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AZ Offbeat Destinations: Wigwam Resort, Cheese N’ Stuff, Miracle Mile, & Herberger Park

Posted in Accord, Arizona, ILX, Legend, NSX on September 30, 2020 by tysonhugie

I’m still here! While my attention has been pulled a lot of directions in recent weeks, I owe it to the few loyal readers of the blog to chime in from time to time. At least I haven’t forgotten my WordPress login credentials yet.

I just got home a few minutes ago from picking up my latest project car from the repair shop – for the second time – after a blower motor replacement in the climate control system. Isn’t it funny how a single replacement item can exceed what you paid for an entire car? Yep, just happened. I have to keep reminding myself how much I enjoy this hobby.

The guest book had been relatively quiet for the entire summer until just a couple of weeks ago, when I hosted a get-together with some ‘car friends’ locally, and my brother breezed through town. He was en route to Texas so he stopped in for an evening meal at Taco Guild in central Phoenix.

My own travels have dialed back considerably, but that also means I’ve had more of a chance to explore my surroundings locally. I’ll show you a few of the places I’ve checked out in recent weeks.

The first is the Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park, Arizona. It’s only about 25 miles from my place, but it offered a nice “staycation” destination for an over-nighter. Room rates for locals are only in the low $100’s. The resort itself dates back to 1929 and has 331 rooms, 2 restaurants, 3 pools, and a 26,000-square-foot spa. A friend and I stayed over on a Friday night and enjoyed pretending like we were somewhere far from home.

Another place I checked out was right by my house. For years I’ve driven past this little deli called “CHEESE N’ STUFF” at the intersection of Central Avenue & Camelback Road in Phoenix. With a name like that, I couldn’t say no. The interior is totally frozen in time – almost as if the clock stopped in about 1975. Decor consists of wood paneling, family photos (the place is family-run, after all), and a general store-style shelf setup. Some of the signs on the wall looked like they had been printed in Print Shop in 1987, adding to the nostalgia.

I can’t remember what this was called but it was literally just 7 types of cheeses, no meat at all. And I was shocked at how tasty it was.

Here’s a fun one. The below photo has a sort of Chinese character look archway to it, but it’s actually designed to resemble an abstract picket fence with the letters M M M. That stands for Miracle Mile McDowell: a stretch of road that was once a bustling corridor of culture and business in the 1950s. Later, a new freeway system made the road obsolete, the pavement was widened to remove roadside parking, and businesses started to dry up.

The arch itself was installed in 1991 in an attempt to create a feeling of togetherness between the sides of the road that were now so far from one another. And since then, there have been many initiatives to revitalize McDowell but for now, the buildings mostly stand empty.

The last place I’ll introduce you to is G. R. Herberger Park, located near 56th Street & Indian School road in Phoenix. It’s best known as being the location of “Arizona Falls.”

Waterfalls, in Phoenix? How? Well, this is part of the Salt River Project: A series of canals and waterways that bring much needed water to Phoenix and have done so for over 100 years. This particular location is the site of a 20-foot drop in the canal.

It was once a place for picnics and recreation, but later was forgotten and closed off for many years. In 2003, the location was restored and saw construction of a hydroelectric power plant and some exhibits.

I’ve had a chance to connect with some awesome folks in recent weeks, including this meet-up in Tempe with Kai and Hy in their exceptionally clean Honda Accords. I was the odd man out in the NSX.

I also hosted the aforementioned Acura Legend meet-up at my house a couple of weeks ago. In all, we had eight Legends in attendance.

My friend and fellow journalist Jeff Koch put together a great article on Hemmings that you might get a kick out of. The link is below. And based on the nearly 50 comments that it garnered, maybe there are a few people who actually “get” my weird obsession.

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2020/09/21/guaranteed-you-dont-like-acuras-nearly-as-much-as-tyson-hugie-does

You may or may not be following the latest news with regard to the launch of the second-generation Acura TLX, but I am. The 2021 models went on sale on Monday 9/28. I’m planning on scooping one up next spring. Looks good, right?

