Team Acura Parts Blog

Many luxury vehicles available nowadays, like the STS, A6 and BMW 5-Series, offer V8s as well as 6-cylinder power plants.  Even if this is the case, Acura chose not to equip their Acura RL with the V8. This is because according to Acura officials, although the presence of a V8 engine can help a luxury car’s image, the said engine’s presence in a luxury sedan only amounts to an addition of only 15 percent in the actual sales.

The people in Acura believe the RL’s V6 engine has more power than the 6-cylinder power plants of the 255 horsepower STS, the 255 horsepower of A6 and the 184 or 255 horsepower of the BMW 5 Series sedans. For this reason, the RL’s 2008 engine remains a 3.5-liter 60-degree V6. But it takes on a new design and has the capacity to develop 75 more horsepower than the 6-cylinder in the RL of 2004.

Aside from this, the 2008 RL engine’s torque is up. It has around 260 lb-ft at 5000 rpm and can be compared with the 231 lb-ft at 2800 rpm speed in the predecessor RL. The new RL is heavier than the old one. This is due to the addition of the all-wheel-drive as well as other new features. The RL 2008’s curb weight is now nearly 4,000 pounds.

The RL’s 2008 new engine, although it is not a V8, it moved the RL powerfully. The engine sounds good and refined. It doesn’t give off sounds that it doesn’t have enough power to move the car because it doesn’t. It can move the RL just fine. Acura never sets a compromise when it comes to vehicle performance.

The interior of the Acura RL 2008 is especially made in order to provide comfort to the passengers. Most Acura RL 2008 users have found its interior to be pampering and pretty. The seats have perforated leather on them and there are nice-looking wood trim present. As for the audio system, it features surround sound qualities that provides excellent sounds.

At night, the Acura RL 2008 features a soft bluish light that illuminates its floor mats. These lights as well as the map lights join forces in offering a welcoming vehicle interior. There is also a pale blue light that shines down on the center console, and the instrument gauges are also equipped with a blue light that seems to spring from the center of each one.

Aside from these, the Acura RL 2008 has seats and storage room that is deemed to best fit the needs of Acura RL users.
Seats

* Rear Bench Seat With Power Adjustable Headrests and Fold-Down Armrest
* Driver Power Seat Adjusts 8 Ways Total
* Front Passenger Power Seat Adjusts 4 Ways Total
* Rear Seat Pass Through
* Front Dual Power Lumbar Support
* Front Dual Heated Bucket Seats With 2-Settings, Driver Adjustable Seat Height, 2-Position Driver Power Memory and Adjustable Headrests
* Leather Seats

Storage

* Covered Lower Console Storage Located On Floor
* Cargo Area Tiedowns
* Coinholder
* 2 Front and 2 Rear; 4 Cupholders Total
* Front Dual Door Mounted Storage
* Illuminated and Lockable Glovebox
* Front Dual Seatback Storage Pockets
* Rear Locking Storage

Losing one’s car keys has always been a perennial problem for vehicle users. To help solve this problem, the Acura RL has come up with the “no-key entry” feature. This feature can be seen from all Acura RL models since its introduction in 2005. With this “no-key entry” feature from Acura, vehicle owners no longer need keys not only in opening their Acura RL but also in starting their cars.

The Acura RL has keyless access that means all a driver has to do is have the keyless fob with him or her. He or she can have it inside his or her pocket, purse or in his or her hand. With the keyless fob, the driver then just walks up to the car and with a touch of the door handle, the car door is instructed to open. This feature saves Acura RL users the hassle of taking such good care of the car keys. Aside from this, the abovementioned feature is also helpful during rainy days since the driver can have an easy entry to the vehicle. He or she no longer has to fumble with the keys and get wet in the process.

Along with this no-key entry feature, the Acura RL does not need a key to start. Unlike other vehicles, there is no usual ignition key present in the Acura RL. On the other hand, the RL has what looks like a stump of a key that’s permanently in the dashboard. This stump of a key, also known as fob, needs to be turned as one would turn a key. In the event that the fob should fail, RL users need not worry for Acura has designed a backup plan in case this happens. A mechanical key is also made available for the RL. It just serves as a backup and a good safety net in case fob failure happens.

In reference to the results of last Friday’s qualifying grid in the LMP2 class for this Saturday’s famed Road America’s Generac 500 race, the top Acura racecar drivers were interviewed for comments. David Brabham raced to third-best, and closely followed by Marino Franchitti who grabbed no.4 spot.

