 2015 Acura TLX Prototype showcasing the design and performance direction for the all-new 2015 TLX performance-luxury sedan launching mid-year at Acura dealerships nationwide. The TLX was developed around the theme"Red Carpet Athlete" to deliver a compelling blend of luxury refinement and sports-sedan athleticism, with exhilarating performance enhanced by next-generation Acura powertrain and dynamic handling technologies. The TLX will join the ILX compact luxury sedan and the RLX luxury performance sedan as the third vehicle in Acura's sedan lineup. The new TLX replaces both the TSX and TL sedans.




Car highlights include:
  • Jewel Eye LED
  • Dimensionally, the overall length is 3.8 inches shorter than the current TL, yet rides the same 109.3 inch wheelbase as the TL. The prototype's right-sized dimensions place the new TLX neatly in between the smaller ILX and larger RLX sedans.
  • Two-wheel drive and all-wheel drive versions.
    • Two-wheel drive with either the 2.4 or 3.5 liter engines
    • TLX SH-AWD is exclusively for the 3.5 liter V6 engine with 9-speed transmission.
  • Two new engines
    • 2.4-liter 16-valve inline 4-cylinder with direct-injection.
    • 3.5-liter SOHC V6 with direct injection
  • Two new transmissions.
    • 8-speed dual clutch transmission (DCT) with torque converter is mated with the new 4 cylinder engine.
    • 9-speed automatic transmission is mated with the V6 engine


The TLX was designed and developed in the United States by Acura engineers working in the company's Los Angeles design studio and Raymond, Ohio new-vehicle development center. The new TLX will be produced using domestic and globally sourced parts at the company's award-winning Marysville, Ohio auto plant, which presently manufactures the 2014 Acura TL performance-luxury sedan.




Acura Reveals TLX Prototype at 2014 NAIAS in Detroit Video:


For more details, please see the Acura TLX Press Release.

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