Acura To Unleash New TSX Sports Sedan In New York

Acura plans to unleash a new version of the TSX sports sedan at the 2008 New York International Auto Show in March.

The luxury brand of Honda Motor Co. will be giving buffs the first look at the exterior of the second-generation TSX which is scheduled to go on sale this spring. For now, headlight covers are donned, wraps are snuggled. The 2009 TSX's grandeur is for aficionados to look forward to.

Acura said that the new version of the sports sedan will have improved performance, styling, technology and safety features. "The new 2009 TSX speaks clearly to the direction we are taking our Acura sedans in the future," said Dick Colliver, Acura's executive vice president for sales. "The TSX is a significant step in the advancement of our sedan lineup and the continued enhancement of the Acura brand."

Acura did not divulge the price or details of the new features. The current model starts at $28,190, the automaker said.

Acura, the luxury brand of Honda Motor Co., is hoping the new TSX can wipe sales doldrums away. The brand sold 33,037 TSX models in the United States in the previous year, and the number is down by 13.1 percent from 2006. Also, the brand's sales dived 10.5 percent from the previous year.

The new sports sedan, which looks sleeker than its ancestor, will be launched during media preview days March 19 and 20. The auto show opens to the public for a sneak preview March 21 and runs until March 30.

Acura is currently absorbed in launching new and redesigned models to boost its lineup. It can be recalled that the automaker introduced the 2009 RL at this year's Chicago Auto Show. Additionally, the automaker will also unleash a new TL sedan later this year.

Prior to the New York auto show, the sports sedan's sibling, Honda Accord for Europe, will be displayed at the 2008 Geneva auto show in early March. The second largest Japanese automaker, hitherto, is only introducing isolated aspects of the redesigned Accord sedan and the Accord Tourer wagon for Europe, based on the concept displayed at last year's Frankfurt Auto Show. The redesigned Accord sedan and Accord Tourer wagon will go on sale this summer.

Watchers in the industry expect the new TSX to be equipped with the turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine currently featured in the RDX. Also available under the sports sedan's hood will be Honda's all-new turbocharged 2.2-liter i-DTEC diesel engine, which produces about 150 horsepower and 251 pound-feet of torque. The 2009 TSX is anticipated to become Honda's first car with a diesel in America.