DAVID BRABHAM: “We were pretty much out to lunch on Thursday. But today we made a lot of progress with the Highcroft Acura. I’m very pleased with the way it ended up today. The car really became better as the day went on for us. We have a bigger window for us to push with the suspension now and that was a key for the team. You can place the car where you want now. That is a big improvement. We haven’t really tested here like some of the other teams. So, we are a little behind in that regard. I think Stefan and I are ready for the race after today. The Highcroft crew has given us a good car for Saturday.”

MARINO FRANCHITTI: “Overall, I think I got all I could out of the car. The last three laps were the fastest and we tried very hard on the last one. I slid into the gravel trap. I would have liked to have finished that one. But that was about all she had right now. We’re in the top four and hopefully, we can give the fight to the Porsches on Saturday. I think that Bryan, myself and the whole Andretti Green XM Satellite team have done a good job getting the car ready for today. We improved the car quite a bit from Thursday. I think we have a good car for the race. We’d like to get back up on the podium here.”

Acura’s top racing drivers, David Brabham and Stefan Johnson, suffered through a rough testing session last Thursday, a day before the qualifying class for Saturday’s Generac 500 race. Brabham’s Acura racing car, a no. 9 Highcroft Acura ARX-01a sports car, was calculated to be two and a half seconds behind the pace of their Porsche rival.

However, the team was able to successfully treat the understeer problem, and by Friday of the qualifying, Brabham was already able to lower his lap times, and to set the third-fastest time among the rest of the other teams.

Brabham, sharing the race with Johansson, posted a lap time of 1 minute, 49.767 seconds on the 14-turn track. First and second placers are from the Porsche teams, Romain Dumas and Ryan Briscoe. In the 20-minute session race, Brabham was even able to take the lead for a while with a 1:49.973 reading before settling for third. The four-hour Generac 500 is set to start this Saturday, 4:00 in the afternoon.

Trailing at the no.4 spot is another Acura representative from the Andretti Green Racing, Marino Franchitti. Franchitti and his No. 26 XM Satellite Radio Acura ARX-01a posted a lap time of 1:50.100. Franchitti was also quick in the early segments of the LMP2 qualifying grid, but encountered a slight off-course excursion. Franchitti would be partnering with Sebring winner Bryan Herta on Saturday’s race.

As the next generation Honda Accord is nearing its release next year, more and more queries are being thrown in the Honda Management. One of which is the possibility of the new Accord to utilize a hybrid variant. Honda complied with the public’s interest in issuing a statement, fervently denying that such a feature would be ingrained in their new generation model.

Honda asserted, though, that its latest unit will be replacing the existing hybrid with a clean diesel engine, introduced as the 2.2 liter i-CTDi. Along with that, Honda is also busy designing another V6 diesel engine that would overtake the features of their existing types.

In relation with that, the Japanese newspaper Nikkei has divulged of Honda’s plans to incorporate either one or even both of these in-demand and highly-performing engines into its Acura fleet of models.

This would definitely increase Acura’s chances in the automotive market. Currently, Acura is still one of those models without no hybrids or diesels in its system. And as the car trend nowadays is for vehicles to promote environmental safety and enlist in the green motoring bandwagon, Acura is left to struggle with other luxury cars who are offering the greener alternative.

Among the existing models of Acura, strong contenders for the V6 diesel can be the Acura TL, Acura RL, or Acura RDX. It would be all the more better if Honda aspires for every one of the three units.

Acura dealerships ranked top of its class in a 2007 survey pertaining to prospect satisfaction. The survey was under the banner of the Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index (SM) Auto Industry Study, which is an industry-first analysis on how consumers are treated when shopping for a new automobile, specifically a new car, truck, or the popular sports utility vehicle. This independent study interviewed and evaluated shopping experiences of the buying public relative to all major automotive brands, and covered a staggering number of 1,592 dealerships nationwide.

Following Acura’s lead in the survey as the second placer is Land Rover. Saturn cinches the no.3 spot, then followed by Jaguar, Volkswagen, and Nissan. Nineteen other brands were passed above the industry average, while twelve brands failed in a below industry average rating.

Fran O’Hagen, President of Pied Piper Management Co., LLC., has this to say in reference to the said study: “Pied Piper PSI results show that it is possible for automobile salespeople to effectively ask for the sale without seemingly either overbearing or ambivalent.” The statement serves to censure the olden and notorious means of too-aggressive marketing methods employed by salespeople, and at the same time reaffirms that majority of the players in the industry have disposed of such schemes and are now making use of effective and selling techniques.

Based on the statistics conclusion, the typical sales team would keenly offer a brochure 66% of the time, offer a test drive 89% of the time, would request for clientele contact information 83% of the time, and would inquire about the sale 75% of the time. The survey’s top brand winners all produced excellent rating performance in these categories, and the no.1 in each class only just leading by mere percentage margins. Some specified results indicate that Saturn salespeople were the ones most likely to offer a test drive, the Lexus team is the one most likely to request for contact details, and a list of others.

