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Chicago: 2013 Acura RDX gets more of the good stuff

More room, more power, more fuel efficiency and more advanced all-wheel drive are the four unique selling propositions for the 2013 Acura RDX. As with the 2013 ILX, the productionized version of Acura's people-hauler is very, very similar to the RDX Concept from Detroit with a new set of wheels and a new paint job.

The 3.5-liter V6 throws 33 more horsepower into the mix versus the previous generation's turbocharged four, and a brand new six-speed automatic transmission helps return an estimated 20 city/28 highway mile-per-gallon rating for the front-wheel-drive model. The AWD version only takes a slight knock from there, getting 19 city/27 highway.

The longer wheelbase and wider track equate to more room inside, and additional levels of luxury have been added features like Keyless Access, Pandora and an available power rear liftgate. There's plenty more information on it in the press release after the jump, and we'll have live shots from the Chicago Auto Show soon.

Continue reading 2013 Acura RDX gets more of the good stuff

Chicago: 2013 Acura ILX puts a familiar face on entry-level luxury

The 2013 Acura ILX is here, and it will be one of the new first-responders to address the perception of Acura's weakened health. It might just be our eyes, but the transition to Acura-spec wheels and paint job makes this look much more of-the-family than the concept shown in Detroit. However, the production lines remain true, minus some of the chrome showy bits from the concept.

Motivation will be provided by either a 150-horsepower, 2.0-liter four-cylinder working through a five-speed automatic, a 201-hp, 2.4-liter with a six-speed manual, or the first Acura hybrid with a 111-hp, 1.5-liter four-cylinder getting help from Integrated Motor Assist and a CVT, good for fuel economy estimates of 35/38 miles per gallon, city/highway. Follow the jump for a press release with more information, and look out for live pics from our team at the Chicago Auto Show.

Continue reading 2013 Acura ILX puts a familiar face on entry-level luxury

Long Term: 2011 Mini Countryman: January 2012

Literally two days after my last update about our long-term Mini Countryman, I found myself trudging through a snowstorm at 30 miles per hour on Interstate 94 along Michigan's west coast. I guess Mother Nature had heard my cries about not being able to test our Mini in the snow, and decided to reward me with super slippery roads and poor visibility for two and a half hours straight. Lovely.

Mile after mile, the Mini dutifully carried on while I watched large SUVs and a host of mid-size sedans slide off into the ditches on either side of I-94. I've lived in southeast Michigan my entire life, and I know how to drive in the slushy, slick stuff, but there's nothing quite like the combination of all-wheel drive and proper winter tires for times like this - it not only helps with driver confidence, but makes the whole process of safely navigating through a snowstorm much less fatiguing. Mini's All4 all-wheel-drive system made sure power was being sent to exactly which wheels needed it most, and our car's Bridgestone Blizzak WS-70 winter tires provided by the folks at Tire Rack kept the rollers from slipping during acceleration or skidding during braking.

After using the Mini to schlep many an Autoblog staff member to and from various Detroit Auto Show happenings, I handed the Countryman off to executive editor Chris Paukert, who turned it back over praising the All4 system and snow tires' handling on split-mu surfaces - even with the driver's side tires on wet asphalt and the passenger-side wheels trudging through ice and slush, the Mini remained confident and steady despite times when traction coefficients differed at every corner.

The Countryman now resides in Cleveland, Ohio, where it will be under Editor-in-Chief John Neff's care for the next month. We haven't had any snow to speak of since sending the Mini to Ohio, but I'm sure if Neff complains enough, Mother Nature will reward him with a big ol' lake-effect dumping to the Lake Erie coast so he can see just how good our All4/Blizzak combo is.

Keep your eyes locked on the official Autoblog Facebook page for the majority of our updates, as well as the official Autoblog Twitter account (@therealautoblog, look for the #ablongterm hashtag).

Official: 2013 Acura RDX gets more of the good stuff

More room, more power, more fuel efficiency and more advanced all-wheel drive are the four unique selling propositions for the 2013 Acura RDX. As with the 2013 ILX, the productionized version of Acura's people-hauler is very, very similar to the RDX Concept from Detroit with a new set of wheels and a new paint job.

The 3.5-liter V6 throws 33 more horsepower into the mix versus the previous generation's turbocharged four, and a brand new six-speed automatic transmission helps return an estimated 20 city/28 highway mile-per-gallon rating for the front-wheel-drive model. The AWD version only takes a slight knock from there, getting 19 city/27 highway.

The longer wheelbase and wider track equate to more room inside, and additional levels of luxury have been added features like Keyless Access, Pandora and an available power rear liftgate. There's plenty more information on it in the press release after the jump, and we'll have live shots from the Chicago Auto Show soon.

Continue reading 2013 Acura RDX gets more of the good stuff

Official: 2013 Acura ILX puts a familiar face on entry-level luxury

The 2013 Acura ILX is here, and it will be one of the new first-responders to address the perception of Acura's weakened health. It might just be our eyes, but the transition to Acura-spec wheels and paint job makes this look much more of-the-family than the concept shown in Detroit. However, the production lines remain true, minus some of the chrome showy bits from the concept.

