Filed under: Concept Cars, Etc., Acura, Military, Celebrities, Specialty
Move over, Batmobile, and make room in the geekosphere for the latest comic book superhero ride.
Acura, as you may be aware, signed a multi-picture deal with Marvel to have its cars featured in a raft of superhero movies. The Japanese luxury brand's cars were there at the end of
Captain America, they were there in
Thor, and they'll be there in full force in the highly anticipated upcoming superhero spectacular,
The Avengers.
Most prominent of these will be the
NSX-like roadster Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) has been
spotted driving on set, but that won't be the extent of it for the Honda brand. Feast your eyes on the MDX which Acura has prepared for the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division - the fictitious government agency that brings the gang together.
The S.H.I.E.L.D.
MDX with the Sentinel Package is, according to its
ficticious Monroney, packs the same Palladium-powered titanium engine, nine-speed transmission and diamond quartz brakes as the Stark roadster, albeit packed into a more capacious form. It's got an aerial drone stored in a briefcase in the back, a cloaking device, bulletproof body, repulsor cannon and advanced targeting system.
So what would a fictitious vehicle like this set you back? MSRP (with destination and Sentinel package) is pegged at a nearly $6 million. Suck on that,
Bugatti Veyron.
Acura MDX ready to S.H.I.E.L.D. the Avengers from harm originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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In the world of luxury SUV’s, the Acura MDX doesn’t quite grab the amount of attention most car magazines devote to its BMW and Mercedes competition-which is unfortunate. The MDX, Acura’s first serious attempt at an SUV debuted as a 2001 model. The second, and current generation MDX went on sale as a 2007, and in 2010 was treated to an exterior refresh to closer tie in to the rest of the Acura line, as well as a new engine. So while the competition grabs the headlines, we at The Garage were interested in how Acura’s Canadian-made MDX holds up. Read on to find out!
Taken as a whole, the MDX is a handsome, if somewhat unassuming vehicle with one obvious exception-the angular front end with the buck-tooth grille. Critics for years have lauded Acuras as fine automobiles that looked good but lacked a cohesive design language. Acura has apparently taken that sentiment to heart, as that nose is shared across the Acura line. If anything, you know an MDX when it is coming towards you. And while the sharply angled nose may not suit everyone, there is no denying the high quality construction. One particular highlight of the exterior were the beautifully designed 19″ wheels, which come as part of the Advance Package.
Inside, the MDX provides a welcoming cabin. Build quality and the standard of materials are absolutely what one would expect from Acura, but after a week with the MDX, it felt more like an extraordinarily equipped Honda than a bona-fide luxury SUV. What I wanted from being inside the MDX was to feel…special, and I simply did not get that sense. The lack of “oohs and aahs” from occupants seemed to confirm this. The Acura was flawless on an out of state weekend trip with my family, and seat comfort cannot be faulted. The high number of buttons on the center stack may be off-putting at first, but at no time was I unable to quickly adjust climate, nav, or stereo settings when needed.
All MDX’s share one powertrain, a 3.7L V-6 rated at 300hp-Acura’s most powerful engine ever (the same powerplant is used in the RL sedan), teamed to a six-speed automatic with paddle shifters. All MDX’s use Acura’s Super Handling All-Wheel Drive system, which can adjust power delivery from the front to rear, and between the rear wheels for better handling. The new for 2010 V-6 is, as one would expect from Acura, silky smooth. Acceleration is about what you would expect from a high-end V-6 SUV, but the turbocharged Cadillac SRX we tested felt more explosive in passing situations. With fuel economy ratings of 16/21mpg city/highway, the MDX is in line with the competition. As for handling, the MDX was excellent, feeling smaller than it was. From the driver’s seat, you would never guess you were driving a vehicle with three rows of seating.
