Taco Tuesday in the Vigor, Literature Highlight, Gearbox Magazine Podcast Feature
Odometer (Vigor): 111,196
Odometer (Million Mile Lexus): 975,453
I know, only 25,000 miles to go on Matt Farah’s old 1996 LS400! Some of you may remember when I put a couple thousand miles on that car back in October 2015 when it only had 922,000 on the odometer. My friend Adam ran into the car (well, not literally) in Colorado this weekend at a rally event. I told him to check and see if my log book entry was still present in the glove compartment, and it was! I wonder when and where the big event will take place. Thanks for the update, Adam!
I’m a sucker for Mexican food. Breakfast burrito in the morning, quesadilla at lunch, and tacos for dinner. I could do that. So every Taco Tuesday is a bit of a special day for me. And check out these beauties I found:
Sometimes we get so focused on traveling beyond home that we forget to appreciate the destinations that are within arm’s reach. I was just talking the other day with a friend about wanting to do a “staycation” sometime in the near future for those reasons. For now, I satisfied my literal and figurative cravings for something new by trying a restaurant that opened last year in the lobby of the historic 1928 Hotel San Carlos in downtown Phoenix.
Now dwarfed by modern skyscrapers on all sides, the elaborate San Carlos was once one of Phoenix’s most elaborate and high class destinations for the elites who visited the area. Some say it’s haunted – and for good reason. An actress plunged to her death from the rooftop not long after the hotel first opened, and to this day it’s said that her spirit inhabits the premises. I didn’t go in search of any ghost-hunting. I went for the tacos – and they were worth it!
I parked my 1994 Vigor about a block east of San Carlos along Monroe & 1st Street for $4 (photo above taken at the top level of the garage) and wandered around the downtown district a little. “Centrico” is accessed from street level and has a small bar inside along with a few tables. I seated myself at the bar – as the only person there – and ordered up a set of 4 chicken tinga tacos for $10. They most definitely hit the spot.
Here are some other updates for the week: Recently, I was featured by Brian Driggs of Gearbox Magazine on an hour-long Podcast discussing this and that about how he and I got into the automotive hobby and what we are doing with it. If you want to check out the ramblings, here’s the link! Thanks Brian for the opportunity.
The Integra GS got some lovin’, including replacement of this discolored passenger sideview mirror with a replacement unit which I got from a friend (off a junkyard car) and had repainted at Fix Auto Phoenix for $96 in the correct Torino Red paint.
This car is looking mighty fine! From a dinner outing last Friday evening:
Here’s the latest on it from my YouTube channel:
I took the other Integra, my GS-R, up to Flagstaff, Arizona yesterday afternoon to beat the heat. In just a 2-hour drive, the temperature drops about 20 or more degrees. The car did great for the 300 or so mile round trip. I’m at around 248,700 on that one and anxious to see it crest 250,000.
The new 2019 RDX selection was on sale at the local dealer when I stopped by as well.
You all know I’m crazy about car literature. I can get lost going through my boxes and boxes of car magazines from the 1980s and 1990s. Below is a pic of envelopes with just a handful of the items. In all I have 57 pieces of literature or brochures specific to just the Acura Legend. I also have 151 items of ‘generic’ Acura interest, in about 6 boxes in my laundry room. Yes it’s all categorized in an Excel spreadsheet too. Shocker.
I came across a few cool pieces, including an article from February 1992’s Road & Track where six sedans were tested against each other: Acura Legend LS, Audi 100, Mazda 929, Acura Vigor GS, Lexus ES300, and Mistubishi Diamante LS. I loved a few phrases in particular about the Legend.
This is the instrument by which the other sedans in this category have been setting their watches… Still the dictionary definition of smooth, refined, and reliable, the new Legend LS remains the benchmark. Consider a zero-to-60-mph time where the next best competitor is more than a full second slower. The others begin to close the gap at the quarter-mile mark, but by that time, the big Acura’s powerplant has established itself as the powerhouse of record, without a hint of strain.
Love that! From a 1994 “New Cars” magazine issue:
Did you know that across the entire model lineup, there were 22 colors offered in 1994?
And I thought this was kind of interesting. On January 6, 1998 – just a little over 20 years ago – I pulled a Kelley Blue Book valuation of my mom’s then 1993 Legend L sedan with 64,000 miles on it. Suggested retail was $21,200.
That’s it for the archive preview today. Few more shots from my Vigor / taco outing:
Hope you’ve had a great weekend!
drivetofive 
June 24, 2018 at 7:06 pm
The GS is looking great, especially with that new passenger mirror and the removal of the “flair” you talk about in the video. Haha. Interesting that C&D put the Legend AND the Vigor together in a comparison test. Those cars are pretty different in size and price, among other things. You got some really nice pics of your shiny green machines while out and about in AZ! Hopefully my next car will be something similar instead of my steady and predictable diet of black and gray. By the way, I want those tacos!
June 25, 2018 at 6:36 am
Haha, your steady and predictable diet is what keeps you happy and sane! Though, I have to wonder how you’re holding up with black for your current experience. I know you recently put some new detailing products to use to I bet you’re staying on top of things. Have a great week, Brad!
