How was everyone’s weekend? It’s been busy around here as I’ve been getting back to my routine. Just two days after returning from the mega Florida trip, I had company in town from San Diego and San Francisco for a few days. My guest book is spilling over onto page 41 since I bought my house in September of 2016. Let me know when you want to book your reservation (rental cars are available).
I’ll let the photos tell the story below because there’s really not much else to elaborate on.
Ryan and I took the ‘homeless’ white Legend that I’ve been storing for about a year to brunch.
He has his sights set on the Vigor. At 6-foot-6, he barely fits in that thing.
We also took the 1992 Integras out for a spin.
I’d like to introduce my friend Michael’s new 1996 Prelude Si. It’s beautiful!
Ben and Smiley arrived on their way back to the Bay Area from Florida on Saturday evening.
Ryan’s Accord 6-speed was looking extra juicy.
I took the Legend for its emissions test last Wednesday. It passed the test without any challenges.
Here are the recordings for pollutants since I first registered the car in Arizona about 12 years ago. In some cases the numbers are questionable or inconsistent. Actually – the numbers this time were better than they were 2 years ago, for all 3 measures. Go fig.
I needed to juggle some cars around so I parked the 2 ‘reds’ in the driveway for a few pictures on Sunday. You’ll see more of the SLX in the coming months as it’s involved in a special project.
Similar gauge layout, vastly different driving experiences.
Do you prefer Formula Red or Radiant Red?
My buddy Chris from Maryland, who has the twin to my Legend GS sedan, knew that his recent trip to Florida would cause his car to surpass mine in mileage. So we figured out a way to commemorate the milestone. I took my car to Wendy’s and recorded the odometer after I parked it back in the garage.
The reading was 161,440 at the time.
So Chris, similarly, took his Legend to Wendy’s.
And he captured a picture at 161,440. At this point, Chris’ car is likely to stay ahead of mine for the foreseeable future.
I took a scenic drive on Sunday in the RL out to Saguaro Lake in the Tonto National Forest. I was scouting drive & lunch locations for a potential bid to host the 2020 NALM event here in Phoenix next fall.
More to come on that, but here’s a 3-minute preview video to the scenery & venues for consideration.
Have you been following any updates on the special Acura TLX PMC Edition? It’s a TLX built at the NSX factory in Marysville, Ohio, and they’re only making 360 units. The first one I saw in person was #026, on 7/26/2019 at Acura North Scottsdale.
And since that one was behind velvet ropes, the first one I actually sat in was #146 on 9/26/2019 at Acura of Tempe.
I’ve yet to get behind the wheel but it’s a pretty cool car because it blends Advance and A-Spec packages which historically have been mutually exclusive. Have a good week!
This past Friday was sweet. And not just because of the sugar cookies.
One of the best benefits of being affiliated with a local automotive media community is the chance to get behind the wheel of new vehicles each year to see how & where the industry is evolving. You may recall my prior involvement with a program called the Active Lifestyle Vehicle of the Year (ALV) starting in 2012. ALV eventually evolved into a broader scope – focusing not only on certain types of vehicles but rather exposing journalists to a little bit of everything. It was phased out after 2017.
The Southwest Lifestyle Media Drive was then launched in 2018 to better align the Phoenix area press event with the key stakeholders, the vehicles in consideration, and the brilliant landscape that many of us call home. And instead of being a formal road test or evaluation event, it’s a no-strings-attached opportunity to put vehicles through their paces without worrying about needing to tally up scores in a mountain of paperwork after the fact. I like the evolution that this event has taken.
The host venue for this year’s activity was the Crowne Plaza San Marcos in Chandler, Arizona. It’s a historic and hospitable place to begin with, but it also at a crossroads of some great driving opportunities in both urban and freeway settings. Event Director Becky Antioco stated that there were 13 vehicles available to experience, and over the course of the day I was able to experience several.
The standout vehicle for me – and I never thought I’d say this – was a 2020 Toyota Camry with special “TRD” (Toyota Racing Development) add-ons. A Camry with sporting aspirations? Unheard of. But all it takes is one look at the aero treatment, the custom interior, and the stunning color to know that this Camry is a little something special. I ran it through the gears (8-speed automatic, of course) in a spirited launch up the Loop 202 onramp and enjoyed the 301-horsepower V6’s exhaust note.
