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Alaska Trip Day 2: Butte, Montana

Posted in Alaska, ILX on May 21, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer: 164,846

Day Distance: 714 Miles

Trip Distance: 1,149 Miles

Hiiiii!

This was NOT the optimal time for my laptop to automatically decide to upgrade itself to Windows 10. Ugh. I’m in a new town with sights to see and explore and no patience for new technology, so pardon the brevity. The front desk attendant, Sharon, here at the Motel 6 in historic Butte, Montana says that “Sparky’s Garage” is the best grub in town and it’s walkable from here, so you know where I’m heading as soon as I click that blue Publish button in the right hand pane.

Welcome to day 2! Jason and I pulled off a flawless 714-miler today and enjoyed every minute of it. Utah, Idaho, and Montana were BEAUTIFUL. Multiple times on the walkie talkies we agreed – if time allowed, why would anyone fly anywhere? You stare at airports and airplanes and you fight crowds and have to strip down for the TSA. Today, we cruised the open road, listened to whatever the heck we wanted, stopped where we wanted, and kept our shoes on. Plus we saw scenery like this.

This morning we started out in Washington, Utah at my mom’s place. Over the course of the day, we crossed two state lines, visited with 3 of our friends, and enjoyed some tasty grub. Our route couldn’t have been easier. We spent the whole time on Interstate 15 northbound, which will continue to take us all the way to the Canadian border tomorrow. I’ll let the pictures tell the story for now.

Mom’s place this morning

Stopping briefly in central Utah in a town called Holden to take a birthday photo for a friend back home who’s from there.

Fueling up at Flying J in Nephi, Utah at exit 222.

Here, I picked up a dual-outlet power socket thingie. Check out this mess of wires: I can be charging a walkie talkie, charging my phone, and still playing my iPod all at the same time thanks to this setup.

The thought crossed my mind. Should I change my car’s clock? I’ve never done that in the 4 years I’ve owned it (Us Arizonans don’t observe Daylight Saving Time). Then I thought… what time zone is Alaska ON, anyway? Turns out, the state has its own time! And it’s an hour “behind” Pacific.

The Wasatch mountain range as seen from Salt Lake City

My friend Jeremy made us delicious mac & cheese (plus taquitos) for lunch at his home.

Back to the 15 we go.

Cruising northbound near central Salt Lake.

After 400 miles in Utah, we reached the Idaho state line. Potato country!

Jason’s Mazda rolled 193,000 miles today.

Sign at the gas station in Malad, Idaho. By the way, I’m tracking all my gas consumption and pricing! Full spreadsheet to come when the trip concludes! Nerds get ready.

Check out this pulled BBQ pork!

I got that from this place right here: Spero’s House of BBQ in Malad. It came highly recommended by Ryan who drove over from Logan, Utah to have a late lunch with us.

We also met up with my friend and long-time blog follower Nate who lives in Pocatello, Idaho. That’s him in the blue behind me, and his maroon Toyota Tacoma in the background. Thanks for meeting up, Nate!

This song felt very fitting.

Idaho has “Variable Speed Limits” in some areas. The signs are electronic. Luckily we saw 80’s most of the way.

Finally, the Montana State Line! (And Continental Divide) at Modina Pass 6,870 feet.

Great little restaurant in Dell, Montana called the “Calf-A.” Dad and I stopped there last July.

Downtown Butte is rather charming!

Tomorrow: We hit the border crossing into Canada within about 3 hours. Wish us luck.

12 Comments »

Alaska Trip Day 1: St. George, Utah

Posted in Alaska, ILX, Road Trip on May 20, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer: 164,132

Day Distance: 435 Miles

Trip Distance: 435 Miles

And I’m off! I’m debating about how most effectively to share my trip with my readers without overdoing it. For those who subscribe via email, I apologize in advance, because I think I’m going to post once per day, in the evening, with something – even if it’s short and sweet – just to let you all know where I am, the cumulative trip distance, and one or two noteworthy things I saw that day. I’m already getting “pinged” by multiple people for updates so it’ll be easier to just post as I go versus waiting for a gigantic blog download when I get home. Thirty of my friends have access to my to-the-minute location via the iPhone “Find My Friends” app. Stalkers!

