drivetofive

Odometer (Legend):  540,120

Odometer (ILX):  145,519

A week ago, Josh Feuerstein posted a video to Facebook that set the world on fire in a controversy over the color of Starbucks’ coffee cups.  Millions of views later, it continues to make the rounds as the centerpiece of a debate about “killing Christmas,” even getting mentions by Donald Trump and Ellen DeGeneres.  Well, I didn’t really take sides one way or the other, but Josh’s video caught my eye for one reason.

I freeze framed it on the above segment.  That’s “my” regular Starbucks in Fountain Hills, Arizona!  I drive past it every weekday on the way home from work, and I stop in at least once a week.  I decided to swing by on Tuesday after work.

I placed my order and asked, “How many people have recognized the fact that this is the Starbucks where all that drama started?”  “Hardly anyone!” the barrista said.  And then she pulled out her iPhone and showed me how she’d posted a photo earlier in the day holding a red coffee cup.  She told me that Feuerstein gets a beverage there almost every day.  She also told me he’d offered $20 to anyone working there who would be in his video.  (Everyone declined because they aren’t allowed to be on camera).

Anyway, that was my teeny brush with a landmark that’s made the national spotlight over the past week.

Cool thing I found out this week:  My brother Bentley’s 1968 Chevy Nova SS made it into Super Chevy Magazine’s January 2016 issue.  Organized with the intent of identifying the best suspension modifications to make a classic Chevy handle, the magazine rented out Willow Springs Racetrack in southern California recently and brought in 8 cars from years 1963 to 1984.  Each one was a custom-built example, tuned for optimal handling in a performance driving situation.

Speed Tech did the work on my brother’s Nova so they entered the car into the event under their name.  To keep the playing field somewhat level, all cars were outfitted with the same brand of tires, all were driven by the same race driver, and all were benchmarked against a “constant” vehicle as opposed to each other:  A 2015 Camaro SuperSport 1LE.  Bentley’s car beat the Camaro in a slalom by a mere 3/10th of a mile per hour, but the Camaro reigned supreme in other aspects thanks to 47 years’ improvements in tech assistance.

Here’s the full article link to the web write-up.

Lastly, I couldn’t resist lining up my ILX & Legend sedan last Saturday to mimic a photoshoot that Acura corporate did with Ludacris’ Legend and the Galpin-modified ILX that debuted at SEMA earlier this month.

I didn’t get the pose quite right, and the camera angle was off altogether, but hey – for a quick pic, not too shabby.  Thanks to my friend Ari for taking a few minutes to snap a photo for me.

Nerd alert for sure.

My friend Paul gets the Ugly Duckling Award for the week after having sent me this incredibly sad looking 1991 sedan that came into his dealership in Atlanta a few days ago.  Gross.

And a huge thanks goes out to TJ who hosted this year’s NALM in Houston a couple months ago.  He had a sweet 12×12 canvas print made up from one of that week’s photos.  I love it!

The next seven days are going to be incredibly busy as I’m traveling to Las Vegas for a half-marathon with friends and family this weekend, then headed to Los Angeles next Tuesday for a few days at the 2015 International Auto Show there.

Have a great Friday & weekend!

This entry was posted on November 12, 2015 at 6:27 pm and is filed under ILX, Legend. 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.