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Acura Firsts

- 2012-11-07

TORRANCE, Calif.

The 1980s

  • First Japanese luxury automotive brand – March 27, 1986

The 1990s

  • First in the U.S. with variable valve timing (VTEC®) – NSX, 1990
  • First in the U.S. with electric power-assisted steering – NSX, 1990
  • First with aluminum monocoque body – NSX, 1990
  • First production engine with titanium connecting rods – NSX, 1990
  • First in the U.S. with drive-by-wire throttle system – NSX, 1990
  • First in the U.S. with 4-channel anti-lock brakes– NSX, 1990
  • First in the U.S. with a standard Digital Signal Processor (DSP) stereo as standard equipment – Vigor, 1991
  • First production engine using block-forged connecting rods – RL, 1995
  • First with in-dash satellite-linked navigation system – RL, 1997
  • First import luxury car designed, engineered and built in the U.S. – CL Coupe, 1997
  • First passenger-side airbag with deployment based on height and position sensors – RL, 1998
  • First vehicle to have a dual-stage and front passenger airbag – RL, 1999

The 2000s

  • First luxury SUV to receive quadruple Five Star safety rating from the NHTSA – MDX, 2002
  • First luxury SUV to have standard three-row seating – MDX, 2000     
  • First independent front/rear automatic climate control system – MDX, 2000
  • First SUV with Variable Torque Management 4WD System – MDX, 2000
  • First Luxury SUV to have a ULEV emission rating – MDX, 2000
  • First SUV to have a ULEV-II emission rating – MDX, 2002
  • First with navigation system as standard equipment – RL, 2003
  • First with XM® Satellite Radio as standard equipment – RL, 2003
  • First with Bluetooth® technology as standard equipment – TL, 2003
  • First with DVD-Audio system as standard equipment – TL, 2003
  • First car in class with solar-sensing, GPS-linked climate control – TL, 2003
  • First car in class with dual mode/dual zone climate control – TL, 2003
  • First car in class with bi-xenon headlights standard – TL, 2003
  • First application of acoustic glass windshield – TL, MDX 2003
  • First Acura with Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) body structure – RL, 2004
  • First with satellite-linked real-time traffic – RL, 2004
  • First torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system, Super Handling All-Wheel Drive™ (SH-AWD™) – RL, 2004
  • First with satellite communication system enabling direct vehicle communication with manufacturer – RL, 2004
  • First Acura to feature Hard Disk Drive (HDD) – 2009 TL with Technology Package
  • First real-time satellite weather tracking service for in-vehicle GPS-based navigation system – 2009 RL, TL & TSX with Technology Package
  • First Acura with radar precipitation imaging – 2009 TL with Technology Package
  • First vehicle to alert the driver if there is a weather warning along the intended route
  • First automotive nameplate to simultaneously achieve top ratings from both the NHTSA and IIHS for front, side and rear crash worthiness on all vehicles

The 2010s

  • First automotive brand to receive Five-Star crash safety ratings from the NHTSA for all models – model year 2010 Acura lineup.
  • First Acura gasoline-electric hybrid model –ILX Hybrid, March 2012
  • First Acura with Jewel EyeTM LED headlights – RLX, 2013
  • First Acura equipped with Precision All-Wheel SteerTM (P-AWS) featuring left/right independent rear-wheel toe angle control – RLX, 2013
  • First vehicle to be equipped a seatbelt tensioning system to incorporate yaw movement as well as braking – RLX, 2013
  • First Acura with direct-injected engine – RLX, 2013
  • First Acura with active brake torque control system, Agile Handling Assist –RLX, 2013
  • First Acura with electronic parking brake –RLX, 2013
  • First Acura with driver's side knee airbag –RLX, 2013
  • Acura's first surface street traffic information, as a part of AcuraLink Real-Time TrafficTM – RLX, 2013
  • First vehicle to utilize ultra-high strength “hot stamped” steel, one-piece door stiffener ring– MDX, 2013
  • First Acura to use -piece magnesium steering hanger beam – MDX, 2013
  • First Acura with head-up display – 2014 RLX Sport Hybrid
  • First ever electrically powered torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system, Acura Sport Hybrid SH-AWD – 2014 RLX Sport Hybrid
  • Acura's first sensor fusion system with cooperative monocular camera and millimeter wave radar – TLX, 2014
  • First Acura vehicle to deploy AcuraWatch™ suite of driver-assistive technologies including new Road Departure Mitigation (RDM) system and enhanced Collision Mitigation Braking System™ (CMBS) with pedestrian sensing capabilities – TLX, 2014
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