Archive for January, 2020

49 Years & Counting: 2020 Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction Breaks Records

Posted in Arizona, Car Show, Milestones on January 27, 2020 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend):  572,435

Meet Craig Jackson:

Craig is kind of a big deal.  He’s currently in the driver’s seat of one of the world’s largest collector car auctions – launched in 1971 by his father, Russ.  Russ first partnered with fellow enthusiast Tom Barrett to sell a handful of automobiles in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Tom eventually retired and Russ passed away, leaving the reins to Craig 25 years ago in 1995.

Craig has since taken the auction to new heights, building it into a mecca that attracts 325,000 automobile enthusiasts annually to its signature and largest event held in Arizona each January.  Jackson has also expanded into other cities around the nation, keeping his team busy throughout the year and facilitating the sale of thousands of vehicles.

Craig is the true definition of a ‘car guy,’ and he wholeheartedly enjoys being part of the industry.  “I like three-pedal cars,” he said at a media event I attended in the days leading up to this year’s program in Scottsdale.  Craig commented on the ever-present questions like, “What should people buy now that will be collectible in X years?”

And the answer to that, of course, is anyone’s best guess, but he suggested that modern internal combustion-powered automobiles as we know them – and especially those equipped with clutch pedals – are positioned well for future appreciation because their days are numbered.  He’s stockpiled a few of his own in his elaborate personal collection.  And speaking of collections, there were a few noteworthy celeb-owned cars up on the docket, including some BMWs formerly owned by Paul Walker.

This year’s auction was the event’s 49th.  I attended in 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.  And while I haven’t yet made a four-wheeled purchase, I’ve come away with a lot of souvenirs, memories, and friendships that have been 100% worth the price of admission.  My mom and I made the trek to the “Westworld” venue on Saturday, January 18th and feasted our eyes on the nearly 2,000 vehicles that were up for auction this year.

According to a post on Craig’s Instagram (below), a single gavel was used over the course of the 9-day event, but auctioneers went through six sound blocks.  The 2020 auction became the highest-grossing auction in Barrett-Jackson history, with over $141 million in no-reserve sales.  The intensity and energy in the venue is electrifying, with a vehicle being sold on average every two minutes.

The long-awaited mid-engine 2020 Chevy Corvette with VIN #001 brought $3 million for charity.  Other amazing cars that I enjoyed checking out were the 1963 Modena Spyder California from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, as well as a replica Ford LTD station wagon as seen as the “family truckster” in the Chevy Chase movie “Vacation.”

Lexus auctioned a special edition LC500 convertible, the first of its kind for model year 2021.  It brought $2 million.

Mom and I were a little disappointed after searching the show grounds for Tent 7.  We were hunting for the “Shaggin’ Wagon,” a converted 2003 Ford Econoline van modified to look like the “MUTT CUTTS” vehicle from Dumb & Dumber.  It wasn’t parked where it was supposed to be, so we asked some of the nearby security personnel.  Evidently the van had been vandalized earlier in the week.  “Someone broke the nose off it,” we were told.  Shame!

And now begins Barrett-Jackson’s “Road to 50,” as Craig and his team will spend the next 12 months building up to the 2021 event as its 50th anniversary.  You can bet I’ll be there once again to soak it all in!

Below are a few more photos from my experience at Barrett-Jackson & overall weekend.

Red-carpet arrival at the house for mom’s visit

Brunch date in downtown Phoenix, in the red brick SUV.

Chris (visiting from Maryland) and I rolled around in the same vehicle.  Chris’ claim to fame, in fact, is that he’s driven every one of my vehicles, including the 1992 Integra sedan which sold just 2 days after he left town.

Bueller?  Bueller?  You might recognize this car from a certain movie.

Visitors from Utah feasting their eyes on the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the auction.

A celebrity to me – none other than Mr. Peter Cunningham, current President of the NSX Club of America.

And special thanks to my friend Jonathan Klinger who is a VP at Hagerty, who gave me these awesome socks.

They say:  Driving is good for the sole.

And also thanks to Aaron Cook from Barrett-Jackson’s public relations agency, TimePiece.

Mom and I didn’t score any purchases at the auction, but we each came home with a chunk of metal from the following morning’s rock & roll half-marathon in Tempe.

Finally, join me in congratulating my friend Matt on his 200,000th mile in his 2002 Nissan!  I captured the occasion on video from his back seat.

Thanks for reading & watching, as always!

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Future Collector Car Show 2020 & 1992 Integra GS Sale

Posted in Arizona, Car Show, Integra on January 25, 2020 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Integra sedan):  75,604

Trip Distance:  2,155 Miles

I sold my 28-year-old Integra sedan on Tuesday, and the buyer drove it as many miles in his 3-day trip home to Tampa, Florida, as I drove the car over my nearly 2 years of ownership.  Needless to say, he’s enjoying it more than I did!  More in a little bit about who the lucky new owner is and how the exchange played out.