If you have a few minutes to kill and you’re addicted to online auctions like Bring a Trailer and Cars & Bids like I am, you might want to look at this new site called AutoHunter. I’m one of the auction writers who have been working on getting things off the ground. I already wrote for ClassicCars.com (the parent site) prior, so this was a logical move.

AutoHunter

Do you all remember the Mulberry Red 1990 Accord EX I sold over a year and a half ago? It traded hands just a couple of weeks ago to a friend of mine named Brent who lives in Michigan. He has a great collection. He sent me this photo of the Accord alongside his 1990 Legend and 1990 Prelude. Talk about an epic throwback trio.

And closing things out, if you want to hear / see more about how I’m dumping money and time into my latest project car, here are videos 2 through 6 in the 1996 2.5TL series. It’s actually been a lot of fun. I drove the car to Payson, Arizona and back over the weekend and it’s a solid cruiser even at 262,000 miles.

Video 2

Video 3

Video 4

Video 5

Video 6

Bonus content: video I put together of some upgrades to a family member’s NSX.

NSX Video

Hope that keeps you busy for a little bit. And, I hope you’re all well! Leave me a comment and say hello.

17 Comments »

Quick Sierra Vista Arizona, & Southern Utah Trips (+6 Videos)

Posted in ILX, Integra, RLX, SLX on August 20, 2020 by tysonhugie

Trip Distance: 400 Miles

Well, well, well! A video that I filmed with Honda about a year and a half ago has debuted.

Get your Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn in the microwave because I have quite a few videos to link you to in this post.

‘Kokoro’ in Japanese means “heart.” There’s a series of “Honda Kokoro” videos hosted by my friend Charles, Honda Brand Culture Champion, who has just recently retired. I was the main character in the 6th video, which just came out yesterday. I think the legal and post-production hurdles that set this back dilute its timeliness (3 of the cars featured there are gone, and 4 more are added) but it’s still a super fun memory.

My friend Chuck has a collection of very obscure vehicles. If it weren’t crazy enough that he owns a custom 1988 Acura Legend convertible (the Legend wasn’t even offered from the factory in a convertible bodystyle), he also has a Dodge Dakota pickup convertible (yes, that one was a thing!), and a 1998 Acura SLX with only 54,000 miles on it.

How he managed to assemble a grouping so eclectic I’m not quite sure, but I decided to make a 6-hour round-trip from Phoenix to Sierra Vista, Arizona visit to pay him a visit this past weekend.

The vehicle called into action for the occasion was my 1996 SLX, since aside from the RADwood show last December, this would be the first time I would meet up with a fellow SLX owner. Luckily, even though the summer heatwave was intense, I made the trip to & fro without incident. My air conditioning even kept things cool the whole way.

It was nice to reconnect with Chuck and Patty, and we dined at one of Sierra Vista’s great Mexican restaurants. The city is located only about 20 miles from the Mexican border, so authenticity is accounted for. Chuck and I also took the convertible Legend out for a cruise. I shot a few video clips that I pieced together. Here’s the outcome.

(Special preview – this isn’t even public on my channel yet!)

Thanks, Chuck & Patty for hosting! Please pardon our masklessness for the photo, and in other instances of the videos in this blog. Rest assured I do have a mask in every single car and I wear them regularly.

Here are a few other updates in recent travels and current events.

With the automotive event calendar being wiped almost entirely clean this year thanks to COVID-19, some venues have reinvented themselves in digital format. One of them is the Future Collector Car Show (FCCS) which hosted a virtual car show on YouTube. I was among 18 finalists who made it to the final round for Best of Show with my 1999 Integra. Here’s a video that was published on the YouTube channel of the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles.

(My car shows up 15 minutes in)

I took a trip to Utah a couple of weeks ago to see some family members.

My mom and stepdad and I dined from Cliffside Restaurant overlooking St. George, Utah.

