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Whether Acura’s Precision Concept on display at the 2016 North American International Auto Show appeals to you or not, its appearance marks the brand’s confirmation that it is ready for a makeover, with a focus on performance. We spoke briefly with Acura global creative director Dave Marek about the Japanese automaker’s direction as it looks to infuse its product lineup with design language it calls “Precision Crafted Performance.”
Automobile: The Precision Concept does not portend an upcoming production model but …
Dave Marek: It does not, but it does portend where our styling direction is and where we want to go forward from here on surface development, fascia, interior, [human-machine interface] style, and real materials. It’s a pretty good road map.
Automobile: Everyone wants to know when we will see this change affect real products? (Editor’s note: Reports say Acura will show a new compact crossover featuring the new design cues for the Chinese market during the Beijing Motor Show in April.)
DM: We keep saying very soon. Without saying specifically, I think it’s going to be [sooner] than most people would expect.
Automobile: The latest RLX was not well received. Does Acura, and do you, retain a desire for a large premium sedan in the RLX vein?
DM: I think we want to embrace Precision Crafted Performance, which indicates lower, wider, more sporty feeling, and more emotional styling and cars, so we don’t really want to do a traditional luxury car [again]. We want to do more of a modern, sporty premium car. You should always know it’s Precision Crafted Performance. It’s in our nature, I’d say fun, to make more sporty, stylish, racing heritage cars.
Automobile: What is different at Acura that allows you to to make this change now?
DM: The renewed commitment from the mother ship [Honda] for sure. Having [Acura sales boss] John [Ikeda, who comes from a strong design background] in the position he’s in; we’re both passionate about the same style of car, the proportions. Having him in the role for sales and marketing now helps have a champion for that all the way through [the product creation process] and a consistent brand within the personnel, that alone … The reality is [Acura] did make the position of global creative director to strengthen the brand and make some inroads into what we really want to make.
For us, it’s really easy to say we want to make a performance brand. The performance aspect, [the Precision Concept] does it by styling.
Automobile: Many enthusiasts, when they hear “performance,” they think rear-wheel drive. Is that something Acura needs to offer in its sedans and coupes?
DM: I don’t think so. I think we have technology, and we’re Honda Motor Company so we have amazing motors. I think in the day and age of the luxury brands, premium brands, the drivertrains kind of become, [they] could be anything. Could be electric, could be front-engine [with] rear-drive, could be front/front. Whatever it is, it’s just how you lay that out and maximize the experience of the customer. I might’ve 10 years ago said, “Yes, we have to do [rear drive],” but I don’t think so now.
Automobile: What’s a realistic timeframe for seeing this all get into new product and a reinventing of the brand and its model range?
DM: Your strategy question is perfect because I want to do it now. I think it’s more that we’ve changed our attitude and it’s OK to be bolder or to have this direction and stick to it. And if it’s not what people resonate with then we should look at that.
We’ve already begun utilizing a lot the cues, simply from real material and leather and wood and authentic metal and the fascia and some of the treatments like that. So I think it’s going to come soon, and when people see that there are some of the cues -- some are bigger than others – wow, this is also [like the concept’s language] and this is, too. Some of that is user interface, and how people interact with the car is going to change.
Automobile: As Acura rethinks its design approach, do you think there is an ideal number of different models the lineup should feature in the future?
DM: Not really because you can have variations of models, and does that count as 7 or the same car with different trim levels? I want to have vehicles that speak to the brand. I do think the biggest thing for us right now is to strengthen the sedan lineup, however big it is, with this kind of boldness and impact.
Automobile: Certainly crossovers are still a big part of the plan, too?
DM: Our [crossovers] do well but for how long? I think this car’s cues will also kind of permeate the CUVs, too. And that buyer, the MDX buyer, the real materials are essential to them, I think.
Automobile: You guys aren’t alone in this, as Honda is doing bolder things as well …
DM: It’s not [a coincidence]. You know, if you rack through, sometimes people want more calm and some want more bold. We need to be bold, we do. And the landscape [right now] is [that] everybody’s pretty aggressive with fascias. You think, well, we should do it but within our or my kind of aesthetic sense of how far do we want to go but be tasteful and still stick to the Acura nest, the center break, the pentagon grille, things that have always been around and maybe people lost track of that as consumers. But it’s always been there, and it was important to keep that.
