Team Acura Parts Blog

Customers feel more at ease when dealing with Acura than any other car dealerships as revealed by the 2007 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index auto industry study. The report evaluates shopping experiences at 1,592 dealerships, representing all brands, nationwide.

The Pied Piper study was conducted between April and June using anonymous shoppers who looked at more than 50 aspects of the buying experience. That included whether salespeople gave a compelling reason to buy at a dealership, were informative about the vehicles they were selling or whether they asked the potential buyer for information.

Former auto industry executive, Fran O’Hagan, said this study is different than others that evaluate customer or sales satisfaction levels at stores. That is because those studies capture consumers who buy at the dealership and exclude those who don’t make a deal.

Despite the fact that salespeople are often presumed to be hard-nosed in pressing for a sale, the study found the opposite is more often true.

“It’s four times more likely for them to feel they were undersold than oversold,” O’Hagan said of consumers.

The study revealed that test drives were offered 89% of the time, asked for contact information 83% of the time. While 75% of the time ask for the sale and offered a brochure 66% of the time.

Since most car and truck buyers don’t finalize a sale the same day they visit a showroom, O’Hagan said it is important for dealerships to maximize their time with prospective customers.

A total of 25 brands performed at above average in the study. Eleven of those 25, or 44%, are owned by Detroit automakers. Seven out of the 12 below-average performers, or 58%, were Detroit-affiliated brands.

Kuno Wittmer, of Montreal, Quebec, in the series’s first visit to the Steelback Grand Prix of Toronto  made the most of his former track experience at Exhibition Place to take the lead in the practice held for Round Six of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship. Ian Baas of Noblesville, Ind., and Roberto Santos, of Monterrey, Mexico, came in second and third fastest, respectively.

It was the already the sixth time that Wittmer would be racing on the streets of Toronto in the entire length of his career. He climbed to the top of scoring monitors shortly after the first of two red flags in the 30-minute session. The flag was displayed for the No. 29 Global Motorsports Group BMW 325Ci of James Sofronas who is from Newport Beach, Calif. and whose engine died down on him on the first lap and literally stopped dead on its tracks on course in Turn Six.

Wittmer continued to take a leading role in the session while concomittantly improving his time. The No. 44 Acura Certified Pre-Owned pilot finished up the session with a fast lap of 1:21.603 (77.423 mph) on his final tour around the street course that was 1.755 in miles.

“I definitely have the most experience here,” Wittmer was heard saying. “But at this level of racing, it’s so competitive and it’s only a matter of time before the other guys come up to speed. I think in qualifying I’ll be getting a lot more pressure, especially from my teammates, because they’ll be right there with me in speed.

Still, Wittmer has already garnered considerable success at Exhibition Place before, when he won the Honda Challenge race here in 2005 on his way to taking the series Championship. But the Canadian entertains no grand illusions of a clean sweep at Toronto for the week to come.

“I’ve always liked street courses. I think my car is suited pretty good to this track and I’ve had a pretty good history on street courses as far as driving goes. I like this track, it has a good flow to it. The last three corners, the way you build up momentum is fun, so I’ve got nothing negative to say about this track.”

“Starting qualifying in seventh, because I’m seventh in the points, might be a little bit of a problem, especially since the front guys aren’t up to speed yet. It’s not their fault, it’s just a matter of learning the track and we didn’t get much time in today’s practice. I think I’m going to just keep a gap and then go on my own, maybe get two or three laps.”

In his best form so far all throughout the season, Baas put his No. 18 PFAFF/STaSIS/Clear Capital Audi A4 second on the time sheets. Fresh from a Rolex GT race at Daytona Thursday night, Baas made a time of 1:21.868 (77.173 mph).

For other notables, the four-time World Challenge Champion Peter Cunningham of Grafton, Wis., finished as the fourth fastest with a lap of 1:22.434 (76.643 mph) in his No. 42 Acura Certified Pre-Owned Acura TSX. Lime Rock race winner Chip Herr, of Lititz, Pa., completed the top five in his No. 17 PFAFF/STaSIS/Clear Capital Audi A4 with a time of 1:22.443 (76.634 mph).

