Acura RL To Offer All-Wheel-Drive

The redesigned Acura RL, which debuts later this year, and a new front-drive Lincoln sedan due to hit showrooms next year will offer all-wheel-drive as an option, according to executives familiar with the product plans. As horsepower increases in front-drive sedans, engineers are telling their masters at the OEMs that torque steer is reaching the outer limits of desirability. The answer: offer all-wheel drive in at least the upmarket models with the most powerful engines. Honda and Acura offer AWD in their SUVs, such as the Pilot, MDX, and Element. The RL would be the first Honda passenger car to offer power to all four wheels. Likewise, the Lincoln sedan, based on the shared platform and architecture of the Mazda6, which also shared by the forthcoming Ford Futura, the next Lincoln Aviator and a Mercury sedan, will offer an all-wheel drive option. Ford believes that AWD will be an increasingly popular option on sedans, and is also offering the system, developed by Volvo, on the Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego.

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