Automobile: You mentioned John Ikeda. Was there another seminal moment that led Acura to this stage?
DM: There’s no D-Day, but I think that we’ve always felt that we should push, push, push. We had a meeting when they created the global creative director position and then named me to it. And we had a big meeting: OK, what do you want to make, present it and we like that, and let’s go. That’s how it happens at every company: You have a shift in a director or stylist or something, and it changes. But I don’t feel like I deviated from what we were doing; I just said maybe I would pick the bolder sketch than somebody else would. And I said in a couple of meetings, you know: If it’s bad, it’s my fault. If we do something like this and it’s not able to be realized, is that my fault or not? But I said at that time I feel confident; either you trust me or you don’t. And that’s kind of maybe the watershed moment. As John and I grew up, we were always vocal, trust me, but I think maybe it was more like go for broke [because] I don’t want to be put in this position and do something I don’t want to do.
Automobile: The direction we see with the Precision Concept in some ways is similar to the new NSX, but also different …
DM: The NSX is much more of an aero-driven, form-follows-function car. This concept has that, but it’s also -- you need some style and elegance. The NSX has the elegance, but it needs to have the purposefulness essentially. This car has a little bit more, not irresponsibility but more style, more feeling.
Automobile: So what’s more indicative of the future?
DM: Both. I know that’s a weird answer and maybe you’re going, Oh damn it, Dave, but I think things like the square steering wheel and more sporty [interface], that is right out of NSX. The materials -- all of that is NSX-driven. … On a sedan you want to make sure it is elegant and sporty, the NSX part is the sporty and then you bake in the rest. This car came after the NSX, so I think some of it will go back into NSX, kind of go back and forth like that.
Automobile: The Precision Concept is not about drivetrains, but are turbocharged engines something logical for Acura?
DM: If you ask the industry, everybody probably says that’s the way to go, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’re doing that because of our history of alternate powertrains or whatever. A lot of people are asking what engine is in this, but it’s purely [about] the styling performance. Without giving everything away, I didn’t want this to stray too far from what we want to do. There’s “show-carness” for sure but then you keep making it more realistic. It’s lower than you would ever do [for production] but surprisingly easy to get in and out of. And so then you start studying that, etc.
Automobile: Are Acura’s customers concerned with having or not having a particular type of drivetrain?
DM: I don’t think so. I think we have such a phenomenal history of motors and drivetrain, as you style [cars] around it, it doesn’t matter to us. In packaging you can maybe manipulate it different [based on the type of drivetrain]. On this concept the low, wide -- the wide-open cantilever interior -- we want that airy feeling.
Automobile: Is this all a 5-year plan? A 3-year plan?
DM: You will see cues from this car in cars coming very soon. A complete car based on this, it’s evolving. I think the cadence of the cars, we have existing product and how do you retrofit them [to reflect the new direction], or do you? But I think once we decided this direction, it’s like let’s try and apply it to anything that’s coming. The lineup will transform quickly, and then the next generation of all-new cars, it will all make sense. We have a really good strategy and a positive plan going forward; it’s kind of like let’s just get this done. But it’s coming, and it’s coming pretty fast.
Automobile: The Precision Concept is not about drivetrains, but are turbocharged engines something logical for Acura?
DM: If you ask the industry, everybody probably says that’s the way to go, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we’re doing that because of our history of alternate powertrains or whatever. A lot of people are asking what engine is in this, but it’s purely [about] the styling performance.
He's partially correct.
Automobile: Are Acura’s customers concerned with having or not having a particular type of drivetrain?
DM: I don’t think so. I think we have such a phenomenal history of motors and drivetrain, as you style [cars] around it, it doesn’t matter to us.
Automotive lighting has gone from a functional necessity to a styling cue for headlights, taillights and even interior lighting.
Now Honda Motor Co.’s Acura division is looking at new territory: The center high mounted stop lamp, or CHMSL.
