Tiny Travels, Home Improvements, and Vigor Auction Underway
Hello from Hell-o.
No, seriously. It’s 115 degrees outside and it feels about like you would expect for AZ in mid-July. At least it was my washing machine that decided to bite the dust this week instead of my air conditioning unit.
I’ve been cooped up a bit and needed to stretch my road trip legs again, so yesterday I took the Legend coupe on a 200-miler through the desert west of Phoenix. It was a pretty simple little loop that provided a nice getaway.
The highlight, of course, involved food. I had to sample the Green Chile Burger at a little drive-in called Screamer’s that I saw featured in a news article not long ago. I ate indoors – I don’t think they do in-car service at this drive-in, at least not this time of year. And the burger was everything it was cracked up to be. It feels like a special treat to eat like that nowadays, because my diet has changed a lot now that I’m eating at home. I’ve lost 15 lbs this year.
I might have also lost something else this year – a little bit of what sanity I had to begin with, when I decided to deck out my garage as a cheesy 1990s used car dealership a while back. Hope you get a kick out of this 45 second commercial. The $50 I spent on Amazon swag was well worth the results.
But for reals, I’m selling a car. It’s time to re-prioritize and think about my short-term and long-term plans for the Acura collection. It’s now been 5 years (exactly) since I picked up my 1994 Vigor GS in Colorado and brought it home. I’ve enjoyed it for 13,000 miles, and shown it at RADwood and Japanese Classic Car Show.
Now it’s time to move it along to the next worthy owner. Here’s a link to the auction. This makes my Acura Vigor officially the first Vigor ever sold on Bring a Trailer. The site has had 14 Legends and at least that many Integras.
How come I’m selling? Let me count the ways. Career uncertainty, I can’t drive it (and my 8 other cars) enough, there are other projects and cars I have in mind in the future, it’s a good chance to free up some garage space, and to help the Vigor model gain recognition since the enthusiast network is so obscure and forgotten. So bid away!
Along with that, I filmed a 14-minute very detailed video about the ins & outs of the car. The intro to the segment involved re-creating the cover photo from the 1994 Acura full-line brochure.
I extend thanks to my friend Josh of Clymer’s Carport for his innovation and creativity in developing a custom, hand-built Hot Wheels display board for me. I put together a video on it.
I recently created a login for Newspapers.com and started browsing the archives from the 1980s and 1990s. I dug up some particularly cool ads for Acura dealerships from back in the day.
A friend of mine picked up a 6-speed ILX to replace his RSX as a daily driver. It’s “Fathom Blue.” Last month also marks 8 years of ownership for me with my ILX.
My friend Chuck found an old pic that was taken the day after I got the car new in 2012.
I decided to do some small upgrades to the west garage on my property. It’s a small space where I keep one car, my lawn mower, and other yard care items. A neighbor recommended Garage Flooring LLC as a place to pick up plastic tiles, so I placed an online order and did the install. I opted to not put tiles over the entire floor but only about half of it for now.
NALM Arizona Update
The announcement was made on 6/26 that in light of current events that are heavily impacting the Arizona region currently (and for the foreseeable future), it is prudent to postpone this year’s National Acura Legend Meet to fall 2021 instead. More to come as registration re-opens, but our placeholder dates are October 6-10, 2021.
On the 4th of July I picked up my friend Lance for breakfast in a 6-door limo that’s being stored at my house. It belongs to my friend Devan. The car is 20″ longer than a quad cab Duramax pickup. I had to ramp up my depth perception a little.
I also enjoyed a little excursion in the Super Sonic Blue 1999 Integra. A few Saturdays ago (I think – my sense of time is all out of whack lately), some friends and I cruised up the twisties of Highway 89A to Prescott. We stopped along the way to pay respects to the 19 firefighters who were killed during the 2013 Yarnell Wildfire.
Hope everyone is having a nice weekend staying safe out there. Send ice cream and snowflakes.
drivetofive 
July 12, 2020 at 11:36 am
I’ve been pretty good about trying to keep up with your YT videos so I was familiar with most of this post. Looks like your auction is doing ok so far. Good luck with it. Way to take the high road with a troll in the auction comments. I’m sure the buyer will appreciate your honesty and attention to detail. They won’t find a cleaner Vigor.
I hope this works out well with your long term plans and that your career will be stable during these trying times. Stay safe and healthy. Both of our areas are unfortunately hot spots now.
July 13, 2020 at 8:47 am
I know! It’s tough to say what the next month will hold, let alone the next year. Kind of just getting through this whole scenario a day at a time for now. I haven’t heard of any further furloughs on the horizon from work (knocking on my desk here) but there are no guarantees.