The surprise came when I pulled up the monroney spec sheet and realized it’s priced at $32,920. That’s some serious sticker shock in a positive way instead of a negative way.
One of the media drive’s main sponsors this year was Nissan. A product representative gave us a walk-around of the Versa “SV” – an impressively equipped sedan for its $14k-21k price point. Back in the day, the big competition was in the number of cup holders a vehicle had. Today, it’s all about the tech, and the Versa has 3 USB ports. It also has fancy things like “rear door alert,” to audibly notify the driver a reminder that they’ve put something in the back seat if the doors are opened in a certain sequence before starting a drive. Innovation at work!
Another vehicle that stood out to me was the latest Ram. The tailgate opens via the conventional method, but has also has a trick up its sleeve: You can open it down the middle like a set of barn doors, too. Think of the versatility here – especially if (as in our test truck) your pickup has a tonneau cover securing valuables being hauled in the bed. I like it.
Thanks to the SW Lifestyle planning team and to all the manufacturers who put the event together!
It’s about time. I’ve been home for over a week from the longest trip I’d taken since 2016, but I’ve been trying to play catch-up. Below is some event coverage I’ve put together already that you may wish to peruse.
If if you’re more a watcher than a reader, you can fast-forward all the way to the bottom of this post because there are 4 YouTube episodes there for your viewing pleasure a total of about 40 minutes’ worth of runtime. How about that? You get to experience a 13-day road trip in a fraction of the time. You’re welcome. Haha.
NALM – the National Acura Legend Meet – has led me to various parts over the country over the course of its now-15-year run. From New Jersey in 2011 to Sacramento in 2017 and Milwaukee in 2012 to Houston in 2015. Which reminds me, I need to rummage through my closet and see how many prior-year NALM T-shirts I still have.
This year’s voyage was unlike any other. As time goes on, long-distance road trips get more challenging: I’m older, the car’s older, parts are tougher to come by, and it’s more and more difficult to break away from work for such an extended period of time. But the reward – or the juice, as my boss likes to say – is totally worth the squeeze. In other words, if it’s NALM, I’ll be there. Plan it in Tierra del Fuego if you want to. I’ll probably drive there.
I stayed with a variety of friends throughout the trip, which took me through 7 states as I stayed on (or close to) Interstate 10 the entire way. One night was spent in the luxurious garage of Jason from Pawela’s Garage. A couple of days later, I got to drive the Guinness World Records “Longest Continuous Bridge Over Water” (that’s a lot of qualifiers) which runs 23 miles over Lake Ponchartrain in the New Orleans area. I’m a sucker for “world’s largest” anything, and most of you know that about me by now. And I got to meet a long-time blog reader and friend named Carlos in Miami who proudly showed me his stack of records on his 2005 TSX. Thanks, Carlos!
Key West, Florida is a destination that had been on my Excel “road trip bucket list” for some time now. It felt like something I should probably cross off since I’d already be in the same state, so my trip was lengthened by 2 days in order to allow me to visit the Southernmost Point in the Continental United States. And that side-trip was 100% amazing. Coincidentally, I had a couple of Arizona friends in the area who invited me on a catamaran for a sunset ‘dinner cruise’. Thanks again for that, Hy and Linda!
I checked in for the NALM festivities during dinner on day two of the event, while everyone was chowing down on tacos at Jimmy Hula’s in Ormond Beach. My favorite part of the program happened the next day, when our Legends swarmed Daytona Beach – on the beach itself. Daytona is one of the few oceanfront areas in the country where you can still drive your personal vehicles on the sand. I guess when you consider I had my Legend in Los Angeles earlier this year, it pretty much drove from the west coast to the east coast this calendar year.
And perhaps as a reward for that achievement, my car was one of five Legends allowed to park inside the showroom at AutoNation Acura North Orlando, where General Manager Rob Breedlove was gracious enough to roll out the red carpet for our entire pack of Legend fans. He staffed the BBQ grill outside while our group was addressed by Honda Brand Culture Champion Charles Schnieber about the history of Acura and some fascinating trivia. Thanks Rob!
All too soon, it was time to conclude our festivities with a beachside pizza party & awards ceremony. I was awarded a certificate for having the cleanest floor mats in the group, which admittedly was a little unfair because the mats I had in the car are only used for shows and I don’t actually daily drive with them!
