I don't own a tsx 1st or 2nd gen, but I was able to see some great up and close shots of the rear axles and the way the chassis fits up with and their appears to be room for awd later. There is a parabola shape where the rear axle is. Has anyone else noticed this before? It seems to show that Acura may put in the SH-AWD later.

 

yes, we noticed this right off.

they also made an enormous engine bay.


seems like they made the car to be something that it's not.

too bad really.

like they got halfway through and said, "ah screw it, lets just go back to the
ol' 2.4 and change it up a bit."
"they won't buy an SH-AWD TSX anyway, or one with a V6"
"maybe with a diesel though, should we offer that?"
"No. maybe in the future though, I don't feel like it right now"
"Oh, okay, yeah, screw em."
"haha."
"Haha."

 

You make it sound like Acura is the only mfg that releases versions of the car over the lifespan of the model run.

Do all versions of the 3 series come out at the same time or does the M3 come later? Do all versions of a Mustang come out at the same time or does the Shelby come later? Do all version of the Mazda 3 come out or does the mazdaspeed come later? Does the IS launch with a V-8 or does the IS-F come later?

 

there probably actulaly is an AWD version. in japan they sold an AWD version of the 1st gen model.

 

?

oh yeah?

 

If they released a V6 AWD version of the TSX now, it would certainly pull sales from the current gen TL. The TL is due to be replaced in Oct. I think the 2010 TSX model year will bring a bigger engine. Of perhaps the 2011 - letting the 2009 TL have a first year exclusive run.

It's all economics, mixed with balancing the public release excitement over many years. If they released the V6 TSX too soon, they may not sell the TLs out until March next year. Also, by staggering releases they stay in the news more, which keeps people coming into the showrooms.

I know Acura has stated that there are no plans for a V6 AWD TSX. But think about it - if they said a V6 AWD version was coming next year, there would be a percentage of people who would wait and not get the car this year. That's counter-intuitive to sales strategies. "We sell what's here now".

 

Yeah. It was a version of the CR-V's realtime AWD system.

 

I think the V6 is coming, but I doubt the AWD is. An AWD TSX may weigh in the neighborhood of 3800 lbs. I don't think Acura is going that route.

 

dom....what would be your best guess as to when this V6 would show up in the TSX? Fall of 2010 for a 2011 model would be my guess but what do I know

 

My best guess is sooner. Fall of 09 as a 2010 model.

 

dom...interesting. Do you have "inside scoop" or is that just a gut feeling? My basis for the 2010 (as a 2011 model) is the fact that Honda doesn't change things that quickly unless its what Honda/Acura talks about the "something new every 6 months" kinda of thing....

 

I know nothing. Just a guess.

According to Jeff at TOV those spy shots of the silver TSX with bigger wheels that were going around awhile back was a V6. So I'm thinking it wouldn't be on the street testing two years before release (2010). Then again the diesel has to come out so that may complicate things.

 

dom...Exactly my thoughts. I think the rumours about the diesel have been abundant and confirmed by so many dealers that there is no doubt that the diesel will come out soon but my instinct tells me that the V6 will likely come as a MMC (and if 2011 isn't a MMC...then I think by then a V6 would be dropped in)

 

Remember this car is the Euro Accord, I read the engine bay and wider overall dimensions were to accomodate the Euro diesels. and the diesel will probably be offered here later.

 

123456SPEED....I agree, there is no doubt that a diesel will be here soon and even my dealership acknowledged the width in the engine bay is to accomodate the diesel but there has beenalot of speculation about a larger engine...who knows?!

 

In case there was any doubt that they intend to send us the diesel....

http://www.hondanews.com/categories/793/releases/4394

 

A version of the AWD TSX was revealed last Wednesday at a private, invite-only event hosted by the company that worked on the car, Honda and Eibach. About 70 people or so of the really dedicated enthusiasts came out and I heard it was VERY well received. This particular car is apparently just a concept of a limited edition model of a new company working directly with Honda but there was a sedan and a tourer. They were both VERY well-received, but the tourer in this particular look was favored over the sedan. No talk about what was under the hood though.

