What? Is AutoblogGreen Serious? Is Acura Serious?

Is Acura really going to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Audi & Peugeot in the high-stakes game of international prototype racing?

Beats me, but if they do, this could get real interesting.

First off it fits in with a framework of what Honda has done in the past: use its racing endeavors in the pursuit of technological solutions to production car problems. Honda’s VTEC valve-train was first seen on their turbocharged F1 engines back in 88 and when first making into into a street car, VTEC was first deployed in their most fuel efficient Civic available, and was marketed as a a device that would improve mileage.

And if these rumors are true, Acura is not fooling around. At the Detroit show this past January, American Honda EVP John Mendel said that the company was evaluating a diesel for the race program. Acura also announced that they would launch a clean diesel in the U.S. market in 2009. Also in January Gil De Ferran (2-time IndyCar champion) said that he would launch a new ALMS team this year, fielding the Acura ARX-01B starting with the Long Beach Grand Prix in April.

There’s even bigger possibilities here than no one has mentioned, but you’d think that Acura (and parent Honda) sure as hell would be considering them. If you race in any of the classes here for the ALMS, then you’re also spec’d to race at Le Mans itself. To me, it’s not outside the realm of possibilities that running a diesel in the ALMS would be a great proving ground before heading onto the world stage that is the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Second Press Conference of the 2008 Chicago Auto Show is Acura, who unveiled the all-new 2009 Acura RL. While not particularly attractive (looks like a BMW in the rear and has Subaru headlights,) we get an all-new 3.7L V6 engine producing more power, SH-AWD, and some fancy new features like traffic rerouting and weather on the new GPS system.

Acura plans to show off this new design style in the 2009 TSX and TL later this year.

Live Coverage: 2008 Chicago Auto Show

“We want to rival Bentley and Maybach in performance and design,” says Dave Marek, chief designer for Honda R&D Americas. We wonder if this has something to do with the recent delay of Acura’s NSX replacement, which was last know to be the Advanced Sports Car Concept. Acura has been tooling around with designs for the new NSX, including my favorite, the HSC:

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We have to sell our Acura RSX

It’s a 2003, black-on-black leather, tiptronic tranny, excellent condition.

Please go to the RSX For Sale page for more details and more pictures.

While the 2007 Chicago Auto Show was altogether a great time (see Part 1 and Part 2 of my reviews,) there were a few things that I was disappointed about. Just like every year, there were cars that I was hoping to see and weren’t there, but of course there were some surprises that made up for the shortcomings. Here are some of the things that I wish were at the show but weren’t:

I was expecting Infiniti to display the next G35 Coupe as they did last year, but it was nowhere to be found. When I spoke with an Infiniti representative, he said they will be revealing the final production version at the New York Auto Show in April, and that it will be going on sale later this year for the 2008 model year. It’s going on sale earlier than I thought, so the fact that it wasn’t there is totally worth it.

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I just received my press pass in the mail today for the Chicago Auto Show! Man, this really snuck up on me. I can’t believe the show is only a few days away! With everything ready to go, there are some more cars that will be there that I’m really excited about, and I would like to share a few with you. Please also see my first post on cool cars that will be there.

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