One Less Sedan: Acura TLX Production Has Ended
Americans are crazy about SUVs, causing some automakers to mostly abandon smaller cars. Acura held on longer than some, but it’s axing one of its two remaining car models. Production of the TLX sedan recently ended, marking the end of a car that has been on sale since the 1990s.
The TLX’s departure leaves the Integra as Acura’s only car model, following the discontinuation of the RLX in 2020 and the NSX in 2022. Initially called the TL, Acura renamed it the TLX in 2015, but sales have never been exceptional, peaking at around 47,000 units in 2015.
Acura built the TLX at its Ohio factory, where the Integra and Honda Accord are also manufactured. The automaker is expected to replace the TLX with a new electric SUV wearing the RSX name, which was last seen in the Acura catalog in the early 2000s on a sporty coupe that Americans got as an Integra replacement. The RSX will get a Honda-designed electric platform that the automaker will expand to other models later on.
The TLX never quite lived up to its sports-sedan billing, but the Type S variant is quick enough, and it’s a comfortable car. While the car’s disappearance doesn’t bode well for the Integra’s future, Acura recently announced a mid-cycle update for the 2026 model, so it will stick around for the foreseeable future.
[Images: Acura]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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The TL lost its way. Spaciousness, comfort and luxury should have been their priority. They went the "cockpit" and "sports sedan" route and compromised their rear seat space and made the entire car a compact sedan with mid-sized prices.
I do like the idea of a Type-S, but it didn't need to be balls-to-the-wall with AWD, twin turbos, etc. All it needed was a small bump in power and suspension tweaks, some cool wheels and accents around the exterior, and some interior styling queues that set it apart from the standard spec.
I'm so pleased that longer-lower-wider has finally run its course, paralleling the trajectories of 2000 calorie eateries. People clearly want interior space, ride height and at least a modicum of outward visibility and they're voting with their money.