(continued from Part I)

Since Acura is a Honda brand, knowing of Honda’s ever-present consciousness of green technology as well as considering the company’s persistence in bringing green technology as an alternative to mainstream automotive systems, the TSX certainly qualifies as a Low Emission Vehicle. The Green  Vehicle Guide of the EPA’s gives this a rating of 6 on their Air Pollution score. However, the EPA does split the Greenhouse Gas score by transmission. The five-speed automatic has a 7, while the sixspeed manual, while it admittedly entails more fun, gets a 6. The EPA gives the car a 22/31 mpg City/ Highway rating.

When it comes to matters of style, the TSX enjoys sleek as well as clean lines. The nose of the car is outfitted with the pentagonal grille that is widely associated with the Acura brand since it is a special brand trait. In addition, the big calipers logo in the grille makes brand recall incredibly easy. There is no other like it. Acura, in this particular series, aptly expands the area of the grille sides in order to include a pair of wraparound headlight pods that taper up to slits. The headlight pods are also designed to wrap round the sides of the car. The car’s back design continues these slim looks, with the rear panel line cuts down nattily from the taillight to the wheelwell, in much the same way as a county highway on a map does. The car’s overall appearance connotes a pleasant and entirely modernistic in taste.

Inside the Acura TSX one can see that sheer effort the company had put in rendering the car’s interiors. Bolstered leather seats as well outlets that allow for multiple electrical adjustments, leather-wrapped steering wheel, power windows along with locks and mirrors—one can easily tell that Acura took great pains to afford drivers and passengers alike with a number of conveniences otherwise impossible. The car also has a power mooonroof along with keyless entry. These are simply among the comforts the Acura TSX holds in store for car consumers.

The car even comes with a sound system that exhibits 360-watts along with its eight speakers and six-disc in-dash. Those wishing to jack in their iPODs for a bit of charging may do so with the input jack inside the car.

For tasks other than selecting a transmission, the factory supplies the car with a navigation system. Voice commands operate the controls so drivers won’t have to look elsewhere, trying to push a button or two on the dashboard. The voice commands are over 560, with the system fully stocked with points of interest that’s more than 7 million in figure. The voice recognition feature can also identify 1.7 million cities and street names.

The TSX, of course, does not skimp on its features as well. With dual-stage passenger airbags that employs a series of sensors to ensure that kids along with small adults are not accidentally impaired by the very airbag put there to guard their safety. The TSX also has a standard tire pressure monitoring system.

Honda has made quite a remarkable name for itself in the automotive industry for producing cars that have satisfied the vast consumer public with their reliability, excellence and style throughout the years. Not only do Honda cars enjoy renowned recognition based on these qualities, these vehicles are also known for being well within reasonable price queues. Cars of the Acura brand testify to the truth of the matter.

Acura affords consumers with a selection of top-quality cars that can compete with those priced at a higher queue. Thus, the TSX sedan offers a compelling alternative to BMW intenders who have place particular emphasis on ideas of economy as well as dependability—two qualities that Honda is quite known for in the market.

As a test car, the TSX has a lot toofer consumers, particularly those looking to acquire a great car with a reasonable price tag. Like a number of BMW models, it packs  four cylinder engines that can provide striking performances on the road. One can actually experience 205 horsepower from the powerplant. Consumers can also have a say in how the horsepower will make its way to the tires. One can pull this off either by selecting a six-speed manual or a five-speed automatic. Both of which share the same price or if they happen to be different, will be off by only a wee bit of amount, more or less. The five speed automatic offers a sequential SportShif that allows one to choose a variety of gears without a clutch.

Second to the largest Japanese auto maker, Honda has announced its plans for the year, one of which includes intentions to make large vehicles that employ a low- emission V-6 diesel engine available in North America. The company foresees the arrival of such cars by the year 2010.

The company seems to be refining its design for the 3.5-liter diesel engine that will allow vehicles be as much as 30 percent more fuel efficient than was previously observed in cars that ran on gasoline power. This was reported by several news services in a number of global channels. The reports also included a little information on the nature of diesel engines, informing the public that diesel engines also emit about 20 percent less carbon dioxide, even though they happen to release harmful nitrogen oxides and particulates into the atmosphere.

Honda wants to hold an initial launch of the engine in the Odyssey minivan. In a similar vein of thought, the company may also do the same for the Pilot sport utility vehicle, the Ridgeline pickup truck, as well as with the luxury Acura line. This was reported by Nikkei of the English News. The engine, judging from early reports, will help Honda to further compete against diesel models produced from rival companies the likes of DaimlerChrysler AG, BMW AG and Volkswagen AG. This was added by the news service centers.

