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 NHTSAs 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