20 years ago, a super blockbuster film “American Highway 1” in the history of documentaries brought us the most beautiful portrait of America in history, and it can be called one of the greatest documentaries. This has inspired countless successors to follow in the footsteps of Robert Kramer to find the most beautiful American style on the east coast of the Pacific Ocean.
By chance 10 years ago, when I drove back to Qingdao from Shenzhen, I took the coastal road on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean, especially the coastal road from Shantou-Xiamen-Fuzhou, which was almost driving close to the seaside, with lush mountains and cliffs on one side and magnificent waves on the other. The waves of the Pacific Ocean, everything in front of you stretches into a beautiful scenery that takes your breath away.
One day in early September, I got an opportunity to retake the coastal road in southern Fujian, and received an invitation to drive GAC Acura TXL-L to find China’s No. 1 highway. The itinerary was Fuzhou-Pingtan-Chongwu-Xiamen. As an off-road enthusiast, in fact, the distance in my mind has always been in the west of China. No matter Xinjiang, Qinghai or Tibet, they can all resonate with me. Go to places that ordinary people can’t go to, and see the most rare beauty in the world. The general series of scenic spots has not aroused the slightest interest, but this trip to the seashore in southern Fujian has felt another way of travel and picturesque scenery.
As mentioned at the beginning of the article, it was because of a faint concern about the seaside road along the coast of southern Fujian that the decision to take it again was made.
In fact, beauty is everywhere.
This time, GAC Acura’s line activities will take the form of multiple line sub-stations. The theme of this station (Fuzhou-Xiamen) is “Wave the Blue Coast”. According to the arrangement, our group of car owners, moderators and media from all over the country will adopt a “variety show” self-driving activity full of discovery and exploration. Activities on this site are divided into four groups, each with a theme. According to the four major themes of food, beauty, art and humanities, and sports technology. In fact, this kind of gameplay is quite cool, and it is much more interesting than the kind of travel where you get in the car to sleep and get off to see the scenery.
Coincidentally, this time the lottery was assigned to the beautiful scenery group, so the self-driving theme of this group is of course beautiful scenery. After a brief departure ceremony, we drove to Pingtan, a 150-kilometer journey to reach Pingtan easily.
Fujian, located in the southeast of China, has a unique landform. The terrain is dominated by mountains and hills. The skeleton of Fujian’s topography is composed of two large mountain belts in the west and middle. The two large mountain belts are northeast-southwest and parallel to the coast. In Fujian, there are towering peaks and ridges, continuous hills, interspersed with river valleys and basins. The unique geological structure allows our convoy to hover in the mountains, pass through the tunnels, and experience the lush mountains all the way. It suddenly becomes clear to us that we are about to arrive at our first destination, Beigang.
There are 6 cars in each car group including the team leader, consisting of GAC Acura TLX-L and RDX. Each car includes 4 coaches. I was assigned a GAC Acura TLX-L in the morning. Since I have a seventh-generation GAC Honda Accord at home, I pay special attention to this Acura TLX-L of the GAC series. Due to the different positioning, it is inappropriate to compare the Guangben Accord and GAC Acura TLX-L too much, just talk about the driving experience.
In the car, thanks to the body size of 4981 x 1854 x 1447mm and the wheelbase of 2900mm, GAC Acura TLX-L brings us a spacious and comfortable feeling, which is unmatched by the Acura Accord. Although TLX-L is based on the ninth-generation Guangben Accord platform, its advantages in class positioning are destined to be more “luxury” than the Accord in terms of body size. The appearance and interior are quite satisfactory, full of business sense.
TLX-L did not follow the popular trend of small-displacement turbocharging. On the contrary, it chose to stick to the traditional naturally aspirated camp-the four-cylinder engine with a displacement of 2.4L uses Honda’s signature i-VTEC technology , and is equipped with the world’s only 8-speed dual-clutch gearbox equipped with a hydraulic torque converter, which can theoretically guarantee its better reliability and durability. Power system, maximum power 153kw/6800rpm, peak torque 247N.m/4500rpm.
As for the appearance of the vehicle, everyone has their own vision and standards. GAC Acura TLX-L’s relatively restrained appearance is more business-oriented. Of course, considering IKEA, it is also a good choice for home use.
It is worth mentioning that GAC Acura TLX-L has a set of flexible PAWS four-wheel precision steering system, which can assist steering and play a stabilizing role. The steering system also showed its excellent handling performance in the test drive. But unfortunately it did not appear on the entry-level model.
In the era of mobile Internet, which is inseparable from the Internet anytime and anywhere, smart mobile terminals such as smartphones and tablets have become people’s indispensable companions. In addition to providing a rear multimedia control system with audio control function in the rear row, GAC Acura TLX-L also considerately adds dual USB ports for users. The top model has up to 5 USB ports, which is very convenient.
The time in Beigang was not too long. We just took a simple photo shoot and stayed on the side of the road, and then we went to the lunch place. In fact, a lot of scenery is on the way. Riding in the exquisite and luxurious GAC Acura TLX-L car like a VIP, turn on the Acura/ELS studio monitor-level audio system, the warm sunshine in early autumn falls through the panoramic sunroof, with mountains and cliffs on one side and blue waves on the other. The feeling in the painting is the real enjoyment of this trip.
After lunch, the crew members changed vehicles. We switched to a GAC Acura RDX. The friends were still driving in rotation. When I held the steering wheel, a sense of familiarity came to my mind. Why? This is the unique feeling of driving an SUV model in a tall body. No wonder the fellow media friends joked that Brother Hei, who had been serious all morning, smiled a little.
In the afternoon, according to the itinerary, we will go to the next destination – Chongwu Town, where there is a beautiful seaside resort. The 180-kilometer coastal road from Pingtan County to Chongwu Town is relatively easy. Driving all the way to the southwest along the coastline that is close at hand, the waves outside the car seem to be within reach. The smear of blue in front of us extends to the horizon and merges with the blue sky. The sea breeze and waves roar and beat against the reef, and the waves surge up and accompany us all the way forward.
Different from GAC AcuraTXL-L, the characteristics of an SUV make the field of view of RDX wider. As the main SUV model of GAC Acura, it has its own remarkable features in terms of appearance, interior, power and configuration. It is reported that the new generation of GAC Acura RDX will be launched soon, and the fastest time is probably at the end of the year. Is it worth looking forward to?
The short test drive event ended soon, and the closing ceremony of this event was held at the seaside resort beach in Chongwu Town. It was a wonderful night and a very exciting dinner. Hearty and unforgettable.
Every place has its own scenery and characteristics, no matter the towering and vast snow-covered plateau or the seaside with blue waves, when you integrate into it, you will have some understanding and insights, and the same is true for life!
