drivetofive

Odometer (Legend):  531,618

Odometer (ILX):  100,025

Monument Valley, Utah

History Lesson

I’d already been driving my 1994 Acura Legend for 8 years when I started this blog in March, 2011.  I had 467,000 miles on my car and was determined to push it to half a million.  Acura took note of my enthusiasm, and we got in touch with one another.  Amid fanfare and fun, we celebrated the 500,000 milestone together on November 4, 2011 at headquarters in Torrance, California.  Over the next few months, Acura engaged me in part of its launch campaign for an all-new entry model to the lineup called the ILX.  I was privileged to meet the design teams, experience the car before it saw the public eye, and even travel to the assembly plant for an exclusive tour.

The capstone to my involvement with the ILX launch happened when a car that I’d ordered to my specifications was delivered to a local dealership in Tempe, Arizona in early June 2012 and I was presented the key.  The agreement at the time was that I’d blog about the car here, on my site, for a year.  And that I did.  I rolled around on a California license plate with a Honda-owned “fleet” car for over a year.  On November 22, 2013, Acura was sufficiently satisfied with my efforts and had sent me the title to the car.  I registered it in my name on that day, and it already had over 60,000 miles on it at the time.  The rest is history.  I’ve continued daily driving my little ILX ever since.  And, just a little over 28 months after getting the key, I rolled 100,000 miles on the odometer yesterday.

Burr Trail, Utah

Now, about my car itself.  The very first 2013 Acura ILX rolled off the assembly line at Honda’s Greensburg, Indiana assembly plant on April 23, 2012.  I was there that day.  That first ILX, by the way, was a Fathom Blue Pearl 6-speed manual.  My ILX was built a couple of weeks later, in May 2012 according to its VIN sticker in the driver’s door jamb.  It is production #000082, which means it was the 82nd (manual, 6-speed) ILX produced.  If we want to get into even greater detail, it was the 6th “Silver Moon Metallic” ILX 2.4 built.

Grand Coulee Dam, Washington

My car had a base price of $30,095, but it’s equipped with $5,140.28 in dealership add-ons.  These are as-installed prices from Acura of Tempe, where I got the car, per a recent quote list.

• All Season Floor Mats:  $147.00
• Illuminated Door Sill Trim:  $499.00
• First Aid Kit:  $30.14
• Trunk Tray:  $123.00
• 17 Inch Diamond Cut Alloy Wheels:  $1,732.00
• Decklid Spoiler:  $519.00
• Front, Side, & Rear Underbody Spoilers:  $1,910.00
• Rear Bumper Applique:  $101.00
• Wheel Locks:  $79.28

I’ve since added $885 worth of window tint & 3M Clear Bra, a moonroof visor for $108, and chrome grille inserts specific to the Hybrid model for $67.

I took delivery of the car when Sr. Manager of Digital Marketing, John Watts, handed me the key on June 12, 2012.  The car had 16 miles on the odometer.  Since then, we’ve had quite the wild ride.  I’ll share here just a few of the highlights over the last 100,000 miles.

Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming

100,000 Mile Highlights

 Highest & Lowest Elevation Paved Roads in North America

• Mount Evans, west of Denver, Colorado (14,130 feet) – July 2013
• Badwater Basin, in Death Valley National Park, California (282 feet below sea level) – July 2014

Yuma, Arizona

National Parks

• Saguaro, Tucson, Arizona – January 2013
• Arches, Moab, Utah – February 2013
• Bryce Canyon, Panguitch, Utah – August 2013
• Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, Wyoming – June 2014
• Death Valley, Furnace Creek, California – July 2014

Kayenta, Arizona

Auto Shows

• Los Angeles International, Los Angeles, California – November 2012 & 2013
• SEMA, Las Vegas, Nevada – November 2012 & 2013

Inglewood, California

Random Destinations Large & Small

• Largest Chili Pepper, Las Cruces, New Mexico – March 2013
• Largest Sundial, Carefree, Arizona – September 2013
• Largest Kachina Doll, Cave Creek, Arizona – September 2013
• Largest Collection of Optical Telescopes, Kitt Peak, Tucson, Arizona – January 2014
• Largest Experiment in Environmental Science, Biosphere 2, Oracle, Arizona – March 2014
• Largest Donut, Randy’s Donuts, Inglewood, California – March 2014
• Larger Waterfalls than Niagara, Shoshone Falls, Twin Falls, Idaho – May 2014
• Largest Cow, Amargosa Valley, Nevada – July 2014
• Largest Firecracker, Amado, Nevada – July 2014
• Smallest Chapel, Yuma, Arizona – September 2014