The CHMSL, pronounced “chim-sel” has been a government requirement since 1986. As the name suggests, it’s a brake light mounted higher up in the car, typically just above or below the rear windshield.
With advances in LED lighting, automakers have transitioned the CHMSL from just a black box on the rear package shelf in the back of the car to an integrated part of spoilers or other exterior trim.
With its Precision Concept, introduced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit Jan. 12, Acura debuted a CHMSL that becomes what Global Creative Director Dave Marek called “a sculptural element, piercing the rear glass, then flowing down to help form the structure of the rear headrests.”
The CHMSL becomes a narrow vertical line, rather than the horizontal band.
It makes sense to do something new with this light, much as other lights have been a part of cars now on the road.
“It’s so flexible, the size of it and that you can do a lot of things with it that you couldn’t do before,” Marek said in an interview on the show floor just after the concept’s unveiling. “The idea is that it is celebrated, not just saying that we have to hide it, but using it as a design element. That’s the key.”
The Precision Concept isn’t tied to an exact upcoming vehicle. Instead, it is designed to represent what Acura intends to use as its “styling intent” for its products in the coming years.
Lighting, Marek said, is 1 of the 5 key elements that will be part of Acura’s styling that will carry over across vehicles.
It isn’t alone in using lighting for specific design cues. Advances in LED lighting, which use polycarbonate extensively, have made it possible for automakers to elongate or widen both front and rear lighting.
“Signature” lighting designs, from the “eyebrow” on the front end of Audi vehicles to an exaggerated C shape on Ford’s F-150, have become standard in the auto industry.
New lighting cues are also showing up in interiors to make them more welcoming.
“When you get the right glow to it, it feels better, like you’re walking into someone’s home,” said Michael Stapleton, interior design leader for General Motors Co.’s GMC division, which launched the 2017 Acadia sport utility vehicle at the show, complete with lighting signatures for both the interior and exterior.
Acura’s concept addresses an area of lighting that has been fairly static in comparison.
“It’s not something that’s placed at the last minute, but it’s something that always has to be there, so instead we want it to be that kind of thing where you embrace it and try something with it and see what you can do with it,” Marek said. “I think all of the details are like that. It’s form follows function.
“You need it to be functional no matter what you do, but it can be something different.”
Are buttons as endangered as the device that used to play your favorite mix tape?
Yes, says a top designer, who likens “button mode to the cassette player that stayed forever” in vehicles’ interiors.
“(Eliminating buttons) opens up a lot of structure in that center stack,”Dave Marek, global creative director-Acura, says in an interview. “There’s still a lot of hardware from the HMI (human-machine-interface) system, but it frees up design to thin out the center console. You get rid of some of that architecture behind it.”
But button fans need not revolt just yet. Marek doesn’t believe switchgear will go away soon, but rather coexist for the time being with touchscreens.
“There’s some people (that) freak out – ‘Where’s my volume knob?’” he says of taking physical means of control away from those who may be eager to hold onto them.
Acura’s sister brand Honda has received criticism from industry-watchers for removing the volume knob in its newest models, the HR-V and Pilot CUVs and Civic small cars. In those vehicles, volume is controlled via a touch-sensitive panel adjacent to the touchscreen. In models equipped with steering-wheel controls, a small, touch-sensitive pad on the wheel also can be used. Users can slide their fingertip up and down the pad or tap it at its top or bottom to increase or decrease volume.
Marek believes in the near future, the auto-interior HMI will look like that in an Airbus.
“They have the complete (package): it looks like a giant iPhone, but then they have analog gauges,” he says.
The new Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger plane, has multiple large screens in the cockpit, at least eight central screens, surrounded by physical controllers.
Such a setup could ease drivers into an eventual button-less interior, says Jon Ikeda, senior vice president-Acura U.S. and a former brand designer.
“It’s a transitional state right now. All of a sudden you take it all away and people feel like they’re missing something,” he says.
Although his company may push the boundaries of design, Ikeda says customer concerns about complicating a process that never used to be complicated are valid.
