We try and uphold the highest standards of journalistic objectivity here at AutoGuide, but we have a soft-spot for Honda cars, especially the “golden era” of the late 1980’s until the early 2000’s when double wishbones, light weight and VTEC engines ruled the day. Between the staff here, nearly every great Honda has passed through our driveways at one point or another, from the EG Civic Si to the NSX, as well as a couple Frankenstein B-Series swapped cars. The one glaring omission is the Integra Type-R. None of us have ever had one, due in part to high theft rates, high insurance premiums and a low supply of clean cars that have never been stolen, hacked up or salvaged.

Demand for Honda’s light trucks, like the CR-V, Pilot and Ridgeline, with the company posting a 33% sales increase for light trucks compared to 2009.

Acura has announced a recall for it’s entry-level TSX model to replace a power steering hose. The recall affects 167,00 TSX models from 2004-2008 in the United States.

Acura says that due to a potential for the hose to deteriorate it could crack causing the power steering fluid to leak – which could cause a fire. One complaint of a cracked hose and a subsequent fire has been reported. Vehicles involved in the recall will have the power steering hose, o-ring gasket and power steering fluid replace.

Owners of affected vehicles will be notified by Acura starting the end of May. For more information, TSX owners are advised to visit owners.acura.com/recalls or may call 800-382-2238 for more info.

Official release after the jump:

Honda CEO Takanobu Ito criticized the “complacent” nature of his company at the Beijing Auto Show, taking aim at poor sales figures, a lack of product direction and a need to focus on improving the company’s hybrid systems.

Last year, Acura debuted the second generation TSX. The small “near luxury” 4-door sedan is a bit larger than its predecessor, and features crisp handling characteristics and sporting performance from its 2.4-liter, 4-cylinder motor that puts out 201-hp and 172 ft- lbs of torque. It’s a nice little package for a car that lists in the $30,000 to $33,000 range.

Acura has announced a recall for all ZDX luxury crossover models citing a potential safety concern with the airbags. No complains have been made but Honda found an issue with the passenger-side airbag during a manufacturing quality check. According to Honda/Acura, the dashboard material on the passenger side may have been cut improperly potentially causing the passenger-size airbag to deploy improperly. Honda says roughly two percent of vehicles could have this defect.

Lately there’s been reason to question if Acura has lost its way as a brand. For starters, there’s the designs. Next, it wasn’t all that long ago that Honda’s luxury arm exited the entry-level sport coupe market where the RSX was so successful – and so good. Plus, there’s Acura’s continued insistence that it won’t build a V8 or go rear-drive and, therefore, won’t ever truly compete as a top-tier luxury brand. Then there’s the botched NSX revival.

The new Acura TSX Sport Wagon was unveiled today at the New York Auto Show.

According to a new report by the reputable German outlet Autobild, Honda will resurrect the NSX after all. That’s right, the article suggests Honda will put its HSV-010 GT race car into production in 2011. The car’s track would be reduced some, with minimal changes to the bodywork and the absence of a GT-car wing. As for power, it will come from a 500-ish horsepower 5.0-liter V8 engine rather than the race car’s 3.4-liter racing unit.

For those of us who grew up and believing that Honda and Acura were the only “cool” auto manufacturers in the world, RealTime Racing had the coolest of the cool. From NSXs to Integra Type-Rs to RSXs to TSXs, RealTime Racing campaigned some of the most beautifully built touring car racers of the last two decades.

If you’re looking for a luxurious premium-brand compact crossover, might we suggest the Audi Q5. How about a stylish one? Mercedes GLK. Or perhaps a well-balanced one that does a good job in all areas? The Lexus RX350 comes to mind. But if you’re in the market for an entry-level luxury crossover that’s fun to drive, there’s really no other choice than the Acura RDX.

Acura has officially announced that the TSX Sport Wagon will gets its North American debut at the New York Auto Show at the end of the month. With the TSX sedan based on the European Honda Accord, the Sport Wagon is simply the Acura-fied version of the Euro Accord Wagon.

Set to go on sale in the Fall, we still don’t know if Acura plans to offer both a 4-cylinder and V6 version of the new model, which adds functionality to the already impressive TSX package. We will, however, be on hand at the New York show to bring you full coverage and plenty of live photos, as well as all the facts on the newest addition to the Acura family.

Official release after the jump:

While we’ve heard several rumors before that Acura is reconsidering getting into smaller cars, a new report by Automotive News is the most credible yet. According to AN, Jeff Conrad, the VP of Acura confirmed at a recent dealer meeting that the brand is looking at expanding its lineup with a new vehicle that would slot in underneath the TSX. While there’s some speculation that Acura would bring the Canadian CSX (essentially a rebadged and gussied-up Civic) to the U.S., the report says this new model would compete against the BMW 1 Series, Audi A3 and Volvo C30. It would also help Acura meet increasingly strict CAFE regulations.

The entry-level TSX model will be the first Acura offered with a hybrid powertrain. According to one dealer sourced by Automotive News, the TSX hybrid will be offered starting in 2011.

Honda Racing has officially announced the HSV-010 GT will join Japan’s Super GT racing series this year, releasing a huge selection of photos for those who just can’t get enough of the car. Based on the discontinued NSX replacement (yup, we’re still crying about it too), the HSV-010 is powered by a 3.4-liter V8 that makes 500-ish horsepower and 289 ft-lbs of torque. While the road car was expected to be powered by a V10 and get AWD, this race car is RWD and the V8 engine is thought to be a version of the V8 found in the Acura ARX ALMS cars.

