The ILX Experience
Odometer: 508,964
After completing my Drive to Five last November, naturally I started thinking about the day that will inevitably come when it’s time to retire the old Legend from daily duty. Today, I’m 9,000 miles later in my Legend but getting some very exclusive behind-the-scenes perspectives on a brand new and exciting Acura model called the 2013 ILX. I was sitting on the front row at the Acura Press Conference in Detroit at the North American International Auto show when the cover was pulled off the ILX concept car, and I’ve since been able to sit behind the wheel of the production version. It’s a sleek ride!
Acura has graciously invited me to spend some time with the design teams and executives at Headquarters who are responsible for bringing this new car to life. I also got to see, touch, and even drive a pre-production ILX. As I’d shared in a recent post, in the coming months I’m going to share this exclusive look at what’s new from Acura with all of you. I’ll be relaying my discoveries on a special Acura Facebook page called “ILX Experience“.
- The first tab, ILX Access, will chronicle my encounters through a series of videos. Already posted there are a few videos from my trip to the Detroit Auto Show in January, as well as meetings in Torrance, CA with Jon Ikeda (Acura Chief Designer), and John Norman (Acura Interior Designer).
- The second tab will provide more details about the ILX itself including pictures and technical information.
- The third tab gives a little background on me, and
- The fourth (Tyson’s ILX Blog) will parallel Drive to Five with some insights into my observations about the new car. The Facebook portal also serves as a Q&A for anyone who wants to interact with me by asking a question about the ILX.
Designer Jon Ikeda has a long history with Honda & Acura – it was incredible to have a dialogue with him about his role as a pioneer in Acura design. I quickly learned during our visit that everything you see on an Acura, whether it be in my old Legend or this all-new ILX, has a great deal of design strategy behind it. Stay tuned to the upcoming videos as I learn more.
I’m really excited about continuing to share my experiences! Join me for the ride.
I was raised around cars; my two brothers and I have always shared an interest in anything with a motor and four wheels! The old Legend made a 50-mile trek yesterday to the outskirts of western Phoenix in a teeny town called Wittman, Arizona. Wittman is home to the Speedworld Raceway which hosted the 2012 Desert Diesel Nationals drag-race event. My younger brother Bentley is owner of a diesel truck performance company called H&S Performance. He brought his race truck down from Utah to compete in yesterday’s event.
Arriving at the speedway. Perhaps I should have entered the high mileage Legend in the Sand Drags or the Mud Bogs?
Pre-race shot with my 2 brothers, Bentley and Payton.
This 2008 Dodge truck is equipped with a 6.7 liter Cummins diesel motor. Tricked out in its current state, it produced 946 horsepower in a recent dyno test, over 4 times the 230 horsepower output of my little 3.2 liter Acura Type II V6!
Payton finally gets his shot at the 1/4 mile dragstrip. His best run of the day was an 11.7 second quarter mile at 127 miles per hour. This is one pickup with some serious pick up!
Payton’s time was good enough to get him a first place trophy in the Pro Street class. Congratulations P!
My parting shot today is special for two reasons: It’s taken at a CVS pharmacy (my employer) and it shows perhaps the most car-friendly parking space ever! For someone who typically parks a mile away to avoid door dings, this particular spot at the store on Indian School Road in Scottsdale, Arizona gives front-row store access without putting your car into a battle zone!
I loved it enough to snag a couple of phone pictures last night.
drivetofive 
March 11, 2012 at 7:40 pm
500k Legend driver, Acura ILX insider, road trip KING, jeeze I need to get out of the house more and tag along on some of these great adventures.
Can’t wait to see the ILX insider page for real!
March 12, 2012 at 1:36 am
Thanks Dave – I’ll keep you in the loop. Always fun to take others along with me on my adventures – even if it’s just electronically.
March 11, 2012 at 8:12 pm
While Dave (above) and I sit home and read about all your adventures, we trust that you’ll make us proud and deliver the continually entertaining blog. I should have done with my foot racing adventures what you have done with your driving adventures. Between us, many miles we have covered! Here’s to a perpetual forward motion!
March 12, 2012 at 1:37 am
Forward indeed. Onward, ever onward 🙂
March 11, 2012 at 8:13 pm
P.S. Time clock seems to be messed up — mine or yours? I wrote this at 2:12 p.m.
March 12, 2012 at 1:38 am
Not sure – I’ll look into this! You crazy people outside AZ had to change clocks today.
March 12, 2012 at 3:03 am
This looks like big smoke (or exhasust smoke) that will undoubtedly be a good read. It will also be nice to peer into the road rides of a favorite grandson, who loves his Acura and any other “A” that has been given TLC (which could stand for Tyson loves cars!). I will excitedly follow your postings!
March 12, 2012 at 4:40 am
Thanks for tuning in, Doce! Much more to come. Look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks!
March 12, 2012 at 2:46 pm
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March 12, 2012 at 2:49 pm
Your forum link wasn’t working. Here you go. Thanks for following the blog! http://www.ilxforums.com/forum/9-acura-ilx-general-discussion-forum/108-ilx-experience.html#post384
March 13, 2012 at 4:26 am
Are you telling me that my previous post was not accepted? If that is the case, you really missed out on a lot of compliments from an awed-over you Grandma. I am blown away by your professionalism, good looks, etc. etc. Keep me in the loop.
Love ya!!!
March 13, 2012 at 6:31 pm
You know Tyson… none of your blog posts would be complete without my inevitable comments! My question is this… will the ILX have room for my skis and ski gear? What will the tire size be and will someone over 6’2″ even be able to get in and out of the car? Will the seats fold down and be split folding? How does the quality of the leather feel? How much more will this car cost me when I can buy a 2012 CIvic EX-L Navi? You know how much I love the TL and TSX, but what am I supposed to compare this model to… a Scion? Can we fit the ILX in the back of one of the H&S Trucks? Acura is going to have to sell me really hard to advocate the ILX…
March 14, 2012 at 2:19 am
I look forward to your comments! It remains to be seen if the ILX will be capable of housing your 6’6 body and all its gear! I’ll have to get back with you on the rest of the questions about folding seats but the wheels are 17″ in diameter and the leather felt great to me. I especially liked the texture of of the steering wheel. Stay tuned! Hopefully I’ll get a chance to take a closer look soon.
March 13, 2012 at 11:32 pm
Haha at Jeremy’s comments above. And I love that Doce, a.k.a. Grandma McGregor, is following your blog. Let’s get her into a new ILX! Think gramps would go for it?
March 14, 2012 at 2:20 am
She really should! I think she’d love the “smaller car” feel and Grandpa would surely approve of the fuel economy if she got the Hybrid model. Perhaps it’s time to retire that Heather Mist Metallic 1997 3.5 RL they’ve been driving since 2004!
March 14, 2012 at 5:21 am
Hey, my arm is very twistable, but I am married to this Bah! Humbug kind who thinks that if I survive him (likely) I’d be a hot commodity on the road in a sweet car like the ILX. Oh, well, as long as my Healther Mist continues to perform as well as it does, I might as well try to break your record for number of miles – if I live to be 100.