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“RealTime Collection Hall” Honda Museum Unveiling – Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Posted in Car Show on July 15, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 543,818

Odometer (ILX): 174,826

This must be what Honda Heaven looks like!

Acura race team driver Peter Cunningham knows a thing or two about vintage Hondas. After all, he’s driven them competitively since 1987 – nearly 30 years! Peter’s car collection has now grown to include some of the rarest of the rare – including a vehicle or two that were never even originally sold here in the United States. He and I go back quite a ways. In fact, I threw him the key to my NSX last October at the Palm Springs NSXPO so he could take it for a spin.

I caught a flight to Milwaukee on Wednesday morning bright and early from Phoenix. Luckily, my “early bird” Southwest check-in gave me an “A” group boarding priority so I was able to get a window seat right over the wing, just where I wanted it. In-air travel time was right around 3 hours. Right off the bat in MKE, I noticed how humid it was – but I wasn’t complaining – the temperature, at 88 degrees, was 20 cooler than back home.

glendale_weather

My yellow 2016 Kia Rio from Dollar Rental was a sight for sore eyes.

At least I wasn’t at risk of losing it in a parking lot. I was, however, in dire need of re-learning to drive an automatic transmission. I exited the rental car lot and realized I still had my inspection waiver I needed to give back to the attendant. So I had to loop around and re-enter the garage. I found a place to quickly park the car with the hazard flashers on so I could run over and turn in the paperwork. It wasn’t until a few minutes later when I returned to the car that I realized: I had left it idling in “DRIVE” with the emergency brake activated the whole time. As in, I hadn’t even put the car in park. Doofus move. But that’s how I’m used to driving my stick shifts! Coast into a space, pull up on the brake, and voila. Thankfully the Rio didn’t go anywhere while I’d stepped away.

The location of Peter’s museum was about 20 minutes north via Interstate 43. It’s a convenient area with easy freeway access. I wasn’t sure until arriving exactly who had been invited nor what to expect during the program.

Peter’s Collection Hall – dubbed “RealTime” Collection Hall – is named after the race team with which he’s competitively driven since the 1980s. Among the vehicles on display is a souped-up Acura TSX which itself is a seasoned RealTime race veteran. The location of the Hall is not far from RealTime Racing’s headquarters in Saukville. Aside from a small sticker on the glass front door, it’s not well marked, and that’s by design. This is intended, after all, to be an exclusive, invite-only, private facility for special occasions like this first one.

The interior space is divided into a few distinct areas: Immediately upon entering the building, the showroom greets the visitor with a highly-polished concrete floor and special signage. A glass counter showcases rare brochures and other artifacts from Honda history. And included in this area is Peter’s pride and joy – a 1981 Accord 3-door with 4,657 original miles on it. The car at 35 years old is so well-preserved it seems like it may have been teleported through time.

Continuing on into the first of two warehouse areas, the walls are lined with special Honda and Acura automobiles that are backed into their assigned parking spaces. For this grand opening, the center aisle was filled lengthwise with end-to-end banquet tables that had dinner seating capacity for I would guess at least 100 people.

At the far end of this room is a painstakingly-constructed reproduction façade of Honda’s original North American headquarters which was located in Los Angeles in the 1960s. The signage, aspect ratio, and even drainage system (though indoors) has been designed in exact detail to mirror that of the original building. The “real” location (4077 Pico Boulevard), incidentally, is currently up for lease and most recently housed an acupuncture studio.

There were too many cool cars on display to even begin to comment about each, so I’ll post a 5-minute video below and let my readers take a stroll through the Hall at their own leisure. The opening night program consisted of a few remarks by Peter from the balcony while everyone was seated for dinner (catered by Poco Loco Cantina).

Peter acknowledged the many people who had traveled great distances to attend. One guest, Guido, had flown in all the way from Germany. Among those who’d been invited were a few great friends of mine, including Jhae from Phoenix, Ben who I’ve known for years from the NSX community, and Scott & Sandy who are friends from Palm Springs who I visit regularly. Ben and I posed for a photo next to the 1987 and 1990 Legends on display.

On Thursday I woke up to sunny weather in Glendale and spent the morning getting my bearings with the neighborhood. I’d arranged to meet my friend Brad near the WI/IL state line but we hadn’t yet defined a meeting point. My drive down I-43 and I-94 was a breeze – within about an hour I’d already pulled over for a customary photo at the Illinois state line.

Our meeting point ended up being Kenosha, a beach town on Lake Michigan. It was great to catch up with Brad and also take a gander at his 2004 Honda Accord coupe 5-speed which he’s had since new. I offered to trade him my yellow Kia for it but he didn’t entertain the idea.

Back at the Milwaukee airport, I made myself at home at Gate C21 by spending about an hour wiping out 250 missed emails from my work inbox. Reality set in about 3.5 hours later when I came out of the Phoenix Sky Harbor terminal and walked into the blow dryer that is our summer evening weather. Gotta love it! Thanks for coming along!

I took this photo before flying out so that I could remember my parking space

Traditional flight beverage: OJ!

This is the interior of that <5k mile 1981 Accord

The Power of Dreams, indeed!

My favorite car in the collection: Peter’s “Monaco Blue” Acura NSX. It’s one of only 3 in this combination (black interior, 6-speed manual transmission) for the model year.

Hey, that looks familiar! Peter has a GS-R similar to mine and with almost the same odometer reading (241,000).

This 1995 Accord was something special. “DX” base model: Manual windows, manual mirrors, manual locks, no radio, no air conditioning, and a 5-speed manual transmission. Bare bones, but with fewer than 10,000 miles!

This is a 1966 Honda T360: Honda’s first production automobile!

Column shift manual transmission. That would be fun to drive!

Here’s the man with the vision! Peter himself.

RealTime race driver Ryan Eversley and his girlfriend Jen were seated next to me.