Glad you got a kick out of that guy on the auction with a negative comment. If you look at his profile, he’s never bid on, bought, or sold a single car in his 5 years on the site. He’s just there to stir up the pot in comment sections. I bit my tongue 🙂
Hope you are staying healthy and safe as well. Have a great week and talk to you soon.
July 12, 2020 at 11:56 am
Hello Tyson. Good to see you back. Love that dealership commercial you made. Also love your Vigor. I hate to see you sell it. It is one of my favorite cars in your fleet. Take care and stay safe. Both Florida and Arizona going thru some difficult times. Hope for better times in the future.
July 13, 2020 at 8:48 am
Agreed with you on that Carlos. I’m glad I was able to get in my long distance FL trip before any of this crazy stuff started impacting travels. Take care of yourself.
July 12, 2020 at 2:30 pm
Okay, this was a really cool post – it was great seeing the Legend coupe on the road again, that was a fascinating walkthrough of the Vigor (and good luck with the auction!), the Matchbox display board was fantastic, and that burger looks amazing (and thanks for the newspapers.com link – seems like a great way for me to deep dive into the archives).
All that said, the most important question is: what is the song list on that 1994 CD? This child of the 80’s/90’s wants to know!
July 13, 2020 at 8:51 am
All the songs are so good.
Ace of Base – Don’t Turn Around
Ace of Base – All That She Wants
Ace of Base – The Sign
All-4-One – I Swear
Boyz 2 Men – I’ll Make Love to You
Celine Dion – The Power of Love
Elton John – Can You Feel the Love Tonight
En Vogue – Whatta Man
Mariah Carey – Hero
Janet Jackson – Again
John Mellencamp – Wild Night
Lisa Loeb – Stay
Bryan Adams – All for Love
Madonna – I’ll Remember
Mariah Carey – Without You
R Kelly – Bump & Grind
Toni Braxton – Breathe Again
Toni Braxton – You Mean the World to Me
July 13, 2020 at 9:03 am
Excellent choices, all around!! Volume II could have Sabotage by the Beastie Boys and Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden. 😄
July 12, 2020 at 3:36 pm
Hi Tyson!
I’m sending you love and cool air from Abbotsford Canada. We’ve had zero warm weather since March except for Mother’s day weekend.
This blog edition is chock-full of goodies which means I’ll be pleading TLDR and mostly looking at the photos. Such is the life of an old person with double vision haha.
Take care, stay outside if you are able and eat well.
Pam
July 13, 2020 at 8:53 am
Thank you Pam, I really appreciate your upbeat attitude and positive vibe. As someone who is outgoing and social, this year has really taken a toll on my mental health! But I’m lucky to be surrounded by good friends even if we just have to interact differently than before. Take care of yourself as well!
July 12, 2020 at 10:24 pm
Super cool write up!
I have a question I’ve always wanted to ask.
Was the limo slow? LOL
July 13, 2020 at 8:56 am
I was actually surprised how well it moves. It has a 4.6 liter V8 that sounds exactly like a Crown Vic cop car my dad used to drive. I think the reason this powerplant works so well in a limo application is that it delivers a lot of low end torque. This one has 130k miles and still runs and drives great. Plus, cold A/C with a separate A/C system/control for the rear of the car. Let me know when you want me to pick you up!
July 13, 2020 at 5:53 pm
Really? I always thought these would be dogs. I guess that modular 4.6 is really designed to pull weight too, and nothing beats cold AC! Maybe the Hummer Limos are the slow ones. LOL
You can pick me up anytime! 😁
July 15, 2020 at 9:53 am
I’m just back from vacation, and it looks like the bidding is VIGOROUS with two days left! Could I be any funnier? Don’t answer that. 😛
July 15, 2020 at 10:05 am
Welcome back to reality! (What’s left of it!). Haha.
July 18, 2020 at 1:08 pm
Loved it. Keep up the good work.
July 19, 2020 at 8:39 am
Thanks Trevor! Hope you’re having a great weekend.
July 19, 2020 at 2:42 am
Sounds like you had a good couple of Road Trips there Tyson – 200 miles isn’t too shabby and I’m glad to hear you enjoyed your burger! It really is good for the soul to get out and about.
Loved the 90’s car showroom!
July 19, 2020 at 8:40 am
Thank you Stuart! Hope you’re able to get out and enjoy the open road from time to time as well! It’s good therapy these days 🙂
July 20, 2020 at 5:26 am
Thanks Tyson – we’re trying to get out as much as we can, we actually managed a short over-night trip last week!
July 21, 2020 at 11:58 am
2nd time recently the blog isn’t started with an odometer shot. Everything has changed since Covid.
July 21, 2020 at 2:02 pm
Seriously! It’s a crazy world we live in.
August 31, 2020 at 7:14 am
I second Chris’ comment. LOL This has to be the post of the year. Still need to stage mine with the goodies you sent.