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Drive to Five Review: 2017 Acura MDX Advance; Canyon Lake Legend Meet

Posted in Arizona, Legend, MDX, Vehicle Reviews on November 1, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 548,850

Odometer (MDX): 1,817

Last Thursday at Bashas’ supermarket in uptown Phoenix, I put the newest Acura MDX to the test doing what it does best! I made all the soccer moms jealous with every family’s dream ride: a three-row SUV that brings the comforts of home into a grocery-getter that’s surprisingly fun to drive.

This striking $57k top-line model brings in all the bells and whistles, including some new-this-year amenities for second-row passengers: heated seats and captain chairs. The kids never had it so good!

Prior MDX write-ups are here. I’ve been lucky to get my mitts on a couple prior iterations of this fine people-mover:

Now in its third generation, this 2017 model is the ‘refreshed’ version of the bodystyle that debuted in 2014. This latest version wears Acura’s refreshed front end with a grille devoid of the “shield” we’d become familiar with since 2009. Instead, the styling is now derived from Acura’s Precision Concept and is pentagonal in shape. Continuing rearward, the design is clean and carried over from prior iterations. The wheels are 20″ in diameter and a handsome design. Bling bling!

The MDX gives me a “they’ve thought of everything” feeling. The lights on underside of the sideview mirrors turn on as you approach the vehicle at night to illuminate the ground below. The liftgate is powered electronically. And the auto start/stop feature (a fuel-savings enhancement to shut off the motor temporarily at idle when stopped) can be triggered by the level of brake pedal pressure applied. It took me a couple of minutes to figure that one out, but I fell in love with it when I did.

Bottom line: this is the most technologically-advanced MDX ever, and it has to be: the three-row luxury SUV segment in which it dwells is extremely competitive. And clearly Acura is doing something right: The MDX is the brand’s top-selling vehicle, moving over 5,000 units in October 2016 (up 23% over the prior September).

My test vehicle was a White Diamond Pearl All-Wheel-Drive “Advance” model with Tech, Advance, and AcuraWatch packages. Basically, “fully loaded.” The driver seat is 10-way adjustable. The climate control system has 3 zones. Everything is push-button or even hands-free. If you can’t get comfortable driving this MDX, you’re a lost cause. I had my fair share of fun with it during my 7 days of cruising around in it. The MDX is the king of the urban jungle. I noticed that for being a larger vehicle it’s still easy to navigate in crowded city streets and still has great visibility.

It’s easy to see why SUVs have such a stronghold on modern families. It was nice to have the higher step-in height, and I loved being able to reach straight out the driver side window to swipe my badge and get into my office’s parking garage (as opposed to being in the ILX and having to reach upward to reach the sensor). Similarly, ATMs are so much more convenient when they’re right at arm level. I could get used to that!

Power delivery in the MDX is smooth and predictable with the 290-horsepower, 3.5-liter engine and 9-speed automatic transmission. For having so many gears, I found the MDX to do surprisingly little gear-hunting. It is decisive and determined to understand its driver. While my travels didn’t take me off the beaten path, based on my prior experience with putting a third-gen MDX through its dirt-road paces, I would proclaim this SUV just as comfortable on-road as off-road. Versatility is the name of the game.

Is there room in my garage for an MDX right now? Absolutely. Do I have a need for one? Not at all. Which isn’t to say it would come in handy from time to time. As a single 34-year-old, I may not fit the target buyer market for this vehicle. For those who do, it hits an absolute bullseye.

Many thanks to Acura for letting me behind the wheel!

Few other fun pieces of news below from the past week or so.

1979 Honda Accord from The Simpsons – Thanks, Tim, for sending this to me. Love it.

MDX at night

My friend Daniel stopped by in his 2012 Acura TL, bringing the Acura count at my place to 8.

I put up some new posters at the house including three nice, framed 24×36 prints.

Battery replacement for both Legends! Both were 4+ years old. Thanks Autozone.

On Saturday morning, I met up with some Legend owners for a cruise to Tortilla Flat near Apache Junction in eastern Mesa, Arizona. We cruised up Highway 88 through the Tonto National Forest.

Left to right: Gabe, Leon, Tyson

Leon’s interior on his 127,000-mile 1994 LS coupe in Pearl White is really nice.

Gabe’s car looks great too considering it is 24 years old and has 257,000 miles.

Great scenery all around!

Group shot

Headed back toward civilization, but stopping at the shores of Canyon Lake for a pic.

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NSX Meet & Drive to Saguaro Lake, Arizona

Posted in Arizona, NSX on October 16, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (NSX): 106,256

Trip Distance: 50 Miles

Formula Red traffic jam!

How about a nice fall cruise to kick off our finally-bearable weather here in the desert? It would’ve been a great day to own a targa-top-equipped NSX for some open-air cruising, but my 1992 model has a fixed roof so I made do with the windows rolled down. It’s been gorgeous around here the last few days.