The 2011 Acura MDX starts at $42,580, and comes standard with XM Radio, power heated front seats, power tailgate and power moonroof. Our test MDX also included the Tech Package, which adds navigation, voice recognition, multi-view rear camera, surround sound stereo and three-zone climate control. Also added was the Advance Package, giving you the Active Damper System, Collision Mitigation Braking System, ventilated leather sport seats, adaptive cruise control, the 19″ alloys we adored, and auto-leveling xenon HID headlights. Finally, for the kiddies the MDX has the Entertainment Package, featuring DVD rear entertainment with 9″ screens, wireless headphones, and heated rear seats. Final tally of our fully loaded MDX was $54,965USD, including delivery.
The Acura MDX has its own unique corner of the premium-SUV market. In considering the car, I was reminded of the student I’m sure we all had in our class-the guy who earned excellent grades, excelled on the athletic field, with a reputation as a friendly, trusting, approachable fellow. Those buyers seeking a premium SUV that goes for class over flash will take well the MDX’s demeanor, so it is no surprise it is Acura’s best selling vehicle in the US. And how does it stack up against the competition? Its most obvious rival is the Lexus RX, which outsells the Acura 2:1. While the Lexus may offer more panache and recognition at the country club, the Acura has a third row seat, which you cannot have on the Lexus. As for a BMW X5 or Mercedes ML-Class, you would spend a fortune more to have a vehicle equipped as our MDX was. But if the satisfaction of the competence, comfort, and handling performance of a premium ‘ute are all you desire without announcing on a megaphone you have “made it” to the neighbors, The Acura MDX is a must-see on your shopping list.
I like technology, and if it makes for safer driving, I’m all for it. While I applaud the efforts automakers make to keep us protected in our cars, I confess to being skeptical of how useful some of that technology actually is. Case in point? Blind spot monitoring. My first experience with this safety feature was in a Mazda6 and I was not impressed. The system was so sensitive on the highway I opted to deactivate it because it would not stop going off. I dismissed the option as a waste of money and useless.
Maybe it was a kink. But when technology is done properly, it works. Case in point. I have a 2011 Acura MDX for the week. I drove my wife and son to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to have an early Christmas last weekend. The MDX was perfect for the trip. Our test car was equipped with the Advance Package, which happened to include blind spot monitoring. I thought nothing of it at first, but after some time behind the wheel, I found the Acura’s system to be much more effective. Read on to see how this technology can actually save your life.
I had been at the wheel for four and a half hours, and was eleven miles from home. It was dark, and I’m driving on I-95 through the city of Bridgeport. Ahead of me is a late model Chevy Suburban. We’re in the left lane, cruising at 75mph. I see the Chevy drift off slightly to the left. But he’s not correcting. He drifts, and crashes into the New Jersey barrier, wheels off the ground. On a busy section of highway, I scan my mirror, but it’s dark, and I can’t be positive there isn’t a car in the center lane. But the light was not on. I trusted the MDX’s system, and moved over. We got past an out of control car without a scratch.
This technology could have potentially saved our lives, and as an automotive journalist, I call on all manufacturers to make this standard on all of your cars.
Filed under: SUV
Motor Trend has been around since 1949, and during that time it has handed out a fair share of
awards to various automakers and vehicle models. More recently, the print publication has gone online by way of its web site, Youtube page and various social media networks. One network in particular has stuck a chord with the buff book and it's choosing to leverage the power of
Facebook to
announce the winner of its 2011 Sport/Utility Vehicle of the Year award.
M/T has been steadily rolling out its top 15 contenders, with the announcement of the winner to be made on October 19th, 2010 at 12:01 a.m EST. Why Facebook?
"We want to foster a two-way dialogue with our audience," said Angus MacKenzie, Editor In-Chief of Motor Trend, "and Facebook was the next logical step to engage our community even further."
The currently revealed contenders are:
Past winners of this title include the
Subaru Forester and the
Mazda CX-9.
Hop the jump to read M/T's press release.
[Source:
Motor Trend]
Continue reading Motor Trend getting ready to announce its 2011 Sport/Utility Vehicle of the Year Award...on Facebook
Motor Trend getting ready to announce its 2011 Sport/Utility Vehicle of the Year Award...on Facebook originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Oct 2010 08:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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