I was walking down High Street in north Phoenix a couple of weeks ago at a car show, glad to be wearing a fleece jacket because it was downright chilly (by Arizona standards) in the shade.

“I like your jacket,” a guy said as I passed by him.  I paused for a second and looked down because I couldn’t even remember what I was wearing.  I realized it was my Nissan GT-R jacket.  The guy then pulled up his shorts a little to show a brightly-colored GT-R tattoo on his thigh.  I said, “Awesome; I wish I had the car but I just have the sweater!”  I guess Nissan people are just as passionate about their cars as Honda people are.

The occasion for the day was the 5th annual Future Collector Car Show (FCCS), an event that started in 2016 as a small production sponsored by ClassicCars.com to recognize and embrace the movement of the ‘new’ definition of classic.  The show has grown and evolved over the years, attracting 150 vehicles for the 2020 program that were selected via an online application process that kicked off last fall.

I had the lone representing Integra, while there were a couple of RSXs on the roster.  Here are some links to prior years’ coverage of this event.  (I’ve been to all five!)

  • 2016 – Legend coupe
  • 2017 – Legend sedan
  • 2018 – Integra GS-R
  • 2019 – Integra GS-R (again)

Over the course of the day, I got the chance to reconnect with a lot of great friends and I enjoyed lunch at Mellow Mushroom while taking a break from the social scene.  The variety of vehicles on display was wide, and while most were modified, there were a few super clean ‘preserved’ original cars like this sweet 1980 Prelude.

One of my faves was this older Lexus SC sitting on new IS wheels.

Three “Bullitt” Mustangs in a row!  One had the license plate “CHSECAR” (chase car)

Wandering High Street

And bumping into friends

Meanwhile, my 1992 Integra sedan was on display, and I’d left a For Sale sign sitting on the dash in case anyone had interest in sending me a message to inquire.

At the end of the day, I received just 1 text message.  It was from a high-school-age kid who came to test-drive the car 2 days later.  Except, he couldn’t drive a stick.  So I drove him around.  He didn’t end up making an offer.  I actually discovered how frustrating it can be to deal with car buyers.  A few of the things I observed or heard:

  • “What’s the lowest you’ll take?”
  • “Does the car need anything now or in the future?”  <Hello, it’s nearly 30 years old, the answer is YES>
  • “Will you take $XX plus 10 monthly payments of $XX?”
  • “If only you were in X location.”
  • “Can I trade you my XX vehicle?”
  • “Why are you asking so little?”  <This one surprised me>
  • “You know Blue Book on this car is only XXX.”  <Facepalm.  I hate ‘Blue Book’ when it comes to vintage cars>
  • “You’ll regret selling it.”
  • “I wish I had the money, but I have XX kids.”
  • “I like the 2 door better.”

I survived all of that, and a legitimate offer did come, however, from a nice gentleman named David in Tampa, Florida who is a dedicated Honda-fan who’s restoring a 1989 Prelude “S” model.  We corresponded a little by email and then text, and arranged his visit for Tuesday January 21st.

Below are a few photos from the transaction as well as photos he sent me from his drive home.

Gift I made up for David of his digital car rending from Darren at I Drew Your Car.

About to leave the garage for the last time.

Key handoff on a rainy Phoenix morning.

Arrival in Florida – that sign looks familiar.  I was just there in October.

Final odometer reading after a successful journey to the other side of the country.

Congrats, David!  Here’s a 1-minute video memorializing the occasion.

PS – If you haven’t already done so, check out the YT Channel “Out Motorsports.” My friend Jake and his crew of skilled journalists are going to publish regular updates on car reviews, performance/track events, and more.

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Happy 2020 – Blog Stats, Mileage Updates, & Visitors

Posted in Blog, Milestones on January 9, 2020 by tysonhugie

Let’s get this year started off right with some proper automotive updates!

Some data on the blog you’re reading:  Launched in spring 2011, Drive to Five saw its all-time highest traffic in 2014, presumably because I put a lot more effort into it back then than I do today.  I was also on a crusade to get max miles out of my then-new Acura ILX as I accumulated miles in a variety of weekend excursions to share with my readers.  I posted 128 blog entries that year.

This blog saw 60,957 views in 2019 from 26,535 unique visitors.  I posted 52 times, so on average once every week.  There are 78 of you who receive an email every time I publish a new post.  You must be out of your minds.

Sometimes I wonder if “reading” is a forgotten pastime.  Consider the fact that my YouTube channel over the last few months has seen unprecedented subscriber traffic.  A video that I uploaded about my new-to-me 1999 Acura Integra surpassed 50,000 views and 600 comments in its first 12 days.  In those 12 days, the same video made me $250 in ad revenue.  That’s gas money if nothing else (but I won’t quit my day job any time soon).

