Acura (Page 15)

The Torrance, Calif.-based luxury arm of Japanese carmaker Acura has added free roadside assistance and iPhone digital services to its AcuraLink service.

Acura and American Honda Motor Co. both recorded sales increases for October, giving the Japanese car companies impetus to turn the corner toward healthy profits heading into 2012.

The 2012 Acura RL will have an impressive list of standard features, such as a 3.7L V-6 engine with VTEC valvetrain operation, Super Handling All-Wheel Drive, sleek aerodynamic body, leather interior, power moonroof, Bose audio system and even more. The 2012 Acura RL will be extremely competitive luxury sedan as it will deliver exceptional luxury, style and performance.

U.S. shoppers are using "bridge-the-gap" car leasing in greater numbers than ever before, according to the Web site LeaseTrader.com. “Bridge-the-gap” leasing is auto industry parlance for people taking over someone else’s remaining short-term car lease until dealer inventory levels return to normal so when they do they can buy the car they want to own.

Acura today added a new model and held the line on prices for its entry-level TSX family of cars, with a $200 MSRP increase per auto. Prices range from $29,810 for the bare-bones 2012 Acura TSX sports sedan to $34,810 for the tech-driven 2012 TSX Sport Wagon with Technology Package. Both 2012 cars are available now in showrooms.

Acura is continuing to lose ground as its car and truck sales plunged steeply in August compared with year-ago numbers. The luxury marque moved only 9,054 vehicles out of U.S. showrooms last month. It was a drop of 24.5%.

The Acura TSX Special Edition will have different body styling and an upgraded interior, but won't come with the optional V6.

Acura is expecting a rise in sales this month as production shortages caused by the spring earthquakes and tsunami in Japan ease. Assembly of all models in Japan, including the best-selling MDX sport-utility vehicle, is going full blast.

Some folks are born to the racetrack and others find themselves there by a less direct route. Driving the latest automotive models about a track designed by, operated for and maintained in the interests of regional car and motorcycle-racing clubs is a rare opportunity for many in the automotive media. High Plains Raceway is just such a place under an hour East of Denver, where the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press provided track time for those attending the second annual Rocky Mountain Driving Experience this week.

According to multiple sources, cyber criminals have hacked into the Honda Canada customer database, giving the hackers access to the personal information of over 283,000 Canadian Honda owners.

Honda has issued a new recall of 833,000 vehicles to address an airbag issue – all of which have had their airbag system replaced due to problems or collision repairs - to address the same issues that accounted for the airbag recalls from 2008-2010.

The 2012 Acura TL sedan is scheduled to make its grand debut tomorrow at the media opening of the 2011 Chicago Auto Show but today, the luxury brand of Honda teased the back end of the new TL.

Thanks to a strong presence in China, Nissan has passed Honda in total global sales.

Acura is a little late to this whole Facebook phenomenon but better late than ever as it launches a contest aimed at serious athletes to win a 2011 Acura TSX Sport Wagon.

New Honda and Acura owners got a late Christmas present last week when the automaker announced that hackers had accessed a company customer database, stealing information to 2.2 million Honda owners and 2.7 million Acura owners.