Acura race team driver Peter Cunningham knows a thing or two about vintage Hondas. After all, he’s driven them competitively since 1987 – nearly 30 years! Peter’s car collection has now grown to include some of the rarest of the rare – including a vehicle or two that were never even originally sold here in the United States. He and I go back quite a ways. In fact, I threw him the key to my NSX last October at the Palm Springs NSXPO so he could take it for a spin.
I caught a flight to Milwaukee on Wednesday morning bright and early from Phoenix. Luckily, my “early bird” Southwest check-in gave me an “A” group boarding priority so I was able to get a window seat right over the wing, just where I wanted it. In-air travel time was right around 3 hours. Right off the bat in MKE, I noticed how humid it was – but I wasn’t complaining – the temperature, at 88 degrees, was 20 cooler than back home.
My yellow 2016 Kia Rio from Dollar Rental was a sight for sore eyes.
At least I wasn’t at risk of losing it in a parking lot. I was, however, in dire need of re-learning to drive an automatic transmission. I exited the rental car lot and realized I still had my inspection waiver I needed to give back to the attendant. So I had to loop around and re-enter the garage. I found a place to quickly park the car with the hazard flashers on so I could run over and turn in the paperwork. It wasn’t until a few minutes later when I returned to the car that I realized: I had left it idling in “DRIVE” with the emergency brake activated the whole time. As in, I hadn’t even put the car in park. Doofus move. But that’s how I’m used to driving my stick shifts! Coast into a space, pull up on the brake, and voila. Thankfully the Rio didn’t go anywhere while I’d stepped away.
The location of Peter’s museum was about 20 minutes north via Interstate 43. It’s a convenient area with easy freeway access. I wasn’t sure until arriving exactly who had been invited nor what to expect during the program.
Peter’s Collection Hall – dubbed “RealTime” Collection Hall – is named after the race team with which he’s competitively driven since the 1980s. Among the vehicles on display is a souped-up Acura TSX which itself is a seasoned RealTime race veteran. The location of the Hall is not far from RealTime Racing’s headquarters in Saukville. Aside from a small sticker on the glass front door, it’s not well marked, and that’s by design. This is intended, after all, to be an exclusive, invite-only, private facility for special occasions like this first one.
The interior space is divided into a few distinct areas: Immediately upon entering the building, the showroom greets the visitor with a highly-polished concrete floor and special signage. A glass counter showcases rare brochures and other artifacts from Honda history. And included in this area is Peter’s pride and joy – a 1981 Accord 3-door with 4,657 original miles on it. The car at 35 years old is so well-preserved it seems like it may have been teleported through time.
Continuing on into the first of two warehouse areas, the walls are lined with special Honda and Acura automobiles that are backed into their assigned parking spaces. For this grand opening, the center aisle was filled lengthwise with end-to-end banquet tables that had dinner seating capacity for I would guess at least 100 people.
At the far end of this room is a painstakingly-constructed reproduction façade of Honda’s original North American headquarters which was located in Los Angeles in the 1960s. The signage, aspect ratio, and even drainage system (though indoors) has been designed in exact detail to mirror that of the original building. The “real” location (4077 Pico Boulevard), incidentally, is currently up for lease and most recently housed an acupuncture studio.
There were too many cool cars on display to even begin to comment about each, so I’ll post a 5-minute video below and let my readers take a stroll through the Hall at their own leisure. The opening night program consisted of a few remarks by Peter from the balcony while everyone was seated for dinner (catered by Poco Loco Cantina).
Peter acknowledged the many people who had traveled great distances to attend. One guest, Guido, had flown in all the way from Germany. Among those who’d been invited were a few great friends of mine, including Jhae from Phoenix, Ben who I’ve known for years from the NSX community, and Scott & Sandy who are friends from Palm Springs who I visit regularly. Ben and I posed for a photo next to the 1987 and 1990 Legends on display.
On Thursday I woke up to sunny weather in Glendale and spent the morning getting my bearings with the neighborhood. I’d arranged to meet my friend Brad near the WI/IL state line but we hadn’t yet defined a meeting point. My drive down I-43 and I-94 was a breeze – within about an hour I’d already pulled over for a customary photo at the Illinois state line.
Our meeting point ended up being Kenosha, a beach town on Lake Michigan. It was great to catch up with Brad and also take a gander at his 2004 Honda Accord coupe 5-speed which he’s had since new. I offered to trade him my yellow Kia for it but he didn’t entertain the idea.
Back at the Milwaukee airport, I made myself at home at Gate C21 by spending about an hour wiping out 250 missed emails from my work inbox. Reality set in about 3.5 hours later when I came out of the Phoenix Sky Harbor terminal and walked into the blow dryer that is our summer evening weather. Gotta love it! Thanks for coming along!
I took this photo before flying out so that I could remember my parking space
Traditional flight beverage: OJ!
This is the interior of that <5k mile 1981 Accord
The Power of Dreams, indeed!
My favorite car in the collection: Peter’s “Monaco Blue” Acura NSX. It’s one of only 3 in this combination (black interior, 6-speed manual transmission) for the model year.
Hey, that looks familiar! Peter has a GS-R similar to mine and with almost the same odometer reading (241,000).
This 1995 Accord was something special. “DX” base model: Manual windows, manual mirrors, manual locks, no radio, no air conditioning, and a 5-speed manual transmission. Bare bones, but with fewer than 10,000 miles!
This is a 1966 Honda T360: Honda’s first production automobile!
Column shift manual transmission. That would be fun to drive!
Here’s the man with the vision! Peter himself.
RealTime race driver Ryan Eversley and his girlfriend Jen were seated next to me.
Jake Cole (fellow NSX fanatic), Peter, and me
What is this stuff around the wheel well of this Ford Taurus? Rust is abundant in WI and something I rarely see in my area.
Some nice homes in the Glendale area.
Headed south toward the Illinois state line
Lake Michigan in the background, as seen from Kenosha.