So it exists. Maybe somebody who attended the event can shed more light or has a few snaps? Otherwise, I was told to expect an official announcement from Honda, a press release and pictures the concept somewhere in the coming days/weeks. That's all the info I have. TOV doesn't even have this info, so you won't find anything there.

Just so nobody's confused, what was shown is NOT the actual SH-AWD TSX. It was a variation of an SH-AWD TSX. So I'd expect the announcement of the SH-AWD car shortly.

 

All i was asking for was for someone with the 2nd Gen TSX to get under there car and take some pics. to see if anyone agreed with what I saw.

 

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42738

 

Yep that is what I am talking about. Although the big links are broken.
I really think this is for AWD. Also If you look at the underbody for the TSX and the Accord (US) there is a lot of similarity as well.

 

 

If you don't mind me asking, where did you hear this info from?

 

My company was the one that built the car and put together the event. We were SUPPOSED to be at the big Eibach meet a few weeks ago, but that didn't work out (see below). The event was not actually for the TSX, though. We had two other debuts for Honda and the TSXs were essentially "tag-alongs". Unfortunately, due to weather problems in the mid-west and several other projects on my plate, I wasn't able to attend, so I myself am waiting on the video and pictures from the event from my people and/or the media.

And before somebody asks why you hadn't heard about it if it was last Wednesday, it's a pretty long, tiring story involving jealousy, miscommunication, Brenda Priddy and liquified human fecal matter (I kid you not). I spoke with Honda yesterday and some of the media that came out have finally confirmed details, embargoed info, etc, with Honda so you should (hopefully) begin to see something by the weekend.

Have to though. Nothing these past 6 months has quite worked out the way we thought it would (about how long we've had the cars).

 

+1 This is very interesting. I hope they release the info soon.

 

wow this thread is juicy, vip08 i hope you are telling the truth!

 

I'm on the phone with a gentleman from autoblog now. There seems to have been some general confusion up until yesterday when they spoke with Mr. Mendel. I believe all confusion is cleared up now.

 

Ha Ha Is the 'confusion' regarding someone posting about this in a forum!? Seriously, thanks for the post, I find it interesting to say the least.

'If you ask me, it's obvious that the reason they want AWD is to handle the torque of the expected diesel. It also comes as no surprise that they have have another SH-AWD 'Lite' in the works. Acura may not do 'Halo' cars well (witness the RL), but they do handle 'halo' technology well.

 

VIP08,

So are these cars that you are talking about intended to be sold to the public one day or are these, just like you say, concepts that are just a design study that Acura will show at several car shows saying "this is what we could build for you but were not so here is a stock FWD 4-pot TSX"? Kind of like the Concept A-Spec TL that was shown several years ago? The fact that the work is being done with Eibach makes me think that this will just be a car show concept and not meant for a sales showroom. Any information you can give regarding this would be greatly appreciated.

 

^ Or that V10 or V8 Mugen RL shown in Japan a couple years ago.

vip and Colin have succeeded in getting my attention though.

 

me too!

 

Or maybe they always knew from the start the car would get a V6 and the engine bay was designed to be as big as it is so it can accommodate a V6? Maybe they are waiting to release a more powerful TSX until AFTER the new TL debuts? Maybe because they know they would have a hard time selling any leftover TL's if they were offering a TSX with a V6 that is the same size as the TL with even more technology?

More than half the posts you make here are negative towards the new TSX. What is it about your 1st generation TSX that keeps you so glued to the 2nd gen forums anyway?

 

Well, I still have my doubts. Someone 'poo pooed' me when I posed the question of torque management if the diesel came with 280-300 pound of torque.