The trusty old 2013 ILX rolled 225,000 miles, and I filmed a few minutes of video.

I also shot video of mom’s 2016 RLX.

And finally, several weeks ago I had company from a couple of Integra-owning local friends, Eric and Chris. It was nice of them to stop by, and I got some video clips then too.

I especially like Chris’ T-shirt. “Hoard Hondas, Not Toilet Paper.”

My T-shirt was pretty special too. It was a one-day-only design made available on Blipshift.

Lastly, my friend Andy stopped by to show me his 2005 Lotus.

I guess that’s it for now. Just catching you up on the latest.

11 Comments »

Tiny Travels, Home Improvements, and Vigor Auction Underway

Posted in Brochures, House, ILX, Legend, NALM, Vigor on July 11, 2020 by tysonhugie

Hello from Hell-o.

No, seriously. It’s 115 degrees outside and it feels about like you would expect for AZ in mid-July. At least it was my washing machine that decided to bite the dust this week instead of my air conditioning unit.

I’ve been cooped up a bit and needed to stretch my road trip legs again, so yesterday I took the Legend coupe on a 200-miler through the desert west of Phoenix. It was a pretty simple little loop that provided a nice getaway.

The highlight, of course, involved food. I had to sample the Green Chile Burger at a little drive-in called Screamer’s that I saw featured in a news article not long ago. I ate indoors – I don’t think they do in-car service at this drive-in, at least not this time of year. And the burger was everything it was cracked up to be. It feels like a special treat to eat like that nowadays, because my diet has changed a lot now that I’m eating at home. I’ve lost 15 lbs this year.

I might have also lost something else this year – a little bit of what sanity I had to begin with, when I decided to deck out my garage as a cheesy 1990s used car dealership a while back. Hope you get a kick out of this 45 second commercial. The $50 I spent on Amazon swag was well worth the results.

But for reals, I’m selling a car. It’s time to re-prioritize and think about my short-term and long-term plans for the Acura collection. It’s now been 5 years (exactly) since I picked up my 1994 Vigor GS in Colorado and brought it home. I’ve enjoyed it for 13,000 miles, and shown it at RADwood and Japanese Classic Car Show.

Now it’s time to move it along to the next worthy owner. Here’s a link to the auction. This makes my Acura Vigor officially the first Vigor ever sold on Bring a Trailer. The site has had 14 Legends and at least that many Integras.

How come I’m selling? Let me count the ways. Career uncertainty, I can’t drive it (and my 8 other cars) enough, there are other projects and cars I have in mind in the future, it’s a good chance to free up some garage space, and to help the Vigor model gain recognition since the enthusiast network is so obscure and forgotten. So bid away!

Along with that, I filmed a 14-minute very detailed video about the ins & outs of the car. The intro to the segment involved re-creating the cover photo from the 1994 Acura full-line brochure.

I extend thanks to my friend Josh of Clymer’s Carport for his innovation and creativity in developing a custom, hand-built Hot Wheels display board for me. I put together a video on it.

I recently created a login for Newspapers.com and started browsing the archives from the 1980s and 1990s. I dug up some particularly cool ads for Acura dealerships from back in the day.

A friend of mine picked up a 6-speed ILX to replace his RSX as a daily driver. It’s “Fathom Blue.” Last month also marks 8 years of ownership for me with my ILX.

My friend Chuck found an old pic that was taken the day after I got the car new in 2012.

I decided to do some small upgrades to the west garage on my property. It’s a small space where I keep one car, my lawn mower, and other yard care items. A neighbor recommended Garage Flooring LLC as a place to pick up plastic tiles, so I placed an online order and did the install. I opted to not put tiles over the entire floor but only about half of it for now.

NALM Arizona Update

The announcement was made on 6/26 that in light of current events that are heavily impacting the Arizona region currently (and for the foreseeable future), it is prudent to postpone this year’s National Acura Legend Meet to fall 2021 instead. More to come as registration re-opens, but our placeholder dates are October 6-10, 2021.