It’s pretty out there, and weather couldn’t have been better.
Brad’s 2004 Accord was looking good in the parking lot at lunch.
I’m really giving you all quite the summer 2016 vacation! It seems only fitting that this weekend’s destination is as much of a vacation spot as last week’s (“Florence“). Miami, Florida would have been a stretch for a weekend drive – some 2,363 miles from home – not quite close enough for a day-trip. But Miami, Arizona is. And it’s been about 5 years since I last talked about that little spot on the map, in October 2011. So let’s go back and take a look around.
Like most of the towns in Arizona’s wild western frontier, Miami got its start in the mining industry in the 1870s. The hills of the surrounding area were rich with copper, and prospectors flocked to be a part of the industry in those early years. Miami proper was founded in 1907 and tracts of land were officially sold for development after the first train arrived there in 1909. Within a year, there were about 1,300 people calling it home. Interestingly enough, 100 years later, that population had only grown by about 500 people.
Today, Miami is a quiet (and even run-down) little community that while only 77 miles from the hustle and bustle of urban Scottsdale, feels like stepping back in time a century or so. My friend Rob decided to join me for the drive. It took us only about 90 minutes to get to Miami from my home – straight east on US Highway 60 and through a pass in the Superstition Mountains in my ILX. Along the way we stopped in a similarly time-warped community called Superior.
Most of Miami is pretty run-down. The residential side-streets – many of which are so skinny they’re one-way – have poor pavement conditions and steep grades. The small homes are sad, with crumbling foundations and stair steps. Most have chain link fences around their yards and “NO TRESPASSING” signs in abundance. One particular such sign was kind of entertaining. “Do I have to speak to you in 12 gauge?” with the image of a gun. Real friendly neighborhood over there!
A friend had recommended some Mexican grub so we made our way down to Guayo’s El Rey restaurant. We happened to time our arrival right when church let out, apparently. The place flooded with hungry (but well-dressed) lunch-goers as soon as we’d been seated. “Anything to drink?” asked the waittress. “Sure, a Diet Coke,” I said. Before she even turned to Rob to ask for his beverage order, she’d walked away. She brought back a pitcher of Diet Coke for both of us. I guess she figured we both wanted the same thing! At least the food was delicious.
Miami’s Sullivan Street is the main thoroughfare – or was, at least, until the current US Highway 60 was put in a block to the south. The owner of one antique store that Rob and I visited told us that Miami was once home to 30 brothels during its boom. I enjoyed walking through a few of the historic shops. I was surprised to come around the corner in one of them and see the front end of a 1950 Buick in there: The exact same car that my Grandpa Hugie owned in 1954. I’ve blogged about it here.
Unfortunately, that Buick (or piece of it, anyway) wasn’t for sale but I left my contact information with the store owner in case they ever decide to part with it. Rob and I cruised back to civilization after enjoying a few minutes on Memory Lane. Thanks for being a part of the adventure!
We got a kick out of how the road stripes lead right up to the front door of the Pinal County Administration Building in Superior
Sullivan Street, Miami
These railroad tracks just end!
I read this as “Slow Children At Play.”
Overlooking Miami from someone’s driveway
Don’t try and eat at Guayo’s El Rey on a Wednesday!
This is the combo #1. Shredded beef taco, enchilada, and a refried bean tostada. Are my food connoisseurs in the blog audience happier with this than they were with my buffalo chicken bites last week?
ILX parked on Sullivan
Making friends with a “fry guy” statue
Rob checking out the wares inside the antique shop
The soda fountain isn’t open yet
Headed back toward Phoenix via US 60
Queen Creek Tunnel (1952)
What did you think of my new T-shirt?
Couple other news bits! You all remember that 1993 L sedan I had for about a year? It’s been in Florida for a few weeks now and it’s getting a full restoration, courtesy of my friend Alan. Follow his “Build Thread” here!
Alan at work!
My brother Bentley sent me a progress picture yestererday showing the new leather he’s installing in my NSX.
Thanks to my friend Erik for sending me this awesome calendar featuring European Domestic Market Hondas!
Finally, a few have asked for a more thorough recent video of the Legend. I pulled it out on Saturday for a cruise and filmed 11 minutes’ worth of action for you. I’m going to leave this “Unlisted” instead of public since I realize that it makes it look like I ran a stop sign at 6:30. In the words of the movie Clueless, “I totally paused!”
On one end of the spectrum, you have Florence, Italy: the home of the Renaissance and the capital of Italy’s Tuscany Region. It’s a place filled with art, culture, and class. It would take about a 15-hour flight to get there. At the complete other end of the spectrum, there’s another Florence I’d like to introduce you to: Florence, Arizona. It’s the capital of Pinal County, home to one of the state’s largest prison facilities, and a now-defunct railroad stop. But, you can get there in about an hour from Phoenix and it offers a “culture” all its own.
I took my Legend coupe out for a half-day of exploration on Sunday morning to give Florence a whirl. Along the way, I stopped at a noteworthy waypoint suggested by Roadside America: The Pork Shop in San Tan Valley. This place is known for its meat. They have seven types of smoked bacon, as well as sausages and burritos. At 9:45 in the morning I wasn’t hungry for any of those items, and I think it may have been closed for the day anyway, but that didn’t stop be from taking a few pictures out front next to the giant tank that’s been decked out like a pink pig.
I zig-zagged my way across the desert southeast of Phoenix as I made my way toward Florence on two-lane roads, often times with telephone poles alongside me. There was really no one else on the roads so it was a chance to turn up the volume on my Jock Jams or whatever else was playing on the iPod at the time. I do recall having “Every Day Is a Winding Road,” by Sheryl Crow coming on and thinking that was an appropriate soundtrack for my drive.
Hooking up with Highway 79 at the T in the road, I headed south and Florence was just 4 more miles down the highway. It took just a few minutes of winding through the historic downtown district to get a feel for the lay of the land. Main Street was dead – a total ghost town if it weren’t for the random C6 Corvette parked southbound on the west side of the street in front of some shops.