Jake Cole (fellow NSX fanatic), Peter, and me

What is this stuff around the wheel well of this Ford Taurus? Rust is abundant in WI and something I rarely see in my area.

Some nice homes in the Glendale area.

Headed south toward the Illinois state line

Lake Michigan in the background, as seen from Kenosha.

It’s pretty out there, and weather couldn’t have been better.

Brad’s 2004 Accord was looking good in the parking lot at lunch.

Have a great weekend!

41 Comments »

March 13th NSX Meet at Eric’s House in Phoenix

Posted in Car Show, NSX on March 15, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 542,210

Odometer (ILX): 157,162

What defines a Legend? Discuss amongst yourselves.

I’m lucky to be part of an active local chapter of NSX owners and enthusiasts. On Sunday afternoon, member Eric hosted several of us for a backyard BBQ at his home in central Phoenix. When I arrived, his neighbor was outside on the sidewalk already taking pictures of the lineup. Eric grilled up burgers, chicken, and hot dogs for his guests. We also explored his awesome house and garage. While only having 2 bedrooms, the historic 1950s home accommodates 5 or 6 cars, plus has a huge backyard with an RV gate. Eric definitely has his priorities in order!

Keeping Eric’s “Formula Red” 1991 NSX company in the garage is an Olds Cutlass convertible, a Kharmann Ghia, several motorcycles and a vast collection of memorabilia. The ceiling was lined with license plates. And the centerpiece was a vintage two-seater car-racing game called Battle Gear (circa 1998) which featured a red NSX and a white Integra. I raced Mike (beat him) and Westin (lost to him) and had a blast doing it. Enjoy a few photos from our little get-together.

nsx_video_game

Welcoming us to the home.

Eric’s Great Dane kept an eye on everyone.

A living room with motorcycles in it? Excellent.

Eric, Nevin, Tyson, Alan, Jhae in front of the house, with Westin in the road

Nevin’s NSX-T flanked by the reds

Westin’s 1995 Berlina Black with chrome wheels

Westin’s interior

Alan’s car (white) is actually black. The white you see there is a wrap.

In some other recent events: Last Friday, I had to shuffle the cars around the house so I thought it would be interesting to film the start-up of each. Only the 1993 L started up on the first crank.

Believe it or not, there’s a group of about 600 people on Facebook called “Camrys with Dented Bumpers.” I captured this one on my way out of the neighborhood the other day.

Also, I finally had the chance to (temporarily) install my Barrett-Jackson plate on my Legend GS. Top car is my friend Chris Miller’s in Baltimore, bottom car is mine. Both are 1994 6-speeds.

Speaking of plates, a couple of months ago I was looking on the Arizona DMV site and discovered that this plate was available:

Well, today I discovered that my friend Chris from Tucson ended up grabbing it!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

8 Comments »

“Future Classics” Car Show & Barrett-Jackson Visit

Posted in Arizona, Car Show, Legend on January 27, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 540,769

Odometer (ILX): 153,863

There’s a new generation of “classic” these days. If you’re like me, you still think 1990 was about 10 years ago… not 26 years ago. That means that the cars I lusted over as a teenager and as a new driver are now hitting that first milestone at 25 years old. Of course I can (and do) appreciate virtually any era of cars: I’d go crazy if I could get my hands on a 1950 Buick, or a 1968 Nova like my brother’s, or a 1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport like one my dad used to own.

But the cars I’m more excited about are the ones that rolled around the streets when I was growing up. Maybe that’s part of the reason why I’m hellbent on acquiring the entire early 1990s model year fleet in my Acura collection.

Hagerty Insurance and ClassicCars.com recognized the growing appreciation for cars from 1975-2005 and put on an event specifically catered to those (oft-forgotten) three decades’ worth of automobiles. It was called the Future Classics Car Show (FCCS). The venue for this first-annual event was “City North” located at 56th Street in Phoenix, just off the Loop 101 freeway. Organizers had arranged to seal off a shopping & entertainment district called High Street for the occasion. I rolled in with my 1994 Legend coupe around 5:30, and judging started by around 7:30. The $10 entry fees were donated 100% to the Red Cross.

I enjoyed the wide variety of cars at the show, and the sense of fellowship everyone displayed. It didn’t matter that I parked in between a Porsche 911 and a Nissan Pulsar – we all got along and enjoyed the show together. Among other cars that my friends brought were Michael’s BMW 635csi, Kai’s Lexus LS400, Peter’s BMW E46 Wagon, Mike’s Acura NSX, Kyle’s Pontiac GTO, John’s Mustang and more.

A definite highlight was meeting Jonathan Klinger of Hagerty, the man who inspired this very blog. You see, from October 2010 through October 2011, Jonathan blogged about his experience in daily-driving a Ford Model A for an entire year on 365 Days of A. It was March 2011 when I started Drive to Five. Jonathan is visiting from Michigan this week and was one of the judges at FCCS.

My friend Kyle and I broke away from the show to head over to the opening night at Barrett-Jackson collector car auctions. Since 1989, Scottsdale Arizona has become a mecca for car enthusiasts each January as over 1,000 vehicles are auctioned off. The Scottsdale auction is Barrett’s largest, and it always brings out the high rollers with fat wallets. Just how much money are we talking about? In 2007, a 1966 Shelby Cobra sold for $5.5 million. Spendy!

Acura is a major sponsor this year and hosted an opening night gala for VIP guests. The venue was decorated in festive garb and offered food, drinks, and live music for entertainment. Here are the rest of my pics from Monday night’s fun.

Right-hand-drive 1989 Nissan 300ZX imported from Japan

Always a sweet treat to see a well-kept Subaru SVX!