On the 4th of July I picked up my friend Lance for breakfast in a 6-door limo that’s being stored at my house. It belongs to my friend Devan. The car is 20″ longer than a quad cab Duramax pickup. I had to ramp up my depth perception a little.

I also enjoyed a little excursion in the Super Sonic Blue 1999 Integra. A few Saturdays ago (I think – my sense of time is all out of whack lately), some friends and I cruised up the twisties of Highway 89A to Prescott. We stopped along the way to pay respects to the 19 firefighters who were killed during the 2013 Yarnell Wildfire.

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend staying safe out there. Send ice cream and snowflakes.

22 Comments »

‘Homemade’ Film Festival (6 Videos) & Other Random Projects

Posted in Detailing, ILX, Integra, Legend, NSX, SLX, Vigor on April 14, 2020 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 223,692

Checking in on all of you out there! Let me know how you’re doing.

I’ve been productive around here playing Steven Spielberg when I’m not tied up in work meetings from home. Get your popcorn ready. Actually, make a couple of batches while you’re at it. If you’re in the mood for a movie marathon at some point, here are some selections I cooked up, with walkarounds for some of my cars.

Most are still ‘unlisted’ and will debut on my public YouTube channel on the dates indicated (subject to change!). You’re welcome to wait and just watch them then!

ILX Detail – Public

1992 Integra – Public

NSX – Premieres April 18

Legend Sedan – Premieres April 25

SLX – Premieres May 2

Vigor – Premieres May 9

The RL has not yet been shot but I’m prepping the car over the next couple of days.

Here are a few ‘beauty shots’ taken at the time of each film shoot.

I had the Vigor console out the other day in order to get the serial number so I could track down the radio anti-theft code.

Used the SLX to haul some firewood.

Did a bumper light restore on the 1992 GS-R.

Dug through some magazine articles to archive more stuff.

Adopted a friend’s modified 1995 NSX for a few days while he refinished his garage floor.

Received a massive Easter egg delivery from family in Utah.

Hung up some art work in the ‘ugly’ one-car garage that usually gets no attention.

And detailed my mower, topped off with an “A” emblem on the motor.

This morning’s work teleconferences started off with an Acura wine glass of iced coffee.

As you can see, I’m staying plenty entertained here.

What have you been up to?

17 Comments »

K1 Speed Go-Karting Event & Holiday Travels, & Automotive Updates

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Legend, Milestones, PAPA, SLX, Utah on December 22, 2019 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 222,222

It seems I’m getting quite a few chances to put the pedal to the metal lately, including a visit to Apex Motor Club earlier this year, and two events at Bondurant a few weeks ago. This time, I joined some fellow members of the Phoenix Automotive Press Association and we scaled back the size of our racecars to engage a little bit of friendly go-karting on a Friday morning.

K1 Speed opened its doors for an early morning race session specifically for our group. I was proud to finish in the first half of the pack, but I was clearly outclassed by more skilled drivers in our group. K1’s cars are all-electric, and they’re a lot faster than you’d think! I put some of the driver training to work and honestly thought I’d rank better in the final standings. Journalists John Priddy (left) and Wally Cahill (right) still let me at least pretend I was a first-place winner on the podium post-race.

Coming in at first place was newly-appointed Managing Editor for ClassicCars.com, Tom Stahler.

I spent the remainder of last weekend in northern Utah where temperatures dipped to a frigid 15 degrees during my visit. I was poorly prepared from a wardrobe perspective. But, I enjoyed the cozy and warm homes of friends & family members. This was the scene on the campus of Utah State University where I graduated with my undergraduate degree 14 years ago this month. Go USU Aggies!

Sunny, Jason, and Brady met up for some Mexican grub in Salt Lake City.

And it was of course awesome to see my grandma, who’ll be 90 next month.

Below are some photos of other recent visitors and events, as we near the end of this year (and this decade). My stepdad and mom were passing through Phoenix on a long layover flight this week, so I met up with them at the airport terminal for a bite to eat.

