Filed under: Motorsports, Podcasts, Economy, Trucks/Pickups, Acura, Audi, DaimlerChrysler, Nissan, Porsche, SMART, Toyota  We're fired up about a few things for episode #61. We eventually get to an enthusiastic discussion of the American LeMans Series, but we wind our way through a few subjects to get there. We start off with the snub to Chrysler by som e DCX shareholders who suggest a return to Daimler-Benz AG name. Not only is that a kick in the pants to the Chrysler group, but it's incredibly arrogant and illustrates that it was never really a merger of equals. In a froth, we move on to the anti-surprise that Nissan has nixed the heavy-duty Titan. In the death match that is the US pickup truck marketplace, the Japanese are having a tough fight. The Titan has its own charms but low sales, and the Tundra is taking criticism and underperforming in crash tests. We get the truck wars out of our system and move on to rhapsodic descriptions of the GT2 finish at this weekend's ALMS Sebring kickoff. Oh yeah, there were some kind of Audis there, and Acuras, too. We can't get the la st-lap dogfight between the Ferrari and Porsche for the GT2 crown out of our heads, though. Before we go, we touch briefly on Smart's recently-opened registration for US buyers, as well as marvel at the low price for the practical city car that will end up as an effette bauble, as well. That's it in a nutshell, enjoy!
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Filed under: Etc., Safety, Acura, Driving 
Take one part Acura RSX, add two parts moron, a pinch of speed, whoops, too much! Crashing into someone and speeding away is a bad idea in any case, but with the internet shrinking the globe, it's especially dumb now. Members of Canada's Beyond.ca automotive forums came to the rescue of a Mercedes driver that absorbed the kinetic energy these young knuckleheads didn't manage to scrub off in time. A quick thinking forum member just happened to be right there with his DSLR and monster lens and snapped several nice, clear pictures of these jerks zipping away from the scene. Beyond.ca member three33 created a post asking others to be on the lookout for a silver RSX that'd cracked up his buddy's car. In a masterstroke of serendipity, fellow forum member CalgaryDave (whose pix show up on Beyond as his friend TypeS - long story, explained here with more details) was just a little further back. Thinking quickly, CalgaryDave hopped out into the street and captured incriminating evidence that removes any chance of lying your way out of it. PWNED. Don't mess with the internet.
Thanks for the tip, Bocho! Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Concept Cars, Tokyo Motor Show, Acura, Honda 
We (and many of you) were blown away by Acura's Advanced Sports Car Concept when it was unveiled at NAIAS in January. Though we were a bit disappointed the concept was only a non-running turntable tease, Honda assured everyone that an improved, closer-to-production show car was in the works for the October Tokyo show.
Winding Road says its sources have heard the contrary, that Honda is going back to the high-performance drawing board to come up with a more super supercar. Word is the ASC just isn't impressing as many people as it needs to be. Perhaps Honda management saw the ASC wasn't its company's best effort, and instead of dumping the project entirely (like Chrysler did with the ME Four-Twelve or Ford with the GR-1), it's committing the resources needed to create something truly special in the $100,000+ sport coupe segment. As such, we're not quite sure what we'll see in October at the Tokyo Auto Show, if anything at all.
At least this is what we hope they're doing. Honda could have scrapped the whole thing and reallocated the funds to development of the next generation Pilot. Eeek!
[Source: Winding Road ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedans/Saloons, Acura, Honda  Yesterday, Ben Stewart over at Popular Mechanics had a close encounter of the prototype kind while spending some time on the Angeles Crest Highway in So. Cal. He caught a glimpse of a camo'd current generat ion Accord sitting in a local lot and, knowing that it could be driven away at a moment's notice, began snapping pics of the moribund mule.
Now, an Accord sporting an ill-fitting bra is nothing to get too excited over, until Ben figured out that it's actually the next generation Acura TSX in drag. Supposedly, underneath the body panels is the "new" TSX chassis, necessitating those awkwardly flared fenders, housing 225/50ZR17 tires.
He came to this unlikely conclusion after noticing a few other TSXs following the mule (comparison testing) and when he got back to the office, Stewart made few calls. Turns out that the upcoming TSX will be built on an all new platform, likely using the turbo mill that's found in the new RDX, with the option of sending power to all four wheels.
What's it going to look like you ask? Less crease, more swoop is the short answer. But if you need a bit more detail than that, check the Honda Sports4 Con cept that debuted at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show.
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Filed under: Concept Cars, Sedans/Saloons, Etc., Acura  
Acura's Advanced Sedan Concep t is supposed to be a pie-in-the-sky imagining of what a future flagship automobile could look like. As Damon stated when he posted on the car from the LA Auto Show, Acura may have taken the whole "flagship" thing a bit too literally, as the concept incorporates some seriously nautical cues, such as its pointy nose and boattail rear.
In fact, gazing at the angular Acura made me think of an actual military vessel that's in development today. The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) and the bizarro Acura look as if they could be very distant cousins. Maybe a couple times removed. Anyhow, you get the point: that design language works a whole lot better on a naval vessel than something you're supposed to park in your garage. Permalink | Email this | Comments
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