Acura: "Some" 2010 MDX Models Will Qualify for Purchase With Clunker Vouchers

Acura: "Some" 2010 MDX Models Will Qualify for Purchase With Clunker Vouchers

By John O'Dell June 30, 2009

Revamped SUV Apparently Would Boast 23% a 6 % Fuel Economy Hike, No Word on How

(Note:  We are red-faced with embarrassment. Acura would only have to boost MDX fuel economy by 1 mile per gallon, to 18 mpg, not 22 mpg, to qualify for the program. That's because the MDX is a light truck, not a car, and it means a 6 percent increase, not 23 percent.
It also means it would be a lot easier to accomplish and wouldn't require much more than a 6-speed transmission and some weight reduction and aerodynamic tweaks to achieve. We've edited this article to eliminate the stuff that's just plain wrong, but in the spirit of transparency, are only striking it out, not erasing it, so you can see where and how badly we messed up.)    

By John O'Dell, Senior Editor

Look for some fuel-economy news from Acura next month.

Buried deep in a missive Honda's luxury division sent out this week notifying the automotive press that Acura has several models that would qualify for purchase with a cash for clunkers voucher was this tidbit:

"Certain models of the 2010 MDX luxury sport-utility vehicle" will qualify. 

That means those 2010 Acura MDX models will have to get at least 22 18 miles per gallon on the EPA's rating for combined city and highway driving. And that means Acura has figured out a way to make the 17 mpg, 7-seat, 300 horsepower SUV into a 22 mpg fuel-sipper (well, maybe not a sipper but at least not as thirsty as the present model).

That's a 23 percent improvement, which isn't too shabby.

Just how they're going to do it remains a secret. Acura won't talk until the official 2010 MDX introduction on July 20.

But given the MDX placement atop the Acura SUV lineup, it's unlikely that the improved mileage will be achieved by shoving a four-banger into the engine bay and calling it a day.

We're guessing - and it's just guessing at this point, no leaks from insiders helping us out - is that the higher-mileage MDX models will use six-speed automatic transmissions instead of the five-speeds used across the line in the '09 MDX.  

Acura might then remove the third-row seating to lighten the SUV and drop all-wheel drive to increase fuel economy, and/or add Honda's cylinder deactivation system to the MDX's 3.7-liter V6. or even stick a smaller, turbocharged V6 in the engine bay.

A couple of longshots: Is there an Acura MDX hybrid in the works, or could the company be resurrecting the V6 diesel it once planned for its SUVs?

John O'Dell:  is an AutoObserver Senior Editor. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.