I’ve always had a special love for these Lexus SC coupes

My buddy Mike making an entrance in his Acura NSX

Kyle’s mean-looking GTO representing the domestics among so many imports

Barrett-Jackson auction area

Chris, Trey, Tyson. I worked closely with Chris on planning last year’s NSXPO

This 1954 Corvette is Serial Number 001. It will be auctioned this week along with two other VIN 001 Vettes. $$!

And of course, Acura will be auctioning its first production 2017 NSX on Friday night. Any guesses what it’ll bring?

I have my tickets, and I’ll be there! Stay tuned.

4 Comments »

Detroit: 2016 North American International Auto Show

Posted in Car Show, NAIAS on January 13, 2016 by tysonhugie

Good morning!

I’m looking out of my 6th floor hotel window right now at gray skies and white ground. I’m definitely not in Arizona. This week, I put away the car key and hopped on a Delta Flight to Detroit for the 24th annual North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). This marks my fourth trip to Motor City for NAIAS, and prior write-ups are here:

On the docket this year were some significant world debuts.

Once again as with the Los Angeles Auto Show, I joined forces with the crew from Redline Reviews to prepare content for their ever-growing YouTube channel of car reviews (now at over 180,000 subscribers). It was an action-packed few days and I’ll share just a few highlights with you. Between Monday and Tuesday’s “Press / Media Days,” I walked about 18 miles throughout the COBO Convention Center. And they were miles well spent! I was surrounded on all sides by some of the most technologically-advanced, innovative, and stylish vehicles on the planet today. The goal for our visit was to capture short “first look” video segments on about a dozen of the most revolutionary new or substantially changed models.

The moment I landed at gate 74 of DTW airport, I knew it was frigid outside. But even as an Arizonan, it didn’t phase me too badly as I was prepared with a heavy coat (which I use once a year for occasions like this). My white Toyota Corolla rental car (yawn) blended right in with its snowy surroundings.

Both Monday and Tuesday consisted of super early wake-up calls – especially taking into account a 2-hour time difference between Michigan and Arizona. The convention hall was full of bustling energy and I quickly forgot about how tired I was when I saw the glistening sheetmetal under the spotlights. The cars, the people, and the social events kept me fully entertained and the days flew by.

I helped the Redline crew by hosting segments on the following new or updated models:

Acura Precision Concept: This creation of the design studio (with Dave Marek at the helm) comes to us as a glimpse at the new styling direction for the brand. While this car as a whole won’t end up as a production model, certain design elements will. The new grille, dubbed “Diamond Pentagon” does away with the previous “shield,” and the long front end / short rear deck exude rear-drive proportions. The concept is pretty exaggerated, with suicide doors and a massive information screen on the instrument panel. What were formerly known as Jewel Eye headlights have now become Jewel Constellations.

2017 BMW M2: This 365-horsepower M-car comes at us as an aggressively styled and tightly packaged performance coupe. An available 6-speed manual is perhaps my favorite feature, but I’m a huge fan of the overall design and I can see myself owning something like this.

2017 Ford Fusion: Ford’s bread-and-butter midsize sedan gets a refreshed front & rear in an attempt to retain its market share against competitive rivals from Japan (Accord, Altima, Camry). Higher trim models now have a rotary dial transmission selector and a new 2.7 liter twin turbo V6 puts power at the lead of its class.

2018 Lexus LC500: This car is so “out there,” it’s hard to believe it’s a production model and not a concept. It’s powered by the same motor as the current RC-F model, its smaller sibling. LC500 sets its sights on Mercedes S-Class Coupe buyers and is likely to have a pricetag at or near the six-figure mark. I can tell you from sitting in the driver seat: It felt worth it.

I’ll include links to these videos as soon as Redline has them available, but for now just enjoy the rest of the photos from my trip below!

First, a video segment from the Acura press conference:

My first time to a “Big Boy” restaurant, near Detroit airport in Romulus. Apparently, these are a “thing” in Michigan.

Acura booth with the Precision Concept under a cover (day before the press conference)

With Sofyan Bey, host of Redline Reviews

Chrysler has ditched the “Town and Country” name and called its new minivan the Pacifica (resurrecting an old name)

Volvo’s handsome new S90 sedan was turning more than a few heads.

Mercedes’ new E-class carries over the design elements from the larger S-class

Honda debuted an all-new (2nd generation) Ridgeline pickup truck. It shares an engine with the newly launched Pilot, and carries over its unibody construction which is unique for this segment. Neat feature: an in-bed stereo speaker system. Perfect for tailgating.

Hanging with the Honda man himself, HondaPro Jason (in the green Honda hoodie, of course)

Networking with a few other industry professionals, including Matt Landish (AutoWeb) and Jason Cammisa (Motor Trend).

Infiniti’s new Q60 picks up where the G37 coupe left off. I quite enjoy this design!

A few photos from the networking: First with Derek Powell and Davis Adams (Honda).

Steve Siler (Car & Driver) and Brian Gurney (Mercedes-Benz)

Acura’s press conference gives homage to the original 1986 Legend from the brand’s 30-years-ago beginning.

Few shots of the Precision

Front 3/4 is the best angle, I think.

The taillights are “scooped out” in a sense. Wide rear haunches there.

The steering wheel is NSX-inspired.

Closer look at those “Jewel Constellation” headlights.

Spy photog and all-around awesome person, Brenda Priddy.

Downtown Detroit showing a little blue sky as I left Cobo Hall after day 2.

Dinner with a few local friends: Mike, Dave, and Waseem

Thanks for coming along!

14 Comments »

Los Angeles Auto Show 2015, with Redline Reviews

Posted in California, Car Show, ILX on November 21, 2015 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 540,151

Odometer (ILX): 147,108

Trip Distance: 778 Miles

About a million people attend the LA Auto Show every year, making the 10-day show one of the biggest in the country. Each year, the automotive media is given a special opportunity to preview the new model debuts before the show opens to the public. And once again, I’ve collaborated with a media company called Redline Reviews to share some of the sights and sounds from this year’s displays. Prior write-ups on my trips to the LA Auto Show can be found here (2013) and here (2014).