I snagged a few photos and started thinking about lunch. Unfortunately my first choice was a place that wasn’t open. Painted in bold blue letters were the words DONUTS and SALAD BAR. That struck me as an odd combination of food offerings. They must be trying to cater to a wide variety of clientele. Maybe I could a glazed donut with a splash of ranch dressing?
I ended up continuing westward on Highway 287 to Coolidge for lunch instead of eating in Florence — it was still early anyway. So early, in fact, that when I arrived at my destination – “Gallopin’ Goose” – it was still 20 minutes before they opened. For some reason, even though the sign says “Breakfast All Day,” the place doesn’t open until 11:00 a.m. Go figure. I guess everyone in Coolidge eats breakfast really late.
As it turns out, it was worth the wait. I had the place to myself and also the attention of the entire wait staff. I sat myself at the bar and was immediately helped by “Chrissy” who was laying on the flirts pretty thick. Before I’d even been handed a menu, she’d rattled off about 5 or 6 drink specials. “Just a lemonade please,” I told her. It was quiet in there – just the sound of country music on the jukebox!
Appetizers were buy-one, get-one-half-off so I went with the buffalo chicken “bites,” and the chips & salsa. I probably only ate half what was given to me, so Chrissy got me two styrofoam boxes and a styrofoam cup (for the salsa) to take my leftovers. The Legend doesn’t have a cup holder. I think this was the first time I’ve ever had to hold a cup full of salsa between my legs as I drove away. Right down the street from Gallopin’ you’ll find the Casa Grande Ruins.
I had one more visit to pay before looping back to the Phoenix area, and that was to say hello to my friends Mark and Rosalinda Bandoni. I’ve known them for the better part of a decade and they’re good people. In fact, they invited me to their wedding 7 years ago. Today, they live in a two-story home there in Coolidge and have a kitty named Abra and three vehicles. Mark has developed his hobby of model car building in recent years and he showed me his growing collection of completed projects. I never had the patience to work on stuff like that.
The return drive was mostly on Interstate 10, since I decided to take an easy path by hitting the freeway at the McCartney Road interchange. It was a nice little Sunday loop and I hope you enjoyed taking it with me!
Cruising through San Tan Valley, Arizona. It’s pretty desolate out there.
Vintage looking signage on Main Street in Florence.
Building in Florence
Lunch at Gallopin’ Goose.
Mark’s review of G.G. wasn’t all that praiseworthy!
What’s wrong with this picture? Ugh.
I thought this sign inside Mark’s garage was kind of funny.
The Integra got tint yesterday!
My receipt at Texas Roadhouse the other night said it right!
If you’re color blind, I apologize, but we have to make a miniscule distinction here:
Arcadia Green Pearl: BG-30P
Aztec Green Pearl: BG-29P
They’re only off by one number! And, when you get those two side by side, it’s easy to see why!
Teal green was such a 90’s thing, wasn’t it? I remember that even the home my parents built back in 1994 had teal green carpet in it. This is a picture of my youngest brother Payton, sometime in the mid-90’s. Not so sure about the look on his face, but who who ever thought it was a good idea to wash down scrambled eggs with Diet Coke? Bleh.
Anyway, I sort of miss seeing green on the roadways. Maybe it’ll make a comeback? I decided to pull my two green machines out for a few photographs in the afternoon heat just for the sake of comparing the two shades. But first, a photo with Jack’s 2006 RSX which happened to be at my house at the time. Separated by 14 years!
Integra is scheduled for new window tint on Tuesday. I’ll go with 20% like the Vigor has.
I worked up a sweat running around to get these pics.
Some wear & tear on on the front end here (consistent with 236k miles) and I’m trying to track down the “plugs” that cover up the holes where the license plate used to bolt in.
The neighbors don’t care about me blocking the road. I’ve done it dozens of times before.
Blinded by the light.
I was asked a week or so ago by a loyal blog follower if I could provide an update on my “other” cars: The ones that reside on my rooftop. So, here are current pictures of the fleet of diecast 1:18 scale models that have been living on my chimney since around 2009. The purpose of this exercise, at least initially, was to regularly monitor the wear & tear that each vehicle experienced due to being exposed to the weather. I was good about taking photos every 6 months for a couple of years, but lately I forget the cars are even up there unless someone reminds me.
As it turns out, Mother Nature hasn’t been too friendly to them. Take, for example, the current condition of my BMW 3-series convertible.
2009:
2014:
2016:
The car that’s weathered the (literal) storms the best has definitely been my black 1957 Ford Thunderbird. Aside from a little bit of chipping on the nose, the paint is all intact (though oxidized). And since this car is parked on the west-facing side of the chimney, it receives more daily Arizona sunlight than most of the others.
The plastics have discolored but I bet the paint would buff out with a wax job. Should I try some on the trunk?
I think this is a 312-cubic-inch V8 motor. It might take some TLC to get it running again.
The Maserati 3200GT was red at one time. Then it faded to pink, and now there is very little paint at all clinging to dear life.
Sorry, but Italian build quality is not impressing me right now!
The Mercedes-Benz 500SL is looking pretty rough as well. The plastic grille slats have completely disintegrated. Here in Arizona we receive about 300 days of sunshine per year. So if this car’s been up there for 7 years, that’s 2,100 days of being beat on.
The Nomad is looking like a real restoration candidate. It was well kept in the beginning.
2009:
2016:
Someone needs to do a full restoration on this thing now.
In March of 1986, the Acura Division was created to accomplish a deceptively straightforward mission: offer the best-engineered, most satisfying automobiles in the world. In the five years since, Acura automobiles have firmly established themselves as acknowledged leaders in every facet of automotive design and engineering. The name Acura has come to represent an impressive line of true drivers’ cars, each painstakingly engineered to enhance the driving experience.
