BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — The first Alabama-made 2014 Acura MDX sport utility should move into production at Honda’s manufacturing plant in Lincoln at the end of April, plant officials said after the model debuted at the New York International Auto Show today.
The redesigned Alabama-made 2014 Acura MDX is quicker, more aerodynamic and features a new 3.5-liter V-6 engine and an upgraded cabin interior, among other things. See a photo gallery here.
Honda has never produced a model from its Acura luxury line at its Alabama plant, which makes Odyssey minivans, Pilot SUVs and Ridgeline pickups. (Honda unveiled a 2014 Odyssey today with a neat feature – an internal vacuum.)
The automaker showed off a prototype version of the new Acura MDX at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January. The production version – the model that actually will be made in Alabama – debuted today. Dealers should receive the first models in mid-2013.
“For the past two years, since we announced that production of the Acura MDX would transfer to Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, our associates have focused as one team to achieve our goal of exceeding the expectations of Acura customers with the new MDX,” Ted Pratt, a spokesman for Honda’s Lincoln plant, said. “With today’s unveiling at the New York Auto Show, HMA is proud to be the exclusive production source of the all-new Acura MDX that was designed, developed and engineered in the U.S.”
Honda’s Alabama operation has announced plans to expand capacity at the Talladega County plant, which produced nearly 337,000 vehicles last year.
