If you've been sitting on the car-burying sidelines waiting for Acura's buck-tooth treatment to make its way to the front end of the RDX, we have good news for you. Spy pics of the 2010 RDX show that Honda's premium crossover will soon sport the love-it-or-leave-it shielded grille. Closer inspection of the front clip shows that the fog lamps and front bumper will also receive a visual tweak. The current model's uninterrupted bumper breaks at the lower air dam, which could provide some visual relief to the RDX's somewhat awkward mug. The minor update to the front end comes after only three model years of the inaugural RDX, a trend Honda will likely continue to keep up with the competition.

We don't know what the next Acura (Honda) NSX will ultimately look like, but we do know that it will have a 5.5-liter V10 throwing down 560 hp through a torque-vectoring SW-AWD setup. The folks over at Auto Express have a cutaway view of the NSX's gizzards, and what lurks beneath the creased and chevroned skin of the next do-it-all-faster supercar could be good for a few extra heartbeats. We do hope, however, that these exterior renderings are quite a ways off. Otherwise, it might not be so bad if Acura offers a cutaway version of the actual car so that you don't have to see its body, because even under the camo, the new NSX is shaping up to be um, homely.

At first we couldn't understand why the BMW X6 was birthed, and then we couldn't figure out why Acura of all companies needed to create something to compete with it. Top Speed has rendered unto us what such an enigma might look like, and, well, it ain't all bad. That's probably because it looks like an MDX with a descending roofline out back. Of course, it's impossible to know how much of any rendering is pure fiction, but The Majestic Shield of Acura matched with those lights and a proper amount of real estate could be the ideal pairing of design features and suitable canvas. Porsche's floating LEDs in the front bumper don't go astray, either.

Acura's new corporate fascia hasn't gained the affection of the automotive press, not to mention our commentators. And to make matters worse, not only is "The Shield" employed on the MDX, TSX and TL, it's expected to infect the rest of Acura's lineup into the next decade.

We're still far from convinced that the new nose was a smart move, but we've conceded that it doesn't look nearly as bad on a silver TSX, matching the lines and the color to slightly better effect.

Honda's engines have always been a bit special. Not Mazda rotary, miller-cycle or tiny V6 special, but a bit off the beaten path and resistant to market trends. For decades the Japanese automaker insisted on making engines that rotate the opposite direction than the rest of the industry (in line with its motorcycle roots), and took what seemed like an eternity to go back on its founders aversions to any more than four cylinders. Well, as anyone who's stepped into an Acura dealership knows, a V6 still doesn't cut it when you're trying to lure customers away from the likes of Lexus and BMW. And the new TL may have the company's most powerful V6 to date, but even in today's socio-economic climate, luxury consumers still want V8 muscle.

Acura's new design language, as seen on the 2009 TL, is fronted by a shield-like appendage that has received mixed reviews. The Acura 2+1 -- the numbers describe the seating arrangement -- by design student Leon Paz is what would happen if you took the shield theme to one natural conclusion. By maintaining the edge throughout the concept's "modern baroque styling," Paz has come up we something we kinda dig.

Click above for more photos of the 2009 Acura TL
The floodgates will open on the '09 Acura TL soon enough, but in the meantime, Inside Line has posted a set of press photos and confirmed the car's final specs. As has been previously reported, there are two versions: a base 3.5L car with 285 horses and front-wheel drive; and the range-topping TL SH-AWD, which gets a 305-horsepower 3.7L V6. The Type S is history, replaced in essence by the SH-AWD. Both TL models are mated to 5-speed automatics, and a stiffer chassis should help make time spent behind the wheel more engaging.

Click above for high-res gallery of spy shots

Image: Photoshopped Acura TL coupe courtesy of Acurazine.

Acura's aim of becoming a "Tier 1" luxury brand has been thwarted by a lineup that some view as nothing more than decked-out Hondas. Dan Bonawitz, Honda's vice president of corporate planning and logistics believes that broadening Acura's line of vehicles is the way to compete with Audi, BMW and Mercedes.

The first step is to introduce an all-new vehicle that will arrive before the new NSX in 2010. A coupe is a possibility, filling the gap left by the dearly departed RSX and older CL. A retractable hardtop could be part of the package, and there's also talk of a four-door "coupe" that could contend with the M-B CLS and Audi's upcoming A7.