Acura

The third-generation Acura TL first debuted in 2008 and immediately came under heavy artillery fire from pundits of automotive aesthetics. The lines were clean and crisp but the grill was referred to as a "shield", "cheese grater", "plow" and so forth. The blinged out wedge shape design was something many folks couldn't seem to get past. We're all so critical these days and the controversial styling was like a homing device for naysayers. It's always safe to say you don't like something -- it seems like you have a more discerning eye than everyone else. Throwing in a verb such as "like" leaves you vulnerable and suggests questionable taste, but I will go out on a limb here and give the new 2010 Acura TL a firm nod. The styling of the fascia is integrated particularly well with the rest of the car and is solidified with the V-shaped insert below the rear deck. And after all, as a general rule, we like it when car companies are willing to take risks.

When the newly redesigned Acura TL was released, the lack of a Type-S version as well as a manual transmission option also threw some of us for a loop. The company has rectified this with the introduction of the 2010 Acura TL SH-AWD with 6-speed manual. Including the Technology Package this car runs $44,195 which puts it in stiff competition for the luxury performance sedans under $60,000 category. So, how does a vehicle derived from the Honda Accord stack up with its German brethren? Surprisingly well, and with plenty of room left in the budget...

Racing teams being integrated into their sponsors’ promotions is hardly an unusual phenomenon. Why? Because the practice tends to get attention from fans and non-fans alike. Who wouldn’t want a chance to win a lifetime supply of lumber if Jimmie Johnson wins the Lowe’s 500, or be willing to swim through the world’s biggest Slurpee in search of the golden ticket that will make you one of Tony Kanaan’s honorary pit crew members for a weekend?

In all seriousness, though, not all team/sponsor collaborations are created equal. And to paraphrase Snowball the Pig, the marketing stunt dreamt up by Japanese office machine juggernaut Epson seen in the above and following photos is more equal than most of the promo schemes we can recall seeing. Why is that? It’s the mother of all papercraft models.

It’s hard to believe the Acura NSX (known to the rest of the world as a Honda) has been out of production for five years. It seems like only yesterday that the aluminum intensive, VTEC V6-propelled rocket burst onto the scene and proceeded to make life miserable for Ferrari, who at that time was peddling the slower, heavier, cruder, less reliable and, oh yeah, significantly pricier 328. The NSX (and, to a somewhat lesser extent, the Lexus LS400) had signaled that the Japanese auto industry had well and truly arrived.

What’s more, the NSX neatly encapsulated Honda’s corporate M.O. (which, not coincidentally, mirrored that of founder Soichiro Honda) of dreaming big, asking “Why not?” instead of “Why?”, and baking at least a pinch of fun into everything it makes in a world-beating, four-wheeled package. Lately, however, we and countless others have to wonder what happened to the Honda and, by extension, Acura that gave birth to vehicles like the NSX.

That true performance cars can only be rear-wheel drive (and in some glorious instances all-wheel drive) is taken as the gospel truth by a great many gearheads. Never mind that the majority of the world’s new cars pull rather than push themselves down the road, and that the washcloth of automotive history is quite damp with fun rides derided by some as “wrong-wheel drive.” In fact, we managed to name ten front-drivers that are buckets of fun. Without further ado, and in no particular order, here they are.

We are well on our way with our project car build, a 2001 Acura CL Type-S. In Phase I we mounted a set of Enkei Klamp wheels in Hyper Black wrapped in Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires. Now we have completed Phase II which involved installing a new air intake system to boost performance and engine efficiency. The folks at Advanced Engine Management were nice enough to provide us with one of their AEM Cold Air Intake systems for our effort. These guys have a well-established name in the Honda and Acura niche for aftermarket accessories and we've been anxious to see whether or not these types of bolt-on modifications live up to the claims that circulate in various forums and online enthusiast communities.

I'm happy to announce that this year we are putting together a project car at Sub5zero. The beneficiary is a Nighthawk Black Pearl 2001 Acura CL Type-S with 70,000 miles. The original MSRP on the vehicle was $30,300 (although it came into my possession used). The engine is a 3.2-liter SOHC V-6 with 260 horsepower mated to a five-speed SportShift automatic transmission. This is actually a terrific gearbox but the inability to access first gear when using the stick is a real drag. Dry-weight is listed at 3,510 pounds. The sprint from 0 to 60 mph takes just 6.4 seconds. Naturally, we think we can do better. How much better is debatable.