1997 Polaris Ultra 680 Intake Boots on 2040-parts.com

Acura's bargain birth introduced Japanese luxury to the U.S. 25 years ago

The idea seemed almost ludicrous to Tom Elliott back in 1982, but there it was, in black and white, on Honda Motor Co.'s strategic product plan. Elliott's bosses in Japan had decided to sell a car priced at more than $20,000 in the United States, taking the Japanese brand dramatically upscale. And Elliott, Honda's U.S.

On display at the Petersen museum, the best of the worst!

They're so bad they're good, these cars, good enough to warrant a museum exhibit. Starting Feb. 28 and running through the end of September, the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles celebrates all that is good about bad car ideas in an exhibit titled "What Were They Thinking?" Sure, there are Edsels and Amphicars.

VW Beetle Dune at the Detroit auto show

Of all the production-leaning concept vehicles at the Detroit auto show, the Volkswagen Beetle Dune's the sort of flight of fancy nobody was looking for. Nissan's Sport Sedan heralds the look of the next Maxima, which will likely trickle down in some way to future Altimas, Sentras and Versas. It looks as if Nissan will put one of its techno-retro RWD IDx concepts into production.