To this end, every Acura is a synthesis of state-of-the-art performance, stimulating handling, carefully honed ergonomics, innovative safety engineering, refined aerodynamics, and unprecedented dependability. From the exotic NSX to the elegant and sophisticated Legend Sedan and Legend Coupe, the aggressive new Vigor and the responsive Integra sports sedans, each Acura has been acclaimed unreservedly by the automotive press. And each has been received just as enthusiastically by an even more influential group of automotive critics: the people who own Acura automobiles.
I was only 4 years old on March 27, 1986 when the Acura brand launched. I can’t believe it’s over been 3 decades. But by the late 1990’s, I was obsessing over my mom’s “Rio Red” 1990 Integra GS sedan as a teenager.
Wasn’t mom stylin’ with her “C TIA GO” plate? (Her name’s Tia)
I pulled that baby right onto our front lawn in St. George, Utah for a photo.
These lines still look good today. Frameless door windows, just like my Vigor.
There was nothing ultra special about that particular car. It had an automatic transmission and retailed at just $16,675 as Acura’s entry level offering. Perhaps its most memorable features were the motorized safety belts for the front seats. They’d zoom around as soon as you closed the door. Forget air bags, though. Safety tech was a whole different ballgame back then.
In May 2000, Britney Spears came out with “Oops, I Did It Again” and I was a graduating from high school.
Well, 16 years later. Oops. I’ve adopted another project Acura. This marks, I think, my 15th Acura overall and the 6th that I currently own. Please join me in welcoming to the fleet an Aztec Green 1992 Acura Integra GS-R. This completes the collection for now, as I’ve picked up enough vehicles to re-create this image from an early 1990s Acura brochure. Pictured left to right: Legend coupe, Vigor, Integra coupe. Front and center: NSX.
I have met some awesome Honda-heads along my 18 years (and hundreds of thousands of miles) of driving. One of them is Lance Roling from the Seattle area. I connected with Lance through a mutual friend who I’d met via some Acura Integra enthusiast forums (G2IC.com). We started chatting in May 2015 when I learned that Lance had an Integra GS-R — the last piece I needed to complete my jigsaw puzzle of Acuras. We met in real life six months later when he came on a visit to Arizona. And now, I’ve managed to pry that GS-R out of Lance’s hands.
This GS-R is remarkably well kept. Try to remember the last time you saw a second-generation (1990-1993) Integra that hadn’t been motor-swapped, lowered to the ground, and driven to hell & back. Lance’s car had some modifications done to it which have been painstakingly reversed, bringing the car back to stock condition as if it were 1992 all over again. Anyone who’s tried finding parts for a Honda that’s more than 20 years old knows how tough it can be to source such items, but he leveraged his network and got it done. Throughout the restoration process, he sent me photos.
If you want to cut to the chase, here’s a 6-minute video showing the first time I saw the car, a part of the drive home, and a walkaround at home in Arizona.
Here now are all 6 of my Acuras and original MSRPs.
1992 Integra GS-R: $18,540
1992 NSX: $65,000
1994 Vigor GS: $28,735
1994 Legend LS Coupe: $41,885
1994 Legend GS Sedan: $41,885
2013 ILX 2.4: $30,095
Total $226,140 — Nearly 1/4 million dollars in cars if considered by their original prices, but not worth a fraction of that today. I’m planning on making a full-blown “introduction” post to each of my cars at some point in the coming weeks, and (of course!) even re-creating a series of official Acura brochure photographs with my own versions of those press cars. The latest addition is a GS-R model, which was the highest-performing Integra of its time and was offered for only 2 years in this second generation bodystyle.
The car is powered by a 1.7-liter 4-cylinder motor pushing 160 horsepower. Updates from the base models become apparent starting with the exterior. The GS-R has more aggressively-styled front and rear bumpers, body-colored side moldings, and VTEC / GS-R badges.
The engine itself was a remarkable feat of engineering which set itself apart for developing such power from a small package. At that time, it produced more power per liter than any other normally-aspirated car sold in the United States. I think that achievement was later beat by another high-revving Honda, the S2000 roadster.
Production numbers in specific detail (by color) have never been disclosed by American Honda, but it is known that following were the numbers for GS-R models in total by region (thanks Wikipedia):
USA 1992 Integra GS-R: 3,118 units
USA 1993 Integra GS-R: 850 units
Canada 1992 Integra GS-R: 602 units
Canada 1993 Integra GS-R: 255 units
Total North American production: 4,825 units
The 1992 Integra was offered in 9 different colors, but only 3 were available on the GS-R:
Aztec Green Pearl
Frost White
Milano Red
Here are a few “progress” pics that Lance shared with me as he got the GS-R ready over the past year or so.
The aftermarket suspension and exhaust were replaced with OEM.
Lance is a professional detailer with Ceramic Pro and put the car through a full treatment.
OEM exhaust installed.
Right rear quarter panel polished.
Spoiler clear coat refinished.
Wheels deep cleaned, inside and out!
Engine bay fully detailed.
Now sitting on OEM suspension.
My first test-drive in my new GS-R was on Tuesday, May 31st, 2016 when my friend Jason and I arrived in Seattle, Washington on the return leg of our Alaska road trip. Lance even “reserved” milestone 234,567.8 miles for me, so that occurred during my test-drive. I loved the car right away, so I finalized the deal with Lance.
Can you tell how excited I was?
Headed out in Woodinville to put a few miles on.
Lance in the passenger seat and Jason in the rear.
Milestone 234,567.8. And yes that ABS light is on!
Jason said head room wasn’t all that cramped!
Fueling up at Chevron before heading back to Lance’s shop.
Now some photos from my actual pick-up of the car on June 24, 2016 and the long drive home to Arizona. This was a long-awaited day in history, so when my 6:00 p.m. Friday night flight from Phoenix to Seattle on Southwest Airlines got delayed by nearly 90 minutes, it really put a damper on the moment!