This blog nets me $3 a month by delivering ads to you all.  That doesn’t even offset what it costs me to pay for the domain name rental and the 3.6 gigabytes of storage it takes to archive the 19,000 images I’ve blogged over about 9 years.  But I’m not into blogging for the money.  I’m a writer.  This is my travel journal, and even if one person reads it, or for that matter, if nobody at all reads it, I’ll still keep publishing with some sort of regularity.

A lot more people are interested in just clicking a “Play” button on their YouTube browser than actually reading a blog, but if you’re still reading this, then to you I say, “Thanks!”  Your loyalty means a lot.

While we’re on a ‘stats’ kick, this grid is a tradition I’ve kept up for 4 years now.

I drove (or my cars drove, rather, because I’ve loaned them out plenty of times) 30,403 miles in 2019.  That was down from 36,053 in 2018.  My most expensive car to maintain last year (shocker) was the rust-bucket SLX which cost me over $2,600 in maintenance.  But I got an Acura video feature out of it, and I still love driving that stupid thing around town just for the reactions.

The ILX saw 10,000 miles and the Legend coupe 7,500.  But remember that 5,600 of those Legend miles were in one single trip:  Driving to southern Florida & back in October for the National Acura Legend Meet.  If NALM stays close to home in 2020 (I’m dropping a major hint here prematurely) it might not see that many this year.

I’ll let the below pics tell the rest of the recent updates.  I’ve had so many cool guests over the last couple of weeks, including a friend named Shaun from all the way in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.  We connected via social media – isn’t it crazy how that works?  He’s a “garage” enthusiast.  Check out his Instagram:  @gullys_garage.  I also received visits from my Legend friend Jimmy, from Gearbox Magazine’s Brian Driggs for a Podcast, from author and friend Steve Lynch, and from a California based friend named Dani who just recently moved to Phoenix.

New Year’s Eve 2020 at ‘Flannel Ball’ in downtown Phoenix with friends

A friend sent me a Chilton’s manual for the GS-R

Library is coming along.  (And the GS-R will get a blog update in due time)

I’ve been picking up some cool magazines, including a coupe comparo where the 5th gen Honda Prelude reigned supreme against 6 other cars back in the day.

This was another interesting find.  December 1993.

A full 3 model years before the SLX debuted, Automobile nailed it.  They had an article discussing the potential for Honda to market a Trooper-based SUV.

Jimmy’s visit in his pristine Legend GS 6-speed

Received a 2020 calendar from my friend Pavel in the Czech Republic

Pulled out the Integra sedan for some photos since I’m selling it

Steve from Tucson stopped by.  He spent time working for American Honda back in the early 1990s and was fortunate enough to get the keys to a then-new NSX for a cruise to the hills.  A 4×6 photo from that occasion was given to me for feature in the display case.

Ken from SFO paid me a visit too.  We went out to dinner.

And while I had the sedan out, I commuted in it today.  Nice sunrise.

My sights are on this now.  Looks like you can guess what my next 2 cars are going to be.

Here’s to another year!

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SOLD: 1992 Integra GS Sedan 5-Speed with 73,400 Miles

Posted in Integra on January 8, 2020 by tysonhugie

** Update 1/21/2020 **

This car was picked up today and is going to a great home in Florida.  Thanks for all the interest!

Hello friends!  I’ll have more updates in an upcoming post, but this one’s an ad.  It’s time to clear 1 of my 10 cars out.  Do any of my readers have interest?  I had a local offer that fell through so it’s up for grabs.

Detailed info below.

Maintenance snapshot.  I’ve spent $3,000 on maintenance and only driven it 2,000 miles in 2 years.

1992 Acura Integra GS Sedan 5-Speed

Torino Red Pearl on Black Interior

VIN:  JH4DB1562NS001367

  • Factory 1.8 liter 4-cylinder motor with 140 horsepower
  • “DB1” chassis with post-midcycle refresh to front bumper & rear trunklid / taillamps (1992-93 specific only).
  • 73,400 Miles
  • All original WA & UT car (Seattle area until 2000, then southern Utah until 2018

Link to Google Drive with about 80 Photos

4-Minute Video Walkaround:

I am the second owner, purchased May 2018 from original owner named Maxine (Steckler) Cook. She is 74 today.  She was 46 years old when she bought the car.  Maxine lives in Ivins, Utah currently and travels via RV with her husband Jim.  She was so proud of the car that she had pulled it onto the front lawn for photos for her classified ad, and she had a tear in her eye when I drove the car away.

Clean Carfax and title.  No known accidents or paint work.  Passed Arizona emissions.

