Brand Innovations
Acura Brand Story and Innovations
Acura, founded by Honda and launched in Canada and the United States in 1986, has the distinction of being the very first Japanese automotive luxury marque. Within a few years, Acura became one of the best selling luxury brands in North America.
Acura vehicles have regularly introduced cutting-edge automotive technologies that would later see broader use in their more conventional Honda siblings: VTEC variable valve timing, 6-speed manual transmissions, torque-vectoring AWD, and aluminum body construction.
The innovations continue to build well into the twenty-first century. Read below to find out how Acura and Honda are ensuring that transport by car (and airplane) is done more efficiently, safely, and intelligently.
ACE Body Structure
ACE stands for Advanced Compatibility Engineering. Found on nearly every Honda and Acura model, it is a special body structure design (now in its second generation) that distributes collision energy away from the passenger compartment. This is achieved by using multiple grades of high tensile steel to strategically crumple in certain areas while staying rigid in others. All ACE-equipped models are extensively tested in Acura's indoor, multidirectional, crash testing facility before being placed on the market.
Award-Winning Safety
Thanks to a strong combination of ACE body structures and active and passive safety equipment like curtain airbags, rollover sensors, Forward Collision Warning, and Collision Mitigation Brake System, the every Acura model has received 5-Star crash test ratings, while the TLX, RLX, and MDX are Top Safety Pick+ winners from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
AcuraWatchTM Technologies
Acura knows that when it comes to your vehicle there isn't much as important as safety and that's why the suite of AcuraWatchTM technologies ensure that you are fully prepared for the road ahead. Acura created these comprehensive safety features that are available on your new Acura vehicle with only safety in mind. These features include Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Low-Speed Follow, Road Departure Mitigation (RDM), Blind Spot Information (BSI) System with Cross Traffic Monitoring, and Forward Collision Warning (FCW) to name a few. Each one of these systems is designed and engineered for the safety of you and your passengers. To find out more about these features check out our detailed AcuraWatchTM Technologies page.
What's the difference between Top Safety Pick & Top Safety Pick+?
Currently, no other premium automaker has more Top Safety Pick and Top Safety Pick+ awards from the IIHS than Acura. To qualify for a TSP, the vehicle must get Good ratings in moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests, as well as a Good or Acceptable rating in the small overlap front test.
HondaJet
The HA-420 HondaJet is Honda's first-ever light aircraft. After extensive research and development starting in the late 1980s, the HondaJet is ready to hit the skies and fulfill the dream of founder Soichiro Honda-an avid pilot and aviation enthusiast. Using a daring over-wing jet engine design, all-glass touchscreen avionics, and a combination of super-lightweight co-cured internal and honeycomb sandwich structures, the 5 passenger HondaJet has a faster cruising speed, greater fuel efficiency, more cargo space, and less noise than any other business class jet. Furthermore, the HondaJet has modern amenities you won't find in other planes, such as the ability to use you mobile device to wirelessly control the cabin's lighting, climate, audio, and electro-chromatic window shades.
ASIMO
ASIMO is an acronym for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility. Introduced in 2000, Honda's ASIMO was designed to be a fully functioning robot assistant for people with mobility issues: the elderly or people with disabilities-acting as their eyes, ears, legs, and hands. ASIMO has been updated over the years and is now capable of performing a handshake, taking directions, opening a bottle, pouring liquid, running at speeds up to 9 km/h, navigating its environment, communicating in sign language with complex hand movements, and operating for over an hour. Honda also uses ASIMO as museum robot guide in demonstrations to encourage children to pursue further study in science and mathematics.