Carefree, Arizona

Memorable Road Trips

• Winding down Lombard Street, the crookedest street in America, San Francisco – August 2012
• Driving on the high-speed oval at Nissan’s proving ground in Stanfield, Arizona – September 2012
• Visiting the ghost towns of Modena and Cisco, Utah – December 2012, February 2013
• Getting sandblasted at White Sands National Monument in Las Cruces, NM – March 2013
• Roaming around a copper mining town called “Bagdad, Arizona” – March 2013
• Getting stuck in the sand at Four Corners National Monument – May 2013
• Cruising Historic Route 66 from Kingman to Seligman, Arizona – May 2013
• Exploring the Million Dollar Highway, Colorado Route 550 from Durango to Silverton – May 2013
• Off-roading on the Apache Trail to Roosevelt Lake, Arizona – June 2013
• Navigating sandstone landscapes in rural Utah on Hell’s Backbone Road – August 2013
• Driving Grandma to a family reunion in Spokane, Washington – August 2013
• Road tripping to Colossal Cave in Tucson, Arizona – September 2013
• Carving Coronado Trail’s 400+ curves within 100 miles, Arizona – October 2013
• Hitching a train ride on the Verde Canyon Railroad in Clarkdale, Arizona – December 2013
• Visiting the Back to the Future House, Roslyndale, California – March 2014
• Taking a 3-Acura tandem road trip to Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona – April 2014
• Traveling 358 miles just to see a roadside attraction called “The Thing” – May 2014
• Enjoying a father-son road trip on the Beartooth Highway in Wyoming – June 2014
• Time traveling to Tombstone, Arizona in the Wild West – September 2014
• 3 Castle Visits:  Mystery Castle, Tovrea Castle, and Montezuma’s Castle

White Sands, New Mexico

Media Attention

• Acura Style Magazine, Fall/Winter 2012
• Curbside Classics, April 2014
• Kurumag, Japanese Automotive Lifestyle Magazine, Spring 2014
• Arizona Driver Magazine, September/October 2014
• Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car, November 2014

Beartooth Pass, Wyoming/Montana

 

U.S. States Visited (19 of 50)

Key Milestone Dates & Locations

• 10,000 Miles:  Sylmar, California  (8/10/12)
• 25,000 Miles:  Sedona, Arizona  (1/13/13)
• 50,000 Miles:  Baker City, Oregon  (8/15/13)
• 75,000 Miles:  Vermillion Cliffs, Arizona  (4/20/14)
• 100,000 Miles:  Fort McDowell, Arizona (10/15/14)

San Francisco, California

Maintenance History

Total Maintenance Cost:  $2,603.31

Key Notes:

• 15 Oil & Filter Changes (0W20 Oil)
• 4 Engine Air Filter Replacements
• 1 Recall (5,392 Miles)
• 2 Sets of Michelin Pilot MXM4 Tires  (52,327 Miles)
• 1 Rear Brake Pad Replacement  (96,461 Miles)

Detailed History as Follows (Spreadsheet Screen Capture):

Note that my only non-“routine” maintenance was replacement of a passenger side fog light housing for $120 at around 72,000 miles.  The glass lenses — as well as the foglights’ placement low in the front bumper — make them highly susceptible to cracking.

Drive to Five Milestones

I’ve had so much fun with this website over the years.  Since I started the blog in March 2011, I have posted more than 400 times.  There have been 250,000 views worldwide and around 3,300 comments.  It’s fitting, too, that the blog is on track to hit 100,000 views in the year 2014 alone.  Check out my YouTube Channel for videos of many of my milestones & drives.  I also actively post on Facebook and Instagram.

Modena, Utah

What’s Next?

It’s business as usual around here for the foreseeable future.  I may scale back the road tripping just a bit to focus on things at home.  Anyone who’s seen the towering weeds in my backyard knows that I’ve been out of town far too much to keep up with my chores.  I’m not planning on making any automotive changes, but I’ll continue to take you along for my adventures and bring you periodic “new car” reviews as vehicles become available in the Phoenix-based press fleet.

Thanks for being a part of the journey!

Four Corners

Here’s a 100,000 mile roll-over video for your viewing pleasure, as well as a detailed walkaround of my car.  It’s 10 minutes long.

This entry was posted on October 16, 2014 at 7:52 am and is filed under ILX, Milestones. 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.