{"id":3856,"date":"2026-01-06T04:02:04","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T12:02:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/max2voyages.com\/?p=3856"},"modified":"2026-01-06T04:02:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T12:02:04","slug":"acura-shows-us-whatll-be-touching-our-butts-in-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/?p=3856","title":{"rendered":"Acura Shows Us What\u2019ll Be Touching Our Butts in the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Interior materials science, a.k.a. CMF (for colors, materials, and finishes) may not be the sexiest gig at a car company, but for car lovers like us, it\u2019s well worth geeking out on. Suspension engineers can brag about the rubber meeting the road, but CMF deals with the real human-machine interface, where the car literally connects with your senses of sight, smell, and touch. Specifically, touching your butt.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Honda is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its California-based research and development unit, where much of its U.S.-focused technology is developed. Not just car stuff, mind you; Honda\u2019s Torrance R&D center works on such esoteric projects as its space-rocket program<\/u> and the Motocompacto electric scooter<\/u>. Since Acura is a U.S.-targeted brand, here is where much of the advanced CMF stuff gets done, and we got a look at the seats of the future.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
[data-ids=CardMedia]]:flex-1 [&>[data-ids=CardMedia]]:@sm:flex-[1.5] [&>[data-ids=CardContent]]:flex-[2] @md:flex-col @md:[&>[data-ids=CardMedia]]:flex-none @md:[&>[data-ids=CardContent]]:flex-none @md:gap-2″><\/p>\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

What, exactly, does CMF look at? They are charged with finding new materials that not only look and feel good but support the Acura brand\u2019s styling and emotional themes while also meeting business goals. The latter is the tricky part. Honda, or more specifically Acura, is looking for materials that exude quality but also reduce weight. One of Honda\u2019s corporate goals is to reduce its overall carbon footprint, so the materials should be sustainable (e.g. plant-based) where possible and designed for easy recycling and reuse.<\/p>\n

The Acura team showed us partial seat models that showed off the newest technology. Of course, leather plays an important part, and the team is seeking genuine cowhides that can be tanned with more environmentally friendly processes while maintaining durability and\u2014perhaps more important\u2014offering bright, vibrant colors. But what the team is doing with synthetic leather is pretty nifty as well, with engineered surfaces that provide a better grip on your tush, which one needs in a car like the Intergra Type S<\/u>.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
[data-ids=CardMedia]]:flex-1 [&>[data-ids=CardMedia]]:@sm:flex-[1.5] [&>[data-ids=CardContent]]:flex-[2] @md:flex-col @md:[&>[data-ids=CardMedia]]:flex-none @md:[&>[data-ids=CardContent]]:flex-none @md:gap-2″><\/p>\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The team has come up with a rather creative solution to weight saving: Forget upholstery. One of the seat samples we saw had 3-D printed plastic mesh, the sort of thing usually hidden away beneath the upholstery, propping up your posterior in anonymity. Now, the Acura CMF team has left it bare, where it blends nicely with other materials. The mesh bears more than a passing resemblance to Acura\u2019s caliper logo and the fine detail does a great job portraying the \u201cprecision\u201d message that is part of Acura\u2019s DNA.<\/p>\n

Other bits and bobs we were shown included plant-based plastics, \u201curban\u201d lumber (we have no idea what that is; our guess would be recycled wood, unless there\u2019s a forest between Figueroa and Hill Street that we weren\u2019t aware of), and shark-skin patterns molded into plastic. Along with the vividly colored leathers, we also saw minimally dyed fabrics. The CMF folks have also applied aluminum, so often used to adorn dashboards and switchgear, to the backs of seats in mesh form. It\u2019s all a long way from vinyl seat covers, that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Interior materials science, a.k.a. CMF (for colors, materials, and finishes) may not be the sexiest gig at a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3857,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[154],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interior-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3856"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3856\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/max2voyages.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}