Our friend Jhae is the man when it comes to managing the NSX ownership contingent in Arizona. On occasions I’ve had people send me photos of NSXs they’ve seen out and about. If it’s a car I can’t identify, I send it to Jhae. Seconds later, he’ll give me the full download: Year, modifications, and ownership history. That’s why we lean on him to be our local event coordinator. He pulled through for us in a big way yesterday when we had 15 cars show up for a meet, cruise, lunch, and photoshoot. It was like a mini-NSXPO event squeezed into a 4-hour timeframe. And everyone had a great time!

The day started out with Kelvin, Frank, Neal, and Curt showing up at my house in two NSXs for a short staging meeting before we all rolled out to Tempe together. My neighbor Joedee rolled by in her Honda and stuck her head out the window: “Hey! Park those down at my garage sale!”

It only took us about 20 minutes to get to the meet location, which was in the parking lot of a baseball stadium on Rio Salado Parkway. Luckily we had the place almost entirely to ourselves. The cars kept rolling in. Pretty soon it was 11:00 a.m. and time for Jhae to round up the troops for our roll-out en masse. There were a couple of stoplights to navigate but pretty soon we were swarming our way northbound on Highway 87 toward Payson, Arizona on a nicely improved two-laner with 65 mph limits. It was fun to weave through traffic seeing NSXs both ahead and in the rearview. Some brave videographers in a Honda Pilot hung out its back window for some rolling video.

We branched south at Bush Highway and went to the Lakeshore Restaurant for lunch. Luckily, Lakeshore was able to accommodate our party of 25+ on the outside patio overlooking Saguaro Lake and the weather was perfect for dining al fresco. The BBQ chicken sandwich was a solid 10 out of 10. Jhae made some announcements and notified us that current NSXCA (NSX Club of America) members would receive $10 off their meals. Sweet! There were also some giveaways like Hot Wheels NSX scale models and posters.

A few of our attendees had to split off at that time, but the rest of us headed to east Mesa for a photoshoot at Falcon Field next to some very cool old aircraft. Many thanks to Jhae for his planning efforts and to all the great folks who came out in support. Looking forward to getting the gang together again soon!

Morning visit from my friend Brett who was driving through from California to Arkansas in his 2007 TL Type-S.

Here you can see the difference between Monte Carlo Blue (left) and Long Beach Blue (right)

Just prior to rolling out

Waiting at the first light

Nice view in the rearview

Looking eastward over Saguaro Lake

Lunch is served!

There IS water in the desert!

Heading back out on Bush Highway

Reds lining up at Falcon Field

16 Comments »

My New House in Central Phoenix: Introduction and Quick Tour

Posted in Arizona, House on August 28, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (U-HAUL Truck): 52,122

Odometer (Legend coupe): 544,457

Odometer (Legend sedan): 150,595

Odometer (Vigor): 105,948

Odometer (Integra): 237,259

Odometer (ILX): 180,646

Odometer (NSX): I don’t know! It’s coming back from my brother’s place in a few weeks!

I’ve moved into a garage. Well, not literally, but pretty much.

On Friday, August 26th, I officially closed on a new house that has more garage space than living space, and I’m totally okay with that. Allow me to introduce my residence in central Phoenix. Conveniently located in the up-and-coming “Uptown” area, this 1949 place started life as a simple, brick, 3-bedroom, 1-bath home. It was later remodeled to incorporate an additional bedroom, bathroom, and laundry on the east end. Then finally – and most importantly – a massive multi-car garage was tacked on and the existing carport was enclosed as well. Here was the photo from the for-sale listing that I first saw.

My (2 or 3) avid blog followers may recall that it was Friday, May 27th when Jason and I drove to the Arctic Circle in Alaska. Later that same day, my friend Rob in Phoenix sent me a text message saying that there was a home with a 5-car garage for sale near him. My interest was piqued but I was far too busy road tripping to think about real estate transactions. Besides, I was perfectly content in Scottsdale even though it meant renting out storage units in other parts of town for a couple of my cars. I’d been doing it for over 7 years and was used to the routine. Here was Rob’s text convo (a screen shot from his phone, and the photo is now missing).

The Alaska trip concluded and I got back to my daily grind without thinking twice about the Phoenix home. About a week later, Rob sent another text. “Price drop of $20,000 on the 5-car garage.” “Oh yeah,” I thought. “I should at least do a drive-by.” And I did so that weekend. I liked the home. While sitting in the car – my Legend sedan, as it were – in front of the house, I pulled out my phone and shot a quick email over to my friend (and real estate agent) Leif. That was June 11th. Here’s what I said:

The rest of the story – and it’s full of twists and turns, I assure you – I’ll leave for another day if I end up sharing it at all. But hundreds of emails, thousands of dollars, and almost three months later, I own the home.