This time around, the Redline team members – now boasting over 170,000 subscribers on their YouTube channel – set out to cover about 15 new-car reveals with short two- to three-minute segments. I was able to help them with videos on the Infiniti Q30, the Ford Escape, and the Mercedes-Benz SL — all of which are new or heavily refreshed for the 2016 or 2017 model years. Along the way, I took advantage of the opportunity to network among my friends in the automotive journalism industry and enjoy the night life the City of Angels has to offer.

Here’s the Redline team, minus Jackson, with HondaPro Jason in the middle: Rob, Tyson, Jason, Sofyan, and Andy.

I did three very short introduction videos to some new cars that were shown at this year’s LAAS.

The Q30 is Infiniti’s newest entry-level offering, borrowing architecture and underpinnings from Mercedes’ CLA model. This partnership resulted in the birth of a technologically advanced vehicle that caters to first-time luxo buyers who demand a sense of individuality. The Redline “First Look” video is here, courtesy of Redline’s YouTube channel.

Ford’s Escape fights in a very competitive sport-utility vehicle segment and trails only behind the company’s F-150 in annual sales. Still, the success of the Escape from a sales perspective still doesn’t quite match the numbers Honda is getting with competitor CR-V. So, Ford has come back from the drawing board with a more refined vehicle that pulls styling from its big brother, the Edge.

The 2017 Mercedes-Benz SL is the latest iteration of a car that’s been around since the 1950s. I’ve had a fascination with the Mercedes SL for some time now, even owning a die-cast 1:18 scale version of the car when I was in my teens. My love for the SL was further reinforced when I recently saw a gorgeous picture of my friend Chris’ 1998 model with Sport wheels.

For 2017, the SL gets new powertrains ranging in output from a 329-horsepower V6 all the way up to a 621-horsepower V12. Redline Editor-in-Chief Sofyan calls that one “bonkers” for good reason. When sitting in the car and closing the driver’s door, I noticed that the door “sucked itself in.” Happy to say that my 21-year-old Acura Legend coupe does that! And, the feature still works!

The Mercedes video is still pending on Redline’s YouTube channel, but I’ll link it here when it goes live.

Part of the big draw for LAAS (for me, anyway) happens after the convention hall closes down each day at 5:00 p.m. The after-parties are always a good time. This year, Hyundai sponsored a social gathering at the historic Hotel Figueroa and Nissan hosted a similar event a few blocks away at a bar called Edison. I was able to make it to both and enjoyed exploring some of downtown Los Angeles. Here’s the Figueroa’s swimming pool, covered over with plexiglass so we could socialize on top of it!

On Thursday night, cars.com Detroit Bureau Editor Aaron Bragman set up a group dinner for about 22 media colleagues. It was held at the landmark 1931 “El Coyote” Mexican Restaurant on Beverly Boulevard. Mercedes and Mazda were kind enough to pick up the tab on our meals!

Below are a variety of other photos and experiences from this year’s show. Thanks for coming along!

Jason Cammisa from Motor Trend

Hot new 500+ horsepower Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio: A 6-speed sedan packing a mean punch!

Acura’s booth served up lots of caffeine.

Morning view from the 32nd floor of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel, where we stayed.

With Carlos Lago from Edmunds.com

One of 3 “Back to the Future” inspired 2016 Toyota Tacomas in the world, reminiscent of the one Marty McFly drove in the classic 1985 film. Standing with Redline’s Aaron Streater and Rob Lamond in the bed of the truck.

Behind the scenes in the Media Center at the LA Convention Center with Redline.

The 2017 Acura NSX was displayed for its first time in white. Looked great!

With GM’s Shad Balch

Honda’s new 10th-generation Civic coupe had a long line of admiring media companies waiting to film it both Wednesday & Thursday

With Automobile Magazine’s Jean Jennings

Fiat 124 Spider – also known as, the “Fiata.” Fiat took Mazda’s Miata, stretched it a little, added a turbo, and called it their own.

Among other oddball sightings, the Range Rover Evoque Convertible

With Lance Nelson, also known as “Lance the Driver”

Dinner spot on Beverly Blvd at El Coyote

Group photo after dinner at El Coyote

I stopped by to see Ludacris’ 1993 Acura Legend before leaving town. It’s getting some mechanical work done at my friend’s dealership. The car debuted at SEMA in Las Vegas a couple of weeks ago.

Dinner on the way home at Courtesy Diner in Blythe, CA right near Arizona state line. Get the grilled cheese!!

And the final stretch last night, heading home to Phoenix.

12 Comments »

2015 Japanese Classic Car Show (80’s & 90’s Era) in Torrance, California

Posted in California, Car Show, Legend, Road Trip on October 19, 2015 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 538,825

Odometer (ILX): 143,838

Trip Distance: 784 Miles

“Do you ever take a break? You are full throttle!” That was a valid comment yesterday from my friend Marc in Austin. It’s been a little bit tough to pin me down lately. Sometimes I wake up in a motel room wondering just briefly what city I’m in. On Sunday morning, that city was Torrance, California. My friend Rustin – who’s one of only a handful of people granted access to my location at all times via his smartphone – saw that I was hanging out at Toyota’s campus and his first text message of the day was: “I won’t tell Acura.”

Many of my blog followers probably enjoy looking at vintage cars as much as I do – Especially those that hail from Japan. It wasn’t 10 minutes after the conclusion to the 12th annual ALV awards program, and I was starting my trip to California – yet again – for a car event with a different purpose: the Japanese Classic Car Show (JCCS).

