ra has been trying to change its portfolio to become more of a Tier 1 luxury brand, but it looks like those plans have changed. Acura had been working on developing new high-performance vehicles and its first V8 engine, but those plans have been canceled.

There is “a certain level of confusion” about Acura in the marketplace, Honda Motor Co. CEO Takanobu Ito told Automotive News at the Tokyo auto show. “We are in the midst of big changes. We’ve changed the direction of research and development.”

Prior to the collapse of the economy Acura had plans to finally match the other top tier luxury brands with its first V8 engine and rear-wheel-drive, but those plans have been scrapped sending engineers back to the drawing board.
Instead of focusing on going head to head with brands like BMW, Honda CEO Takanobu Ito stated, “I see the future of Acura as a merger of BMW and Audi–something between high technology and high performance.” Eighteen months ago Acura dealers were promised five new models, but as a result of the changes Acura will be in a “low-growth period of developing new products.”

“We were thinking that we could come up with glamorous, gorgeous products that would sell. Now, our premium products will be expressed in advanced environmental technologies,

oARandDRIVER has picked the 10 best cars. This year’s list consists of a few returning models like the BMW 3 Series and Honda Accord, which have both been on the list 19 and 24 times, respectively.
The publication tested 58 models worth $2.5 million total and logged a total of 12,000 test miles. New to the list this year is the Ford Fusion Hybrid, note that the gas only version isn’t t

Acura has announced the pricing for the refreshed 2010 MDX.

The 2010 Acura MDX, which is now available has a starting price of $42,230. At first glance the 2010 MDX doesn’t look much different from the 09′ model. But Acura has changed the front and rear to give it a more aggressive stance. It’s immediately noticeable that the front now has a grille that is similar to the rest of the Acura lineup. In addition to the changes to the front grille, tailpipes and taillights, there are also new wheels. Under the hood the MDX benefits from a new 6-speed automatic transmission. The MDX is still powered by the same 300 horsepower 3.7L V6.

Inside there’s a new sport steering wheel with paddle shifters, new gauges, and upgraded

Honda Ridgeline due to an issue with the wiring harness connector for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning blower motor. The blower motor is located under the passenger’s side of the instrument panel and is accessible to kicking from the front passenger. Kicking the system can cause the connector terminal to overheat, which can cause a short circuit or a fire.

Honda dealers have been instructed to inspect the affected vehicles and install a

sthe Detroit Auto Show this month, the media is largely disappointed with the Honda CR-Z. Ever since the concept was unveiled many of us saw it as a spiritual successor the much loved CR-X. It brought back so many fond memories of my old 88′ yellow CR-X Si. Well the fact that even with a hybrid powertrain it only manages to put out 122 horsepower and 128 lb-ft. of torque left many of us wanting more. The fact that it only manages to get a combined rating of 37 mpg made it even worse. Well now there is a video with one of the engineers that worked on the CR-Z explaining what the inspiration was behind the

o a preview of the fourth generation Honda Odyssey at the Chicago Auto Show next month. The current Odyssey was the best selling minivan in 2008 and 2009.
Honda claims that the next Odyssey will “further enhance its hallmark qualities of innovation, quality, safety and fun-to-drive character while increasing its overall efficiency.”

The four

The first month of 2010 is officially over and the final sales numbers have come in. It was a crazy month for Toyota since it was forced to stop selling eight models a few days before the end of the month, which definitely hurt its final sales numbers.
But enough about that. Here are the top ten best selling vehicles from last month. The Honda Accord took over the number one best-selling car spot from the Camry, which dropped to number 7 on this list. It’s also interesting to note that with the exception of the two best-selling vehicles on the list, the Ford F-Series and Chevy Silverado the rest of the vehicles on the list are all sedans (the Accord Crosstour was lumped into the Accord’s sales). Both the Ford Escape and Honda CR-V are missing from the list this time.

Check outonda released the Insight hybrid last spring and hoped to sell 90,000 units in its first year in the US, but sadly only 20, 572 Insights were sold. Meanwhile the Toyota Prius, the Insight’s main competitor outsold the Insight seven-to-one. Now Honda’s Vice President, Koichi Kondo recently stated in an interview the reasons the Insight has been a disappointment, “I think we compromised too much on size in pursuing fuel efficiency” for the U.S. market, he said.
According to Kondo the Insight is too small and there isn’t enough room in the back seat for US customers. Lower gas prices also hurt hybrid sales last year, which is also hurting the development of the upcoming Fit Hybrid.
“There are plenty of people who think that the current Fit meets their needs already” with its fuel efficiency, he said. “A hybrid version might seem expensive. Our engineers are really struggling.”

We told you a couple of weeks back Acura would be revealing the 2009 model of Acura’s lovely top-of-the-line sedan, the RL, here at the Chicago Auto Show. Just as we predicted, so was it revealed, in all its mid-cycle refreshment glory. The new 2009 RL gets almost entirely new sheet-metal (apparently everywhere but the doors) as well as a new engine to replace the ol’ and busted 290 HP 3.5-liter V6. That’s right, the 2009 model’s getting a bigger 3.7-liter V6 to match the “Double Plenum Power Grille” and of course the Super-Handling All Wheel Drive or (SH-AWD). We’ll have more up momonda has boasted that the upcoming 2011 CR-Z hybrid will put an end to the belief that hybrids aren’t sporty. While although that has yet to be proven by the media, Honda’s performance division, Mugen has released what modifications will be available for the new hybrid. A new bodykit, roof-mounted spoiler, custom grille with LED lights in addition to several carbon-fiber accessories and alloy-wheel designs will be available. Inside there is an available Mugen gear shifter, revised instrument clusters and Mugen floormats. The 2011 entarily t seems the media is having a field day with all of Toyota’s problems related to the unintended acceleration recall. The January sales totals are finally trickling in and the news continues to not be good for Toyota, who was forced to stop selling eight of its models at the end of the month. Thanks to the recall Toyota’s best-selling Camry lost its title last month as the best-selling car in the US to the Honda Accord. Camry sales fell last month by 24 percent to 15,792 units. Meanwhile Honda managed to move 19,022 Accords (20,759 including the Accord Crosstour), which was a gain of 14.7 percent. Nissan also outsold the Camry with its Altima, which sold 18,636 units, a 31.8 percent increase. The Chevy Malibu had the largest gains last — but we think you get the gist of it. More

onda has boasted that the upcoming 2011 CR-Z hybrid will put an end to the belief that hybrids aren’t sporty. While although that has yet to be proven by the media, Honda’s performance division, Mugen has released what modifications will be available for the new hybrid.

A new bodykit, roof-mounted spoiler, custom grille with LED lights in addition to several carbon-fiber accessories and alloy-wheel designs will be available. Inside there is an available Mugen gear shifter, revised instrument clusters and Mugen floormats.

The 2011

\Acura has confirmed that the new 2011 Acura TSX Sport Wagon will debut at the New York Auto Show at the end of this month.
The TSX Sport Wagon will go on sale this fall and be sold alongside the TSX sedan. The TSX sedan is available with either a 4-cylinder or V6, but it hasn’t been the engine lineup for the Sport Wagon has not been announced.