Or rather, my mortgage company owns it, but my name’s on the paperwork! Here’s a summary of the timeline:

May 27 – Notified of the house
June 5 – Return from Alaska
June 6 – Price drop of $20k
June 11 – Emailed my agent
June 21 – Sellers accepted my contingent offer, my home listed
June 29 – Lowered my price $4,500
July 8 – Lowered my price $5,000
July 18 – Lowered my price $5,000
July 27 – Offer accepted
August 4 – First buyer fell through
August 8 – Back-up buyer’s offer accepted
August 12 – Inspection performed
August 26 – Final repairs completed, both properties closed!

It really was a miracle that things came together in the time that they did. I cannot say enough about the level of professionalism and skill of my real estate agent, Leif Swanson. He was so organized and on the ball. Every meeting we had, his paperwork was filled out in advance and he had the ultimate of respect for my time.

Here’s the verbatim summary from the for-sale listing of my new home:

Beautiful 4 Bed, 2 bath, 1552 sq ft, 5 car garage (split into 3 separate garage units, 2/2/1) lovingly remodeled by artist and engineer. Large back yard, fully landscaped with garden/utility shed, w/ irrigated lot. Split, open floor plan, neutral color palette, 6″ baseboards & crown molding. Large screened patio, breezeway, dusk to dawn outdoor lighting. Interior tile flooring, newer dual pane windows, shutters/blinds, soft water unit, electric hot water tank, and updated 200 Amp electric service. Renovations have been legally permitted & approved through the City of Phoenix. Open kitchen offers pantry, Granite Island, stainless French door refrigerator, and in-island convection oven. See Doc tab for list of additional items to convey.

The property itself is a corner lot with over 10,000 square feet in area — twice as large as the piece of land I sold in Scottsdale. Can you say yard maintenance? That will be a new experience for me! Guess it’s time to start shopping for a Honda lawnmower.

I wasted no time in having company over, as my friend Branson flew down from Salt Lake City to spend the weekend with me. Following are just a few of the many photos sharing the events of this exciting transaction!

Check the 6-minute video for a full tour. Be sure and watch to the very end for a fun blooper.

Home before remodel (taken from Google) – May 2014

After remodels – June 2016. Extreme makeover?

U-HAUL time! I put 78 miles on this thing and it took 2 trips to get my furniture transported.

Retrieving the last load from Scottsdale.

This is how my die-cast model cars were transported. More on that in a second!

Starting to get settled in.

Retrieving the Legend sedan from the storage unit where it had lived for the last 2 years.

Clean-up time at the Scottsdale home!

The banner was the last thing to come down.

Unloading at the new house, with some help from Rob and his Ford Escape.

James paid us a visit in his Fiat that day.

Visit from Lance from Seattle who I bought the Integra from.

Enjoying my back patio.

Saying goodbye to the Scottsdale place one last time.

Friends Chandler, James, Jack, and Rob at the new pad

Following up with Charlie and Cindy, who I bought the new place from. They’d left me detailed (and laminated) notes on each of the plants on the back patio, with care instructions!

Charlie and Cindy were great. They’ve even now sent me photos from throughout the home’s remodel! There was a fireplace removed, a wall pulled down, and the original casement windows were repurposed as a gate in the backyard.

Original windows

Gate to alleyway

The final transaction details came to me via text. The deal was final as of 2:01 p.m. on Friday the 26th!

Making it official with a key handoff. My neighbor Drew took the photo for us.

This is now the first time in over 4 years of ILX ownership that the car will have a garage space.

Removal of the for-sale sign the following morning.

Visit from Justin

Climbing on top of the roof with Branson to find a new home for the model cars.

Perfect!

Pulling the Vigor out onto the back driveway for a day-trip.

James and his mom paid a visit, too.

Official change-of-address confirmation received! Pretty sweet!

Now, time to try out some of the neighborhood cuisine…

Come visit me!

48 Comments »

Tribute to Million Mile Joe, Home Improvements, & Car Updates

Posted in Arizona, Blog, ILX, Integra, Legend, Milestones on August 6, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 544,118

Odometer (Vigor): 105,807

Only in Arizona could a church use this as an advertising ploy! I’m tempted to convert.

First, a tribute to a man who inspired many. “Million Mile” Joe LoCicero of Maine became a hero of mine when he and his 1990 Accord reached a million miles back in the fall of 2011. Coincidentally, that was right around the same timeframe when my Legend reached half that distance. Unfortunately, Joe recently passed away but he will be missed. As Jason of Driven for Drives put it, “That was a good run.” Joe, we salute you!

I was able to track down the VIN to Joe’s Accord, and (nerd that I am) I couldn’t resist running a Carfax report just to see what it looks like when a car’s 6-digit odometer effectively resets itself to zero.

As expected, the title history shows ‘branded’ since the odometer mechanically can’t even show a 7th digit. (Reminds me of my 1986 Celebrity which only had FIVE digits on the odo).

