AcuraRl

In what appears to be a classic case of sweating the small stuff, the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board have refused to grant Honda a trademark for the term, "Acura RL," which, as we're sure you are aware, is the name of the luxury firm's flagship model. From what we can tell, this means that the Japanese automaker does not hold a trademark for the car's complete name.

The reasons given make sense from a technical standpoint, as the TTAB's response to Honda's appeal states that "we find that the likely impression here is that ACURA is the trademark for a line (or "make") of cars, while RL is a trademark for a particular "model" of that line."

Not only is team Corvette taking shots at the Nissan GT-R, besting its 'Ring time in the process, so is Acura with its well-publicized NSX replacement.

Acura may finally be getting serious about entering the large-car luxury game with a new version of its range-topping sedan, the RL. The latest spy shots of what is likely the 2011 RL appear to corroborate recent rumors suggesting that Honda will ditch the long-running front-wheel-drive layout in a bid to compete with its peer class, which includes the BMW 5 series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

Acura is in the middle of a total makeover, and while we've already seen the RL and TSX, the Japanese automaker's bread and butter TL has been out of the spotlight, until now. Spy photographers have snapped up a couple shots of the 2009 TL sans the requisite crazy patterns and without most bras, leaving some poorly fit panels to throw us off.

Though auto pundits and car enthusiasts alike have been calling on Acura to drop its ban on rear-wheel-drive and V8 engines, no one ever really expects the automaker to go through with it. It's the brand's identity, its thing, its shtick. Though an Acura may be down on torque and driven by the wrong set of wheels compared to its German competition, most buyers at least marvel at how much the engineers have done in terms of performance and handling when saddled with a V6 and front-wheel-drive or part-time all-wheel-drive.