The cars have kept me busy these last few weeks. The NSX got an emissions check & new registration tags, the Integra GS-R got a battery, the Legend GS got new Michelin tires, the ILX got an oil change, the RL got a trip to Tucson, and the SLX got a much-needed bath after RADwood.

Here were some visitors from around the state who stopped by to say hello.

I also welcomed an out-of-towner from Austin, TX who’s been a friend of mine for many years. In fact, he’s the one who sent his 1993 Legend L sedan over to Arizona when it needed to find a new home in 2015.

My friend Karna sent me some sweet promo materials including a leaflet that had an NSX postcard that looks just like the real thing.

My friend Eric sent me some awesome-smelling cologne called Chrome Legend. I’ll be saving that bottle!

Andrew from Acura PR sent me two signed posters celebrating this year’s “IMSA” race series wins. I’ll be giving one away to a lucky blog reader. If you’re interested, let me know!

He also sent me the 11×17 display poster that was used at RADwood.

I like how they adjusted the original MSRP on there to nearly $60k in 2019 dollars.

I scored a few swag items from Ebay on the 1996 Isuzu Trooper because I was curious to see what kind of literature they put out back then, and how it compared to SLX stuff. As it turns out, some Troopers were better-equipped than SLXs! Example: The “Limited” model had headlight wipers.

I had an idea for a Christmas photo with red & green when my roommate James was road-testing a 2020 Toyota 4Runner recently. He had it nice and caked with mud for this early-morning glamour shot.

Twins! I’m looking after my friend Jason’s 1992 Integra GS-R right now. His car is 0718 and mine is 0343 so they’re separated by only 375 vehicles on the production line. Jason will be picking up his car in a few weeks, but in the meantime it’s enjoying being reunited with a close sibling.

Aztec Green overload.

“Drive your Legend to work” day, as requested by my friend Alex recently.

Yesterday, the ILX celebrated 222,222 miles on the odometer. I made sure I was driving 2,000 RPM at 22 miles per hour. And, I was driving with 2 friends on the 202 “South Mountain” freeway which is a brand new 22-mile stretch of interstate, literally opened just minutes prior. Amazing how the stars can align when you want them to! (Or when you want them “two.”).

Apple Maps still doesn’t even show the freeway as existing yet.

Before you go, I thought this was pretty cool and wanted to share. My friend Owen in Washington spent a couple years of his life gutting and restoring an old Bluebird bus into a liveable RV. Look at the level of detail in the finished product!

Two new episodes on my YouTube as well.

Have a great Christmas!

12 Comments »

Ocean-to-Ocean Highway Bridge in Yuma; San Diego & LA Quick Trip

Posted in Arizona, California, ILX, Road Trip on November 23, 2019 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 220,586

Trip Distance: 866 Miles

Sometimes it’s when you least expect it that interesting roadside attractions pop up and call your name. I was about halfway from Phoenix to San Diego on Wednesday afternoon when I spotted a neat looking bridge off to the right side of Interstate 8 in Yuma, crossing the Colorado River. I’d been making good time on my 6-hour trip and had a few minutes of daylight left, so I figured I’d take the next exit and give it another look. As it turns out, the detour was totally worth the effort because I got to learn about a 104-year-old historic landmark.

This was also the second time I’ve found a noteworthy bridge in Yuma. The other one was the abandoned Bridge to Nowhere that I blogged about five years ago. Who would have thought that you could find such cool water crossings in a city that’s smack dab in the middle of the middle of the desert?

This bridge ended up being the “Ocean to Ocean” bridge, constructed in 1915, which crosses the Colorado River at the Arizona-California state line. It’s a narrow roadway that over time became both structurally at risk and also functionally obsolete, since it was bypassed in 1956 by a newer roadway nearby on 4th Avenue, and then again by Interstate 8 in the 1970s. Today it serves as a one-laner and carries a road called Penitentiary, named after the historic Territorial Prison State Park nearby. A railroad trestle bridge runs parallel to it.