The Accord was in for service in April 2011 at Berlin Honda in Portland, Maine at 970,333 miles. The next time we saw an odometer reading, it was almost two years later, at Auburn Motor Sales when the readout was 2,707 miles. Mileage Inconsistency, says Carfax. Well, duh!

The most recent Carfax entry on Joe’s old Accord was in December of last year, at 3,341 miles, when the car was purchased by someone in Jefferson, South Carolina. I’m not sure where the car is today nor who’s driving it, but I hope it’s still getting some time on the open road and not mothballed to a museum where it will dry up and deteriorate.

On the subject of Carfax, I was glad to see that my recent Integra’s emissions pass now shows up, so it’s no longer tarnished by that failure when I brought the car to Arizona earlier this year.

My apologies for sporadic blog posts in recent weeks as I’m still underwater with home and career activities. It seems the road tripping has taken a back burner. My home in Scottsdale, Arizona is on the market and I’ve taught myself how to do some basic repairs.

I was quite proud of some drywall repair results, and I spent an entire evening doing a repaint on my guest bedroom which turned out pretty flawlessly. Here a friend captured me attempting some bathroom updates whilst multi-tasking with my work laptop.

I ended up with more paint on my hands and shorts than on the wall, I’m pretty sure.

It’s yet TBD if I’ll be getting the “dream house” I have my sights set on, but I’m crossing fingers and hoping so. It would be great news from a car-parking perspective as it has lots of garage space.

I had an electrician at my home correcting a few small things on Friday afternoon. I was in the kitchen and he was in the other room working on a light switch. “All those cars outside yours?” he asked. “Yeah, I have six cars.” He responded, “What’s that, you fix cars?” “Uhh, yeah, that’s right,” I said. Sometimes I’d just rather not explain the car-collecting craziness.

This week I visited my friend Mirel at his new shop where he’s started a used car dealership. On site were 3 Legend coupes and a 1992 Dodge Stealth (I’ve always liked those).

Cool plate!

All these Legends are 6-speed manuals. Mirel has the right idea!

My friend Chris in Maryland has a “twin” car to my Legend sedan. Awhile back we both decided to go out for a special treat in our own way. Though separated by 2,009 miles, I enjoyed my iced caramel macchiato and Chris enjoyed his strawberry shake. My photo on top, his on the bottom. It’s interesting how the lighting conditions can change the color so much. In person, they’re identical “Desert Mist Metallic” paint codes.

I extend THANKS to a couple of my friends and readers! Jason recently had this awesome canvas print made up from my photo at the Arctic Circle back in May.

And Tim mailed me these sweet posters from a Honda museum in Ohio capturing the race team. Looks like I have plenty of art to adorn my garage now!

The Legend is getting ready for its trip to Atlanta this September. I’ll be gone for a full week.

And the ILX is in the hands of a couple of friends this weekend in Boise, Idaho.

Green with envy. These ones want a road trip, too.

The NSX is still in southern Utah and my brother had his friend Grant from Renu Auto do a full detail on it. The paint is finished off with an “Optimum Gloss Coat” paint coating. Results speak for themselves!

Looking forward to bringing this one back to AZ later this fall.

Lastly, you all know I have my “Spy Shot Roundup” posts on a regular basis. In all my years of collecting spy shots from people, I’ve had the same car submitted by multiple people before. Like twice. But in recent weeks, FOUR DIFFERENT SPIES have sent me this 1992 Legend L sedan wearing Wisconsin plates! The owner has to be wondering by now why she’s being followed by such a skilled group of paparazzi!

From Beau, July 16th, 2016

From Jack, July 20th, 2016

From Matt, July 21st, 2016

From Kyle, August 1, 2016

Unreal! I’m bound to run into this one eventually!

Check out our wacky late-summer “monsoon” weather. This 17-second video shows a courtyard at my office on Friday. First, getting torrential rains, and later – within a couple of hours – with blue skies and sunshine. Make up your mind, Mother Nature!

15 Comments »

Oceanfront Property in Arizona: Road Trip to Miami

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Road Trip on July 12, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 543,818

Odometer (Vigor): 105,755

Odometer (ILX):

Trip Distance: 164 Miles

I’m really giving you all quite the summer 2016 vacation! It seems only fitting that this weekend’s destination is as much of a vacation spot as last week’s (“Florence“). Miami, Florida would have been a stretch for a weekend drive – some 2,363 miles from home – not quite close enough for a day-trip. But Miami, Arizona is. And it’s been about 5 years since I last talked about that little spot on the map, in October 2011. So let’s go back and take a look around.

Like most of the towns in Arizona’s wild western frontier, Miami got its start in the mining industry in the 1870s. The hills of the surrounding area were rich with copper, and prospectors flocked to be a part of the industry in those early years. Miami proper was founded in 1907 and tracts of land were officially sold for development after the first train arrived there in 1909. Within a year, there were about 1,300 people calling it home. Interestingly enough, 100 years later, that population had only grown by about 500 people.

