The 1980s

• First Japanese luxury automotive brand – March 27, 1986

The 1990s

• First production vehicle in the U.S. to have a variable valve timing system (VTEC®) – NSX, 1990
• First production vehicle in the U.S. to have electric power-assisted steering – NSX, 1990
• First production vehicle with aluminum monocoque body – NSX, 1990
• First production vehicle to have titanium connecting rods – NSX, 1990
• First production vehicle in the U.S. to have a drive-by-wire throttle system – NSX, 1990
• First production vehicle in the U.S. to have a 4-channel anti-lock braking system – NSX, 1990
• First production vehicle sold in the U.S. with a standard Digital Signal Processor (DSP) stereo as standard equipment – Vigor, 1991
• First production vehicle to use block-forged connecting rods – RL, 1995
• First production car with an in-dash satellite-linked navigation system – RL, 1997
• First luxury import brand to design, engineer and assemble cars entirely in the U.S. – 1997
• First production vehicle with passenger side airbag deployment based on height and position sensors – RL 1998
• First vehicle to have dual-stage driver- and passenger-side side airbags

The 2000s

• First (and currently only) luxury SUV to receive NHTSA’s quadruple Five Star safety rating – MDX, 2002
• First and only luxury SUV to have standard 3rd-row seating – MDX, 2000
• First vehicle to have independent front/rear automatic climate control system – MDX, 2000
• First SUV to have Variable Torque Management 4WD System – MDX, 2000
• First Luxury SUV to have a ULEV emission rating – MDX, 2000
• First SUV to have a ULEV-II emission rating – MDX, 2002
• First car to have navigation system as standard equipment – RL, 2003
• First car to have XM® Satellite Radio as standard equipment – RL, 2003
• First car to have Bluetooth® technology as standard equipment – TL, 2003
• First car to have a DVD-Audio system as standard equipment – TL, 2003
• First car in class to have solar-sensing, GPS-linked climate control – TL, 2003
• First car in class to have dual mode/dual zone climate control – TL, 2003
• First car in class to have bi-xenon headlights standard – TL, 2003
• First application of acoustic glass windshield – TL, MDX 2003
• First application of Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) in an Acura vehicle – RL, 2004
• First vehicle to be equipped with satellite-linked real-time traffic – RL, 2004
• First vehicle to be equipped with a torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive sytem (Super Handling All-Wheel Drive™ / SH-AWD™) – RL, 2004
• First vehicle to be equipped with satellite communication system enabling direct vehicle communication with manufacturer – RL, 2004
• First Acura to feature Hard Disk Drive (HDD) – 2009 TL with Technology Package
• First real-time satellite weather tracking service for in-vehicle GPS-based navigation system – 2009 RL, TL & TSX with Technology Package
• First Acura with radar precipitation imaging – 2009 TL with Technology Package
• First vehicle to alert the driver if there is a weather warning along the intended route
• First automotive nameplate to simultaneously achieve top honors from NHTSA and IIHS for front, side and rear crash worthiness in all vehicles

The 2010s

• Acura repeats as the only luxury brand to receive Five-Star crash safety ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for all models
• First 25th anniversary for a Japanese luxury automotive brand – March 27, 2011