Infering from the news, one can certainly expect that Honda’s line of Acura cars will be showing more and more improvements in the future geared towards greener technology measures.

Bill Fenton Motorsports placed two Acura cars—the RSX-S series cars—in the top five. Both cars were put into the Street Tuner’s top five that happened last Saturday during the KONI Challenge race at Watkins Glen. The race event lasted for three hours.

Bill Fenton along with Bob Beede bagged the fourth place in the No. 29 Southern Auto Auction Acura. This was followed by Todd Lamb and Dave Thilenius in the No. 27 Aprilia/2Wheel Tuner Acura.

The weekend for the team went with no glitches. It was apparent that everything was a matter of smooth sailing. After the concerns raised over setup issues that were the primary reasons Acura lost during the previous two car races, the team knocked back a formula that they knew very well would work at the historic track. And though rain limited the number of practices they could indulge in, everyone was able to adapt to the conditions set to them, quickly and competently.

“I feel like I got to know the track pretty well and was able to get up to speed even with the shortened practice,” Lamb was heard saying. Lamb was at The Glen for the first time. He further adds that:

“It’s an easy track to learn, but it’s still challenging to drive. I always enjoy being on a true road course.”

This was the ultimate and unquestionable proof to the fact that both cars from Acura had well-built set-ups as well as drivers behind the wheel who knew how to effectively navigate the track. Thilenius managed to take seventh-place starting spot in the ST class, and Fenton finished not so far behind as he landed at tenth.

In the race, pit stop strategy was different for both cars and they managed to play this difference to its advantage. Fenton proceeded to pit during an early caution period, a move that successfully trounced Beede out in the No. 29 car. Later, the team would have to make a brief stop to load up on fuel.

On the other hand, Thilenius determined to stop early for fuel, and thus, was pitted about halfway through the race to offer the No. 27 Acura to Lamb on quite a fetching silver platter. It was a risk, Lamb was heard to have admitted. But it paid off well enough.”We were pretty tight on fuel near the end, so a late-race caution turned out to be just what we needed” Lamb says.

During the final laps, Lamb was atttempting to win a pass for third. It was at this point when Beede decided to finally join the chase. And hence, Beede ended up passing his own teammate for fourth with signs of the checkered flag already being sighted.

Both teams from Acura have had quite a successful run in the races this year. Each one has had the chance to stand on the ST podium after all. But what proved memorable at Watkins Glen and was worth taking note of was the occasion of the first time in the season that both cars ran and earned a top-five finish as they competed in the same event.

News reports state that the following race for Bill Fenton Motorsports will be on dates August 17 to 19. The races are expected to happen at the Trois-Rivieres.

In a number of things, new always takes the place of the old. However, in the case of vintage sports cars, old models have quite the edge over new ones. The rules of the game are: the older it is, the more valuable it proves. This was true, regardless of the fact that windows in many old car models had to be manually rolled down. The sound systems were also a wee bit elaborate at times that it

Particularly if the case involves the Acura TL type S. This quick on its wheels speed demon from Acura is one of the hottest sports cars to have ever meandered into the face of the planet. Capable of faining a 286 horsepower V-6 as well as delivering 29 mpg on highways, its reputation as one of Acura’s best selling car models is truly well deserved.

From the year that Acura’s TL queue debuted with a mid-size luxury car model in the year 1996, theat very first Acura TL model quickly attracted considerable consumer interest in a number of markets all over. The TL was originally built to take the place of the Acura Vigor and thus was equipped with a lot of features that proved novel at the time. It wasn’t until the third version of the car that Acura began to make a name that stood for performance and power. In addition, subsequent modifications allowed it to grow extremely popular that by the year 1998, Acura TL sales were rising in a phenomenal rate. However, it wasn’t until the year 2002, with the arrival of the Type S model that it would become glaringly apparent that the TL series was on its way to becoming one of Acura’s best selling line of cars.

The minor makeover of the TL in the year 2002 went remarkably well with the highly modified front fascia. In addition, the tail lights as well as in-dash CD changer along with other practical features made the unit a commendable improvement over a number of its forebears.

Thus, with the features that the TL type S sport, vintage car enthusiasts won’t have any trouble settling on this Acura model for some solid road kicks. Not only does it perform a great deal better than a number of the new car models being made available in the market these days, cars of this sort exhibit that one quality that a new car simply lacks: timeless endurance.

