It's time for Acura to get serious. I don't mean serious in a "no more fun" sense, I mean serious in a "We're committed to creating full-fledged premium cars, and not just really good Hondas" sense.

That's what the 2009 Acura TSX feels like to me -- a really good Honda. That's great if you already love Hondas and just won the lottery, but if you're trying to bring non-Honda-philes into the fold, this car can't do it.

I drove the TSX on a variety of roads, including Mulholland Drive. On that twisty stretch of asphalt the car was confident, flingable and predictable right up to the limit. I loved the smooth-like-buttah shifter, the responsive-yet-refined power delivery and the heavily-bolstered seats that proved both comfortable and supportive. Basically, it felt like a big Civic Si.

And certainly there are worse descriptions for a car to wear, but when I'm spending $32,000 for a luxury sedan with a premium nameplate do I want to feel like I'm piloting a large Civic -- even one with supple leather seats and a highly advanced in-car entertainment system? If I'm a huge Honda fan, the answer could very well be yes. If I'm cross-shopping an A4, 3 Series or IS 250, probably not.

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Just took a gander at Automotive News' future product plan for Japanese carmakers. Not too surprisingly, the coming years hold hybrids and crossovers from the Land of the Rising Sun (actually, many of them will come from right here in North America). Each automaker has a few interesting items in the pipeline.

Acura: No official confirmation of a V8 in Acura's future, which I continue to view as the division's greatest failing. The next RL is due in 2011, so they better make up their mind. But we do know a V10 engine will power the NSX replacement. I like that they have a full-tilt exotic in the works, but one vehicle does not a division make (as was proven with the last NSX).

Honda: Honda will continue to push hybrids, with a smaller-than-Civic model. No more Accord hybrids, but the Odyssey will be Honda's first V6 diesel-powered vehicle in the U.S. in 2010 (also the year CR-V goes diesel with a 4 cyl.).  I'm personally looking forward to the Remix, the spiritual successor to the CRX. And between the Pilot and CR-V? Yup, another crossover is coming.

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Acura wants emotional design to guide the company's future direction, and the new Advanced Sports Car concept is supposed to represent that direction. It is a front-engine, all-wheel-drive two-door and I really like the overall proportions (reminds me of the GR-1 concept that Ford showed two years ago, and should have made). But the details are too C5 Corvette-like. The C5 was a fine design...in 1997, but it's 10 years later and I would have liked to see more design boldness to go with the mechanical changes (front engine V-10 and AWD).

Still, it looks better than the concept they they showed in L.A.

The idea of starting with a CR-V, affixing some Acura badges, and calling it a BMW X3 competitor struck me as, well, I'll use the word "unrealistic." It's not that I'm over-the-top in love with the X3 or anything, but I simply didn't see Honda pulling this one off. After all, the X3 begins with a 3 Series. The CR-V starts with a, um, Civic. But I took the RDX home last night, and on my way I made a quick detour along Mulholland Drive. Suffice to say, I was wrong.

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I'm a huge fan of turbocharging, and between my 1989 Dodge Shadow Shelby CSX and my 1991 Dodge Stealth R/T Twin Turbo I've experienced my fair share of turbo rush. But during the 1990s a good chunk of turbocharged models went away, most never to return. We lost the Supra, RX-7, Eclipse/Talon (the turbo versions), 300ZX, Stealth/3000 GT and Daytona. Some manufacturers never gave up their turbo ways (like Saab, Subaru and Volvo), and others like Volkswagen/Audi have fully embraced this technology over the past decade. As with the diesel engine's transformation in the past 10 years (in case you haven't noticed, diesels aren't noisy, smelly or sooty anymore), computer technology has kept turbos eco-friendly while gradually improving their driveability. Now for 2007 you have two automakers (BMW and Honda/Acura) offering their first turbo models -- ever -- in the U.S. (3 Series Coupe and Acura RDX).

The next version of the Mini Cooper will also offer turbo power, and of course the latest Porsche 911 Turbo utilizes its most advanced turbo yet (though the basic philosophy of a variable nozzle turbo was offered way back in my 1989 Shelby CSX). I'm all for the return of hair dryers (that's street speak for a turbo) as long as we can avoid those garish "Turbo" graphics of the 1980s. And if the manufacturers do it right this new breed of turbos should provide hefty bumps in performance with minimal fuel mileage penalties (assuming the driver doesn't keep the engine in constant boost).

Any other fond turbo memories out there? Anyone intrigued by (or skeptical of) a turbocharged BMW? Turbos are not traditionally seen as a premium engine component (shhh, don't tell Bentley), so will putting a turbo in a 3 Series hurt that car's image?