drivetofive

Odometer:  510,356

In its day, my 1994 Legend was cream of the crop in the Acura lineup.  After the Legend as we know it was dropped after the 1995 model year, it came the 3.5 RL, and then just the RL, and for 2013 Acura’s top model is going to be called the RLX.  Naming conventions aside, this latest iteration promises to be the most advanced flagship model we’ve ever seen from Acura since the company’s 1986 birth.

A 3.5 liter V6 engine will produce over 370 horsepower mated to a 7-speed dual clutch transmission to get this big luxury sedan moving quickly.  A revolutionary Precision All Wheel Steering system coupled with available Acura signature Super Handling All-Wheel-Drive (SH-AWD) means it will handle just as well as it looks.  This may be the first time a Honda product has seen all-wheel-steering since the beloved Prelude that I talked about in a recent post.  I love the look and I’m excited about this vehicle accompanying the upcoming NSX as Acura’s “halo” duo.

Handsome looking ride!  This new RL looks to be a nice improvement over the outgoing model.  Some of you may remember my friend Jeremy who proudly purchased an old Legend several months ago.  He’s already upgraded!  Last weekend he picked up a super clean 2005 Acura RL.

Meanwhile, my old Legend continues faithfully.  In current maintenance news:  I’ve been driving on my (full size) spare tire for about 6 weeks now.  The front left tire had a slow leak and I got tired of refilling the air every week or so, and I threw on my spare.  Secondly, on extended highway drives (several hours or more) I’m getting a “Code 12” check engine light.  Performance is unaffected but apparently the repair is pretty involved and will require the system to be disassembled and cleaned.  One of these days!

A friend in Houston forwarded a craigslist ad to me this week for a Type II 6-speed Legend that’s been subjected to some pretty heavy duty recreation!  This one’s a Desert Mist Metallic coupe, same color as mine, but in L model trim:

Indeed the Legend owner’s manual does have a complete 4-page section on towing how-to!  And a trailer weight of up to 2,000 pounds is A-okay.  Who knew that people actually use these cars for that?

This also reminds me of the time I saw a post on the Legend forums about a guy who actually towed a Legend with another Legend!   Philadelphia to Denver (1,850 miles) with a coupe being towed by a sedan.  I had to see the picture to believe it.

Last I checked, these cars weigh about 3,500 pounds so he was pressing his luck for sure.  But it also says a lot for the endurance of the drivetrain that the car withstood such a task.  Maybe if I ever buy a jet ski I’ll paint it Desert Mist Metallic and tow it behind my car!

This entry was posted on April 10, 2012 at 1:38 am and is filed under RLX. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.