Today’s drive was a repeat of one that I’ve taken (and shared) many times before, from Phoenix Arizona to southwestern Utah, so I didn’t make any efforts to document it. Rather, I settled into my “pace” and mentally prepared myself to spend the next couple of weeks watching the miles go by and seeing what the countryside has to offer. I stopped only once on the way here tonight, in Kingman to check work emails before activating the almighty “Out-Of-Office” reply. I also grabbed a banana at the Mobil gas station.

Jason has just now arrived, too, in his Mazda. So tomorrow, we roll out in caravan and begin the long, long journey (that’s the title of a great Enya song, by the way) together to the land of the far north.

I picked up some Canadian cash just in case!

Passing Las Vegas – and staying away from the slot machines

Sunset along Interstate 15 northbound. It was windy today and the air was full of dust.

Check out these snacks my dad and stepmom gave me for the drive! Sugar rush!

Tomorrow (tentative): 9.5 hours drive time with a destination of Butte, Montana.

See you soon.

20 Comments »

Alaska Road Trip 2016 Begins in 4 Days

Posted in ILX, Legend, Maintenance, Road Trip on May 16, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend Coupe): 543,199

Odometer (Legend Sedan): 150,241

Odometer (ILX): 163,382

It was Saturday, May 6, 2006 when my dad and I departed from Salt Lake City to begin a very long journey. For months, I had researched and planned a nearly 8,000-mile road trip across North America and ending in Fairbanks, Alaska. It took us only 4 days to get there.

A decade has passed, and I’m ready to go back. The Legend, which had 220,000 miles back then and has 543,000 miles now, will sit this one out. I’m taking my 2013 ILX. The pre-work began long ago: I have a recent copy of the “Milepost” trip planner in hand. Milepost is known for being the Bible of the Alcan, with detailed turn-by-turn directions. We relied heavily on the book in ’06 as we were unaided by any sort of GPS or smart phones at that time. This year, we’ll have some help from technology but I still want to keep the navigation somewhat “old school.”

The fun begins this coming Friday, May 20th. Joining me for this adventure will be Jason from Las Cruces who is preparing to take his 2004 Mazda 6. It’s tough (impossible) to know exactly where we’ll be stopping each night because there are so many variables in play. Just a couple of weeks ago a piece of the Alaska Highway was shut down due to wildfires, and one such fire in Alberta necessitated the evacuation of an entire town of 80,000 people. Beyond that hazard, there are the inevitable delays due to road construction this time of year, potential weather uncertainty, and general concern of our health and safety. We don’t want to push our limits on daily distance (even though longer daylight hours up north may tempt us to) so that we can stay alert throughout the trip.

For some time now, I’ve been compiling a to-take list. Here’s an excerpt:

3 spare tires. I have a full size 17″ wheel that matches the existing wheels, plus the donut the car came with, plus an extra tire that I saved the last time I had my new set installed.
4 walkie talkies. Battery life under constant use is about 1/2 day. So if Jason and I each carry two and charge them at night, we will have constant communication which is critical especially in areas where cell signal is nonexistent.
1 GoPro camera, 1 Canon Rebel digital SLR camera, and my iPhone for documentation of the trip.
2 iPods (one with about 1,300 songs, and one with over 15,000) plus 3 huge CD cases carrying 64 discs each.
Milepost Guide Book editions from 2006 and from 2015 with step-by-step, detailed travel helps.
2 laptop computers: My personal laptop as well as my work one, so I can check email occasionally as time and Wifi permit. In the 9 business days I’ll be gone, I anticipate almost 2,000 emails coming in.
My “I drove the Alaska Highway. Both Ways, Dammit!” bumper sticker.

Oh, and a valid passport! When was the last time you took a ROAD TRIP that required one?

This afternoon, the ILX got an oil change at Acura of Tempe with 0W20 oil which should be good to last me for the entire length of the trip without having to have it serviced whilst en route. The last oil change prior to this was in February, about 7,500 miles ago. Maintenance minder and trip meter are now reset at 0.00 miles.

It might not be this clean when I get back.

In an untimely fashion, my credit card was compromised over the weekend so I’m waiting for a new one to arrive (quickly) so I can take it on the trip. I’ve already alerted the credit card company that I’ll be traveling through 7 states and 4 provinces in case my charging activity looks suspicious (because it will). Here’s my most “determined” look to pull this trip off without a hitch.