“I’ll tell you, when you have to push a bunch of flatscreens to swipe for volume, when I just used to turn a knob and the volume goes down…what’s the balance?” he says.
Ikeda acknowledges the standard for interior feature control is being set by the mobile-device industry, not the auto industry.
Picking up his phone, he says, “Whatever is easiest to do here, (car buyers) expect the same thing in their vehicle.”
For now, Marek says Acura is doing a “ton of study” on the user interface, trying to figure out, “How do you get enough people to understand to make (a device’s) usage simple?
“And how much do you direct the zone? Does the HUD become the navi or (show) the speed? Or is the micrometer reserved just for vehicle information (rather than) speed? That part of it is always ongoing.”
Acura’s future interior ideas can be seen in the Precision concept car, which debuted at the 2016 North American International Auto Show.
In that model, a touchpad suspended on the center stack controls a wide and curved center screen. The car’s HMI system also is said to scan occupants upon entry to select each person’s preferred audio, map and vehicle-performance settings.
I hate that people completely miss the point of tactile buttons.
When you're driving, you don't want to look at a screen, you want to not plow into a pet store. Tactile buttons allow me to know I'm actually pressing something.
I hate that people completely miss the point of tactile buttons.
When you're driving, you don't want to look at a screen, you want to not plow into a pet store. Tactile buttons allow me to know I'm actually pressing something.
I hate that people completely miss the point of tactile buttons.
When you're driving, you don't want to look at a screen, you want to not plow into a pet store. Tactile buttons allow me to know I'm actually pressing something.
i guess you havent used the currently touch screen with the haptic feedback. either that or you must be saying i could blind fold you in your current car and you would be 100% accurate changing music stations and your hvac controls.
i guess you havent used the currently touch screen with the haptic feedback. either that or you must be saying i could blind fold you in your current car and you would be 100% accurate changing music stations and your hvac controls.
Much of the review focus of the ATS is strangely anchored by the CUE system, since it determines a substantial part of the driving experience. Over the period of one week and several different drivers, no one especially liked CUE and the comments were exclusively in negative territory. How can a touch screen that we enjoy so much in phones and tablets be perceived so negatively in a car?
CUE appears to still have hardware and software issues. The technology is driven by a 3-core ARM processor, two of which are reserved for voice recognition. The remaining core is not nearly as powerful enough as would be required by a user experience that would resemble the usage of an iPad. Pressing a button will result in immediate haptic, vibrating feedback, but the screen will not react without a 2- to 3-second delay. In its current version, CUE appears to be hopelessly underpowered by the underlying hardware.
CUE would work much better if Cadillac was to bring back some key physical push buttons and knobs for the climate and audio controls. The reaction time of the touch interface is, at this time, unacceptable and is reminiscent of the first generation of $99 Android tablets that were equally underpowered.
i guess you havent used the currently touch screen with the haptic feedback. either that or you must be saying i could blind fold you in your current car and you would be 100% accurate changing music stations and your hvac controls.
In my TL (gone) and my Civic, yes, 100% I could do it blindfolded.
In our Flex, not a chance.
Let's hope things are changing soon. Ikeda seems to want to make a lot of changes. I hope it's for the best. However, I think the exterior styling of the TLX is decent -- very 3G TL like. However, I agree they do need to fix their power and definitely interiors. Ikeda really seems to be looking to Acura's past for inspiration, and seems to be connecting a lot of future plans to their past cars, so I'm hoping he does make these good changes. I guess we'll see what Acura has up it's sleeve when the new MDX is released.
In my TL (gone) and my Civic, yes, 100% I could do it blindfolded.
In our Flex, not a chance.
Agree. In thew TL there isnt a thing i couldnt adjust blindfolded. Why??? Logically placed buttons, no multiple menus to scroll thru. Explorer i can navigate about 30% of them blindfolded, why??? Because of touch screen and lack of buttons. Whoever thought eliminating a simple set of buttons in favor of having to select different screens to get to what you are looking for is an idiot and needs to be hit by a distracted driver trying to adjust their heated seats 2 or 3 menus deep on a touch screen.
i guess you havent used the currently touch screen with the haptic feedback. either that or you must be saying i could blind fold you in your current car and you would be 100% accurate changing music stations and your hvac controls.