The last time I went to JCCS it was for the 2014 program in Long Beach at the Queen Mary ship. This version of the JCCS was a little different from that one. While the JCCS event at the Queen Mary caters to pre-1985 automobiles, the “Neo Classic” show – new this year – invites participants who drive 1980s and 1990s cars. Those decades I consider more “my” generation of cars. My first Japanese car was my beloved 1989 Prelude Si, so from a young age, I have had an appreciation for vehicles of that era.

So once again I hit the open road in the tried & true Legend and headed out on my ~400-mile drive to the west coast via Interstate 10.

The show was one of the best-organized I’ve ever attended. “Load-in” was easy and the parking was not only pre-assigned, but there were highly visible volunteers directing traffic to designated areas. I arrived at the same time as my friend Chris who drives an immaculate 1986 Honda Prelude with fewer than 50,000 miles on its odometer. Throughout the day, I ran into old friends and made a few new ones. Surrounding me was a parking lot full of cars from the last two decades of the 1900s: An entire section dedicated to Toyota Supras, at least a dozen Nissan 300ZXs, and of course a Civic and Accord from almost every generation. Sprinkled into the mix were a few especially well-preserved examples, like this immaculate 1990 Lexus LS400 driven by a father-son pair.

Serenaded by a DJ who played period-appropriate tunes like Billy Joel and George Michael, my friends and I wandered the grounds and enjoyed the sights and sounds of some of Japan’s greatest creations. By 11:00 a.m., it was time to indulge in Taco Truck grub, and it wasn’t long after that when my friend Brett from Huntington Beach arrived. As Brett and I were admiring the R/C car “drift track,” a familiar face lined up next to us: Penny! Penny is a long-time Legend forum member who hails from Orange County and who I’ve known for the better part of a decade. She joined us for a walk over to the Toyota Automobile Museum next door on Van Ness Rd. (More on that later!)

I spent very little time at or near my car all day, but I did hear a few comments from people and saw a handful of passers-by taking a photo here and there. One guy who now drives a Nissan Skyline commented, “I had one of these and I should’ve never sold it!” Another guy said, “I’ve seen this car on YouTube!” A few other special guests arrived throughout the course of the afternoon, including fellow Legend club members Mark and Raul who both drive second-generation sedans. They each invited me to take a peek at their rides and it was an honor to be granted an exclusive tour. Raul’s 1995 sedan had 166,000 miles on the odometer and Matt’s 1992 had 222,000.

Thanks, guys, for coming out to say hello! Keep me in the loop on those upcoming west coast meet-ups. By 2:30 p.m., the skies had cleared a bit and I was glad for my SPF 50 sunscreen. One of the show administrators took the stage / mic and announced the first, second, and third place award recipients in each category. Chris won a well-deserved Second Place for his Prelude! I hit the road westbound and headed home shortly after the conclusion of the show. You know you’re in LA when you describe your route like this:

I took the 110 to the 405 to the 22 to the 55 to the 91 to the 215 to the 60 to the 10. That was seriously my route! I arrived in scenic Desert Center, California just in time for a couple of quick sunset photos. The drive home was uneventful – and that’s just the way I like it to be when I’m driving a car with 538,000 miles on it.

Here are the rest of my photos from this quick out-and-back car show trip!

Setting up

Mattel / Hot Wheels Designer Ryu Asada and his NSX. He also attended NSXPO.

Accords and Integras in this area.

My friend Armando’s immaculate Subaru SVX which I’ve featured before.

Supra Parking Only.

This 1989 Prelude 2.0 Si reminded me so much of my first Honda! This one only had 68,000 miles on it.

Crazy-clean 40,000 mile 1986 Civic Si right here.

… Complete with cassette tapes on display!

Here’s Chris’ award-winning Prelude.

I love the simplicity of those analog gauges.

Nissan Skyline area.

An NSX joined the party later in the day. I didn’t get the chance to meet that guy.

Chris, Armando, Tyson. Notice: Each of us had on appropriate apparel. Chris was wearing his Prelude shirt, Armando had his SVX one, and I was wearing my shirt from the recent National Acura Legend Meet (NALM) in Houston.

“Family Photo” with my Legendary friends. Left to right: Mark, Raul, Tyson, Penny, Brett.

Pit stop in the Palm Springs area to make a delivery to my friend Scott who has a 34,000 mile Legend (background).

My photos from the Desert Center offramp. Nothing fancy here!

And lastly, just a couple pictures from our look inside the Toyota USA Museum.

Right off the bat – one of Toyota’s finest! The Avalon!

Long lineup of Lexus models, each with just a few miles on the odometer.

I’ve always loved these old Toyota pickups. This 1989 showed 30,000 miles on the odometer.

And Toyota’s (or, at the time, Toyopet’s) first passenger car for sale in the USA.

It’s no wonder that a car this size was considered underpowered with only 60 horsepower.

Short vid:

21 Comments »

NSXPO 2015 in Palm Springs, Part 4: “NSX-tra” Car Show & Return to Phoenix

Posted in California, Car Show, NSX, NSXPO on October 11, 2015 by tysonhugie

Odometer (NSX): 102,757

Trip Distance: 279 Miles

At long last, the event that I’d helped to plan for about a year has reached its conclusion and I must say, it’s been a wild ride. Here are a couple more photos that surfaced of this year’s NSXPO / 25th anniversary NSX event. First, our parade lap from Friday at Thermal raceway as captured by Bob Ondrovic. I was only 3 or 4 cars back in the right hand lane (left as viewed in this image).

Seasoned race veteran Peter Cunningham posted a short video (taken by his copilot) that was filmed while driving my car on yesterday’s 100-mile scenic route. I was happy to lend him the keys, and he even left it full of fuel for me! This guy has claimed 91 professional race wins, so I hope he had some fun with my ride.

Closing ceremony last night, as taken from standing at a distance. Each dinner table was illuminated in a different colored spotlight. I never got to see the stage from this angle because I was always either backstage helping with something or seated at one of the front-row / reserved tables.