Maintenance spreadsheet in Excel:   Includes recent timing belt, water pump, tires, fuel pump, radiator, upper and lower hoses, spark plugs, battery, and valve adjustment by Stephen Wade Honda and by Hon-Man Automotive.  New (aftermarket but custom fit) high quality carpeted floor mats.

RADwood car show participant in December 2018 Los Angeles at the Petersen Museum.

Includes window sticker (car had a $2k markup when new), all available records, owner’s manual w/ radio code, photos, and documentation.  I’ll include the Arizona copper “Historic” plate as well as the original Utah plates the car came with.  I even have screen shots of when I was FaceTiming with a friend who was checking out the car for me before I flew to Utah to purchase it.  The car is all original as Maxine had it, right down to the Utah Sheriff’s Association 1999 sticker in rear window.  I did remove the pinstripe, the Jesus fish from the trunk lid, and the gold license plate frames.

Noted:  Vibration at idle, especially with A/C on.  My 1992 Integra LS sedan had the same.  Defrost turns on by itself randomly sometimes.  There is a small, hard spot on passenger seat like glue that I haven’t tried removing yet. The check engine light came on once during (800-mile) Dec 2018 trip to LA but not since.   There is a small scuff on the left rear bumper.  Windshield wipers don’t work on the middle (intermittent setting).  Everything else is showroom fresh, and works.

Additional Videos:

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Red Hot Tamale: 2020 Honda Civic Si Sedan HPT 6-Speed Review

Posted in Civic, Vehicle Reviews on January 1, 2020 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Civic):  2,264

Who’s hungry?

Don’t worry; I brought enough to share with the whole class.

This candy is described on its packaging as “Fierce Cinnamon.”  I guess that’s about how I’d also classify the latest iteration of Honda’s Civic Si sedan.  It’s a contemporary compact sedan souped up with the aero treatment, aesthetics, and performance enhancements that tuners love, in a package that’s still as reliable as a Corolla.  The Si evokes a high schooler vibe, especially in the “arrest me” Rallye Red.  It’s no wonder some of the prior journalists who tested this Civic (ahem, I’m looking at you James) got pulled over for seemingly no reason while driving it.

I was lucky to escape the wrath of any highway patrol during my time with the Civic, but I still managed to have a heck of a good time with it.  I found it to be a competent everyday driver that delivers a sense of fun and adventure on even the most boring commute.  Just lay into the throttle in second gear beyond 4,000 RPM and you’ll get it.

This marks the second time I’ve had the chance to review a 10th-generation Civic.  The last one was a 2019 model year 1.5-liter “Touring” sedan back in September.  The primary gripe I had with that car was its Continuously Variable Transmission.  Well, guess what?  This week’s car had an honest-to-goodness stick shift.  And I loved it.  The ‘HPT’ noted in the model name of this one refers to its optional High Performance (Summer) Tires.

Here’s the rundown, in bullet point form as I like to do it.

Good

  • Seating position is absolute perfection for me while resting the elbow on/near the center armrest
  • Stereo & tech is relatively intuitive and rear-view camera clarity is good
  • High-rev performance feels almost magical for an engine only 1.5 liters
  • Headlight enhancements are a sweet modernization and give a premium look
  • Clutch action, shift throws, and round metal shift knob are slick, sheer Honda perfection
  • MPG delivery is great for a car this fun to drive (EPA 26/36)
  • Price point ($26,130 as tested incl. destination) feels like a lot of bang for the buck
  • Thoughtful conveniences like the power port in the passenger front footwell area

Bad

  • Blind spots are relatively large – this is something I observe on almost every new car that I test due to higher belt lines and larger pillars
  • I’m not a fan of an electronic parking brake on a manual car.  I’d feel a lot more comfortable grabbing a lever.
  • As with any turbo motor, torque on the low end is relatively scarce
  • I prefer an analog speedometer (at least to supplement the digital readout)

Ugly 🙂

  • I’m still not a fan of black wheels
  • Can we get LED rear turn signals to keep things uniform front & back?  (I said the same about the Acura ILX A-Spec I recently tested)

Verdict

Go sample a Civic Si.  I’m confident it’ll satisfy your sweet tooth for a value-packed car with some zing to it.  Any shortcomings are far outweighed by the bang for the buck.  It’s a great blend of practicality and performance if you have craving for a Hot Tamale of a car.

Honda compact sports cars separated by 21 years.  And look how big the Civic grew!

The Civic Si’s front end makes the ILX 2.4 look pretty mundane.

It was worth noting, I celebrated 2,222 miles with the Civic at 12:22 at 22 miles per hour.

This, of course, after I just posted about hitting 222,222 on the ILX.  It’s that kind of luck.

Happy New Year!

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