Vehicle audio is equipment installed in a car or other vehicle to provide in-car entertainment and information for the occupants. Until the 1950s, it consisted of a simple AM radio. Additions since then have included FM radio (1952), 8-track tape players, cassette players, record players, CD players, DVD players, Blu-ray players, navigation systems, Bluetooth telephone integration and audio streaming, and smartphone controllers like CarPlay and Android Auto. Once controlled from the dashboard with a few buttons, they can be controlled by steering wheel controls and voice commands.
Acura is the luxury and performance division of Japanese automaker Honda, based primarily in North America. The brand was launched on March 27, 1986, marketing luxury and performance automobiles. Acura sells cars in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Panama, and Kuwait. The company has also previously sold cars in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Russia, and Ukraine. Plans to introduce Acura to the Japanese domestic market in the late 2000s did not eventuate due to the financial crisis of 2007–2008.
The Acura TL is a car that was manufactured by Acura, the North American luxury division of Honda. It was introduced in 1995 to replace the Acura Vigor and was badged for the Japanese-market from 1996 to 2000 as the Honda Inspire and from 1996 to 2004 as the Honda Saber. The TL was Acura's best-selling model until it was outsold by the MDX in 2007. In 2005, it ranked as the second best-selling luxury sedan in the United States behind the BMW 3 Series, but sales decreased after the 2008 model year. Four generations of the Acura TL were produced, with the final fourth generation TL premiering in 2008 as a 2009 model and ending production in 2014, when it was replaced together with the TSX by the TLX.
The Acura MDX is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV with three-row seating produced by the Japanese automaker Honda under its luxury Acura division since 2000. The alphanumeric moniker stands for "Multi-Dimensional" luxury. It has ranked as the second-best selling mid-size luxury SUV after the Lexus RX in the U.S.
The Acura EL is a subcompact executive car that was built at Honda's Alliston, Ontario, plant, and also the first Acura built in Canada. It was also exclusively sold in Canada. The EL is a badge-engineered Honda Civic with a higher level of features. There is no Type-S trim offered on any Acura EL.
The Acura RL is a full size luxury car that was manufactured by the Acura division of Honda for the 1996–2012 model years over two generations. The RL was the flagship of the marque, having succeeded the Acura Legend, and was replaced in 2013 by the Acura RLX. All models of the Legend, RL and RLX lines have been adapted from the Japanese domestic market Honda Legend. The model name "RL" is an abbreviation for "Refined Luxury."
The Honda Legend is a series of V6-engined executive cars that was produced by Honda between 1985 and 2021, and served as its flagship vehicle. The Legend has also been sold under the Acura Legend, RL and RLX nameplates — the successive flagship vehicles of Honda's luxury Acura division in North America from 1986 until 2020.
Sansui Electric Co., Ltd. was a Japanese manufacturer of audio and video equipment. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, it was part of the Bermuda conglomerate.
Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) is Honda's term for its variable displacement technology, which saves fuel by using the i-VTEC system to disable one bank of cylinders during specific driving conditions—for example, highway driving. The second version of VCM (VCM-2) took this a step further, allowing the engine to go from 6 cylinders, down to 4, and further down to 3 as the computer sees fit. The most recent version of VCM (VCM-3) reverted to the previous 3- and 6-cylinder operation.
McIntosh Laboratory is an American manufacturer of handcrafted high-end audio equipment headquartered in Binghamton, New York. It is a subsidiary of McIntosh Group, which is under the ownership umbrella of Highlander Partners, a Dallas-based private equity firm.
Denon is a Japanese electronics company dealing with audio equipment. The Denon brand came from a merger of Denki Onkyo and others in 1939, but it originally started as Nippon Chikuonki Shoukai in 1910 by Frederick Whitney Horn, an American entrepreneur.
Alpine Electronics, Inc. is a Japanese consumer electronics subsidiary of the Japanese electronics component manufacturer Alps Electric, specialising in car audio and navigation systems.
Luxman is a brand name of Japanese Luxman Corporation (ラックスマン株式会社) that manufactures luxury audio components. Luxman produces a variety of high-end audio products, including turntables, amplifiers, receivers, tape decks, CD players and speakers.
Technics is a Japanese audio brand established by Matsushita Electric in 1965. Since 1965, Matsushita has produced a variety of HiFi and other audio products under the brand name, such as turntables, amplifiers, radio receivers, tape recorders, CD players, loudspeakers, and digital pianos. Technics products were available for sale in various countries. The brand was originally conceived as a line of high-end audio equipment to compete against brands such as Nakamichi.
The Acura ILX is a compact car (C-segment) manufactured and marketed by Honda under the Acura brand, based on the ninth-generation Civic sedan. The ILX replaced the Canadian market exclusive Acura CSX. The gasoline-electric hybrid version was Acura's first.
The Acura RLX is a mid-size flagship luxury car manufactured by Honda and sold under their Acura division, released in 2013, succeeding the RL. The RLX was discontinued in 2020.
The Acura TLX is a four-door entry-level luxury sedan sold by Acura, a luxury division of Honda, since 2014. It is the successor to both the TL and TSX models. As of 2021, the discontinuation of the RLX leaves the TLX as the flagship sedan in Acura's lineup.
