“Kurumag” Magazine Interview
Odometer (Legend): 528,597
Odometer (ILX): 65,849
Happy Superbowl Sunday. Here’s the score. I think you’re OK to look away from the TV for a minute.
About a month ago, I received an email inquiry about my availability for an interview with a Japanese automotive lifestyle magazine called Kurumag. The magazine’s third issue is under development and they wanted to include my story! I may need to call upon those of you who are fluent in Japanese to translate it, but I’m stoked to see how it turns out. This morning, I received a visit from the following:
- Yujiro Otsuki, Motorsports Marketing Photographer
- Shigeyuki Ishikawa, Managing Editor, Automobile Business Division
Here’s a sneak peek at the vantage point we were able to achieve with some strategic parking and a step ladder.
Mileage, by the way, for the cars in this picture was:
- 2013 ILX: 65,802
- NSX: 97,567
- Legend 1: 144,429
- Legend 2: 528,562
- Total: 836,360
Here’s an example of Kurumag, the Winter 2013-2014 Issue, featuring Ken Block
I’m pretty anxious to see what these guys come up with! The magazine is very widely distributed so maybe I’ll pick up a few followers from that side of the world. Many thanks to Yujiro and Shigeyuki for making the time to come visit with me. My Legend sedan turned over a memorable milestone while out & about today.
Here are a few shots of my ILX from a quickie trip up Arizona Highway 87 toward Payson yesterday. I found a concrete underpass that begged to have its picture taken.
The ILX has a menacing appearance from this perspective.
Go toward the light!
Wait, is that Harry Henderson painted on the wall back there?
This masterpiece, it appears, may have originated from two different artists. Oh, the many things you see when driving the road less traveled. “So Dope,” for sure.
The real deal (I had nightmares about this guy back in 1987):
Dang, broken foglight lens. Discovered it this morning!
Hope everyone had a great weekend!
drivetofive 
February 2, 2014 at 8:30 pm
Since you’ve been following the maintenance minder on your ILX, how often do you go in between oil change now? 7 or 8,000 miles I assume? Just curious. The maintenance minder on my 2006 Accord comes on every 5,000, just due heavy city usage. So I’d assume with your heavy highway driving, it would be considerably longer intervals
February 2, 2014 at 8:39 pm
Hi Farid, that’s a great question. Coming from the Legend, I was very trained to have my car serviced at 3,000 mile intervals on the dot. When I got the ILX, I started having the oil changed every 5,000 miles. However, my service advisor at the dealership told me to wait until the Maintenance Minder told me 15%, then schedule the appointment. The result? I went 7,299 miles on that change. And the next change I went 8,969!
February 3, 2014 at 5:16 pm
That underpass made for a great environment! Acura should hire you to do some of their PR work, haha.
Enjoyed the blog, Tyson. Shattered fog light lenses seem to be common. I guess I the high Arizona temps plus around the clock use doesn’t help much.
February 3, 2014 at 6:30 pm
Hey thanks Dillon. The underpass was just kind of a hidden treasure that I spotted on a random drive. Sometimes the best road trips are the ones that have no destination at all. I’ll have to look into replacement costs for that foglight lens. It’s still working, but I’m betting the cracks will let moisture inside.
February 7, 2014 at 9:32 pm
Looks like the GS is slowly creeping up there on the odometer! Can’t see enough of that fine beauty!
Keep us updated on the magazine. Maybe the guys that came out can email you a translated version of the article?
February 7, 2014 at 11:20 pm
Hey Dave, that’s what I’m hoping as well. I’ll find out when the magazine hits the shelves and hopefully they can help me translate it. The GS needs to get out more often. If NALM is somewhere on the west coast, I may have a friend drive it out.
February 9, 2014 at 10:30 pm
Tyson,
Hope you don’t mind me asking you this question – is your Legend sedan (the one with 144k on it) automatic or stick?
Right now I’m driving a ’91 Volvo 740 (non-turbo) with 163k on the odometer. I also own a ’96 Volvo 850 (also non-turbo) that has a mere 95k miles. Admittedly, I don’t take the 850 out as much as I should – matter of fact, I don’t drive it if it’s raining, snowing or sleeting. It’s mostly a garage queen – there for entertainment.
February 10, 2014 at 6:11 am
Hi Paolo, thanks for the question. The Legend sedan is a 6-speed stick shift, just like my coupe. It was very difficult to find – the manual transmission sedans are quite rare. I bought it with 132,000 miles on it in May 2008 and have only put about 12,000 miles on it over the last 6 years.
I treat my Legend sedan exactly like you treat your Volvo 850 — no leaving the garage if the weather is bad. It hasn’t been driven in rain for many years. Keep racking up the miles on that 740, though! My neighbors are Volvo fanatics like I’m an Acura fanatic. I’ll have to get a picture of their driveway soon and send it to you.
February 10, 2014 at 6:03 pm
As promised, here’s the Volvo house. This is only with 3 of the cars. I’m certain I’ve seen at least 5 different ones there. And I know there’s one in the garage. https://drivetofive.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/volvos.jpg
February 10, 2014 at 7:32 pm
Tyson,
That is fabulous! Thanks for sharing the photo with me. I see a 240, S70 and C30 around that house. I used to have a 240 and an S70 – both were great cars but I really wanted a Volvo that would serve as both my daily driver and my long road trip car. I was lucky that I found my 740 at the right time – its original owner had just been transferred to Europe for work and needed to get rid of the car right away. I heard about it from a friend of a friend so I immediately headed over to the owner’s house. Upon test-driving it and having my mechanic do an inspection, I bought it that very same day.
My goal is to get it up to 500k miles, just like you did with your Legend coupe. If I do reach 500k and it’s still running great, then I’ll know it’s a really fabulous car. I’m about to buy a ’94 850 from its original owner – the kicker is that it’s a 5-speed manual, and as you know, manual-equipped Volvos are hard to come by in the U.S.
February 10, 2014 at 10:39 pm
Tyson, too bad for the broken fog light lens. I hear they are a common problem. Hope the fix is easy and cheap. The tunnel pix came out great and the “so-dope” pic is classic! I’d be interested in what your article looks like in the Kurumag. You just keep getting that great exposure to the automotive world, huh? 🙂
February 11, 2014 at 5:54 am
Hey, yes and I’m loving it! Yeah I’ll keep everyone posted about what the article ends up looking like. I know for a fact that in the photo set, I was squinting into the sun. Haha
February 16, 2014 at 2:01 pm
Thanx for having us, Tyson. Good times!
February 16, 2014 at 4:19 pm
Thank YOU, Yuji! I appreciate you taking the time to come meet with me. It was my pleasure. Keep in touch and I hope to see you again soon. Also, best of luck with the Subaru 🙂