My last stop before making the marathon trek westward was to visit an Acura enthusiast in Jacksonville named Andrew, who I can only describe as “me, but on the east coast.” Andrew has a significant collection of cool cars, including a Honda Odyssey, Honda Ridgeline, an Acura Legend, two Acura CLs, and an Acura NSX. He and his wife rolled out the hospitality in a big way and I felt right at home.
On my way home, I stayed another night with Jason in New Mexico – this time, celebrating a milestone with him. (We’re kind of making this a habit). This time, the achievement happened in his now-100,000 mile 2014 Lexus IS350. I was happy to be able to celebrate with him.
You’re all asking: How’d the car do? Well, it delivered 27 mpg and performed pretty flawlessly for its age and miles. The only maintenance items worth mentioning were a bottle of power steering fluid used up, a pair of new tires installed for precaution (they’d been a worn before I even left Arizona), an oil change, and replacement of a taillight bulb. My comprehensive fuel log is posted below – totaling about $640 in fuel expense.
And in Excel form for the nerds in the house.
When it comes to adventures, this was definitely one of the most memorable I’ve had. And I thank you for coming along on the journey with me!
Jason’s garage
“Prada Marfa” – a worthwhile offbeat destination in rural Texas: It’s a fake Prada store in the middle of nowhere.
This sure felt like a marathon.
Checking out my friend Michael’s TSX Sport Wagon in San Antonio
Dinner group at Flying Saucer in San Antonio
Rolling 567,890.1 on the coupe with 234.5 on the trip meter
Tire replacement needed in Tallahassee – Discount Tire had my size & brand in stock!
Carlos’ TSX and DJ’s MDX in Miami
Headed out on the “Overseas Highway” to Key West – remarkable scenery
My two-night stay in Key West – highly recommended
Southernmost Point!
Unreal sunsets on our dinner cruise
I stopped by Acura of Pembroke Pines on my way back through the Miami area, and one of the individuals I met was Jon in his gorgeous Monte Carlo Blue NSX
Sean stopped by too – he’s a NALM veteran, as he and I attended the first event in 2005 together!
Sunrise view from host hotel, Coral Sands Inn, in Ormond Beach
Daytona Beach scenes
Chris and his 1994 Legend GS 6-speed. He authored the last post on this blog.
“World’s Most Famous Beach”
No car club event is complete without plenty of good grub.
Dealer day photos
Presentation from Charles, with my Legend in the foreground
Greetings, blog readers. I arrived a day late to this year’s NALM so I invited a colleague, Chris Miller, to write about his experience that first day leading up to my arrival. See below for his words and photos.
My complete write-up on my 5,600-mile trip, and a series of 4 videos, are pending in the coming days & weeks.
Thanks for reading!
_______
NALM 2019, departure from Maryland to Florida and Day 1 Activities
This year was no different, 20-plus Legend enthusiasts and a few spouses came from all over the country, and even Canada to gather in Ormond Beach FL, just a few miles north of Daytona Beach. The drive for me this year was relatively easy: Get on I-95 South a mile from my house and take it to the Ormond Beach exit, 872 miles away. I had to work on Monday so I drove to DC, worked till 3:00pm and drive to Fayetteville NC for the night. Tuesday I drove from Fayetteville NC to Floral City FL to visit the famous Legend Land to visit the famous Legend Savior himself, Alan Jackson. Wednesday morning Alan, his wife Nancy, and I convoyed the 2 hours from Floral City to Ormond Beach via back roads through Ocala National Forest.
This year’s hotel was the Coral Sands Inn off Route A1A which is their main coastal road and was right on the beach with views of the ocean from every level. Wednesday night dinner was at Lagerheads about 4 miles north of the hotel. The special that evening was Mahi Mahi tacos which I found to be very tasty with a little kick. The veranda outside Thomas’ room was the place to hang out afterwards and catch up with old friends and our little Legend family.
One newcomer this year was Avery Tulak who lives in British Columbia. I spent some time talking with him about his travels to Florida. It started with a 7 hour drive from B.C to Seattle and then a 5.5 hour flight to Florida. Avery doesn’t own a legend…yet. He does have an RL, a Vigor and an Integra in his stable and knowing he was on the hunt I informed him of a famous NALM quip: For the right price, every Legend in the lot is for sale. We welcomed him to our event and ensured he got to ride different Legends throughout the events.