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It’s here at last… sort of. Above is a lone photo of the replacement to the Honda/Acura NSX – at least in race car trim. Called the HSV-10 GT, or Velocity Sports Honda, this track only exotic is built to run in the GT500 class of Japan’s Super GT series. As cars in that class are limited to around 500-hp, we can safely assume the HSV-10 GT makes exactly that.

Acura is reportedly moving away from its brand strategy to become a “tier one” luxury automaker in favor of volume sales. While no official word has been given by Honda or Acura representatives, the news has been reported by Honda fan site, TOV, which claims that several dealerships have been told a new strategy will focus on “Smart Luxury.”

Acura has confirmed that it will offer the TSX as a wagon starting in 2010 as a 2011 model. Called the TSX Sport Wagon, this people hauler version of the TSX will be based on the Accord Touring model (shown above) sold in Europe. This only makes sense as the TSX was originally brought over from Europe where it is sold as the Euro Accord.

Honda has just announced that due to a rule change for the 2010 Super GT Series, the NSX won’t be returning next year. The rules strictly state that all GT500 Class cars must be front-engine and rear-wheel drive. The NSX, of course, being mid-engined, does not qualify.

An Acura will run at the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year. British Strakka Racing intends to compete with the car, in the Europe Le Mans Series, including at the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans, with an Acura ARX-01b prototype that it is currently in the process of buying from the Lowe’s Fernandez team. Fernandex racing, despite winning the LMP2 championship in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), has yet to secure a sponsor for the 2010 season and so it has decided to entertain the possibility of selling the car.

Acura continues to talk about being a tier-one luxury automaker, but while Honda’s luxury arm keeps to talking the talk we’re not seeing a lot of walking. Recently the folks at Car & Driver had a chat with a few Acura execs during the launch of the new ZDX model – a seemingly niche-market vehicle that Acura somehow believes helps elevate them to (or nearer to) tier-one status.

Rumors have surfaced that Acura is planning to get back into the entry-level luxury segment, with a possible RSX successor coming in 2012. The new model would reportedly be based on the next generation Honda Civic which is due out in 2011 and would compete with vehicles like the BMW 1 Series, Audi A3 and Volvo C30 in the growing premium compact segment.

Acura is considering introducing a wagon version of its TSX luxury sedan in North America. John Watts, product planning boss at Acura told Car & Driver that they are “closely, closely looking at it.”

For 2010 Acura has given its flagship MDX SUV a mid-cycle refresh which includes a new six speed transmission, an exciting Advance Package and, of course, the company’s new corporate shield grille. And we have to say, while the grille is “controversial” at best on Acura’s other models, it really seems to work on this hefty crossover.

Acura has just released official info on the 2010 RDX luxury crossover with the biggest news being a new base model that comes standard with a front-wheel drive layout – unless if you live in Canada.

Previously only offered with Acura’s SH-AWD system, the new FWD RDX gets better fuel-economy and costs $2,000 less. A spokesperson from Acura Canada told AutoGuide that there just isn’t a market for a front-wheel drive model in this segment, which makes particular sense considering how suited the AWD model is to the Canadian climate.

But not to worry, you fuel-conscious Canadians. Acura Canada says the new RDX (in AWD trim) gets improved fuel-economy by as much as 8 percent. This was achieved through the use of higher fourth and fifth gears, better aerodynamics and an improved lock-up clutch. The new Transport Canada fuel-economy rating for the RDX is 11.7 L/100km city (20.1 mpg)  and 8.7 L/100km highway (27 mpg), for a total combined average of  10.3 L/100 km (22.8 mpg), as compared to 11.1 L/100km (21.2 mpg) on last year’s model.

The 2010 RDX continues to be powered by Acura’s turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine with 240hp and 260 ft-lbs of torque.

Outside the RDX gets Acura’s new corporate “shield” front fascia, a near rear bumper with hexagonal exhaust pipes and redesigned 18-inch wheels. New standard equipment includes a backup camera an electronic compass and USB connectivity.

Official release after the jump:

Honda Performance Development (HPD), a division of Honda that is behind motorsports activities like the company’s American Le Mans Series efforts, is launching a new program to help both professional and amateur racers.

Dubbed Honda Racing Line, this new grassroots motorsports initiative will allow members access to HPD and OEM products, as well as certain services. Members can log on to HondaRacingLine.com to see parts and even order them for expedited delivery.

Now celebrating 50 years in America Honda launched Honda Racing Line to help those Honda racers who have relied on their products. In turn Honda wants to raise its profile and the profile of Honda Racing int he U.S.

“For many years, Honda enthusiasts have campaigned our products in racing series throughout the U.S.,” said Erik Berkman, President of Honda Performance Development. “On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Honda brand in the United States, we are pleased to announce that we will now support those efforts directly, by introducing products and services geared toward helping our customers fulfill their racing dreams.”

Official release after the jump:

It looks like the folks in Acura’s marketing department are working well ahead of the folks in PR, as the company’s consumer website was updated today with images of the new 2010 RDX, before any press release about the luxury crossover was sent out.

The latest bit of Acura NSX gossip points to a return of the luxury Japanese automaker’s flagship sports car, but as an all-wheel drive hybrid. 7Tune is reporting from their sources that when the next generation NSX (known as the Advanced Sports Car Concept) was canned, it was actually more of a temporary matter as the automaker did some soul searching.

First unveiled in pre-production form at the New York Auto Show earlier this year, Acura promised the high-riding ZDX four-door coupe would make its way to dealer floors shortly without many design changes. True to their word, the folks at Acura have just released a selection of images of the controversially designed vehicle that defies categorization.