Hence, for this distinction alone, vintage cars always manage to score a few points over newer ones. There is, after all, always something to be said for cars built in the way the Acura TL Type S was built.

Though a number of car companies certainly continue in their persistent efforts to provide the public with better and much more ingenious cars to drive and populate the roads with, the simple truth is that some still prefer the charms of the old over the new.

It’s like they always say: they just don’t make them like that anymore.

Only one of the two teams managed by Acura had to bail out of the last American Le Mans Series race at Miller Motorsports Park in the state of Utah. The withdrawal of the said teams were said to have been due to mechanical failures. This was the race conducted the previous May 19.

Nearly two whole months have passed now since the American Le Mans Series race and a number of the American Le Mans Series teams will be playing in the 24 Hour of Le Mans in France as well, come June.

On the other hand, the three Acura teams were not, in any way, involved in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, all three of the teams powered by Acura have been racing at the Mid-Ohio Sport Car Course and Lime Rock Park in Conecticut as part of a series of grueling exercises designed to keep the teams in shape. The exercises have been happening during the down time. The Acura teams that have been under Andretti Green Racing, that which includes Valencia’s Bryan Herta as well as Highcroft Racing, and Lowe’s Fernandez Racing have all completed almost 350 laps each at Mid Ohio. The teams, in an effort to continue on in this vein, are set to take the race tracks for a test at the Lime Rock location when the weekend’s race arrives, on Tuesday. The American Le Mans Northeast Grand Prix is slated to open Saturday at Series by noon. Coverage of the said event will be seen to by the CBS network. Those keen on catching it will be able to do so by tuning in at 10 o’clock in the morning, on Sunday. Ron Hornaday Jr. scored over Mike Skinner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race by finishing one spot ahead. This race ran at the Memphis Motorsports Park. In the end, Hornaday copped third place while Skinner got the fourth. In addition, Hornaday had also been able to competently chip away at a wee bit of Skinner’s lead in the Truck Series standings.

Hornaday who is a formor Saugus Speedway winner from the Palmdale, thus remains a fine step or two ahead.

With the favorable runs that Acura teams have garnered so far, a second win may in the bag already for these teams. A few quotes on the matter will convey some of the excitement along with the sheer determination and dedication that these team players have for the game.

DAVID BRABHAM (#9 Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-01a): “It was very exciting to win at Le Mans. I have been going there for 14 years and I finally got to the top of the podium. Now I would like to do it with our Highcroft Acura. I have been pleased with the performance of our Acura car. Winning the overall pole on the last lap of qualifying at Houston was exciting and gratifying. This Highcroft team is young as is the Acura sports car program. But this young team has really come together and we’re should be good at Lime Rock. We have been getting closer to a victory in recent races. I feel we have been making progress with every race. The Lime Rock circuit is tight and tough to pass. I expect a lot of wild action in ALMS race.”

STEFAN JOHANSSON (#9 Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-01a): “The new Acura chassis has improved with each race. We had a car to compete well at Houston. Winning the pole overall was a great boost for our young team. We had a tough break during a pit stop at Houston and that cost us some spots. It is still early in the season and the Acura program is only four races old. I see the Acura program continuing to improve and develop, just like the Highcroft team. I believe we’ll be more competitive in the next few races.”

BRYAN HERTA (#26 XM Satellite Radio AGR Acura ARX-01a): “We are still very excited from the Sebring win. But we are going from a grueling race on an airport circuit from a sprint race on a street course to a smooth, fast permanent circuit. That is quite a contrast. We have been fast so far this year and we have been close to winning other events. We lost by less than a half a second at Houston. It was a good race with the Penske Porsche. I think the Lime Rock race will be fun. That track is tight and fastlent. I think the new chassis — the ARX-01a — could be very competitive on that circuit. It would be fantastic to win again.”