The NSXPO Planning Committee members handing signed group photos to Acura representatives, with Event Director Chris Willson at the mic.

Today’s events were very casual in nature. Most of our attendees have long drives ahead of them. Each of the three times I had to get in the elevator at the hotel to return to my room and pick up a few things to pack up my car, I ended up sharing the ride with other folks who were there for the event. One gentleman was about to embark on his return drive to Vancouver, British Columbia. A few newcomers joined us on the second floor of the parking garage for an informal car show, including my friend Ramon and his son (who also brought me some delicious cupcakes which I’m holding in this photo).

The casual meet & great was a nice break from the very rigid schedule we had all been abiding by for the previous few days.

Knowing that I had a nearly-5-hour drive home myself, I decided to head eastbound by about 11:00 in the morning, but not before taking a quick photo with my friend Ben Lin. The photo was necessary since Ben & I both attended the NALM (Legend) event in Houston a few weeks ago, so we wanted to document the fact that we were now again together at a different car-related program, only 1,547 miles away from the last meet-up. Ben’s 2005 “Silverstone” car has the updated 2002-05 front end.

I also met NSX Club of America member “Dan.” He’s the proud ORIGINAL owner of a 1991 Formula Red NSX. Though the paint has faded and the car has over 200,000 miles on the odometer, he has hung onto it for 25 years and doesn’t plan on selling any time soon. I only wish I’d taken a photo of the 25-sticker-thick stack of registration renewal stickers on his license plate.

I cruised over to Rancho Mirage area and had brunch with my friends James & Daniel who happened to also be in the area.

Couldn’t help but take a photo at this storefront entrance near the JW Marriott property.

Perfect setting for a relaxing Sunday bite to eat.

My 297-mile eastbound return trip to Phoenix on I-10 was uneventful and I honestly didn’t even turn on the radio until about 3 hours into it. My mind was enjoying the solitude and silence – it needed time to process & download the busy activities of the last several days. I did happen to pass our HPDE instructor / Sponsorship Director Jim Cozzollino a couple of hours into my drive! He gave me a wave and I blew past him.

Home sweet home!

Hope you enjoyed the ride over the last few days!

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Trip to Torrance, California: Honda S2000 “Homecoming III” Event

Posted in California, Car Show, Legend, NSX on September 13, 2015 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 535,296

Odometer (ILX): 140,911

Trip Distance: 861 Miles

How does a lowly Legend owner get a VIP invitation to a car show with over 200 Honda S2000 sportscars? Luck of the draw, I guess! It happened to me and I made a special trip to Honda’s North American headquarters in Torrance, California this past weekend to celebrate the occasion.

It’s been almost exactly 5 years since I attended the last s2000 meet-up of this magnitude. That one was called “Homecoming II” and was organized by the same individual who put on this year’s shindig. I shared a write-up, photos, and short video of that event on the Acura Legend forums at the time (it occurred just 6 months before I started this blog, or you would have seen it here). One of the many highlights of that event was the chance to personally meet Mr. Shigeru Uehara, the father of the NSX & S2000.

My Legend had just 441,000 miles on it at that time, so it’s taken me 5 years to add another 94,000 miles.

“Homecoming III” was slated to be even bigger and better than the prior event. I took off from work last Thursday afternoon and hit Interstate 10 westbound. Well, not right away. Interstate 10 in Phoenix is a bit of a danger zone right now, with about a dozen random “car shootings” taking place over the last couple of weeks. I detoured around Loop 101 until I got to Avondale before hitting the 10. The 430-mile drive was smooth sailing and it reminded me of how I racked up so many miles on the Legend in the first place: Low revs on the highway (fewer than 2500 at 75 miles per hour), smooth ride, and a great stereo. It was sundown by the time I rolled LA town via I-10, Highway 60, I-605, Highway 91, and I-110 to my exit on Sepulveda Boulevard. Welcome to Los Angeles.

Friday was an action-packed day including meetings with key contacts at Acura regarding next month’s NSXPO convention in Palm Springs. By late afternoon, my ‘hired driver’ (AKA, trusted friend) Peter had arrived at our hotel in Torrance with the NSX which would also be attending Homecoming, so both cars were safe and sound on location. I worked up a sweat doing some last-minute detailing in the parking lot (LA is experiencing a heat wave and the humidity is killer!), but both cars ended up glistening with some Meguiar’s quick detail spray and a little tire shine. My friend Ira had arrived from Portland in his 2002 Acura NSX in Long Beach Blue Pearl, as seen here in the background.

Game day (Saturday) came quite a bit earlier than we’d hoped. My alarm went off at 3:15 a.m., in fact. By then, I’m sure Peter was regretting his decision to volunteer as my second driver for this crazy adventure. We had a 4:25 a.m. meet-up with others from our hotel, a 4:45 meet up 2 miles away with the 12 other “showcars” in the Homecoming event, and a 5:05 arrival at Honda’s huge campus where we staged the showcars in a “mock” situation. I’m telling you, the ENTIRE DAY had timing laid out with that kind of precision. Exhausting.

In the meantime, Event Director Mike Trinh put us to work – breaking ice bags, filling up the cargo beds of two Ridgeline pickup trucks, and throwing in bottled waters and iced teas. By 7:30, we were ushered into hiding with our cars around the backside of the building while the row after row of Honda S2000 rolled onto campus and into their designated (by color) parking areas. If you’re afflicted with a moderate to severe case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder like I am, you’ll greatly appreciate that the fact that every section of the parking lot was perfectly color coordinated. See what I mean?