From 1988 through 2001, the Ocean to Ocean Bridge was closed to automobile traffic because of structural deficiencies, but a $3 million restoration project allowed it to be made safe once again for automobiles. And even though my visit was short, it was fun to get to experience it.

The rest of my CA trip was action-packed with a night in San Diego and then a night in Hollywood. The LA Auto Show’s press/media days concluded Thursday and I made it to the area in time to participate in an after-party at a place called Doheny Room on Santa Monica Boulevard. The gathering was an annual reunion of about 40 auto-journalist friends of mine. It was great to see old friends and make a few new ones.

That’s a picture of me with Sofyan Bey of Redline Reviews and Aaron Bragman of Cars.com.

I stayed at the InterContinental Hotel that evening in downtown Los Angeles which, at 73 stories, is the tallest building west of the Mississippi and has 889 guest rooms. My friend Brian and I were on the 58th floor and the view was stunning. My ears popped a few times from the pressure change when going up and down the elevator. Cleverly, the lobby is actually not even on the floor/ground level. It’s on floor 70. So as a guest, you have to first go all the way upstairs to appreciate the view before you can proceed to your hotel room. I thought it was pretty cool.

In typical LA fashion, traffic on Friday was hectic and it took me 45 minutes to Uber the 8 miles to retrieve my ILX in West Hollywood. Parking the car at InterContinental would have been valet-only, and it would have cost me $46. So I opted to ditch it in a residential area for the night. Once I finally got behind the wheel again, it was a pretty straight shot to find Interstate 10 and take that all the way home to Phoenix. My only pit stop was for a brief lunch stint in Palm Springs at a terrific taco place on Palm Canyon Drive.

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

Oh, and here are the fuel stats for the trip. The ILX rolled 220,000 miles and achieved about 31 mpg overall.

San Diego night stay with my friend Ryan who has a 6-speed Accord 2.0

Working my way home on Friday afternoon

8 Comments »

Beating the Heat: Mogollon Rim Campout + SLX & RL Updates

Posted in Arizona, ILX, RL, Road Trip, SLX on September 2, 2019 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 218,415

Trip Distance: 250 Miles

I’ve left town every weekend for the last 6 weeks. Exhausted doesn’t begin to describe how I feel. But when it comes to making the most out of my summer, I live by a motto my mom emphasizes: Carpe diem! For this past weekend’s excursion, I ventured to the Sitgreaves National Forest in the mountain ranges about 2.5 hours northeast of Phoenix. It’s a spot where temperatures typically range about 20 or more degrees cooler than the Phoenix valley.

Four friends and I found a great campsite just off Young Road, a couple of miles down a narrow dirt road that overlooked the Mogollon Rim and offered fantastic views to the south. We set up camp and stoked the fire, then cooked burgers & brats over the flames. Nobody had any particularly good ghost stories to tell as dusk fell, but we spent a good chunk of time proposing potential names for my friend Adam’s soon-to-be new dog. More to come on what he ended up deciding.

We managed to avoid any run-ins with local wildlife, and the overnight low dipped to a pleasant 60 degrees. Woody whipped up some delicious breakfast burritos with ham, bacon, and green salsa for breakfast the following morning. All too soon, it was time to pack up the site and head back down to civilization. The ILX fared well on the dirt road, though high grass in the median occasionally tickled the undercarriage due to ground clearance issues.

Thanks for coming along!

Camp all set up

Evening sunset looking south across the Mogollon Rim

Breakfast is served!

A relaxed Saturday morning

Soaking in the view

Headed out toward Payson, then Phoenix

Turning 218,000 miles

The vehicle I probably should have taken on this trip is the 1996 SLX. I’m still getting comfortable with it – trying to gain a little more confidence in its roadworthiness. I actually took a 350-mile road trip with it on Saturday, including a stop in a little mining town called Superior about 70 miles east of Phoenix. It did great!