Thursday morning we went down the street to Alfies for breakfast at 7:45. We were the first and largest group in the restaurant and my breakfast choice, along with a couple others, was the French toast with Bacon. It must’ve been 6 slices cause I could barely eat it all.
At 9:30 we gathered across the street from the hotel to stage the cars and we promptly departed for Daytona International Speedway just a few short miles down Interstate 95.
Once we arrived we were greeted by our tour guide for the morning. We loaded into tram-like cars behind his pickup truck and we proceeded around the perimeter of the track on a road just above the jersey walls. Our tour guide gave us a brief history of the track since it first opened in 1959. The speedway is known for the most prestigious race in all of Nascar, the Daytona 500 which is held in February. The complex is not only home to 2.5 miles of nearly 200mph races, it also houses road races, motocross and superbike competitions on smaller tracks within the complex.
Our tour guide shared an impressive amount of knowledge with us during our tour. He told us how many light poles were erected, the number and wattage of the bulbs used during night racing and other interesting facts. He told us that when it comes to re-paving the speedway it takes over 6 months from start to finish. When they repave the speedway all the asphalt is ground up and hauled off, right down to the dirt. You wouldn’t think paving would take 6 months but a great deal of the effort is the preparation. The protective fencing above the jersey walls and safer barriers has to come down.
The banking around the curves is 31 degrees and to keep the paving equipment from sliding or tumbling down the bank they have equipment that runs along the perimeter roads alongside the paving machines with safety lines tethered to them. We weren’t allowed on the banked curves but we were allowed to get out and walk the start/finish line which is banked at a mere 18 degrees but proved to be a little difficult to climb. We also got to tour a few buildings in the infield which houses the press corps and we got a group photo taken inside Winner’s Circle. After a short elevator ride we went up to the grandstands to get a view of the entire speedway.
Our last stop was the Daytona Speedway Hall of Fame and Museum. Inside the entrance is Denny Hamlin’s Toyota which won the Daytona 500 this past February. It’s tradition for the 500s winning racecar to be put on display in the museum for one year until the next 500 winner is crowned. The car is displayed in the same condition as shown on t.v., soda, champaigne, confetti, and all kinds of asphalt and debris still clinging to the paint. The only thing done to the car is it’s drained of any remaining fuel. Inside the museum is the famous Hudson Hornet, cars from Dale Sr., Jeff Gordon, as well as a few funny cars, dragsters, and even a couple boats.
The next event was a short scenic drive and photoshoot in the local area but I decided I’d head an hour south and take a tour of the Kennedy Space Center. While watching the various multimedia exhibits and IMAX presentations I was keeping an eye on Tyson’s location. I knew he was heading north from Key West and I wanted to convoy north to Ormond Beach with him as our dinner that night was at Jimmy Hula’s. There’s something neat about following the coupe version of your car going up the highway; especially when we share the same car color.
Yes, I’m almost as nerdy as Tyson is in some respects. We fueled up at the Exxon station and headed north on I-95 through a nasty rain storm that lasted a few miles. The first day or two of NALM was very windy with scattered heavy rain showers reducing visibility to ¼ mile or less. We made it to dinner a little late but I enjoyed a Rice Bowl with Chicken similar to what you’d get at a Chipotle. Tyson feasted on a couple Tacos after making his rounds and saying Hello to the gang.
Posted in Legend, Road Trip on October 8, 2019 by tysonhugie
Hello! Let me blow the cobwebs off this keyboard because I’ve been too busy driving to focus on the blog.
This evening I completed the first portion of a massive cross-country road trip from Phoenix to Florida and back.
As I type this, I covered 2,743 miles over 7 states in the last 5 days. I reconnected with friends in every stop. I drove across the Guinness world’s longest continuous bridge over water in Louisiana. I drove under Mobile Alabama in a tunnel. I had to buy 2 new tires in Tallahassee. I got soaked in a thunderstorm in West Palm Beach. I fought Miami snowbirds in traffic. And now, I’m at the southernmost point in the United States. In fact, on a map, it looks like I could damn near throw a football and hit Havana, Cuba.
And don’t worry, I have about 400 photos and video clips of it all happening. You’ll see some of them in due time.
drivetofive 