The S2000 model has a huge enthusiast following, as do so many other Honda models. The “S2K” (as it’s lovingly been named) sold over 66,000 units in total from its first year in 2000 through its final year in 2009. I know a few of my loyal readers are lucky enough to own such a vehicle, including Conor. This is his baby:

I talked for a bit with Chris Martin from Honda Public Relations and he asked me to help him pull a 2016 Honda Pilot out of the garage and bring it over to the showcar area. I happily obliged, and though my drive distance with the Pilot couldn’t have been more than 1/2 mile, it was my first time in the all-new redesigned model and I liked what I saw. Chris also had an Accord coupe and an HR-V on display. The HR-V was a 6-speed manual! It seemed like it would be a blast to drive.

From his wireless microphone, Mike T kicked off the opening ceremony and announced the originating city and owner’s name for each of the “showcars” as they filed in during a parade. Peter and I were sandwiched into the middle of the pack, but in line next to one another. I took the lead in the NSX and Peter followed in the Legend as we pulled into the main event parking lot amid a cheering crowd.

One of the key highlights of the morning was getting to visit the Honda “secret museum” down the street a few blocks on Van Ness. I think this marked my fourth time going in there, but it never loses its appeal to witness the preservation of such neat low-mileage examples of important Hondas of the past. Best of all, I reconnected with pioneer Acura founding executive Kurt Antonius and the Manager of Auto Shows & Exhibits, Dave Heath. Kurt is pictured here.

This is one of the vehicles on display: A 78-mile (yes, 78!) example of the 2004 Acura NSX.

We were starving by this time, so our first stop when we got back to the S2K Homecoming location was to get in line for the Habit Burger food truck. It was worth the wait! Italian ice was served up for dessert – a perfect remedy for the extremely humid weather that left us all chugging water and looking for any slice of shade we could find. Around 2:00 p.m., Mike kicked off the closing ceremony which included a raffle of dozens of items that were donated by event sponsors, many of which were quite high in value. I laid low for the rest of the afternoon back at our hotel, and made the return drive to Phoenix bright and early on Sunday.

One bonehead moment to share from the 6-hour drive home: I stopped briefly to use the restroom at the Love’s gas station in Quartzsite, Arizona just after crossing in from California. As I shuffled through paperwork and garbage on the passenger seat to collect a pile for the trash, I inadvertently threw my $80 sunglasses away in the trash bin. It wasn’t until I was a mile down the freeway that I went to grab for them on the seat and realized they weren’t there. I debated about whether I should return, but decided it was worth it. So, the folks fueling up at Love’s gave me a few weird looks when I returned to the station and took the lid off the trash bin so I could root around in there.

Yep, found the glasses.

Many thanks to the friends who made this memorable weekend possible! Here are the rest of my photos and a 4-minute video.

Someone else’s video: My parade entrance starts around 5:50.

Friday meeting location at Honda’s main office in Torrance. This is the lobby.

Found a random place for dinner that evening. Looked a little retro.

A 2016 ILX was improperly parked in the showcar area bright and early. So, it got towed.

Die-hard Honda fan, Steven, trailered this race-ready Honda S800 all the way from Dallas, Texas for Homecoming.

Lining up – Peter in the Legend, me in the NSX.

Parade fanfare. I’m still trying to track down video coverage of this.

Ira’s gorgeous Long Beach Blue NSX with 28,000 miles.

The crowd assembled for the opening ceremony.

Interior of a 39,000-mile red NSX on display.

Lineup of yellow S2000s

And silver ones…

And black ones…

Visiting with my friend Ben (left) who’s a fellow Legend owner, as well as Mike (center), the guy in charge.

The S2000s were led into he facility by Acura NSX “Pace Cars” which each wore this decal.

Interior of the HR-V 6-speed.

The 2016 Accord Coupe.

NSX + Legend

NSX + Legend again

Abandoned roadside Legend spotting this morning on I-10! Looked like it had seen better days… It had already been tagged by Highway Patrol.

By the way, I had a couple of neat features happen this week. First, this photo share from music artist “Fabolous” who has 2.5 million followers on Instagram. He posted an old (2007) photo of my Legends in Logan, Utah on his page on Thursday and it’s up to almost 27,000 likes now.

The second share was from Acura HQ when they featured a photo of my coupe for #FanFriday. Sweet!

Thanks again for coming along on this adventure!

21 Comments »

Detroit: 2015 North American International Auto Show

Posted in Blog, Car Show, NSX on January 14, 2015 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 532,287

Odometer (ILX): 109,718

Since 1899, Detroit has been home to one of the largest auto shows in North America. What kinds of cars were even around that long ago? As the operational headquarters for the “Big 3” automakers (Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors), Motor City has always been the logical place for the auto show to take place, despite the fact that frigid weather there each January is somewhat less than welcoming.

Up until 1965, the show was held at various locations in the Detroit Metro Area, like the city’s fairgrounds. But since 1965, it’s occupied over 1 million square feet of show space at the “Cobo Center” convention facility. Over 900,000 people attend the show annually during the week that it’s open to the general public.

This year, I once again attended as a member of the Redline Productions Media (RPM) team, which is headquarted in the Washington DC area and has created a name for itself in the automotive video review arena. Redline’s YouTube Channel has amassed over 24 million video views since its inception in May, 2012, and has over 85,000 subscribers. Editor-in-Chief Sofyan Bey hosts the series and occasionally invites other automotive journalists like myself to join in on the fun.

This marked my fourth time attending the Detroit Auto Show. It seems like just yesterday I was sitting on the front row of the Acura press conference awaiting the reveal of the 2013 ILX & NSX Concepts during the show in January 2012. Reminisce with me:

I had to laugh when I exited the rental car shuttle bus at Detroit airport to pick up my car on Sunday night. The attendant at Nationwide said, “Keys are in the cars. Take anything in the midsize row.” In a heavy snowstorm, I dragged my rollaway bag to the parking lot and soon learned that there were only two midsize cars available, and they were both Chevy Camaros.