The Seattle airport was crawling with people because Obama was in town and that sent everything into a tizzy. But eventually my friend Stephen made it to the curb and I took a seat in his Audi A4 for the 40-ish minute drive to Woodinville where Lance had the Integra stored at his shop. Right off the bat, I was spoiled by fantastic Seattle weather. My friends were all in hooded sweatshirts and I hadn’t even packed anything with long sleeves.
My friend Cory rolled in with his 1997 Acura 3.5 RL to join the late night party. (That RL, by the way, has beyond 250,000 miles on it, too). By the time I finished my transaction with Lance and chit-chatted a bit, it was midnight so Stephen I hit the road and went to his place in Renton where we crashed out for the night. That was my first time getting the Integra onto an onramp and having a little fun with it. I enjoyed each of its 5 gears!
6:00 a.m. came very early on Saturday morning but Stephen and I both had places to go and people to see. The drive home came out to around 1,600 hours and 24 hours of travel time.
Deja vu was the feeling as I headed east on Interstate 90 over Snoqualmie Pass since I had just been there a few weeks ago on the trip back from Alaska in my ILX. Weather conditions were foggy but the road was dry and traffic was light. Here’s where I started getting to know my new Integra. The tape deck iPod adapter did its job, but I honestly did not even listen to any music for about the first couple of hours. I was too busy enjoying the sound of that 1.7 liter humming along at 4,200 RPM at 75 miles an hour.
The car is honestly a big fatiguing to drive long distances. The windows are frameless so there is a higher than normal level of wind noise. The engine note is understandably pronounced, and because it’s a hatchback with little sound deadening out back, the road noise also becomes a factor. On top of that it’s a pretty tightly-sprung car with lots of energy and light weight. Result? I proclaim it a far better canyon-carver then interstate cruiser. But I already knew that would be the case. Long hauls are why I own the Legend(s).
In a lick of time, I was already crossing across the Columbia River Bridge and into northern Oregon. I stopped briefly at the Welcome Center but the front door was locked (even though I was within business hours). I found a neat little side-road just northwest of La Grande; it was historic Highway 30 that carried traffic through the region before Interstate 84 was punched through. I checked out a now-decommissioned bridge and hiked around for a few minutes to stretch my legs, then continued on into La Grande.
Pumping one’s own gas in Oregon is against the law, as I mentioned on the return from Alaska. I asked the gal at the Shell station to “fill ‘er up” with Premium, and she asked, “V Power 91, or ethanol-free 91?” What in the world? I’ve never heard of a station having two kinds of 91 to choose from. I went with ethanol free, then had lunch at a restaurant called Smokehouse in the downtown district. Meatloaf was top-notch.
I set my sights on Idaho because I knew I had a special event to be a part of there – Josh’s 500,000 milestone – so I was motivated to keep moving as quickly as I could. The Idaho Welcome Center was a perfect setting to catch my breath one more time. Temperatures were in the mid-70’s and the grassy lawn was well maintained. I sat down in the shade and soaked in the scenery because I knew that within a couple of days I’d be back in the Arizona heat.
After Josh and I hung out for awhile in Kuna (outskirts of Boise), I left town and headed toward Twin Falls, Idaho which was only about 2 hours away. I soon ran into a motel crisis unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my travels. About 25 minutes outside town, I decided to call ahead and get my reservation at Motel 6 set up. I was surprised to learn that there was no vacancy. ANYWHERE! I called a total of about 15 places in both Twin Falls as well as in the next town, Burley, and found nothing. Apparently there was some event going on at the nearby Snake River that sold everything out. Look at my outgoing call list & times.
The result was that I ended up having to drive another two hours to the next available stopping point, which happened to be my dad’s place in northern Utah. The speed limit in desolate southern Idaho was 80 miles an hour, so I held close to a van in front of me that was doing about 85 and pressed onward into the night (after stopping for a Red Bull as I needed a caffeine kick to remain alert). I made it and happily passed out on a “real” bed later on.
Everything from Utah onward felt like a drive around my neighborhood because I’ve traveled those roads so frequently over the last 18 years since I got my license. I hauled dad, stepmom, and step-sister to breakfast at “Herm’s Inn” (pictured above) on Sunday morning and later paid a visit to my friend Ryan who let me tool around in his Honda S2000 for a few miles. In Salt Lake City, I visited my friends Branson and Jeremy who are fellow “car guys,” and it was good to catch up with them. I pressed on through the evening hours and made it to my mom’s in St. George just in time to catch the a vivid sunset hitting the red rocks of Pioneer Park on the north end of town.
My final 400-mile stretch to Scottsdale took place on Monday evening. There was a 45-minute delay on Interstate 15 south of Mesquite, Nevada due to a semi truck accident. I was relieved that the Integra performed well in the stop-and-go traffic, despite ambient temperatures at 113 degrees and with the A/C on full blast. I was home by 9 p.m. and pooped!
It was a special and memorable opportunity to pick up this Integra and I hope you enjoyed coming along for the ride!
Here are more photos from this adventure.
Stephen, Cory, myself in Woodinville, WA on pick-up night
With Cory, Stephen, and Cory’s RL
Saturday morning in Renton, WA. So much green!
Departing Stephen’s house. His Legend GS hides at right, under a cover.
I-90 seems like a familiar place to me these days.
Feast your eyes on those RPMs in 5th gear! Yeah, the ABS light is (still) on.
Ascending Snoqualmie Pass with some fog ahead.
Happy behind the wheel!
Quick meeting with Stephen (again) as he’d caught up to me.
Chug some of that 92!
Everyone remember “automatic” seat belts? This Integra has them. They run on a motorized track.
Oregon Welcome Center
Crossing the (now-decommissioned) bridge on Hwy 30 in Perry, near La Grande.
Historic downtown La Grande, Oregon
I liked this old JC Penney storefront
Meatloaf for lunch!
Little bit late on the Idaho state line shot! This is all I caught!
Checking oil at a rest area. Level was good!
Lots of signage for the Oregon Trail. One of my favorite old computer games!
Dusk falling in Burley, Idaho when I was in the process of trying to find a motel.
The rest of my drive that night.