Couple other news bits:

Anybody already read the article about Victor Sheppard who drove his 2007 Toyota Tundra to a million miles?

Link Here

Toyota is going to dissect his truck! A shame, I say. Keep it rolling.

Here’s a photo from Saturday morning in Phoenix while I had the Legend sedan out for a spin. “Mr. Lucky’s” has been a landmark along Grand Avenue since 1966 when it was built to be Phoenix’s first casino. That plan didn’t go through, but the place ended up being a nightclub for 40 years. Today it houses a furniture store but that crazy (creepy?) sign out front still catches everyone’s eye on a daily basis.

The twins were put back away for the next few weeks.

I got a kick out of this gas station the other day. “Super Plus 2000: New Gas for the New Millenium.” And “millennium” isn’t even spelled correctly. I wonder if I should tell them that Y2K was 16 years ago.

Spare tires for days!

My friend Michael who flew out to buy his new Vigor recently has been really enjoying it.

That shine though!

And a friend sent me this photo of a neighborhood in Paradise Valley, Arizona where I need to look at real estate.

Until next time! Not sure when or where that’ll be, but I’ll post whenever I can.

EDIT: WordPress just told me this was my 555th post since I started Drive to Five. Gives a whole new meaning to the name, doesn’t it? Drive on.

25 Comments »

Quick Overnight Utah Trip in the NSX, with Route 66 Stops

Posted in NSX, Road Trip, Utah on May 12, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (NSX): 104,315

Trip Distance: 400 Miles

I’m sitting at Gate C25 at the Las Vegas International Airport and I already somehow ate $17 worth (!) of spaghetti and meatballs from the restaurant down the hallway, so why not kill a few minutes on WordPress? I squeezed a little road trip out of this regular work week and it was a fun one.

I’ve been needing to get a few maintenance items addressed on my 1992 Acura NSX for some time now. The Anti-Lock-Braking (ABS) system has been on the fritz, the stereo emits a deafening static noise when you rotate the volume knob, and the small struts that hold up the rear trunk as well as the glass engine hatch have lost their holding power. I can’t complain too much – the car, for the 4.5 years and 24,000 miles I’ve owned it, has required very little in maintenance aside from oil changes. My detailed 100,000 mile rollover post is here.

At 24 years old, some maintenance needs are expected. I reflected on my 400-mile drive last night from Scottsdale, Arizona to St. George, Utah. It’s pretty remarkable I can hop into a car that old – the oldest I own, in fact – and spend the next 6.5 hours driving in complete confidence that it will get me reliably to my destination. And it did. Unlike most cars today, this one isn’t a rolling mega-computer. It doesn’t have GPS. It doesn’t have adaptive cruise control. Heck, it doesn’t even have power steering. But you know what? It’s fun to drive.

Along the way, I enjoyed some of the sights and sounds of northern Arizona: namely, some Route 66 hot spots. Kingman, Arizona is a halfway point on my Phoenix-to-Utah trip. I routinely stop there for fuel (so frequently, in fact, that I have the clerks at the Mobil gas station on a first name basis). But I rarely venture off the beaten path to take a look around at the sights on what used to be the “Mother Road.” Places like this Mr D’s restaurant pay homage to a simpler time, with lots of color and greasy food because fewer people worried about nutrition facts.

Kingman still embraces its Route 66 heritage strongly and cruising along old 66, you’ll see lots of neat architecture that’s probably changed very little in the last 50 or 60 years. An old power station has been converted into a Visitor Center, but sadly it had shut down for the day just prior to my arrival into town. I continued on to Las Vegas, Nevada, stopping just briefly near the shores of Lake Mead for a photo at sunset.

Today, I telecommuted from Utah while paying a few visits to family members. I caught a 5:00 p.m. shuttle bus to Vegas, and I’m about to get on my one-hour quick flight to Phoenix. Speaking of which, they’re about to call my boarding group so I’d better jet – literally. Big week ahead, as I’ll be departing Friday on a nearly 8,000-mile journey to Alaska and back. And I’m taking you with me. So, start packing.

Get your kicks on Route 66

Breakfast with mom

NSX keeping its new friends company: My brother’s 1968 Nova and BMW M3

Three nice looking two-doors in a row. NSX power is far less. But you know which one I’d take on a mountain drive.

Talk soon!