However, there is one category that needs further improvement from most of the sales team, and that is in providing the client compelling reasons to buy from their specific dealership. According to the survey, an average of only 51% amongst the team is religiously practicing this sales technique.

This is how Acura bagged the no.1 spot in the survey. The Acura salespeople have done excellently in all the technique categories, including leading the pack in terms of giving the prospects persuasive reasons to buy from their particularly dealership, in which the other sales team scored lowly points. The survey concludes that among all the brands in the market, the Acura salespeople brought out the overall best dealership and marketing techniques in taking proper care of the consumers

The 2007 Pied Piper Prospect Satisfaction Index (SM) Auto Industry Study was conducted between the periods of April 2007 to June 2007 only. The sources used were anonymous shopper evaluations at 1,592 dealerships nationwide in the United States.

After a sensational win in the 2007 12-race American Le Mans Series (ALMS) road racing’s season opener, aptly called the 12 hours of Sebring, the three new Acura teams have build quite a solid first season and are hoping to maintain the lead. These brilliant Acura sports car teams include the Andretti Green Racing, Highcroft Racing, and Lowe’s Fernandez Racing.

And now with the Generac 500 race at Road America, the 8^th race in the series, coming this Saturday, Acura officials are quite hopeful to cinch another victory under its belt. This may be Acura’s debut season in this road racing campaign, but the company made sure to bring its top racing units, together with an equally-superior lineup of Acura drivers.

Robert Clarke, President of the Honda Performance Development stated: “Winning the first race at Sebring, with Andretti Green in the LMP2 class and second overall, was quite an accomplishment for the new Acura program. We would like to win another race this year. When you win the season opener, you feel that you can win some races. But we were realistic about the 2007 season. We weren’t looking for on-track results. This was a learning year for us with the Acura program and the three Acura teams. The Porsches are very fast. So it is tough.”

With regards to the upcoming race in Road America that is worth four miles, Clark is quite positive on the chances of Acura’s chosen squads: “At Road America, overall speed is important and I think we have the power to be very competitive. We are not really in the championship battle this year. Learning the series and sports car racing in general was the goal in 2007 for Acura.”

Acura has just declared its July sales records in the United States, with some models in a decline, while most are significantly surpassing previous year’s sales results.

Acura Division sales went down to 17.7 percent to 14,381. Acura’s year-to-date sales, on the other hand, reached to 105,921 units, which is an 8.0 percent decline as compared to the previous year.

Additionally, the TL luxury performance sedan took out 4,721 units this month, emerging with a TL total sales for the year to 35,756 models.

Acura’s luxury SUV fleet led to a more positive revenue outcome, as the merged SUV sales set a July record of 6,332, surpassing the 2005’s withstanding July record of 5,499. The Acura MDX can be considered as the month’s top winner amongst the Acura models, recording sales up to 4,949 units, which is a 7.3 percent increase versus that of July 2006. The year-to-date MDX sales reached to 31,976 models, a 9.3 percent increase for the year. Another Acura model, the RDX, led to a July Sales of 1,383 units, with a year-to-date sales amounting to 13,666.

Dick Colliver, Executive Vice President in Sales, is pleased with the result of the SUV July sales, and commented: “July was a hot month for Acura SUVs as we posted our eleventh consecutive month of record on light truck sales. We anticipate that sales of the MDX and RDX will continue to sizzle well into the summer.”

Following the aftermath of the disappointing postponement of the Acura brand launching in Japan as well as the delay of the much-awaited new Acura NSX, there seems to be another Acura model guardedly being lined-up, this time as part of the non-CUV category.

A series of spy shots in the California desert, and in the middle of the night no less, reveals a mystery Acura sedan being tested and experimented. With what can be observed regarding its frame, the large size of this Acura vehicle seems to lean more as the new TL version. It can also pass as an Acura RL, but all those night-testing seems too early to carry out when industry sources assert that the new Acura RL isn’t due until 2010 or 2011. And as the Acura TL is hyped for public viewing on the nearer year of 2009, it is more than likely that this is its prototype.

Based on the limited view and angle shots, it would appear as a Sports model kind, what with a seemingly mesh grille and performance-geared wheels. It would also appear that this mystery Acura sedan will get a more curving greenhouse than any Acura model available in the market today, as the roofline sweeps slickly from the A-pillar into a steeply raked C-pillar.

More than the mysterious night-tests that whets the curiosity, it is Honda’s trademark for excellence and quality vehicles that makes this new Acura model something to watch out for. Let’s just hope that it doesn’t duplicate the preparation length of the redesigned Acura NSX.