Taking the family to breakfast on Sunday
Visiting Ryan and his Audi compound!
The white 1994 S4 was my favorite of the bunch.
We also took his S2000 out for a top-down cruise.
Sharing the road in Cache Valley with some bicyclists.
Visiting Branson in South Jordan, UT. This is his 1995 Legend LS 6-speed with 171,000 miles.
And visiting Jeremy in Herriman, Utah with his BMW 5-series.
Arrival in southern Utah – photos at Pioneer Park in St. George.
It seemed only fitting that I get a photo at the same home where mom’s red Integra had been parked, some 20 years ago.
Posted in Milestones on June 26, 2016 by tysonhugie
Odometer (Integra): 235,869
Ladies and gentlemen: He’s made it. Join me in welcoming Mr. Josh Clymer to the Half-Million-Mile Club (HMMC) and extending heartfelt congratulations on this impressive achievement.
I’ve followed Josh for some time now – a few years, in fact, since I first stumbled across his then-300-something-thousand mile Acura TSX on Acura’s Facebook page. Over the years I’ve watched him dutifully log miles during his work commute and post updates from time to time. His blog is at TSXTravels.com. I’ve also seen him total his car – twice – and rebuild it at great expense to keep it alive. I’ve seen him surpass now both the 400,000 and 500,000 mile marks. And this car doesn’t seem like it’s stopping any time soon.
It was Saturday, June 25th around 4:00 in the afternoon when we departed Josh’s home in Kuna, Idaho with 499,998 miles on the odometer to fulfill his long-awaited Big Five milestone. I’d just arrived moments earlier in my newly-acquired 1992 Acura Integra GS-R but we left it parked – I wanted to ride shotgun for Josh’s special moment. More, later, on that Integra. The destination for our 500,000 mile ride was none other than Kuna’s top-rated Mexican restaurant, called Enrique’s. I treated Josh to dinner and presented him with a glass plaque that Jason of Driven for Drives and I had made up.
So here you go: Join the event in the below 6-minute video. I apologize in advance if I blow your eardrums at around 4:30 on the timer because I sort of screamed in the video. Guess you had to be there.
Heading out for the big moment
Southbound Linder Rd just before the roll-over
There’s the spot! Boise Street, I think. Westbound after we’d made a corner.
Let’s get a close-up of that excitement!
Josh told me I couldn’t post this one. I’m going to anyway, ha! But I want to mention here that Josh has TWO blue Acura hats. One tried and true example that he retired, and a brand new one that he donned after his milestone.
Celebratory dinner spot
Chicken fajita burrito. I could eat only half of it. The other half went to Josh’s dog, Abby.
Posted in Arizona, Blog on June 23, 2016 by tysonhugie
Odometer (Legend): 543,536
Odometer (ILX): 173,250
Please start playing this video before you read today’s post. Let it give you some background music.
Okay, you know the heat is bad when twice in one day, you see cars on fire on the side of the road. It happened on Monday. First, this red Corvette and then a white Altima later in the day near my house. I guess these extreme temperatures are taking their toll on more than just us human beings!
You haven’t lived until you’ve felt 120 degrees on your face, or burned your hand on a metal shift knob.
My buddy Sunny was in town from Utah this past weekend and my friends and I enjoyed showing him around a little. One of the stops we made was to my storage unit in Glendale where I keep the 1994 Legend GS. We pulled it out and went to lunch nearby at a neat place I discovered called “Kiss the Cook Restaurant.”
Hours are 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Kiss the Cook has some of the best omelets in the Phoenix Valley. I actually went with a grilled cheese and it was tasty.
Funny thing about the menu is that it does promise a kiss with every meal. Our kisses were indeed delivered after paying our bill. However, as soon as I got outside I realized what a horrible idea it was to take them. My eyes scanned the parking lot for the nearest dumpster and I promptly threw them away. Can you imagine putting a Hershey Kiss in your pocket – or anywhere – and getting into a vehicle that’s been baking in 120 degrees? No thanks!
I sold my 1993 Legend L sedan this week. Details will be shared at a later date, but it’s going to a very worthy home and my final mileage on the odometer was just a bit under 179,000. I only had the car for about a year and I had big plans for it, but just never had enough time, money, or space to really make anything happen with it. It’s better off going to someone who will actually put it to use.
The transport truck has already arrived on the other side of the country! It took only 2 days in transit.
Getting loaded up:
I wanted to share a few photos that I received from friends this week. First off, my friend Scott who worked for American Honda once attended an Acura NSX preview event in 1990 when the first generation NSX debuted. Here are photos of him with that car. I also enjoyed seeing the other (now-vintage) models in the background.
Scott has aged just as gracefully as these Acuras in the last 26 years. Wink wink! Notice – if you look closely at the license plate in the above photo, it reads: “YOU’RE FOLLOWING THE MOST SATISFYING CAR ON THE ROAD.”
Speaking of RED cars, my friend Paul sent me this yesterday. Did you know that for the 2017 model year, Acura is (finally) offering a bright red color on the ILX? It’s called San Marino Red, and I think it looks fantastic. I would have opted for that color if it had been available in 2013! My Silver Moon is kind of “blah” in comparison.
And finally, check out these beauties. My friend Ira’s TLX and my friend Anthony’s TL-S.
What if I told you Arizonans there’s a place within an hour of Phoenix where you can slice 20 degrees off the temperature and dip your toes in the refreshing East Verde River? Maybe it would be best if I kept this place a secret, but since I’m feeling generous I’ll clue you in to this secluded little watering hole.
