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Auto blog

Acura TSX Sport Wagon on the way out?

With Acura widely expected to consolidate its TSX and TL sedans into one model line in the near future, the fate of the TSX Sport Wagon is unsurprisingly in doubt. The long-rumored one-for-two sedan replacement is said to be dubbed TLX, and will sit above the Honda Civic-derived ILX, a model that already encroaches on the TSX's pricing and size. According to Ward's Auto, Acura officials are refusing to confirm that today's TSX wagon - effectively a re-schnozzed European-market Accord estate - is facing extinction. Reading the tea leaves, however, things certainly don't look good - the European Accord itself is said to be on the bubble and may not be replaced.
The TSX Sport Wagon was brought to the US as a niche play for the 2011 model year, with Acura of Canada taking a pass on the bodystyle. Officials said at the time that it hoped to shift 4,000 units per annum, roughly a 10-percent sliver of US TSX sales. And while Acura doesn't normally break out the wagon in its sales reports, Autoblog was able to obtain the model's totals for the last two years: the company sold 3,210 Sport Wagons in 2011, improving to 4,234 units last year. The current 2013 model began trickling into showrooms in December, but some dealers are still looking to clear out remaining 2012 models at handsome discounts.

Autoblog Podcast #343

George Kennedy from Boldride.com, BMW i3, NACTOY long list, Bentley SUV
Episode #343 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth and Steven Ewing are joined by George Kennedy, Autoblog alum and Editor-in-Chief of Boldride.com. Topics include the unveiling of the BMW i3, the 2014 North American Car and Truck of the Year long list, and the green-lighted Bentley SUV. As always, we start with what's in the garage, but then answer some of your questions before diving into the week's news. For those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. You can follow along after the jump with our Q&A. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #343:

2014 Acura RLX

Earlier in the year, I reviewed a powder-blue Volkswagen Beetle Convertible, and I witnessed a group of high-school-aged girls ogling the car as it sat in my driveway. In my head, I found it to be a funny-yet-fitting scene that I didn't think of again until a 2014 Acura RLX showed up in my driveway. This time around, an elderly neighborhood couple stopped to give the big Acura sedan a closer look. The RLX is trying to shed past stereotypes of its predecessor, the Acura RL, just like the Beetle. Hoping to avoid becoming the de facto "grandpa car," Acura has completely reworked - and renamed - its flagship sedan.
As the bookend to the new entry-level ILX, the addition of the 2014 RLX might give Acura its strongest sedan lineup ever as the automaker looks to break the cycle of being a middle-of-the-road luxury brand. Stepping up to the big-boy table isn't going to be easy, though, as the competition keeps getting tougher. Forget cars like the Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5 Series, the Acura RLX is going to have its hands full with the likes of the Cadillac XTS, Lexus GS and Hyundai Genesis, not to mention a strong consortium of lower-priced, mid-luxury sedans like the Hyundai Azera, Toyota Avalon and Chevy Impala. The one thing all of these cars have in common is a reputation for being an old man cruiser.
I spent a week with the new RLX to see if it could shake the stigma of its outdated predecessor or if it would just leave me searching for the nearest early bird specials.