2013 Acura ILX Is The Brand's Hail Mary Pass: 2012 Chicago Auto Show
In a forthcoming review of Steve Lynch’s book “ Arrogance and Accords“, you’ll see that Acura was doomed from the start by inept management and internal politics that relegated the worst of American Honda’s corrupt to a division that needed its best players. On the other hand, they had the Integra, a wildly popular sedan that sold well – at the expensive of its prestige and Acura’s brand equity. Hoping to re-capture some of that magic is the ILX.
You already know that the ILX, like the Integra, uses a Civic platform, with the 2.4L 200-horsepower Civic Si motor and a 6-speed gearbox, a 150 horsepower 2.0L 4-cylinder with a 5-speed automatic and the Civic Hybrid’s 1.5L IMA powertrain. The hybrid will return 35/38 mpg, the 2.0L will get 24/32 mpg and the 2.4L will get 20/29 mpg. The ILX’s press photos don’t show the most dramatic angle – the extremely truncated rear deck that looks a bit like the Chevy Sonic sedan. It is, dare we say, ZDX-like when viewed from the side, although the C-Pillar is not as steeply angled. The new NSX cannot come soon enough.
More by Derek Kreindler
Comments
Join the conversation
I actually like this, and can't fault Honda or Acura for bucking the trend of increasingly-outrageous styling for every successive generation of model they build. Some people just like a nice, handsome, dignified, understated-looking car. Hardly anyone save Honda seem to understand this. I'm not sure how well it will sell, but this is a statement to everyone out there who's sick of all the flash-in-a-pan: Acura hears you. Here's a car that just looks like...a CAR.
I think Acura was like the Japanese BMW. It competed against Lexus (M-B) and Infiniti (Audi) but was sportier and more performance oriented. To me the only Acura that makes sense to buy is the MDX. Think about it. A well equipped TL is Touching MDX territory. The RL and ZDX are jokes. The TSX is like an A4, but without AWD, same price, which makes it inferior.