June 25, 2018 at 7:32 am
Black looks nice when it’s clean, but between the alternating rain storms and dust, it’s almost never clean. As far as winter salt and grime, let’s not even go there. Haha. I see I put C&D when I meant R&T! I should’ve known the former would never have such a mismatch in their tests. 😀
June 25, 2018 at 5:19 am
Mmmmm… Taco Tuesday! I would have expected, based on location alone, for the price of your meal to be at least 50% higher. I won’t lie… I definitely perused the menu. When I get out to AZ, I’ll have the Tacos de Asada, please! The hotel looked cool, too. Is it one of the older buildings in downtown Phoenix?
The Integra GS seems like it’s coming along nicely. Also, love that shot of the Vigor in front of the mural. Looks like something from an Acura catalog. Nicely done!
June 25, 2018 at 6:37 am
Thanks Tim! Yeah, c’mon out here and we’ll go explore some our culinary destinations. Sounds like you’ve had a pretty action packed last week or two yourself. Looking forward to hearing (or reading) about some of your non-car-related life events! And congratulations once again.
June 25, 2018 at 8:00 am
I too have boxes buried in my attic containing a treasure trove of car brochures from decades past. It’s so long I honestly can’t say which cars and years but it would be like an automotive archealogical dig up there. Someday… we’ll need to don some hazmat suits and dust masks and go exploring.
Coincidentally I found a few vehicular artifacts over the weekend you may find interesting I’ll send you some pics…
Have a good week.
June 25, 2018 at 8:55 am
I love vehicular artifacts! The documentation and history of a vehicle can sometimes be as impressive as the vehicle itself, which is why I haven’t had the heart to throw away any of my paperwork on any car I’ve ever owned. In fact, even when I sell a vehicle, I keep a photocopy of all the records that I’ve provided with it. I guess I’ve gotten trained in audit defense through my years in working with the government at work! I saw your emails come through on the documents on the 6000 and the SEi. Can’t wait to dig in and see what we have in there.
June 27, 2018 at 8:23 am
“Breakfast burrito in the morning, quesadilla at lunch, and tacos for dinner.”
This is why we get along. 😉
Staycations are awesome, my off-road trip last weekend was only ~150 miles southwest of home and was incredibly fun/relaxing. Definitely need to do more like that!
June 27, 2018 at 9:05 am
Totally. I’ll be getting my fair share of time away from home in the coming weeks. Upcoming travels will take me to PA, CA, CO, and UT. Something tells me that I’ll be ready for a lazy couple of weekends at home after that! Hope you have some fun in store as well.
June 27, 2018 at 10:20 am
Curious to know if you’ve gotten any updates from the owner of the other integra that you sold?
June 27, 2018 at 10:37 am
Charlie, I’ve been meaning to share an update with that. Yes – the Integra LS was picked up on May 27th. The buyer, Ken, drove it from Phoenix to his home in the Colorado Springs area in 1 day (about 800 miles). Coincidentally, I was in that same area about 10 days later for the NALM pre-planning meet, so I went to the house and saw the car there!
He has already begun some updates – he sourced a replacement shift knob, replacement center console, and I think he fixed the radio issue. The last I heard was about a week ago when he told me he now had Colorado tags on it. I will invite Ken out when I’m in CO again for the Legend meet in a couple of weeks.
Glad it went to a very good home.
June 27, 2018 at 4:42 pm
Great to hear the car is being taken care of. I live in Phoenix and was interested in bidding on it, but the final price exceeded my $4K budget for a 2nd car. A few days after the Integra sold I purchased a 1999 Honda Prelude SH 5speed with 169K miles from a guy in Redondo Beach.
July 2, 2018 at 12:56 pm
You got some great pics for this write up. I love that the Million Mile Lexus was found and that your entry is still there. It doesn’t have much further to go!
July 2, 2018 at 1:05 pm
That’s true, I wonder where it’ll end up for the milestone! Hopefully in a body shop for some paint work because that front end is looking more ratchet by the day, haha.
July 7, 2018 at 8:27 pm
Aside from the fact that I’ve missed a bunch on your posts & decided to play catch-up on a lazy Sunday afternoon at home, it’s always good reading the post comments. It was good to hear that Ken is working hard, bringing your old LS back to tip-top condition. Your ensemble of literature is something that I love digging into. Dad’s work has a “library” of old car, truck and transport content, it’s a place that I need to spend some time. A few weeks ago I “accidentally” spent $160 on late 80’s / early 90’s Autocar magazines. I thought I was purchasing like 5 magazine, not 5 bundles – so it was the shipping that ended up costing a fortune. Ah well, it’ll provide hours of entertainment. Looking forward to your future post of the GS-R rollover!
July 8, 2018 at 7:12 am
Glad I was able to provide some entertainment on your lazy Saturday, haha. Oooh congrats on the Autocar magazines. I would love to thumb through those. At some point I need to make a more appropriate “library” for everything – organize them by year / model / etc. Ideally I’d like to make everything available for people to thumb through when they come visit but for now it’s all just stored in envelopes and boxes. Someday. Talk soon!