It's not about tactile feedback after making a selection. It's about knowing before or as you press the button that it's, in fact, a button and clickable.
It's not about tactile feedback after making a selection. It's about knowing before or as you press the button that it's, in fact, a button and clickable.
Big difference between a 1/2" x 1/2" button that clicks as you push it vs guessing on a 9" touch screen where the button is projected onto a screen.
It's not about tactile feedback after making a selection. It's about knowing before or as you press the button that it's, in fact, a button and clickable.
Exactly, tactile feedback WILL NOT help the driver in pinpointing the correct button he/she wants to press.
Exactly, tactile feedback WILL NOT help the driver in pinpointing the correct button he/she wants to press.
Right. How quickly we forget car touch screens when a lot of us are wrapped in the best touch technology in iPhones, Androids, and tablets. Good touch screens are a good experience, bad touch screens are a bad experience, and either experience is exponentially worse when our eyes are focused elsewhere.
The journey of a brand's transformation begins with a single grille -- or so Acura would have us believe.
The automaker used last week's New York auto show to introduce a freshened MDX midsize crossover bearing the 1st hints of a new design direction that eventually will wash over the entire Acura lineup.
Honda's high-end brand is in the early days of a turnaround effort that will put a greater emphasis on its sedans and sharpen its overall image to the theme of "Precision Crafted Performance." The goal is greater sales and market share; Acura's 177,165 sales in 2015 put it squarely in the 2nd tier among luxury brands, with 8.7 percent of the luxury market, just ahead of Cadillac.
Acura is also on a quest for a cohesive identity, which has eluded it for years as it struggles to differentiate itself from the mainstream Honda brand.
Step 1 in that transformation is ditching the chrome beak that, for better or worse, has been the face of Acura since it debuted on the 2009 TL sedan. The look has been polarizing at best, and Acura has been toning it down with each subsequent redesign across its lineup.
"The beak was always perhaps the least well-liked styling feature of current Acuras,"Ed Kim, vice president of industry analysis for AutoPacific, told Automotive News. "I'm not sure how much just a new grille will help, but it certainly won't hurt."
The newest edition of the MDX -- Acura's most popular vehicle for the past 6 years -- is the 1st production vehicle to wear the new "diamond pentagon" grille that the brand debuted in January on the Precision Concept sedan at the Detroit auto show.
The updated face of the 2017 MDX also gets a revamped bumper and headlights. Acura also added a Sport Hybrid powertrain option that largely borrows the RLX hybrid's running gear.
"Taken together, these styling changes take MDX a big step into the future of Acura design and styling,"John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda, said at the unveiling of the MDX here.
And yet the vehicle still reflects Acura's tradition of caution. "Because it's their highest-volume vehicle, maybe they're a little gun-shy about going too extreme, especially for a midcycle refresh," Kim said.
Work on the MDX freshening had started in 2014 when designers got the edict to ditch the beak. This prompted a reboot of their plans.
"It was a reset but it was a good reset," said Damon Schell, who led the exterior design work on the 2017 MDX. "It actually was very impactful for us. It helped us blend the whole new structure with the car that existed before."
Acura hasn't specified when or on which vehicle the white-sheet redesign from the Precision Concept will debut but it's widely expected to come on the next-generation RLX. Acura brass have made it clear their sedan lineup needs an overhaul, especially the slow-selling flagship.
In the meantime, Schell and his colleagues will be busy updating the grilles on the rest of Acura's lineup.
"You can expect that very soon," Schell said, declining to elaborate. "The grille is your mark. The brand has to survive on that grille."
No wonder Acura can never nail down the Tier-1 luxury market, because even after 26 years in existence, it still can't make up its mind on the final version of the Acura signature grille.
The signature grille is the most important piece of an auto design, because it ultimately defines the identity of the auto brand.
No wonder Acura can never nail down the Tier-1 luxury market, because even after 26 years in existence, it still can't make up its mind on the final version of the Acura signature grille.