It’s the season of “beat the heat” so many of the destinations you’re likely to see me hit up this summer will be to higher elevations where I can get a reprieve from the Phoenix oven. This one in particular has been on my Destination Spreadsheet for some time now. On Saturday morning, my house in Scottsdale became the meeting point for a variety of cars and people ready for adventure. Here were our attendees:
Tyson, Clayton, and Miles: 2013 Acura ILX
Peter and Jack: 2002 BMW 325iT
James and Rob: 2016 Chrysler 300
Paul: 2013 Acura TL SH-AWD
Kyle: 2005 Pontiac GTO
Sunny: 2013 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T
Brad and Kenny: 2013 Audi RS5
Brad described it as “quite a menagerie.” A menagerie is defined as: A collection of wild animals kept in captivity for exhibition. Sounds about right when referring to this bunch of cars & gents. Though, in this case, all were unleashed from captivity allowed to roam freely in the hills of the Tonto National Forest surrounding Payson, Arizona. The one-way trek to our destination was only about 80 miles but ascended 3,800 feet in elevation.
For the most part it’s a 65-mph split highway but the curves can be fun and they require constant attention. The ILX with 3 occupants and 100-degree temperatures bogged down on the steeper grades and I found myself downshifting to 5th gear and even 4th occasionally to keep up with the pack. From Payson, we continued north past a couple of roundabouts and hung a right on Houston Mesa Road. The road narrowed to two lanes and had some nice curves for the next 8 miles until we arrived at Water Wheel Campground. Luckily, we found ample parking to stash our 7 vehicles but things were filling up quickly with a lot of Saturday adventure-seekers like ourselves. Parking was $8 via cash / self-service, with envelopes to be deposited in an opening in a post near the trailhead.
The hike itself does not stick to any specific route but rather follows the East Verde River upstream however a hiker decides to follow it. We did find a path along the west side of the river that had some welcomed shade from overhead trees – even at 88 degrees I managed to break a pretty aggressive sweat. The sound of the gushing river next to us helped give a sense of refreshment even without taking a dip. There came a time when we needed to crawl up and over some large boulders and we paved our own way, or followed people who were ahead of us.
At one point it looked like we needed to cross the river itself so we carefully collected our balance and hopped across. The rocks were slippery at times. For the return, I opted to just remove my shoes & socks and put them in my backpack so that I could walk barefoot across the water and not worry about a slip & fall incident. The water was chilly but it felt great. We wandered a bit further upstream and saw a series of waterfalls coming down. Jack whipped out the selfie stick for a group photograph and Kyle got brave enough to jump in the water.
By the time we made it back to our vehicles, we’d only been hiking about an hour and a half round trip. The overall hike distance is about 2 miles each way, and I think we probably only went about half that. So there is much more to see and we all want to get back up there, but we were ready for lunch and a few people needed to be back by late afternoon so we headed back to Payson. For grub, we dined on the patio at Buffalo Bar & Grill. The wait staff had already lined up several small tables for us in anticipation of our arrival and the service was top-notch.
It was great to break away from the Valley’s heat and get up to the mountains for some clean air and a little time with Mother Nature. Water Wheel Falls was just what the doctor ordered for a quick day-trip. Thanks to my friends for joining! Here’s a short video with some highlights of our excursion.
Pre-departure in Scottsdale
Fuel stop at the Chevron in Fort McDowell: Tyson, Peter, Jack, James, Rob
Backwards baseball caps for the bros.
Kyle caught this pic of my ILX, Sunny’s Sonata, and Peter’s 3-series in his sideview mirror.
Getting through Payson and to the campground.
Kyle’s mean GTO in the rearview.
Parking at Water Wheel Falls
Paul’s TL was blindingly clean in the Arizona sunlight.
Clayton gave us a wave before we started the hike.
Information at the trailhead.
Coming up on the first of a series of falls.
Here’s where we had to crawl up and over some rocks on the river’s edge.
Sunny preparing to cross the East Verde.
James got a little wet.
Group shot thanks to Jack’s selfie stick.
Solo shot.
Back in Payson with our diverse lineup of vehicles.
Peter’s wagon rolled 205,000 yesterday and still looks great.
Buffalo Burger at Buffalo Bar & Grill.
Sunny and I took the Legend out and ended up next to a nice lady in a Vigor 5-speed!
I spotted a G2 Legend sedan in Beverly Hillbillies (1993 movie) about 10 minutes in!
And a very thoughtful friend brought me back a souvenir from his Hawaii trip.
Get over to TSX Travels! Josh is about to have some big news SOON.
Posted in ILX, Legend, Vigor on June 12, 2016 by tysonhugie
Odometer (Legend Coupe): 543,280
Odometer (Legend Sedan): 150,380
There’s nothing like an inbox of 1,300 unread emails to come back to after being out of the office for 9 business days! I spent Monday digging out from underneath all that nonsense that accumulated during my Alaska trip.
It’s always such an ordeal around here to get to a coin-op car wash. I don’t have access to a pressure washer at home and I sure as heck wasn’t going to attempt the muddy ILX detail with my measly little garden hose in the driveway. Luckily I had about $20 worth of tokens for the local car wash at Miller Rd & McDowell Rd in Scottsdale, so I cruised over there. Here’s how that ended up going.
Dang, the car wash is now closed and has construction fence around it. So much for that wasted $20 in tokens.
I guess I’ll google “car wash” and find others.
Drove to 2 more locations about a mile away. Neither was self-serve. Scratch that.
I know there’s one in Tempe at McClintock & Apache; I’ll just go down there.
Looks like it’s $1.75. I’ll just blow the few quarters I have and see how far I get.
(Time ran out). Definitely need more. I’ll have to go get more change, but I don’t have cash.
I’ll google “Wells Fargo ATM.”
Went a mile away to the Wells Fargo branch, inside a Safeway store, at Rural & Broadway.
Well, now I have to break this $20. There’s a Pei Wei in the parking lot and I’m kind of hungry.
(After eating and getting change) Alright, back to the car wash.
And finally, finished the job. Then drove home.
And washed the car again in the driveway anyway.
Nothing irks me like wasted time and effort, but I did finally get the job done – an initial swing at it, anyway. The whole back end of the car feels a bit like sandpaper because of the contaminants on the paint, and I may have given my new Hoover vac a workout with all the pebbles in the driver’s footwell. I do not usually condone the use of a foam brush! But in this case, heavy duty was absolutely required for the bugs on the front end!