21 Comments »

Visitors from Oklahoma & A Car Wash Party

Posted in Arizona, Vigor on May 9, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 543,149

Odometer (ILX): 163,108

I love it when I can help people find their next vehicle. Just in the last few weeks, I got my mom into a G35, my friend Jack into an RSX, and now my friend Michael picked up a Vigor. Just call me the automotive matchmaker.

Several months ago, a guy named Michael from Tulsa commented on the key-handoff Instagram photo of my 1994 Vigor GS that I’d posted. He mentioned that he wanted me to let me him know if I saw any similar cars/deals.

We corresponded via Direct Message a bit, eventually became text buddies, and then Facebook friends. And finally this weekend, we became friends in real life. All because of a 22-year-old Acura that we both have a soft spot for! As it turns out, Michael’s first car was supposed to be a black Acura Vigor but his dad wouldn’t let it happen. So now many years later, Michael bought one after all. He says he’s going to park it in his dad’s driveway as a surprise.

The car Michael bought is this twin to mine that I blogged about a few weeks ago. This Vigor will be a combination restoration project / daily driver / get-around toy. Michael already has a Toyota Tacoma and Toyota MR2 in his fleet back home in Oklahoma.

Michael, his friend Chris, and I took the Legend coupe & the NSX to breakfast in Tempe, Arizona on a beautiful Saturday morning. This was their first time visiting the state so I felt a duty and obligation to show them some decent food and sights during their very short (< 24 hour) visit to the state. We had omelets at NCOUNTER, then cruised up to the Vigor seller’s house in North Scottsdale.

It took about 30 minutes to get through the purchase paperwork and get on the road in our tandem “Vigs.” Michael was enough to share with me a spare set of “cognac”-colored floor mats since the car came with multiple sets. The seller had also included boxes full of spare parts and a several quarts of Honda transmission fluid. He’d done all his own maintenance over the years so he knew just about every nut and bolt of the car. He kissed the hood just before Michael drove away. That’s how you know someone took good care of their car and will miss it!

Michael sent me an update from the New Mexico state line as he was midway through his 1,025-mile drive home to Tulsa. Here’s a short video documenting his purchase & send-off.

Photo pre-departure

Leaving AZ (for good!) and heading eastward.

I hosted several friends yesterday for a car wash. Every once in awhile, I clear out the garage and driveway and invite people to come over and shine up their rides. I don’t claim to be any sort of detailing expert, but the basics are a piece of cake. We shined up Kevin’s Ford Escape, Ryan’s Lexus IS350, Jack’s RSX, Chandler’s Genesis, Michael’s Mini Cooper, and my ILX. Couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend an 85-degree day.

Oh, and Jack wanted a “douche bag” photo so we had to flex for one.

Here’s a video showing some of the moments.

Nice looking lineup!

Love the color on Kevin’s Escape.

James caught this picture of me at dinner last Tuesday. Legend City!

Finally: Check out this neat paperwork I came across. I can’t remember where on the Internet I found it originally. So the new 2017 Acura NSX is finally on sale, right? I don’t think anyone has taken delivery yet, but the configurator online at Acura.com is “live” and orders are being placed (supposedly). But are people going to be paying OVER sticker price for the car due to high demand? That’s what happened with the original NSX. Look at the next 2 documents. First one is the monroney sticker for a 1991 NSX. $61,600.

But here’s where it gets interesting. Look at the markup this dealership put on the car. Last line item reads: “ADJUSTED MARKET VALUE: $30,000.” Seriously! And remember, this was 25 years ago! A $30,000 markup in 1991 translates $53,032 markup in 2016 dollars. Pretty wild. But clearly they had no problem selling NSXs back then, even at a premium price. Or did they? Were any of my readers in the market back then to know? Chime in.

Have a great week!

9 Comments »

Throwback Thursday: A Few Random Old Pics

Posted in Throwback on May 5, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 543,136

Odometer (ILX): 162,786

Here we go! Triple-digit temps have arrived in AZ and they’re here to stay until probably October!

Ever started looking for something and gotten so sidetracked with other discoveries that you forgot what you were looking for in the first place? The other day I was looking for the spare key for one of my cars when I dug up a few oldies from the photo album archives. I figured I might as well share them here.