Today, Miami is a quiet (and even run-down) little community that while only 77 miles from the hustle and bustle of urban Scottsdale, feels like stepping back in time a century or so. My friend Rob decided to join me for the drive. It took us only about 90 minutes to get to Miami from my home – straight east on US Highway 60 and through a pass in the Superstition Mountains in my ILX. Along the way we stopped in a similarly time-warped community called Superior.

Most of Miami is pretty run-down. The residential side-streets – many of which are so skinny they’re one-way – have poor pavement conditions and steep grades. The small homes are sad, with crumbling foundations and stair steps. Most have chain link fences around their yards and “NO TRESPASSING” signs in abundance. One particular such sign was kind of entertaining. “Do I have to speak to you in 12 gauge?” with the image of a gun. Real friendly neighborhood over there!

A friend had recommended some Mexican grub so we made our way down to Guayo’s El Rey restaurant. We happened to time our arrival right when church let out, apparently. The place flooded with hungry (but well-dressed) lunch-goers as soon as we’d been seated. “Anything to drink?” asked the waittress. “Sure, a Diet Coke,” I said. Before she even turned to Rob to ask for his beverage order, she’d walked away. She brought back a pitcher of Diet Coke for both of us. I guess she figured we both wanted the same thing! At least the food was delicious.

Miami’s Sullivan Street is the main thoroughfare – or was, at least, until the current US Highway 60 was put in a block to the south. The owner of one antique store that Rob and I visited told us that Miami was once home to 30 brothels during its boom. I enjoyed walking through a few of the historic shops. I was surprised to come around the corner in one of them and see the front end of a 1950 Buick in there: The exact same car that my Grandpa Hugie owned in 1954. I’ve blogged about it here.

Unfortunately, that Buick (or piece of it, anyway) wasn’t for sale but I left my contact information with the store owner in case they ever decide to part with it. Rob and I cruised back to civilization after enjoying a few minutes on Memory Lane. Thanks for being a part of the adventure!

We got a kick out of how the road stripes lead right up to the front door of the Pinal County Administration Building in Superior

Sullivan Street, Miami

These railroad tracks just end!

I read this as “Slow Children At Play.”

Overlooking Miami from someone’s driveway

Don’t try and eat at Guayo’s El Rey on a Wednesday!

This is the combo #1. Shredded beef taco, enchilada, and a refried bean tostada. Are my food connoisseurs in the blog audience happier with this than they were with my buffalo chicken bites last week?

ILX parked on Sullivan

Making friends with a “fry guy” statue

Rob checking out the wares inside the antique shop

The soda fountain isn’t open yet

Headed back toward Phoenix via US 60

Queen Creek Tunnel (1952)

What did you think of my new T-shirt?

Couple other news bits! You all remember that 1993 L sedan I had for about a year? It’s been in Florida for a few weeks now and it’s getting a full restoration, courtesy of my friend Alan. Follow his “Build Thread” here!

Alan at work!

My brother Bentley sent me a progress picture yestererday showing the new leather he’s installing in my NSX.

Thanks to my friend Erik for sending me this awesome calendar featuring European Domestic Market Hondas!

Finally, a few have asked for a more thorough recent video of the Legend. I pulled it out on Saturday for a cruise and filmed 11 minutes’ worth of action for you. I’m going to leave this “Unlisted” instead of public since I realize that it makes it look like I ran a stop sign at 6:30. In the words of the movie Clueless, “I totally paused!”

Have a great week!

24 Comments »

4th of July Weekend 2016: Florence, Arizona Road Trip

Posted in Arizona, Legend, Road Trip on July 6, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 543,770

Odometer (ILX): 174,186

Trip Distance: 135 Miles

On one end of the spectrum, you have Florence, Italy: the home of the Renaissance and the capital of Italy’s Tuscany Region. It’s a place filled with art, culture, and class. It would take about a 15-hour flight to get there. At the complete other end of the spectrum, there’s another Florence I’d like to introduce you to: Florence, Arizona. It’s the capital of Pinal County, home to one of the state’s largest prison facilities, and a now-defunct railroad stop. But, you can get there in about an hour from Phoenix and it offers a “culture” all its own.

I took my Legend coupe out for a half-day of exploration on Sunday morning to give Florence a whirl. Along the way, I stopped at a noteworthy waypoint suggested by Roadside America: The Pork Shop in San Tan Valley. This place is known for its meat. They have seven types of smoked bacon, as well as sausages and burritos. At 9:45 in the morning I wasn’t hungry for any of those items, and I think it may have been closed for the day anyway, but that didn’t stop be from taking a few pictures out front next to the giant tank that’s been decked out like a pink pig.