I'm thinking back to a conversation I had with our former rep over two years ago. I asked him about SH for the TSX and he said that it was too expensive for an entry level car. (in this same conversation he mentioned three powerplants for the TSX, the first two are now known)

Of course, reading between the lines, maybe he meant that A) SH is too expensive, but maybe a slimmer version isn't or B) the base TSX will be the entry level car and the AWD version is a step up.

Very clever guy but also a good friend over the years.... I miss having him to talk to.

 

No, lol, there was some confusion regarding the actual event.[/QUOTE]

That was the idea. It's a little difficult to explain. About one year ago, we pitched one project, which we got the okay to do and shortly after that we pulled another three projects out of it (not including the TSX; the TSXs were just "by-products" of what we already had going on). This is not an A-Spec model or concept. In fact, this actually had nothing to do with Acura (more Mugen than AMG, if you will). I honestly have no clue if Acura is actually considering doing something similar or not as my work has not been directy with Acura.

There are two reasons why this was not unveiled at an auto show. We already tried to do it in New York at NYIAS, but there were some communication issues (an employee at the NYIAS warehouse didn't bother to look under a blanket, literally) and long-story-short, we wound up having to scrap that proposal. If anybody was at the show, they might've noticed a small sign near the Acura booth depicting a deck of cars, that said something like "private unveiling tomorrow". If you were wondering what happened, there you have it.

The second reason we didn't wait for the next auto show is, domestically the LA show is just too far off. There weren't very many announcements domestically regarding Honda news and even though Acura's got a fairly big year with new models and refreshes, there hasn't been much in the way of enthusiast news. As I mentioned before, the TSX project was more a project we chose to do because we could. We've talked to the corporate folks (and I don't mean the person at the reception desk) and the last I heard, they were definitely going to put it on the lot IF the demand is there, but it would be a VERY limited number of cars more-than likely pre-ordered. Obviously, with the market the way it is and the current focus on fuel efficiency over, primarily everything, even to a degree within the premium-lux category, it's not like a few years ago where we could say, "we'll build this, put it on the lot and you guys can have at it".

The reason why we chose Eibach was to announce it to as many direct customers as possible. The problem with unveiling at a major auto show is as a manufacturer, you don't get the direct feedback you want. I've noticed a lot of talk on various forums that Honda is "abandoning the enthusiasts". This isn't true, but certain things have to be prioritized. It'll make sense in the coming months, but for now, we needed something to grab people's attention. These three cars, I'm told, are it. After New York, Eibach was the largest Honda gathering on the west coast we could think of. Why not? Unfortunately, there was a leak and someone tipped off Brenda Priddy (she really isn't that nice of a person, by the way). The IRONIC thing about it is, SHE was the one who screwed you all out of spy pictures. The cars were parked in a warehouse and we couldn't get them out for the event because Ms. Priddy and her associate parked directly in front of said warehouse and wouldn't move their damned car. Apparently, even after she called and I told her she wouldn't find what she was looking for, she felt it necessary to be rude to the Eibach folks If she or her associates are reading this, that's called "karma"...

So the cars weren't unveiled at the Eibach meet, but since the people at Eibach already have an established relationship with the local Honda scene, we asked them to invite a few people out for a private event. We didn't tell them what we were doing, just something "special". I was on the phone just after the wraps were pulled off and people were really excited, shouting and yelling and clapping. These were people of all ages, late teens-early 20s to, I BELIEVE, mid-50s? Hopefully this bodes well for other potential reactions.

For the record, I'm not saying anything the media doesn't already know. Just wanted to make that clear that this isn't really some special announcement or leaked information.

 

The engine bay in the TSX was designed specifically to fit the 2.2L CTDI, which is a bit larger than the K24. Considering there were no plans for Europe to get anything more than the K24 and CTDI, I think anything else that fit into the bay wound up being a by-product of that than actual planning and because of that, they were able to take multiple directions outside of Europe.

 

sounds like we really shouldn't be getting our hopes up after all than....

oh and