Here’s a picture from probably 10 or so years ago. When I was born, my family lived in Richmond, Utah. It’s only a few miles from the Idaho state line, at the far northern tip of Utah. The town today has only 2,500 people but thrives as a tightly-knit community of farmers who lead a simple way of life. Richmond is home to “Black & White Days,” which according to the city’s website is the longest-running Holstein cattle show west of the Mississippi. It’s been running for 101 years now!

Here’s a look at Richmond’s location in reference to the rest of the state. It’s up there.

Another photo I dug up was this one, taken 12 years ago when I picked up a 2001 Lexus IS300 in Jacksonville, Florida for my younger brother, Bentley. He’d purchased the car sight-unseen from a dealership’s Ebay auction. I drove the car over 2,200 miles home without ever getting a hotel room. I remember taking power-naps in the back seat a couple of times, but I was on a mission to get home. I was 22 years old at the time. I definitely couldn’t survive on that little sleep if I tried doing the same thing today.

I never even ended up meeting the seller of this Lexus. He had left the key to the car under one of the tires in the airport parking lot. How trusting was that of us? He could have easily left me high and dry on the other side of the country! Here was my route home.

Remember, this was long before GPS, Google Maps, or any sort of electronic navigation aid. I had printed dozens of pages from MapQuest before flying to Florida and I relied on those printouts, plus a huge Rand McNally atlas, to find my way. I did stop a couple of times for photo opportunities, like this shot near Birmingham, Alabama.

This next photo is from August 16, 2003. It was taken in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pictured are four Acura Legends, the first two at left belonging to my friend Jeff Scott, then my car, then my friend Blair’s. Jeff has since sold both of his Legends and currently drives a TL Type-S 6-speed. Blair still has his Frost White 1992 coupe but it’s now highly modified.

This fun one is of one of my four-wheeled toys before I was a car fanatic. It’s our Yamaha Badger 80cc ATV. I felt compelled one day to pull it out onto the lawn for a photoshoot in St. George, Utah at my family’s home.

Coming up next, we have my pride & joy 1989 Honda Prelude 2.0 Si, taken in about 1998. I was in Logan, Utah and visiting a park at the mouth of Logan Canyon on Highway 89 named after a relative (look closely at the wooden sign). It’s called Ray Hugie Hydro Park. Ray served as City Engineer and Public Works Director for 44 years. One of the many projects he led was the development of a $15 million hydroelectric power plant near this location. My Prelude was looking nice!

These next two shots were taken in 2003 in Salt Lake City, Utah at Sugarhouse Park. This was a small impromptu Legend meet-up with my friends Dave and Branson. I haven’t talked to Dave in ages and I don’t have his current contact information. Branson still resides in Salt Lake and has gone through about a dozen cars in the last decade. He currently does still have a Legend though, and it’s a 1995 LS coupe 6-speed in Cayman White.

Nice lighting here!

And finally, a shot from the glory days of my Prelude and mom’s chromed-out 1993 Legend.

Thanks for joining me for another trip down memory lane!

Here are a couple images from modern day. First, the 1993 sedan and NSX switching spots on Monday.

I got my new Michelins installed on the ILX, too. I ran the last set for about 54,000 miles and they still had plenty of life left, but I’m leaving in a couple of weeks on a nearly-8,000-mile drive to Alaska & back so I wanted to have tires in tip-top shape before departure.

My brother made me this awesome aluminum car show stand. It weighs only 5 lbs and can fit inside the NSX trunk.

The next thing I’m figuring out is what to display on top, and how to attach it. Help me brainstorm!

Have a great weekend!

12 Comments »

Weekend Road Trip: St. George, Utah, Snow Canyon State Park, and Strawberry, Arizona

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Road Trip, Utah on May 1, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 543,124

Odometer (ILX): 162,648

Trip Distance: 886 Miles

Sometimes the best part about planning a road trip is throwing the plan out the window and winging it entirely. What was intended to be a hiking weekend at Zion National Park with a dozen friends and family members ended up getting rained out and rescheduled. While I had been looking forward to checking out the 14-mile “West Rim Trail” hike, Mother Nature had other plans that included thunderstorms in Southern Utah.

Still, my friend Rob and I made the trip up to see what kind of fun we could dig up. And we found plenty. On Friday we worked from “home,” or in this case, from mom’s kitchen table and Wifi network while she served up waffles, “fruit pizza,” and other snacks to keep us fueled. I only wish my office had such amenities! That evening, we met up with an old friend Josh who I’d known since high school but hadn’t seen for over a decade.

