This is the Sport Hybrid's twin motor unit, derived from that
used in the NSX super cars, which is positioned between
the rear wheels, where the AWD rear differential is located
in a non-hybrid MDX. It contains two 36-hp electric motors
that are located back to back. The motors not only help
improve launch performance, but because they operate
independently, they facilitate dynamic torque vectoring.
From 2004 on Ikeda focused on designing Acura products.
Just how much he focused on Acura is manifest in his present
position, which he attained in July 2015: vice president and
general manager of the Acura Division of American Honda
Motor Company, Inc.
That's right. He's the guy in charge.
Or, as Ikeda modestly puts it, "About a year-and-a-half ago
they moved me over the fence to do what I think is needed for
the Acura brand."
And what Ikeda thinks is needed goes back to his days in
Japan, where he thought that there was a great deal of
enthusiasm for creating great-looking cars (yes, it
was about cars back then, sedans and coupes and
that nascent NSX, the first generation of which
appeared in the U.S. in 1990) that had perfor-
mance chops.
"We are trying to get back to our roots," Ikeda
says. And those roots are fairly well encapsu-
lated by what is nominally a tagline used by
Acura: "Precision Crafted Performance."
But Ikeda says, "It's not just a tagline. We
are the performance division of Honda,"
adding, "And if we're going to talk about per-
formance, one of the key cornerstones is that
we have a sports car." He's talking, of course, about the
NSX, the second generation, in particular, which launched last
year. He goes on to point out that if they're going to have a sports
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COVER STORY