I like this old dealership. Maybe a good investment as a place to store / display cars for someone?

I rolled 140,000 miles on the way home.

I also spent some time this weekend working on the RL. Here’s an update video I filmed today, illustrating current condition and recent maintenance. The engine bay got a detailing!

Hope the holiday weekend treated you well!

16 Comments »

Platinum White Pearlescence: 2019 Acura ILX A-Spec Review

Posted in Del Sol, ILX, Integra, Vehicle Reviews on June 26, 2019 by tysonhugie

Odometer (2013 ILX Premium): 215,114

Odometer (2019 ILX Premium A-Spec): 5,329

It’s about time I got to try out the latest ILX!

Since its mid-2012 debut as a 2013 first-year model, the gateway model to the Acura brand has undergone two separate ‘refresh’ exercises – the first in 2016, and now again in 2019. Quality has improved, tech has advanced, styling has evolved, and yet the pricetag has stayed constant and even gone down throughout the way. At $32,545 as-tested for the A-Spec variant that I put a few hundred miles on over the past week, I consider it a very strong bang for the buck.

It’s no mystery that the elimination of the manual transmission option that took place in 2016 was a dagger to my heart and soul, but the new 8-speed dual-clutch transmission is not that bad. In fact, I sort of enjoyed more of a kick-back driving style over the last few days. It must be old age settling in because I’ll be turning 38 later this year. Yikes.

The ILX I tested has essentially the same motor as my 2013: a 2.4-liter, 201-horsepower, straight-four with iVTEC. So it goes without saying that long-term maintenance should be a breeze (I’m well into the 200k+ range with mine). Where the new ILX sets itself apart from mine is in terms of the technology. Navi with voice recognition, touch-screen display, ELS Studio premium 10-speaker audio, and a host of safety features are all things that are “new” to me.

Beyond that, the aesthetic treatment is handsome, with the A-Spec package bringing in 18″ wheels, sport red leather seats with suede inserts, a contrasting decklid spoiler, and exclusive badging. I have to admit I considered for a moment whether Acura would notice if I swapped the interior of the 2019 into my 2013, but it’s probably best that I not find out.

It was fitting that along with the new ILX came a 2018 Kelley Blue Book “5-Year Cost to Own” trophy that Acura representatives gave me for my display case. I can’t think of any other individual who can attest with 100% certainty of that. The car has cost me $7,600 to maintain over the course of 215,000 miles. That includes 29 oil changes, 8 air filters, 2 sets of rear brake pads, 2 transmission fluid changes, and 4 sets of tires.

I found the newest ILX to deliver all that I’ve come to know and enjoy from my 2013 – sans the clutch pedal – and even a bit more. I think the 2019 would make a great, efficient, reliable daily driver for someone that gives exclusivity and value at the same time. Consider the fact that Acura sold only 1,351 ILX models nationwide in the month of May 2019. To put that in perspective, that same month the company sold 5,415 RDX models and Honda sold 32,800 Civics. Personally I love driving something that not everyone else drives.

Dig It:

Large back-up cam screen
Audio system +++
Blind spot monitoring tech
Appearance – exterior, especially rear
Nimble, fun-to-drive dynamics
Improvements to details like the key fob quality
Subtle features like a “Start” button that changes color
Bang for the buck – so much content for the price

Meh:

Aux + cig lighter hook-ups are in the center console under a lid
Rear cross-traffic alert overly sensitive – beeps when cars are passing by even far away
Front turn signals are LED, rear are halogen – should be uniform
Multiple people commented on the obnoxiously large “A” emblem up front
I don’t know if I’ll ever be a fan of black wheels
Some LED license plate lighting would be an inexpensive way to class up the rear

Here’s a video I put together, and below are some pics from my week with this sweet little ride.

KBB awards on display!

The subtle yet effective aesthetics are evident here

From this perspective the cars are 100% similar

The LED taillights are perhaps my favorite feature of all

Head to head

The bottom line

Keys – old, new. The new is more durable and feels heavier / higher quality.