Saturday morning started out with mountain of French Toast at Bear Paw Cafe on Main Street in downtown St. George, followed by a hike on the Red Hill (also called the “sugarloaf”) with Rob. The rain wasn’t yet coming down heavily so we scrambled up the rocks for a view overlooking the community.

sgu

Later that afternoon, we visited Snow Canyon State Park off State Route 18. Snow Canyon is a 7,400-acre park just outside St. George city limits that is part of the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve. It has nearly 40 miles of hiking trails and was set aside in 1959 as a state park. Snow Canyon is one of my favorite places for automotive photography and videos. Rob and I hiked around the sand dunes for a little while before heading to a family BBQ.

snow_canyon_2

Thumbs up!

For the return trip to Phoenix, I wanted to introduce Rob to some other parts of Utah & Arizona that he hadn’t yet seen, so we opted to circle back to Phoenix via Flagstaff as opposed to back-tracking to Las Vegas where we’d come from. About 90 minutes into our drive we’d reached the 7,900-foot-elevation Jacob Lake Inn, a historic lodge just north of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. There’s a small gas station, motel, restaurant, and gift shop on the site. I couldn’t resist the grilled cheese sandwich so we stayed for a bite to eat before continuing on our way. Spy the ILX in the window reflection here!

The Colorado River looked a lot like chocolate milk when we stopped briefly for a photo at the Navajo Bridge along Highway 89A about 40 miles later. The old 1928 bridge has long-since been bypassed by a newer one, but pedestrians are allowed to walk out across it so we did that to get a good view of the river below.

Further adding to the adventure of our return trip was a sign along Interstate 17 just south of Flagstaff that stated “Road Closed 89 Miles Ahead.” Rob took a peek at traffic on his phone and confirmed that things were at a standstill near the Bloody Basin Road exit just a little north of Phoenix. So, we did some quick calculations and decided to make a detour at Camp Verde to Payson, which would add about 30-40 minutes to our trip but most certainly avoid any sort of delay from the road closure issue. That seemed like the most logical plan of attack, so we went with it, and I’m glad we did! Highway 260 from I-17 to the Highway 87 junction was a gorgeous two-lane windy road with very little traffic.

Soon we found our way in a few small towns on the outskirts of Payson, including one called Strawberry. Most homes in that area have log cabin architecture which adds to a cozy feeling in the community. Strawberry is also home to the state’s oldest still-standing schoolhouse, built in 1885, so we had to make a stop there.

“Old school.” Get it? Never mind.

By the time we got back to my place in Scottsdale, it was nearly 6 p.m. and we felt like we’d spent the entire day in the car, but we covered some beautiful ground and enjoyed the road trip! Below are the rest of my photos.

Thanks to PAPA member Larry Edsall for giving me this awesome mousepad!

Dinner with my buddy Josh

This is how long I’ve known Josh: We took these photos of our Hondas together in January 2001. Over 15 years ago! Mine was the red Prelude of course.

Prepare for takeoff!

Breakfast with mom, sporting my NALM shirt of course

Check out that French toast from Bear Paw Cafe!

View of St. George from the Red Hill

tyson_rob

Old tunnel into St. George that has been bypassed by modern roads, and now serves as a storage area.

Picking up my 5-year-old niece Vivienne

Family BBQ with my brothers Payton and Bentley, and mom

Rob getting cozy at the Jacob Lake Inn

Leaving the Navajo Bridge

Check out this Acura brand video entitled “30 Years Young” – pretty cool stuff!

12 Comments »

2017 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 Track Event in Phoenix

Posted in Arizona, Vehicle Reviews on April 27, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 543,115

Odometer (ILX): 161,603

There’s nothing like a little “horsepower high” to break up a mundane Tuesday! I escaped the office for a couple of hours recently to attend a track event at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park in Chandler, Arizona.

pass

The Ford Performance program – formerly known as SVT (Special Vehicle Team), and also formerly known as SVO (Special Vehicle Operations) is the company’s division dedicated to performance and race vehicles. Anybody else remember the long-gone 1998 Ford Contour SVT?