I zig-zagged my way across the desert southeast of Phoenix as I made my way toward Florence on two-lane roads, often times with telephone poles alongside me. There was really no one else on the roads so it was a chance to turn up the volume on my Jock Jams or whatever else was playing on the iPod at the time. I do recall having “Every Day Is a Winding Road,” by Sheryl Crow coming on and thinking that was an appropriate soundtrack for my drive.

Hooking up with Highway 79 at the T in the road, I headed south and Florence was just 4 more miles down the highway. It took just a few minutes of winding through the historic downtown district to get a feel for the lay of the land. Main Street was dead – a total ghost town if it weren’t for the random C6 Corvette parked southbound on the west side of the street in front of some shops.

I snagged a few photos and started thinking about lunch. Unfortunately my first choice was a place that wasn’t open. Painted in bold blue letters were the words DONUTS and SALAD BAR. That struck me as an odd combination of food offerings. They must be trying to cater to a wide variety of clientele. Maybe I could a glazed donut with a splash of ranch dressing?

I ended up continuing westward on Highway 287 to Coolidge for lunch instead of eating in Florence — it was still early anyway. So early, in fact, that when I arrived at my destination – “Gallopin’ Goose” – it was still 20 minutes before they opened. For some reason, even though the sign says “Breakfast All Day,” the place doesn’t open until 11:00 a.m. Go figure. I guess everyone in Coolidge eats breakfast really late.

As it turns out, it was worth the wait. I had the place to myself and also the attention of the entire wait staff. I sat myself at the bar and was immediately helped by “Chrissy” who was laying on the flirts pretty thick. Before I’d even been handed a menu, she’d rattled off about 5 or 6 drink specials. “Just a lemonade please,” I told her. It was quiet in there – just the sound of country music on the jukebox!

Appetizers were buy-one, get-one-half-off so I went with the buffalo chicken “bites,” and the chips & salsa. I probably only ate half what was given to me, so Chrissy got me two styrofoam boxes and a styrofoam cup (for the salsa) to take my leftovers. The Legend doesn’t have a cup holder. I think this was the first time I’ve ever had to hold a cup full of salsa between my legs as I drove away. Right down the street from Gallopin’ you’ll find the Casa Grande Ruins.

I had one more visit to pay before looping back to the Phoenix area, and that was to say hello to my friends Mark and Rosalinda Bandoni. I’ve known them for the better part of a decade and they’re good people. In fact, they invited me to their wedding 7 years ago. Today, they live in a two-story home there in Coolidge and have a kitty named Abra and three vehicles. Mark has developed his hobby of model car building in recent years and he showed me his growing collection of completed projects. I never had the patience to work on stuff like that.

The return drive was mostly on Interstate 10, since I decided to take an easy path by hitting the freeway at the McCartney Road interchange. It was a nice little Sunday loop and I hope you enjoyed taking it with me!

Cruising through San Tan Valley, Arizona. It’s pretty desolate out there.

Vintage looking signage on Main Street in Florence.

Building in Florence

Lunch at Gallopin’ Goose.

Mark’s review of G.G. wasn’t all that praiseworthy!

What’s wrong with this picture? Ugh.

I thought this sign inside Mark’s garage was kind of funny.

The Integra got tint yesterday!

My receipt at Texas Roadhouse the other night said it right!

Have a great rest of your week, all!

21 Comments »

The Heat Is On

Posted in Arizona, Blog on June 23, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 543,536

Odometer (ILX): 173,250

Please start playing this video before you read today’s post. Let it give you some background music.

Okay, you know the heat is bad when twice in one day, you see cars on fire on the side of the road. It happened on Monday. First, this red Corvette and then a white Altima later in the day near my house. I guess these extreme temperatures are taking their toll on more than just us human beings!

You haven’t lived until you’ve felt 120 degrees on your face, or burned your hand on a metal shift knob.

My buddy Sunny was in town from Utah this past weekend and my friends and I enjoyed showing him around a little. One of the stops we made was to my storage unit in Glendale where I keep the 1994 Legend GS. We pulled it out and went to lunch nearby at a neat place I discovered called “Kiss the Cook Restaurant.”

Hours are 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Kiss the Cook has some of the best omelets in the Phoenix Valley. I actually went with a grilled cheese and it was tasty.

Funny thing about the menu is that it does promise a kiss with every meal. Our kisses were indeed delivered after paying our bill. However, as soon as I got outside I realized what a horrible idea it was to take them. My eyes scanned the parking lot for the nearest dumpster and I promptly threw them away. Can you imagine putting a Hershey Kiss in your pocket – or anywhere – and getting into a vehicle that’s been baking in 120 degrees? No thanks!

I sold my 1993 Legend L sedan this week. Details will be shared at a later date, but it’s going to a very worthy home and my final mileage on the odometer was just a bit under 179,000. I only had the car for about a year and I had big plans for it, but just never had enough time, money, or space to really make anything happen with it. It’s better off going to someone who will actually put it to use.