The signature grille is the most important piece of an auto design, because it ultimately defines the identity of the auto brand.
It's nice they acknowledge issues with selling low volumes of their flagship, and sedans in general. I like to think they have a go forward plan. I guess time will tell.
It's nice they acknowledge issues with selling low volumes of their flagship, and sedans in general. I like to think they have a go forward plan. I guess time will tell.
Well, the thing I find somewhat frustrating is how Acura can't really figure out what it is. They want to be precision performance or whatever, but their sedans aren't sporty and the marquee attractions get 290 HP. There's nothing unique about the body of these cars and the ILX is a complete phone-in job and a huge step backwards from the TSX.
When I bought my TSX, I wasn't cross shopping luxury cars, I had looked at a Mazda and an Avalon (i was in my early 20s), because I figured I could get the right bump into the upscale (admittedly non-luxury) car market with a reputable, reliable car brand. Now, Acuras aren't reliable and they still aren't super exciting.
The grill is a great step in the right direction, but there needs to be more than a ZF auto and a 290 NA engine to really get me to upgrade to another car with the caliper mark.
We haven't even heard a single word about the MMC TLX. It's extremely rare for a car manufacturer to make big changes to a car after just one year. Or two. While the TLX is far from being a show stopper, it still sold pretty well as-is. Just hang tight. I'm thinking (and secretly hoping) something a bit more desirable will happen for 2017. I'd imagine we will know more in about 6 months. After being disappointed for so many years, I can wait another six months
Let's be real, the current design goes back further than four years. By the time all of the models in the Acura lineup remove the beak, it will have existed a decade.
Companies change front end looks all the time. it's the easiest way to make cars look new and fresh.
Let's be real, the current design goes back further than four years. By the time all of the models in the Acura lineup remove the beak, it will have existed a decade.
Companies change front end looks all the time. it's the easiest way to make cars look new and fresh.
Yup, the beak was shown in the 2009 TL that came out in 2008. It's already 8 years now.
I think it's a love it or hate it thing. I have friends who were put off by the beak, but now back to the Acura family because of the new grille design.
Acura's product plans for the next several years include modified faces, upgraded powertrains and new iterations of its newest brand signature, the NSX sports car. But the brand will retain its close connection to its mainstream sibling brand, Honda.
ILX: A redesigned ILX, riding on the latest Honda Civic's modular platform, is expected in 2017 as a 2018 model. It's expected to use the Civic Si's 1.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine.
TLX: Look for this midsize sedan to be the next Acura model to pick up the new corporate face when a freshened version bows in late 2016 or the 1st half of 2017. When it does, there could be healthy powertrain upgrades behind the new grille: the 1.5-liter turbo 4-cylinder from the Civic Si could stand as the base engine, while the 2.0-liter turbo 4 could replace the V-6. A redesign is due in 2020.
RLX: A redesign is expected in 2019 as a 2020 model. The car's ethos won't change much: front- or optional all-wheel drive and a V-6 base model with optional hybrid powertrain. Look for the styling to be the biggest change, with a watered-down take on the Precision Concept that debuted at the 2016 Detroit auto show.
CDX: Acura is mum on when this HR-V-based compact crossover lands in the U.S., though a 2018 or 2019 model is likely. It would use Honda's 1.5-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine and come with optional awd and clever interior packaging similar to the Fit/HR-V twins. The biggest question is where it will be built. The current version is built only in China, and Honda's global capacity is tight. If that continues, the CDX could be the 1st China-built Honda product to land in the U.S. (The previous-generation Fit for the Canadian market was the 1st China-built car sold in North America.)
RDX: With a redesigned CR-V due in 2017, expect a redesigned RDX to bow a year later as a 2019 model. The powertrain pingpong should continue: originally launched with a turbocharged 4-cylinder but now available with a V-6, the model we'll see in 2018 will come with a 2.0-liter turbocharged 4. After the 2018 debut, look for either a hybrid or PHEV version, depending on which route Honda goes on the CR-V.