The performance program has recently undergone a lot of changes both in structure and in branding, and Ford has developed a new lineup of vehicles tailored around speed and performance for people who demand more get-up than the average Joe.

nicole_tyson

Many of those vehicles were on display at the track, all the way from the entry level Fiesta ST up to the supercar “GT” model which debuted recently and hasn’t yet gone on sale. Somewhere in the middle of that hierarchy lies the Mustang, and Ford’s engineers have gone to great lengths to make this one a viable contender against the competition.

briefing

Jim Owens, Marketing Manager at Ford Performance, gave our group of 25-30 individuals a run-down on the lay of the land. His organization’s goal is to instill the “addiction” for performance in consumers early on and work them through the product lineup as they mature and are able to move on to bigger and better offerings from the company.

interior

After some safety briefings and an introduction to the track layout, I was saddled up in the passenger seat of the 526-horsepower, 6-speed manual Mustang “Shelby GT350” beast and driven around by a professional driver from Ford’s race team based in Salt Lake City at Miller Motorsports racetrack. Finally I had the chance to do some of the driving myself. The rumble of the V8 powerplant was unlike anything I’ve driven recently. I found the clutch take-up to be intuitive and easy to balance. In a flash, I was already in 3rd gear and I stayed there for pretty much the entire driving portion, taking instructions from my passenger and doing my best to not make a fool of myself on the track.

tyson_mustang

I had a riot! The car revs willingly to the high end of the rev range because redline isn’t until 8,250 RPM. I had a great time pushing the car nearly that limit on the long straightaway and I found it to be a better-handling car than I’d expected. For a $48k entry level starting price, the Shelby GT350 is a helluva play toy for grown ups. Many thanks to Ford for the invitation to the event! Here is a short video showing brief highlights from my day.

Here are a few more photos from the past several days:

On Saturday morning, I went to Tucson and test-drove a clean 1994 Legend GS sedan 6-speed. Oddly enough, this car used to belong to my friend Ryan in Utah 5 years ago! I shared a walkaround video with him.

That afternoon, my friend Leif and I attended a historical tour of the sights in Phoenix surrounding a controversial murder case. Back in 1931, a woman named Winnie Ruth Judd killed her two best friends in a sort of dramatic love affair ordeal. She cut up the bodies, put them into large trunks, and shipped them to Los Angeles via the railway. She later was caught, convicted, and spent 40 years of her life in jail (though she escaped 7 times). What a story!

Our two-hour ride took us to some of the sights in town which were significant in the case, including the home of Winnie’s (married) boyfriend Jack Holleran which we went inside, and a drive-by of the original “murder house” in central Phoenix.

“Hip” Historian Marshall Shore led the tour

shore_luggage

Starting point was the historic (and also very hip) Clarendon Hotel

ILX with the Clarendon in the distance

The scene of the crime!

On Sunday, I had a lake day with friends at Lake Pleasant, a 12-square-mile lake formed from the Agua Fria river. We rented a couple of boats and spent the day exploring around. Here is the approach of Scorpion Bay Marina.

Half of our group on boat #2

I gave my friend Ira a scare. He tracks my location and saw me out in the middle of the water.

Part of the group. Living the Arizona dream!

There was some drama this week when my storage unit roll-up door was backed into.

Luckily, the car was far enough forward (plenty of room!) that nothing was damaged.

Hope everyone is having a great week! Getting closer to Friday!

11 Comments »

Press Preview: Pretty Pacifica in Paradise Valley

Posted in PAPA, Vehicle Reviews on April 22, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 160,923

When I showed up to my 15-year high school class reunion last August in southern Utah, I realized just how big of a business minivans are. Gotta tote those kiddos around! Graduating class of 2000: doing our part to populate the world. The scary part is that kids who were born the year I graduated, are now in high school themselves. Reality check!

Chrysler engineers know a thing or two about minivans. Of course they do – they invented the minivan, way back in 1983. My family never had one – the most kid-friendly vehicle my mom ever drove was a 1988 Jeep Cherokee. But I rode around plenty in minivans belonging to other family members, like my aunt Jodi’s ride right here with my younger brother Bentley out front. This van was pretty “pimped” out for its time. It had a VCR & TV in the back!

I first saw the new Chrysler Pacifica at the Detroit Auto Show in January. The Pacifica shares its chassis with the Dodge Caravan and touts over 100 available safety and security features. The Uconnect Theater rear seat entertainment system is a far cry from the VCR in that pin-striped Caravan my aunt had back in the 80’s. Chrysler marketing executives call this a “no-compromises” minivan for today’s demanding buyers.