The transport truck has already arrived on the other side of the country! It took only 2 days in transit.

Getting loaded up:

I wanted to share a few photos that I received from friends this week. First off, my friend Scott who worked for American Honda once attended an Acura NSX preview event in 1990 when the first generation NSX debuted. Here are photos of him with that car. I also enjoyed seeing the other (now-vintage) models in the background.

Scott has aged just as gracefully as these Acuras in the last 26 years. Wink wink! Notice – if you look closely at the license plate in the above photo, it reads: “YOU’RE FOLLOWING THE MOST SATISFYING CAR ON THE ROAD.”

Speaking of RED cars, my friend Paul sent me this yesterday. Did you know that for the 2017 model year, Acura is (finally) offering a bright red color on the ILX? It’s called San Marino Red, and I think it looks fantastic. I would have opted for that color if it had been available in 2013! My Silver Moon is kind of “blah” in comparison.

And finally, check out these beauties. My friend Ira’s TLX and my friend Anthony’s TL-S.

Stay cool out there!

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Group Drive & Hike: Water Wheel Waterfalls in Payson, Arizona

Posted in Arizona, Hikes, ILX, Road Trip on June 19, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 543,531

Odometer (ILX): 172,944

Trip Distance: 175 Miles

What if I told you Arizonans there’s a place within an hour of Phoenix where you can slice 20 degrees off the temperature and dip your toes in the refreshing East Verde River? Maybe it would be best if I kept this place a secret, but since I’m feeling generous I’ll clue you in to this secluded little watering hole.

It’s the season of “beat the heat” so many of the destinations you’re likely to see me hit up this summer will be to higher elevations where I can get a reprieve from the Phoenix oven. This one in particular has been on my Destination Spreadsheet for some time now. On Saturday morning, my house in Scottsdale became the meeting point for a variety of cars and people ready for adventure. Here were our attendees:

Tyson, Clayton, and Miles: 2013 Acura ILX
Peter and Jack: 2002 BMW 325iT
James and Rob: 2016 Chrysler 300
Paul: 2013 Acura TL SH-AWD
Kyle: 2005 Pontiac GTO
Sunny: 2013 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T
Brad and Kenny: 2013 Audi RS5

Brad described it as “quite a menagerie.” A menagerie is defined as: A collection of wild animals kept in captivity for exhibition. Sounds about right when referring to this bunch of cars & gents. Though, in this case, all were unleashed from captivity allowed to roam freely in the hills of the Tonto National Forest surrounding Payson, Arizona. The one-way trek to our destination was only about 80 miles but ascended 3,800 feet in elevation.

For the most part it’s a 65-mph split highway but the curves can be fun and they require constant attention. The ILX with 3 occupants and 100-degree temperatures bogged down on the steeper grades and I found myself downshifting to 5th gear and even 4th occasionally to keep up with the pack. From Payson, we continued north past a couple of roundabouts and hung a right on Houston Mesa Road. The road narrowed to two lanes and had some nice curves for the next 8 miles until we arrived at Water Wheel Campground. Luckily, we found ample parking to stash our 7 vehicles but things were filling up quickly with a lot of Saturday adventure-seekers like ourselves. Parking was $8 via cash / self-service, with envelopes to be deposited in an opening in a post near the trailhead.

The hike itself does not stick to any specific route but rather follows the East Verde River upstream however a hiker decides to follow it. We did find a path along the west side of the river that had some welcomed shade from overhead trees – even at 88 degrees I managed to break a pretty aggressive sweat. The sound of the gushing river next to us helped give a sense of refreshment even without taking a dip. There came a time when we needed to crawl up and over some large boulders and we paved our own way, or followed people who were ahead of us.

At one point it looked like we needed to cross the river itself so we carefully collected our balance and hopped across. The rocks were slippery at times. For the return, I opted to just remove my shoes & socks and put them in my backpack so that I could walk barefoot across the water and not worry about a slip & fall incident. The water was chilly but it felt great. We wandered a bit further upstream and saw a series of waterfalls coming down. Jack whipped out the selfie stick for a group photograph and Kyle got brave enough to jump in the water.

By the time we made it back to our vehicles, we’d only been hiking about an hour and a half round trip. The overall hike distance is about 2 miles each way, and I think we probably only went about half that. So there is much more to see and we all want to get back up there, but we were ready for lunch and a few people needed to be back by late afternoon so we headed back to Payson. For grub, we dined on the patio at Buffalo Bar & Grill. The wait staff had already lined up several small tables for us in anticipation of our arrival and the service was top-notch.

It was great to break away from the Valley’s heat and get up to the mountains for some clean air and a little time with Mother Nature. Water Wheel Falls was just what the doctor ordered for a quick day-trip. Thanks to my friends for joining! Here’s a short video with some highlights of our excursion.