MARIO FRANCHITTI (#26 XM Satellite Radio AGR Acura ARX-01a): “”I’m delighted to be racing the XM Satellite Radio Acura in Lime Rock. I’m very proud of the job that Andretti Green Racing and Acura have done producing a car that was capable of winning the Sebring 12 Hours. Bryan and I came close to winning the last race at Houston. So we are anxious to go to the Lime Rock track. Testing the XM car has been fun and educational and now I’m ready to go racing again. Dario has won several races this year and I’d like to win one with the XM Acura. Lime Rock would be a good place for victory”

ADRIAN FERNANDEZ (#15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura Lola): “The whole Le Mans experience was just fantastic. In our first visit here to start on [the LMP2] pole and finish second is just tremendous and I have to thank Lowe’s for giving us this opportunity. Everything we learned here is going to be extremely beneficial for the future. Unfortunately, we were not able to bring home the class win. The experience of Le Mans is completely different from anything else and, with the schedule the week of the race, it is definitely not easy on anyone — the mechanics, drivers, everyone. I think our Lowe’s Acura was fast at the Utah race and I expect the same at Lime Rock. The Lime Rock race will be a big contrast from the large Le Mans circuit. It should be a wild race on the tight Lime Rock track. I am looking forward to it.”

LUIS DIAZ (#15 Lowe’s Fernandez Acura Lola): “We had a very fast car in Utah. I think we can do that again at Lime Rock. Lime Rock is much different from Utah with the short, tight circuit. But our Lowe’s Acura has been getting better with eachrrace. I know Adrian and I are excited to go racing again after six weeks off from the American Le Mans Series. I think we have a good car for Lime Rock.”

The news is that Brabham, Le Mans winner, will go for the Lime Rock Win for the Local Acura Team.  This weekend, the Acura Assault is on its way to Connecticut at Lime Rock Park for the sixth American Le Mans Series racing event of the year 2007.

The Highcroft Racing of Danbury, CT, a local racing organization, leads the Acura three-car effort for the Northeast Grand Prix that is expected for Saturday, July 7, at 3in the afternoon. The even is said to happen on the widely known 1.54-mile, eight-turn road circuit that commemorates its 50th year of competition in 2007.

In its first year as a factory-supported Acura operation, Highcroft Racing comes to Lime Rock with an exceptional driving lineup. This includes recent winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, champ David Brabham. He constitutes the line up along with former Le Mans winner and Formula One star Stefan Johansson.  The team owner, Duncan Dayton, has been fielding sports car teams for the past five years with moderate success.

In 2007 though, Dayton made Danny Sullivan, former Indy 500 winner, as a senior advisor and a strong driver lineup to successfully compete in one of the world’s toughest sports car circuits, American Le Mans Series. On the one hand, Brabham scored his first Le Mans title in 14 tries two weeks ago. Johansson, already a past Le Mans and 12 Hours of Sebring champion, was behind the wheels for a number of Ferrari cars. In addition, he also drove McLaren in F1 and is known to be a great team leader.

Also expected to compete in the Highcroft Racing effort at Lime Rock for Acura will be the Andretti Green team. The drivers will be Bryan Herta as well as Marino Franchitti. The latter is the younger brother of Dario Franchitti, who is an Indy 500 winner. Other teams also include the Lowe’s Fernandez squad that brings along Mexican stars Adrian Fernandez and Luis Diaz at the major control seats.

Bagging first, second as well as fourth at the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Acura sports car teams–after leading off the 2007 ALMS campaign with an impressive debut of first—have had to win against the Penske Porsches for the LPM2 class victory as well as the overall win in the streets at St. Petersburg, Long Beach and Houston.

Sadly, all of the three races resulted into no other wins for Acura. This was with regards to the initial sports car season. Still, the Porsches as well as the more-powerful Audi cars are very much aware of the fact that the Acura teams are once again ready for another Victory Lane celebration. Herta lost by less than half a second at Houston.

Another Acura winner’s circle celebration in the LMP2 class could come as soon as this Saturday at 3 p.m. in the Northeast Grand Prix.

In truth, all three Acura squads have been quite ready for the three street events. Their failure to land the victory lane spots has been due to minimal problems that all teams–Andretti Green Racing, Lowe’s Fernandez Racing as well as Highcroft Racing—are expected to take care of soon.

In the renowned Sebring contest, Herta, Tony Kanaan and Dario Franchitti won in Acura’s initial race this year in the No. 26 XM Satellite Radio Acura ARX-01a. In addition, Dario also bagged the overall pole position at Long Beach. He led for over an hour in the street classic after that.

Brabham scored Acura’s second straight overall pole by taking the No. 9 Highcroft Racing Acura ARX-01a to the top spot in Houston qualifying. A small pit stop problem cost Brabham and his teammate Stefan Johansson a shot at the class title. Fernandez and Diaz nearly come home with top prize at St. Petersburg.

Now, the three Acura lineups take on the tight Lime Rock, set to secure a second win.