I even took the high pressure spray to the door jambs with the doors OPEN! Dirt was caked in there.
Finished result, not too shabby!
Today, as a matter of fact, marks the 4-year-anniversary of the day I got the ILX with 16 miles on its odometer. It has a little more than 172,000 miles on it. I don’t have an exact number because my friend Jack has the car in Las Vegas until tomorrow. But that comes out to around 43,000 miles per year.
It was good to get the other cars awakened after a 2.5-week slumber. The Legend coupe was reluctant to start – initially I got only a “click” but no “crank,” so I ended up rolling backwards down the driveway and doing a clutch start in reverse. Now it runs fine after cruising around a little. I’m still trying to figure out if it’s a battery issue or a starter issue. The starter (aftermarket, Denso) was barely installed 3,000 miles ago, back in December by Hon-Man locally in Tempe.
I drove it to work on Friday.
My brother is up to his eyeballs in projects for my NSX which is at his place in southern Utah. The passenger side window regulator went out on him, so he sent me this picture while tearing in to replace it.
Night shot, cruising around in the 1994 Vigor
And a night drive in the 1993 Legend sedan (Christmas tree of dash lights here!)
This one will be up for grabs (cheapo) soon. I’m waiting to hear back from a couple of potentially interested parties.
On Saturday I buzzed over to Glendale and pulled the 1994 Legend GS out of storage for a bath. The dust was bad!
At home with the 93.
I went and viewed a house in Central Phoenix I’ve been eyeballing. It has a 5-car garage 🙂
Back to storage.
Later in the evening, stopped by the Scottsdale Pavilions weekly car show. It seemed to be domestic car overload. Camaros and Mustangs for days. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!
The sunset was stunning last night. Arizona always does them right.
I was pretty thrilled to get a few copies of the May-June issue of Arizona Driver magazine in the mail this week. I’d recently submitted an article about a group drive some friends and I took to Chiricahua National Monument.
Sweet!
And finally: Check out this hot ride:
This NSX will be tearing up the Colorado mountains in a couple of weeks at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. From Acura’s press release that was distributed on Thursday:
Acura will field a pair of 2017 Acura NSX supercars in the 100th Anniversary of the running of the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 26, marking the North American racing debut of Acura’s next-generation NSX: the pinnacle expression of Acura Precision Crafted Performance and the only supercar made in America.
Pikes Peak has been on my must-see list for some time now. I would have driven it a couple of summers ago when I was in the area, but it was closed for a bicycle race and my friends and I drove Mount Evans instead. It’s good to see the NSX making its way into the professional racing circuit and I’m anxious to see how it performs!
I can’t believe it’s over. I did it. After 16 days on the road and 7,909 miles traversed, I’ve successfully driven not only to Alaska, but to the Arctic Circle, and back. It was a trip that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
I couldn’t (and wouldn’t) have done it alone, so I thank Jason for being such a great trip companion even though we took separate cars. Also thanks to the many folks who followed along for the adventure online, and especially those who offered hospitality along the way. In all I drove through 8 states and 3 provinces. Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Alberta, Yukon Territory, and British Columbia. I documented the trip in 13 blog posts including this one, so if you’re just now tuning in, feel free to keep scrolling backward to start from the beginning. My nightly stops were at these locations:
Washington, Utah
Butte, Montana
Edmonton, Alberta
Pink Mountain, British Columbia
Teslin, Yukon Territory
Fairbanks, Alaska (x 3)
Teslin, Yukon Territory (again)
New Hazelton, British Columbia
Cache Creek, British Columbia
Seattle, Washington
Kuna, Idaho
Logan, Utah
St. George, Utah
I have to say it’s remarkable that I was able to take a 170,000 mile car on a journey of this length and never have to think twice about it getting me from A to B. I didn’t need any of my 3 spare tires. I didn’t check or add oil at any point on the drive. As a matter of fact, the last oil change from 8,000 miles ago still says I have 40% life remaining according to the “maintenance minder” in the car. This is why I drive the car that I drive. Relentless reliability.
On Thursday morning, I departed Josh’s place in Kuna, Idaho and I had about a 300-mile day to my dad & stepmom’s place in Cache Valley, northern Utah. I gave my dad a hand washing his Ford F-350 and then dined later in the evening at my favorite restaurant in town, called El Sol. Ryan, who Jason and I met up with on the first leg of our journey, joined again for the occasion.
Friday, I made my way southbound and traveled virtually the entire length of the state of Utah from north to south, staying at my mom’s place in Washington. Along the way, I paid a visit to my grandpa because it happened to be his 86th birthday. And the final stretch took place yesterday, when I drove the last 400 or so miles of my very long journey home. Phoenix welcomed me with 114-degree temperatures. Welcome summer.
Here’s a 17-minute video that documents my journey in bits & pieces from start to finish. Viewers beware: It may cause motion sickness and it’s mostly just me shooting “selfie style” and narrating some of our stops.
Utah state line
Dad’s 1990 F-350 XLT Lariat Dual Cab 4×4
Dad’s new 2016 Honda Goldwing motorcycle. Packed with tech!
This thing even has navigation.
We took a night drive up to visit my Grandpa Hugie at Providence Cemetery. He passed away in 1989 when I was only 7 years old but I still have great memories of him.
View of Cache Valley from my dad’s back deck
ILX in grandma’s backyard
The home across the street dates back to the early 1900’s and it’s the home my grandma grew up in
Heading southbound on Hwy 89-91 which passes through “Sardine Canyon.”
Arriving in St. George about 6 hours later
Visiting the nieces and nephews in St. George
Arrival at home in Scottsdale
Check out that nasty interior, too
Two pages of handwritten fuel log, from start to finish.
The nerd in me couldn’t resist putting this in electronic format so I could run some metrics on it. I fueled up 41 times and spent a total of $826.52 on gas after taking into account the Canadian exchange rate.
drivetofive 