Acura's New RLAcura hasn't given up on the RL, and the next one is a vast improvement. The prototype RL shown at the New York Auto Show is a spot-on preview of the production car and features a new version of Honda's 3.5-liter V6 making a stout 300 hp and powering an all-wheel-drive system that Acura calls, rather arrogantly, the Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive System, or SH-AWD. Acura claims up to 100 percent of the rear torque can go to the wheel with traction.
Other RL elements include a five-speed automatic transaxle with shifting that can be actuated by steering wheel paddles, really big brakes, front lights that track with the steering, and an all-independent suspension shod with 20-inch wheels and 255/35R-20 Michelins. For the electro-dweebs out there, the most intriguing bit may be the navigation system that incorporates satellite-updated traffic reports so the driver can optimize routing or just decide to stay home.
This is a fine-looking, handsome vehicle built around a new structure that Acura says will be safer and stiffer than ever. It doesn't have to do much to be more exciting than its immediate predecessor, but will that be enough to drag buyers out of their Mercedes?
Turbo Scion tCUnwilling to wait for the car to actually go on sale, Performance Dealer Options already had a turbocharged version of the Scion tC on display at SEMA's International Auto Salon in Los Angeles last April. Sometimes impatience can be at least an interesting thing.
First, the tC looks like a natural when it comes to accommodating oversize wheels and tires and an intercooler. In this case, the intercooler feeds a Turbonetics T3/T4E turbo controlled by an Evolution wastegate and Raptor blow-off valve. PDO isn't making any claims for the turbo installation yet, beyond, of course, more than the normal 160-hp output of the tC's 2.4-liter, DOHC, VVTi four.
Beyond being blown, this tC features Tein coil-overs which lower the car a bit, Wilwood oversize 13-inch front brakes, and a set of Deep Racing D5R wheels wrapped in 225/35R-18 front and 245/35R-18 rear Toyo Proxes T1-S tires.
Citron Re-Armshile the World Rally Championship has its problems (manufacturers dropping out, rising expenses, Finnish drivers with silly dots over the 30 vowels in their first names), the Peugeot and Citron teams have been claiming the rallying world for France. At the Geneva Auto Show, Citron indicated that it's only going to be tougher in the future.
Citron's current rally weapon is based on the compact Xsara (see page 163). This car, the C4 Citron Sport, previews both the replacement for the Xsara WRC car and the production successor to the Xsara which is likely to be called... the C4. Citroen has been moving to alphanumeric names since the introduction of the larger C5, and the C4 will follow the C2 minicar and dang small C3 into the market. The C4 shares its basic structure with its corporate stablemate the Peugeot 307 and the 307 is, yup, the base upon which Peugeot's rally machine is based.
The C4 is, like so many current French production cars, dang attractive and it ought to look fine pounding along the planet's cow trails. In WRC form, expect it to mimic the 307 in specification with a 2.0-liter four pressurized to near shrapnel-producing levels, all-wheel drive and as much technology as the French four-day work week and two-hour, wine-soaked lunches will allow.
The C4 WRC car should appear in competition next year.
Rumors&Lies* Saturn will get a version of the Pontiac Solstice, but it won't be the Curve coupe seen at the Detroit Auto Show. Instead, it's likely to be a rebadged version of the Vauxhall VX roadster, which has been shown in concept form.
* Audi is on the verge of bringing its A3 hatchback to the U.S. market. It may show up in S3 form.
* Club Motorsports has finalized plans for its road course/country club and Valley Motorsports Park in Tamworth, N.H., and begun construction. This thing is starting to look like a reality. More info is at www.clubmotorsports.com.
* Ford is looking at building Volvos in China. Szechuan Swedish meatballs will be served.
* BMW is working on a series of turbocharged engines to power various regular production and M Series vehicles in the future. The first car to show up here with a turbo may be an M2 coupe based on the upcoming 1 Series sedan that will have a blown 2.0-liter four making nearly 300 hp aboard.
* Cadillac is eyeing GM's Kappa (Pontiac Solstice) platform as the basis for a smaller roadster to sell alongside the XLR. If such a car is green lighted, expect it to be the first Kappa to be powered by a V6 engine.
The Love Of MothersSEMA's International Auto Salon (IAS) was a perfect place for Mothers Polishes to announce the two winners of its inaugural Top Tuner Award for builders of, you guessed it, tuner cars.
In the consumer category, the award went to Seth Rowan and his 1992 Acura NSX. The radical NSX is almost completely cloaked in a carbon-fiber body and has been thoroughly savaged in the suspension, driveline and interior departments as well.
Meanwhile, over in the manufacturer category the prize went to a 2004 Scion xB from Five Axis. Essentially an xB turned into a full-on club-spec DJ station, it was about as radical as a Scion could be without being strapped to the top of a Titan IV booster and sent into geosynchronous orbit.
Mothers designated two separate classes of Top Tuner to even the playing field. "Consumer-built cars have virtually no chance of competing against the limitless resources of manufacturer-built cars," asserts Ken Holland, the director of marketing for Mothers. "Seth's NSX is a perfect example. He puts all his money, time and energy into his Acura. It is a truly amazing car. But to pit his vehicle against a manufacturer-built car with corporate funding would hardly be fair." Judging for the awards was the responsibility of an independent panel of aftermarket experts.
The Top Tuner Awards will be awarded every year as a supplement to the Shine Awards that Mothers distributes at the SEMA show. Info is naturally online at www.mothers.com and they maintain in-depth car care tips at www.DetailGuide.com and www.WaxForum.com
A Little LincolnWith Cadillac ascendent and Lexus, Infiniti, BMW and Mercedes now filling every product niche possible, Lincoln is feeling itself squeezed on every end of the luxury spectrum. Can a smaller Lincoln lead it to new success? The 2006 Lincoln Zephyr debuted at April's New York Auto Show and besides being the smallest Lincoln (about the size of an Audi A4) since Abraham himself was in training pants, it's also the best looking.
Based on the same front-drive platform that lies underneath the Mazda 6 and what-was-going-to-be-the-Ford-Futura, the new Zephyr's basic mechanical elements are firmly planted between ho and hum. The powerplant will be a 3.0-liter version of the ubiquitous Duratec V6, this time carrying variable valve timing on the intake side. The transmission is a six-speed automatic and all-wheel drive will be offered eventually.
But it's the looks, obviously drawing inspiration from the classic '61 Lincoln Continental, which will be this car's doing or undoing. Truthfully, the interior looks even better than the exterior. Dramatically lit and featuring a large center console, the interior takes Lincoln design up somewhere between six and 17 notches.
Expect the Zephyr to hit showrooms sometime next year. We expect a lot of Civics, Supras and AE86s will soon be flooding Lincoln dealers as trade-ins. Or, maybe not.
WebsideLong before there was an Internet there were cars. You may have heard of them. And these cars were cool even before they carried on-board computers. Keep that in mind as you read this month's "Webside" that travels back to the childhoods of those who write this column. If there's a site out there that expresses your automotive childhood, tell us at SCCNews@Primedia.com.