| paul123 |
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All-New Acura TSX Sports Sedan Makes World Debut at North American International Auto Show
Detroit, MI 01/05/2003 -- The all-new Acura TSX sports sedan made its world debut at the North American International Auto Show today, giving Acura's lineup an entry luxury performance vehicle positioned between the hot-selling RSX sports coupe and Acura's top-selling 3.2 TL luxury performance sedan.
"The TSX is designed to compete head on with other premium sport sedans from Europe and Japan," said Dick Colliver, Acura executive vice president, sales. "With 200 horsepower, a 6-speed manual transmission, race-bred suspension and an abundance of features, the TSX has what it takes to be a success in this hotly contested segment."
The TSX features a 2.4-liter DOHC, i-VTEC engine that generates 200 horsepower at 6,800 rpm and 166 lb-ft of torque at 4,500 rpm. The i-VTEC "intelligent" valve-control system adjusts valve timing and lift for enhanced performance across a broad power band in addition to improved fuel economy and reduced exhaust emissions.
The TSX is equipped with a drive-by-wire throttle control system for smooth acceleration. It comes with either a close-ratio 6-speed manual transmission or a performance-oriented 5-speed Sequential SportShift' automatic transmission for precise control of the powerful engine.
To deliver precise, responsive handling, the TSX utilizes an extremely rigid unit body structure, a race-bred, 4-wheel-independent double-wishbone suspension, Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA), 17-inch alloy wheels and P215/50R17 all-season performance tires.
The TSX features an aggressive wedge design with strong character lines and a highly aerodynamic body. In front, styling cues include Acura's signature 5-sided grille, stylish High Intensity Discharge (HID) head lights and lower air intakes that evoke the image of racing brake ducts. In the rear, the backlight slopes to meet a short trunk lid, which terminates sharply to help air separate cleanly off the back of the car at speed.
The cockpit of the TSX is sporty yet refined. It is comprehensively equipped with deeply-bolstered perforated leather seating, a power moonroof, a leather-wrapped three-spoke sport steering wheel with integrated audio and cruise controls, dual-zone automatic climate control, an Acura premium audio system, power windows and door locks and keyless entry. The Acura TSX sport sedan will go on sale at Acura dealerships nationwide in April 2003.
For more information about Acura vehicles, please visit www.acura.com. For media inquiries, please visit www.acuranews.com. |
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| hammermdx |
| I wonder why Acura continues to use the perforated leather, imho, the leather would look much more luxurious without the holes. |
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| 2002 Acura MDX! |
| I like that car, I really really like it. |
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| wmquan |
Yikes, is that a cabin-wide strip of fake wood?
I think it'll be a good vehicle, but not a great one. It's a rebadged European/Japanese Accord, and will handle better than an American Accord. But its power will fall far short of the American Accord EX V6. It'll have a 4-cylinder with 200 horsepower @ 6,800 rpm and 166 lbs/ft torque @ 4,500 rpm. That would suggest a power curve that's okay, but nothing special for something that portends to be sporty.
An Altima SE 3.5 will run circles around it. That Altima has a lot more useful power than the Accord EX V6 too. If only Nissan would up the quality of the interior and re-think its approach to crash safety!
The vehicle appears to try to compensate for its relatively low power range with other items -- 17" wheels, xenons, 360-watt stereo, etc. |
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| MK23666 |
If Acura is gonna rebadge the Euro Accord and sell it here then why not also bring down the Acura EL from Canada?
I think that Honda is making a big mistake. Not with their rebadging but with all the EX levels in their Honda badged vehicles. They should do away with the EX levels all together. That way they would entice Honda brand buyers (loyalists) to move up to Honda's sporty, sexier Acura brand. The Honda EX level vehicles should be the starting level in Acura rebadged vehicles and those vehicles should at least have one or two levels to improve on also. (Touring, Premium then R type or S type for example)
Oh yeah ... It's about time to bring back the Legend and Vigor names and get rid of the RL and TL names ... Maybe just in time for the redesign of the RL and TL? |
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| Fireblade6 |
The Acura TSX is a handsome looking midrange four door sedan. So far, I have not seen the performance benchmarks yet on this 200HP four cylinder engine.
Depending on how they tune it, I would expect that the torque to weight ratio is pretty high knowing Honda. I tend to agree at this point that based on engine displacement of the Honda V6 versus the TSX inline four, the Honda V6 is stronger.
So far this TSX has put some intrique into my mind. I have been talking with the folks at Ball Acura and they have a blue six speed coming in the show room. I will have a chance to bang at it. IF the performance of the engine is there...then having a four cylinder is not bad...All else on that vehicle has award winning characteristics for MTCOY(MotorTrend Car of the Y ear.) |
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| greatscot |
| Looks very nice. I wouldn't mind a 4cylinder the way gas prices are headed. Will definately look at one (Midnight Blue Pearl?) to possibly replace our '01 Camry if the price is right. |
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