Pre-departure in Scottsdale

Fuel stop at the Chevron in Fort McDowell: Tyson, Peter, Jack, James, Rob

Backwards baseball caps for the bros.

Kyle caught this pic of my ILX, Sunny’s Sonata, and Peter’s 3-series in his sideview mirror.

Getting through Payson and to the campground.

Kyle’s mean GTO in the rearview.

Parking at Water Wheel Falls

Paul’s TL was blindingly clean in the Arizona sunlight.

Clayton gave us a wave before we started the hike.

Information at the trailhead.

Coming up on the first of a series of falls.

Here’s where we had to crawl up and over some rocks on the river’s edge.

Sunny preparing to cross the East Verde.

James got a little wet.

Group shot thanks to Jack’s selfie stick.

Solo shot.

Back in Payson with our diverse lineup of vehicles.

Peter’s wagon rolled 205,000 yesterday and still looks great.

Buffalo Burger at Buffalo Bar & Grill.

Sunny and I took the Legend out and ended up next to a nice lady in a Vigor 5-speed!

I spotted a G2 Legend sedan in Beverly Hillbillies (1993 movie) about 10 minutes in!

And a very thoughtful friend brought me back a souvenir from his Hawaii trip.

Get over to TSX Travels! Josh is about to have some big news SOON.

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Alaska Trip Finale: Stops in Utah; Home in Scottsdale, Arizona

Posted in Alaska, Arizona, ILX, Road Trip on June 5, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer: 171,688

Total Trip Distance: 7,909 Miles

I can’t believe it’s over. I did it. After 16 days on the road and 7,909 miles traversed, I’ve successfully driven not only to Alaska, but to the Arctic Circle, and back. It was a trip that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

I couldn’t (and wouldn’t) have done it alone, so I thank Jason for being such a great trip companion even though we took separate cars. Also thanks to the many folks who followed along for the adventure online, and especially those who offered hospitality along the way. In all I drove through 8 states and 3 provinces. Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Alberta, Yukon Territory, and British Columbia. I documented the trip in 13 blog posts including this one, so if you’re just now tuning in, feel free to keep scrolling backward to start from the beginning. My nightly stops were at these locations:

Washington, Utah
Butte, Montana
Edmonton, Alberta
Pink Mountain, British Columbia
Teslin, Yukon Territory
Fairbanks, Alaska (x 3)
Teslin, Yukon Territory (again)
New Hazelton, British Columbia
Cache Creek, British Columbia
Seattle, Washington
Kuna, Idaho
Logan, Utah
St. George, Utah

I have to say it’s remarkable that I was able to take a 170,000 mile car on a journey of this length and never have to think twice about it getting me from A to B. I didn’t need any of my 3 spare tires. I didn’t check or add oil at any point on the drive. As a matter of fact, the last oil change from 8,000 miles ago still says I have 40% life remaining according to the “maintenance minder” in the car. This is why I drive the car that I drive. Relentless reliability.

On Thursday morning, I departed Josh’s place in Kuna, Idaho and I had about a 300-mile day to my dad & stepmom’s place in Cache Valley, northern Utah. I gave my dad a hand washing his Ford F-350 and then dined later in the evening at my favorite restaurant in town, called El Sol. Ryan, who Jason and I met up with on the first leg of our journey, joined again for the occasion.

Friday, I made my way southbound and traveled virtually the entire length of the state of Utah from north to south, staying at my mom’s place in Washington. Along the way, I paid a visit to my grandpa because it happened to be his 86th birthday. And the final stretch took place yesterday, when I drove the last 400 or so miles of my very long journey home. Phoenix welcomed me with 114-degree temperatures. Welcome summer.

Here’s a 17-minute video that documents my journey in bits & pieces from start to finish. Viewers beware: It may cause motion sickness and it’s mostly just me shooting “selfie style” and narrating some of our stops.

Utah state line

Dad’s 1990 F-350 XLT Lariat Dual Cab 4×4

Dad’s new 2016 Honda Goldwing motorcycle. Packed with tech!

This thing even has navigation.

We took a night drive up to visit my Grandpa Hugie at Providence Cemetery. He passed away in 1989 when I was only 7 years old but I still have great memories of him.

View of Cache Valley from my dad’s back deck

ILX in grandma’s backyard

The home across the street dates back to the early 1900’s and it’s the home my grandma grew up in

Heading southbound on Hwy 89-91 which passes through “Sardine Canyon.”

Arriving in St. George about 6 hours later

Visiting the nieces and nephews in St. George

Arrival at home in Scottsdale

Check out that nasty interior, too

Two pages of handwritten fuel log, from start to finish.

The nerd in me couldn’t resist putting this in electronic format so I could run some metrics on it. I fueled up 41 times and spent a total of $826.52 on gas after taking into account the Canadian exchange rate.

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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!

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