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On Tuesday, I attended a special event for journalists from the Phoenix Automotive Press Association (PAPA) held at a resort called Lon’s at the Hermosa, in Paradise Valley, Arizona. Chrysler representatives Scott, Matt, and Angela were on-hand to give our group of about 15 people a high level overview of the new Pacifica and its many merits. Two pre-production vehicles were there for demonstration and driving, ranging from a low-trim entry level to the fully-loaded “Limited” which rings in at just shy of $47,000 including destination.

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Chrysler has made extensive efforts to set itself apart from the competition – namely, the Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna. While there are other minivans in the marketplace (Kia Sedona, etc), from a market share perspective the big players are the Honda and Toyota. Minivans in general sell about 1/2 million units a year, so even though a lot of today’s families have shifted to SUVs and crossovers, the minivan is still an important market.

Matt told us there were 37 “segment firsts” launched in the new Pacifica. Its 287 horsepower V6 and 9-speed automatic give it a power advantage over the competition – in fact, it’s 40 horses stronger than the Odyssey. Pacifica touts a 360-degree “bird’s eye view” camera system and three available sound systems, maxing out with a 20-speaker Harmon-Kardon surround system that is guaranteed to wake up the neighbors. Maybe owning a minivan isn’t as “un-cool” as society makes it seem?

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Interior amenities are spacious and versatile as would be expected from a vehicle in this segment. The second row seats fold completely flat and the Pacifica can reportedly accommodate 64 4×8 sheets of plywood. I don’t know of any moms & dads picking up that much lumber at Lowe’s but it’s nice to know the capability is there. The 3rd row of seats have power reclining, the tri-pane sunroof gives a glimpse of the world above, and the vacuum – yes, Chrysler has copied the HondaVac – actually has a longer hose than the Odyssey does. “You can vacuum a boat you’re towing, or another vehicle in the garage next to it,” Matt explained.

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Next came the discussion of my favorite feature: the “Are We There Yet?” App on the “UConnect” entertainment system. Kids in the back seats can see on the TV screens ahead of them exactly how much longer they have until reaching their destination. If you’ve ever been on an airline and seen a real-time map update with current location and ETA, the idea is the same here. Pretty clever, I must say.

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Driving dynamics impressed me. The shift knob is a rotary style dial that I twisted into Drive and hit the gas. I found the power to come on smoothly and the Pacifica accelerated briskly for a vehicle of its size. The touch-screen audio and climate systems would take some getting used to, but luckily some of the functions also have duplicative buttons & knobs for those of us who don’t want to deal with a screen. Everything is intuitively laid out, including the gauge cluster with a large digital speedometer readout as well as an analog gauge to its right.

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The overall Pacifica package is a well executed attempt to take a larger bite out of that minivan segment pie. Clearly Chrysler has done its research on what buyers want, and I won’t be surprised to see this one being well received by families everywhere. Now, what’s the change interval on that vacuum canister? Every 3,000 miles?

Many thanks to Chrysler for the invitation and up-close look at its newest people-hauler!

Our group assembled underneath the umbrellas

Matt McAlear, Senior Manager, giving us the run-down

View of the 2nd row of seating. Fancy piping & leather!

A few folks from our group taking notes on what they learned.

Thanks for reading!

Few pics from this week:

Lonely parking – the way it should be!

Date night at Tempe Marketplace

Have a great weekend!

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Legend Spy Shot Roundup #7

Posted in Legend, NSX, Spy Shots, Vigor on April 20, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 543,106

Odometer (ILX): 160,842

Happy hump day. The garden hose came out and the ILX got a much-needed bath on Sunday morning.

Later in the day I took the Legend to a neighborhood in Chandler, Arizona that has a street named Tyson.

It’s that time again for some spy shots! Here are the previous roundups for your viewing pleasure. These are all thanks to you, my loyal Legend hunters, who continue sending them to me on a daily basis.

Tim gets the grand prize of all Legend spotters for finding Ayrton Senna driving a 1991 “Twilight Blue Pearl” LS sedan for just a few seconds during a 51-minute video. Tim, you’re a winner! Look at 27:49 in this YouTube video.