Concept coming to Toronto Auto Show
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In Other Canadian News
Haven't heard much about them? Of course you haven't, everybody's excited about a different Acura product.
It's called the NSX and - oh, I see you've already heard about it. You've seen the Seinfeld/Leno Super Bowl ad, seen the sheets flow off the concept, seen Iron Man's Tony Stark driving around in the concept version. I hardly need tell you then about the hybrid drivetrain, or the allwheel-drive traction, or the lightweight aluminum shell.
But maybe I can tell you something a little surprising. This year is Acura's 25th year in Canada, a full quartercentury of stylish and sporty cars with near-impeccable reliability. If you're doing the math in your head, there have been Acuras on the road since 1987. And, if you're really paying attention, you'll note that 1987 comes before 1989.
Why is that important? Well, it means that it is Honda/ Acura, not Toyota/Lexus with their ProjectX LS400 sedan, that first successfully launched the era of upscale Japanese luxury. What's more, depending on your viewpoint, they did rather a better job of it.
Now, such opinion may be a matter of some dispute as Acura is currently in the midst of a fairly serious shakeup.
But hear me out: over the years, Acura's products have been more sensible than Lexus's, and while they haven't quite captured the cachet of the big fancy Toyotas, they also didn't build their success by copying what the German marques were doing: they did something else.
With an all-aluminum monocoque, high-revving 3.5-litre mounted amidships and Ayrton Senna helping develop the handling, the Acura NSX is one of the few cars that could roll out onto a racetrack even now and hang with much more powerful machinery.
It turned the concept of supercar on its head: the NSX wasn't cramped or uncomfortable or possessed of a slavering thirst for fuel, nor was it particularly expensive to service. If you didn't crash the thing (and you'd have to be quite ham-fisted to do so), an early NSX would easily still be on the road today, and could even be used as a comfortable and moderately efficient daily driver, were you so inclined. The NSX was the 1st car to feature Honda's VTEC variable-valve-control system, and from there followed a whole host of firsts. Acura was 1st to offer indash satellite navigation, 1st to offer standard Bluetooth, 1st to have front and rear independent climate control, 1st to have navigation as standard.
Along the way, Acura changed its naming system from Legend and Integra and Vigor to the more generic alphanumeric naming of the German brands. They still made great cars, but none quite achieved the cult status of their early cars.
Yet here we are on the cusp of a renewal for Acura. The world has moved on from high-powered land-panzers and looks for cleaner and more efficient solutions, and here Acura is with the 4 cylinder ILX, the upcoming hybrid NSX, and smaller V-6s in most of the rest of its lineup. It is the only luxury manufacturer that doesn't currently produce a V-8.
Certainly though, Acura is well-positioned for a comeback in the luxury market.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/cars/Acura+closer+than+think/6382779/story.html
Acura NSX closer than you think
Company primed for comeback
By Brendan Mcaleer, Postmedia News March 30, 2012
Right now, in the Arizona desert, Acura is pulling the wraps off two new models: an updated version of the RDX small crossover, and an entrylevel luxury sedan dubbed the ILX.Acura NSX closer than you think
Company primed for comeback
By Brendan Mcaleer, Postmedia News March 30, 2012
Haven't heard much about them? Of course you haven't, everybody's excited about a different Acura product.
It's called the NSX and - oh, I see you've already heard about it. You've seen the Seinfeld/Leno Super Bowl ad, seen the sheets flow off the concept, seen Iron Man's Tony Stark driving around in the concept version. I hardly need tell you then about the hybrid drivetrain, or the allwheel-drive traction, or the lightweight aluminum shell.
But maybe I can tell you something a little surprising. This year is Acura's 25th year in Canada, a full quartercentury of stylish and sporty cars with near-impeccable reliability. If you're doing the math in your head, there have been Acuras on the road since 1987. And, if you're really paying attention, you'll note that 1987 comes before 1989.
Why is that important? Well, it means that it is Honda/ Acura, not Toyota/Lexus with their ProjectX LS400 sedan, that first successfully launched the era of upscale Japanese luxury. What's more, depending on your viewpoint, they did rather a better job of it.
Now, such opinion may be a matter of some dispute as Acura is currently in the midst of a fairly serious shakeup.
But hear me out: over the years, Acura's products have been more sensible than Lexus's, and while they haven't quite captured the cachet of the big fancy Toyotas, they also didn't build their success by copying what the German marques were doing: they did something else.
With an all-aluminum monocoque, high-revving 3.5-litre mounted amidships and Ayrton Senna helping develop the handling, the Acura NSX is one of the few cars that could roll out onto a racetrack even now and hang with much more powerful machinery.
It turned the concept of supercar on its head: the NSX wasn't cramped or uncomfortable or possessed of a slavering thirst for fuel, nor was it particularly expensive to service. If you didn't crash the thing (and you'd have to be quite ham-fisted to do so), an early NSX would easily still be on the road today, and could even be used as a comfortable and moderately efficient daily driver, were you so inclined. The NSX was the 1st car to feature Honda's VTEC variable-valve-control system, and from there followed a whole host of firsts. Acura was 1st to offer indash satellite navigation, 1st to offer standard Bluetooth, 1st to have front and rear independent climate control, 1st to have navigation as standard.
Along the way, Acura changed its naming system from Legend and Integra and Vigor to the more generic alphanumeric naming of the German brands. They still made great cars, but none quite achieved the cult status of their early cars.
Yet here we are on the cusp of a renewal for Acura. The world has moved on from high-powered land-panzers and looks for cleaner and more efficient solutions, and here Acura is with the 4 cylinder ILX, the upcoming hybrid NSX, and smaller V-6s in most of the rest of its lineup. It is the only luxury manufacturer that doesn't currently produce a V-8.
Certainly though, Acura is well-positioned for a comeback in the luxury market.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
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