I picked the red one and went on my way, wondering how I’d just managed to get a vehicle upgrade for free. It took only a few yards of driving before it dawned on me: The reason nobody had taken the Camaro was because rear-wheel-drive in the snow is far less than optimal! The short 4-mile drive to my hotel in snow-covered roads was a crash course (thankfully, not literally) in how to handle slick-road RWD driving dynamics. I had some fun with it, too.

The two days that I spent at Media Days were jam-packed with photography, filming, networking, and attending press conferences. In between all of that, I walked a total of over 10 miles walking from exhibit to exhibit! The showstoppers this year for me were the Acura NSX and Ford GT supercars, each wowing the crowd with its exotic design.

Aside from that, there were dozens of other noteworthy new-car reveals that I acquainted myself with. The Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Titan were long-overdue for new bodystyles which they finally received. Cadillac’s heart-pumping 600+ horsepower CTS-V made its entrance, and Buick launched its first convertible in 25 years (the “Cascada”).

The capstone to a great trip was the chance I had on Tuesday night to meet up with two old friends and make a new one. I met up near Michigan Central Station at Mercury Bar for dinner with my old buddies Hass and Waseem, then I headed to Royal Oak for a meet-up with Chris who I met via Instagram. Chris even threw me the keys to his 2007 Acura TL Type-S for a spirited jaunt up Highway 696! Thanks, guys for meeting up.

Below is the photo highlight story of how my trip to Motor City went. Thanks for coming along!

Video of the NSX reveal from my perspective, with multiple glances at Jerry Seinfeld seated ahead of me for good measure.

ILX parked at Phoenix Sky Harbor terminal 4 for a few days

Flight 15F – window seat overlooking the wing on my Southwest PHX-DTW flight

I left the Arizona sunshine for this?

My hot-rod Camaro V6 automatic rental with 9,500 miles on the odometer. Fun car, plenty of power. Blind spots were massive, and for some reason it tried dialing OnStar 6 times repeatedly for no reason. WTH?

Sofyan, Jackson, Tyson: the Redline Reviews crew en route to Day 1 of the auto show, just about to catch our ride on the Detroit People Mover (DPM) which costs $0.75 and takes a loop around downtown.

New Nissan Titan – finally.

New Toyota Tacoma – finally. Did you know that every 2016 Tacoma will come with a GoPro video camera mount on the inside, passenger side windshield? Toyota is offering this truck in a 6-speed stick, too, which I think is cool.

Infiniti Q60 Concept replaces the outgoing model which has been based on the aging G37 Coupe platform.

New Lexus GS-F sports sedan follows in the footsteps of the smaller IS-F, pumping out 467 horsepower.

Second-row seat at the 11:50 a.m. Acura press conference, awaiting the debut of the 2016 NSX.

Finally getting a look at Acura’s next supercar.

I dig the wheels, and I think that “Athletic Red” paint color is the same that was used when the TLX model launched a year ago.

NSX interior.

My phone went crazy for a few hours with texts from friends wanting a firsthand opinion of the new NSX. I got a kick out of people like my friend Nick in NJ who offered to split the cost of the car.

No NAIAS would be complete without a few “celebrity” encounters. Here are a few of the people I ran into.

Davis Adams, Honda Public Relations

Steve Ewing, Sr. Editor of Autoblog

Nyko dePeyer, Executive from Local Motors

Jon Ikeda, Acura Design

Donny Nordlicht, Cadillac Public Relations

Brian Cooley, Editor-in-Chief of CNET

Chuck Schifsky, Acura Public Relations

Steve Siler, Car & Driver / freelance author

Jason Mosery, Autoguide

Jason Richmond, Hondapro Jason and Sage Marie, Honda/Acura Public Relations

New Ford GT Supercar, during Sofyan’s intro. Twin-turbo V6, 600+ horsepower. Don’t get in its way.

2016 Audi Q3. I’m a sucker for this blue hue.

Look, it’s Canada! This is the view from Cobo Hall across the Detroit River to Windsor, Ontario.

NSX “swag” on display during Day 2. I must own that jacket someday!

More memorabilia.

The rest of the Ac fleet came out to play on the second day, too, including the 2016 ILX.

Exiting Cobo Hall after an exhausting, yet fun, couple of days.

Quick visit to Michigan Central Station. Once the tallest railway station in the world, this 1912 building has been abandoned since 1988. My Camaro looked pretty photogenic, too.

Dinner with long-time “Legend” friends, Hass and Waseem, who are local to the Detroit area.

And another shot of Chris’ TL-S. Hot ride even in cold weather!

Bright and early this morning (as in, 1:00 a.m. my time), I was getting ready for my return flight to Phoenix.

As I was running through the Phoenix airport, I saw this T-shirt for sale out of the corner of my eye and I stopped in my tracks. Doesn’t the font look a little bit like “ILX”?

Peace out until next time!

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Quick Tease: 2016 Acura NSX at Detroit Auto Show

Posted in Car Show on January 12, 2015 by tysonhugie

My, oh my, it’s been a star-studded day out here in Motor City. I’ll need a little time to wrap my mind around all 154 pictures that I took today during my first day at the 2015 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), but I would be selfish if I kept them all to myself any longer than I already have. Specifically, I want to share with you just a few images of the newly-revealed Acura NSX.

Acura’s “halo” supercar debuted today after a 3-year development process that started when the concept model first saw the public eye in 2012. When the twin-turbo V6 rolled out onto the show floor today in front of hundreds of journalists, it left most of us stunned. And when they revved the car’s engine, it sent shivers down my spine. This was the performance car so many of us have been waiting for. I’ll share my experience at NAIAS in greater detail soon, but here are a few teasers.

Acura booth

Early arrival for a second-row seat for the 11:50 a.m. press conference. With me in attendance were none other than Sofyan Bey, Editor-in-Chief for Redline Reviews, and Hondapro Jason. Like I said, I was surrounded by celebrities today.