However, Acura has not heeded another unwritten maxim of flagship luxury car engineering. Rather than offer a V8 engine, which Honda does not possess in its arsenal, the 2005 Acura RL is motivated by a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter VTEC V6 making 300 horsepower. It's teamed with a five-speed Sequential Sportshift automatic transmission with a traditional gear selector mounted atop the center console as well as paddle-type shifters on the steering wheel. Though 300 ponies is a healthy amount of power, oil-rich and power-hungry Americans tend to favor eight cylinders or more in their luxury rides. C'mon, Honda, build a V8. The NSX really needs one, and so does your new Pilot-based pickup truck. A full complement of safety features protects the 2005 Acura RL's passengers, with an advanced crumple zone system (Advanced Compatibility Engineering, or ACE) and an intensive use of aluminum that reduces the chances of injury not only for the occupants of your car but of the car, or pedestrian, with which you collided. Side curtain airbags and stability control come standard, as do adaptive front headlamps that swivel to illuminate better around corners. Other desirable features on the 2005 Acura RL include a 10-speaker Bose DVD stereo system, keyless ignition and the requisite wood-and-leather interior. And here's a feature that will go over big in traffic-clogged areas - a real-time traffic monitor using the XM NavTraffic service that comes with satellite radio. It'll tell you which streets are congested, about accidents that are backing up traffic and the average road speeds of different routes. It's a first for the American market, and we think it'll go a long way toward making expensive navigation systems more useful to commuters who tend to travel the same routes every day.
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