MDX: The MDX just got a fresh look for 2017, with Acura finally ditching the much-maligned beak grille. The 2017 version also adds an optional hybrid powertrain shared largely with the RLX Hybrid.Expect a complete redesign in 2019 as a 2020 model.
NSX: Now that Acura's 2nd-gen supercar has finally landed on the lot, all eyes are on what comes next for the NSX nameplate. Variants are happening: There's extra production capacity at the NSX plant in Marysville, Ohio, and deep enthusiasm within the brand for the NSX nameplate.
The unknown part is which variants and in what order. The smart money would be on an open-top targa model; a nonhybrid, rwd, street-legal version of the GT3 racer Acura hopes to homologate this fall; and a 4-motor EV iteration based off the Pikes Peak racer from last month.
Acura's product plans for the next several years include modified faces, upgraded powertrains and new iterations of its newest brand signature, the NSX sports car. But the brand will retain its close connection to its mainstream sibling brand, Honda.
So Honda and Honda+
Originally Posted by TSX69
TLX: Look for this midsize sedan to be the next Acura model to pick up the new corporate face when a freshened version bows in late 2016 or the 1st half of 2017. When it does, there could be healthy powertrain upgrades behind the new grille: the 1.5-liter turbo 4-cylinder from the Civic Si could stand as the base engine, while the 2.0-liter turbo 4 could replace the V-6. A redesign is due in 2020.
I doubt the MMC TLX will get the new turbo engines. I don't think they'll get them until the 2G TLX comes out.
I think the MMC TLX will just get cosmetic and tech updates like the MDX.
I'll link the first article google now brought me: Honda Trademarks ZSX, Could End Up on Baby NSX » AutoGuide.com News
To be fair, ZSX could be a name given to anything honda produces, be it motorcycles, jet skis, etc. It, of course, does not necessarily mean it will be a car, or a car that Honda will actually produce and bring to market.
If the following is more or less correct...
RSX stands for RallySportscar eXperience
NSX stands for New Sportscar eXperience
MDX stands for Multi-Dimensional eXperience
ILX stands for Integra-Legend eXperience
TLX is Touring Luxury eXperience
RLX is Refined Luxury eXperience
does anyone know what the 'Z' in ZDX stood for?
Found this from 5thTo2nd on ToV:
The original translated article from automoto offers some other tidbits:
- their source is an anonymous Honda engineer
- they link the zsx with the awkward prototype image we saw from Honda's r&d centre in silicon valley. Their source claims the production car will look quite different from that concept. "Front too lotus like and rear too McLaren 650s."
- zsx name chosen because baby nsx and also because of rear central engine architecture.
- 300hp from engine and 50hp from each electric motor=370 HP, 500 tq. 0-100 under 5 sec
-1500 kgs and the ability to travel a few kms on 100% electric power, zero emissions
- rivals: new supra, 718 Cayman s, Nissan 370z, new z5
- removable hard top convertible one year after coupe
It's definitely an exciting time being a sports car fan. I feel like if true we will be seeing not one but two nsx iterations on the road. The only thing that doesn't make sense from the article is the Nissan 370z and 718/z5 comparison. From the rumors floating around the web the only real rival to this will be the new supra and possibly the new c8 midengine corvette which also might be going hybrid. If so then I'll bet this will be more like $60-70 usd or close to $80-90 in Canada. I'm impressed that Honda is developing this alone given that the supra is a joint venture. Honda is going to see cost savings by trickle down and platform sharing whereas Toyota will get savings through shared development.
As an aside, I'm guessing it's impossible to have a manual hybrid?
Also, I wonder where this news leaves the s2000 replacement. If that MSRP is right that leaves a lot of room for a cheaper non hybrid version which would rival new z5, 370z, 718
Pics (credit to their respective owners/illustrators):
Last edited by Bruce_Wayne; 08-11-2016 at 11:11 AM.
01-12-2016, 01:42 PM
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I think we have such a phenomenal history of motors and drivetrain, as you style [cars] around it, it doesn’t matter to us.
Big difference between a 1/2" x 1/2" button that clicks as you push it vs guessing on a 9" touch screen where the button is projected onto a screen.
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