Motivation will be provided by either a 150-horsepower, 2.0-liter four-cylinder working through a five-speed automatic, a 201-hp, 2.4-liter with a six-speed manual, or the first Acura hybrid with a 111-hp, 1.5-liter four-cylinder getting help from Integrated Motor Assist and a CVT, good for fuel economy estimates of 35/38 miles per gallon, city/highway. Follow the jump for a press release with more information, and look out for live pics from our team at the Chicago Auto Show.

Continue reading 2013 Acura ILX puts a familiar face on entry-level luxury

Report: 'Made In Detroit' merch is anything but

The original Made In Detroit shirts inspired by the 2011 Super Bowl Chrysler commercial featuring Eminem were, in fact, made right here in the land of the free. Chrysler said the company felt it was important for the products to be made here given the slogan.

Some fans of the Buddy Moscow pieces have noticed the shirts come without any tags at all, leading to questions about whether or not the Ts were actually made in China. As it turns out, the tags were simply removed to facilitate screen printing in-collar labels.

Are these the patent filings for Volvo's S-Class-fighting S100 flagship?

There are luxury automakers, there are mainstream automakers, and then there are those in between. Volvo, we'd argue, is one of those marques that doesn't quite compete in the same market as, say, Mercedes-Benz or Lexus, but that looks as if it's about to change.

The Swedish automaker has been toying for years with the idea of building a new flagship to take on the likes of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7 Series, Audi A8 and Lexus LS, but while Volvo has dragged its feet on the prospect in the past, a series of what look like patent renderings that have leaked their way online give us what could prove the strongest indication yet of Volvo's intent.

For better or worse, the renderings bear the hallmark of recent Volvo designs like the Concept Universe (unveiled in Shanghai last year), the Concept You (showcased in Frankfurt) and the upcoming next-generation XC90 - complete with the gaping maw that seems to mock the face we make when we look at these examples of this particular styling direction.

Of course, given the big wheels, showcar grille, delicate mirrors and suicide rear doors (not to mention the overall form), it seems more likely we're looking at renderings for the Concept Universe rather than a production model in the making, but that just leaves us wondering what the patent filing is for. We'll just have to wait a while to find out one way or another.

Report: "Halftime in America" primarily filmed in LA, New Orleans

Chrysler's tagline is "Imported From Detroit," but when it came to shooting this year's Super Bowl commercial, most of the job got exported to other locales. According to The Weekly Standard, much of the footage in the Chrysler ad, starring and narrated by actor Clint Eastwood, was shot in Los Angeles and New Orleans. The only footage of Detroit used in the "Halftime in America" commercial wasn't shot specifically for this year's ad, according to the report.

While this revelation isn't out-of-line given the imagery used, which was certainly less focused on Detroit than last year's Super Bowl commercial starring rapper Eminem, the fact that "Halftime in America" was not shot in Michigan is still another bitter pill to swallow for locals. Michigan's once-burgeoning film industry is reeling from state lawmakers' decision in October to cut film production incentives.

According to this report in The Huffington Post, the film industry was booming in the state before the cuts, leading to both job growth and millions spent by filmmakers on ancillary expenses. But a new state budget caps rebates to film productions at $25 million, nearly $100 million less than the state provided in 2010, according to the report. The decision has led some Hollywood producers to cancel plans to film in Michigan.

Rumormill: Mercedes says no to hi-po diesels, may greenlight 911-fighter

Mercedes-Benz has no interest in pursuing BMW down the diesel performance rabbit hole, according to Autocar. The publication spoke with Ola Kallenius, chairman of the board of management at Mercedes-Benz AMG, who said the company explored the idea of performance diesels in the past and found the concept too fraught with compromises to be worthwhile. Kallenius said gasoline engines have obvious advantages when it comes to weight, sound, agility and response. The AMG guru also pointed to the fact that the company's modern performance engines have borrowed considerable diesel technology, including direct injection and turbocharging, to reach their current power and efficiency levels.

In a separate report, Kallenius was quoted as saying it would be wise to grow the AMG brand after the success of the SLS AMG coupe and roadster. Rumors have indicated a machine capable of giving the Porsche 911 a run for its money around the world's race tracks may be in the cards, but Kallenius said no final decision has been made about growing the performance arm's ranks just yet. Still, the boss didn't outright nix the idea, so there's some glimmer of possibility there, however thin.

Long Term: 2011 Hyundai Equus Ultimate: January 2012

January was not a busy month for our long-term 2011 Hyundai Equus. It did ferry one of our editors between auto company cocktail hours and dinners during the week of the Detroit Auto Show, but for the latter half of the month it wasn't driven all that much. But that's good news, because our Equus spent quite a bit of time at LaFontaine Hyundai, in Dearborn, Michigan, receiving a long-awaited repair to the driver's seat.

As we wind down its year in the Autoblog fleet, we also saw fit to address some cosmetic damage to the front fascia and have our 22,500-mile service completed. While the service was free, the "minor" scrape on the lower corner of the bumper skirt set us back some $669.25. Our time with the Equus ends in just a few weeks, which means we'll only have limited time to enjoy the now-comfortable seat. This has been one of our biggest issues with the car, and to have it finally fixed after all this time is so wonderful that some editors are grumbling that they won't have the chance to get back in the car again.

We do wish, however, that the seat bottom wasn't made to look even more worn by the contrast of the brand new seat back. At least we don't have to look at it while we drive around enjoying the comfort of the now-working back massager.