Search the Community

Acura formally debuted its SUV-X design concept at the Shanghai Motor Show - a global concept vehicle for a small SUV that is targeted mainly for the Chinese market. This is the first in Acura's 27-year long history, it has globally introduced a new concept outside of North America. Emotional and sharp styling and driving performance, together with the environmental performance of a small vehicle and excellent utility of an SUV are all fused together at a high level in this vehicle. Acura is planning to begin local production and sales in China of a mass-production model based on this concept vehicle for its market in about the next three years. Sadly no technical details were unveiled. "We are planning to produce the mass-production model of the Acura Concept SUV-X locally in China. With the hope that our Chinese customers will more closely feel the values offered from Acura, we will begin preparing for the start of the local production. In China, where dynamic growth continues, both Acura and Honda will keep up our efforts to enhance products and technologies that will offer new joys of mobility to our customers," said Takanobu Ito, President & CEO of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. On top of the SUV-X design concept, the Chinese market Acura RLX was also announced. The RLX is a luxury flagship sedan which will go on sale in China in June 2013. Excellent manoeuvrability and comfort are pursued through the adoption of a number of advanced technologies including a newly developed 3.5-litre SOHC i-VTEC V6 engine and Precision All-Wheel Steer - the world's first technology to achieve both outstanding turning performance and vehicle stability. The well received next generation NSX concept was also on display which made its debut at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in January.

The usage of aluminium on cars has been rather rife lately. Benefits of using the lightweight material are downright obvious. It does not only reduce the vehicle's weight which offers better fuel economy, but it also improves the vehicle's dynamics. Engineers at Acura (Honda's luxury vehicle division) have come up with a new way of joining steel and aluminium. This new method is said to be a much simpler process compared to traditional methods. The essential part of this new method is the "3D Lock Seam" structure. The steel and aluminium parts are layered and hemmed together twice and this prevents them from detaching. The new method also uses a special adhesive that completely fills any gaps which will prevent from any corrosion. Acura has started using this new method on its 2014 RLX model (pictured above) which features aluminium panels welded to steel parts. This has helped to reduce around 17 percent of weight per door, compared to traditional welding methods. Weight reduction on the outer part of the vehicle brings the point of gravity closer towards the centre of the vehicle which improves stability. The new method also reduces the need for spot welding processes. This new joining process will eventually be used onto other models, including those in Honda's line-up. Image credit: Honda/Acura