Check out the comparison of “A” badges

Short vid and pics from over the weekend, including a jaunt to “Horny Toad” in Cave Creek for lunch, and a meet-up with friends in east Mesa.

The Captiva Blue 1993 del Sol Si belongs to fellow YouTuber Chris Sadowski.

Mirel came out in his Legend

Mirel, Chris, Tyson, Corey, Nick, Jonathan, Greg, John, Ken

Two of the cars in attendance were extremely rare Turbo Grand Prixs, produced in partnership with McLaren for the 1989 and 1990 model years.

23 Comments »

Northern AZ Road Trip – Grand Falls, Snowbowl, & Bedrock City

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Road Trip on May 12, 2019 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 214,556

Trip Distance: 475 Miles

Nerd Alert: I have an Excel spreadsheet on my personal laptop entitled “Tyson’s Destinations.” It has 198 locations on it, including the the state, a description, and the name of the person who recommended it. As I visit the locations, I shade the lines in gray. This past weekend, I shaded 3 more lines out, meaning I’ve now hit 52 which leaves a total of 146 left to see.

Completing the list could take me a while, considering the fact that I’m adding locations at almost the same rate that I’m crossing them off. And some of them are not exactly around the corner. For example, Key West, Florida has been nagging at me for some time. Have a place you think I should check out? Drop me a line; I’m always up for a new adventure.

On Saturday, I visited an Arizona waterfall larger than Niagara, named “Grand Falls” and known for its brown color. But there’s a catch: I missed the snow runoff season, and Grand Falls wasn’t so grand, after all. It was down to just a trickle. You see, Grand Falls only exists during a short window of time in the spring or after very heavy rains. I took a gamble on the chance I might get to see something dramatic but was disappointed after about 10 miles of dirt road that it was pretty quiet out there. At least the scenery was nice.

Here’s a picture my friend took of what Grand Falls “can” look like:

And here’s what I really saw.

The falls are 185 feet tall, whereas Niagara is 167 feet. So you can bet I’ll be trekking back out to see the falls when the viewing is optimal.

Determined to not have the entire day be a “bust,” I proceeded to my next destination which was the Arizona Snowbowl ski resort. It comes as a surprise to many, but Arizona actually does have a few ski resorts at higher elevations in the norther part of the state. This one opened in 1938 and is a short drive up a fun, windy road from Flagstaff that reaches the lodge at 9,200 feet in elevation. I encountered raindrops as I made my way up the mountainside and I watched the temperature dip from mid-50s to 41 in the matter of a few miles.

Amenities at the lodge were limited but I didn’t take a lot of time to explore. There was still a fair amount of snow on the ground at that elevation, but it didn’t look like lifts were in operation at the time. However, I checked the website and it said they were expected to be open at least one more weekend, through the 19th of May. In fact, the site says that extended weekend makes this year’s season the longest in the resort’s 81-year history. Too bad I didn’t have time to pick up a quick lift pass!

The last place on my checklist for the day was a step back in time to “Bedrock City,” home of Fred & Wilma Flintstone. Over six years from 1960 through 1966, William Joseph and Hanna Barbera of Hanna-Barbera produced 166 episodes of the cartoon “The Flintstones.” It became one of the most iconic TV shows in recent memory, and as a result it inspired lots of roadside Americana to go along with it. In 1966, in Custer City, South Dakota, a Flintstones-themed 62-acre theme park was opened. The same owner built a similar operation in Arizona in 1972, pictured here.

Both locations were sold and closed in 2019, but the buildings and some of the relics remain.

When I stopped by the Arizona version of Bedrock City on Saturday afternoon, I was greeted by a massive Fred and “Yabba-Dabba-Doo” sign. A campground, gift shop, and restaurant were all painted in bright colors and architecturally designed to resemble the cartoon. Luckily, despite being abandoned, it appears that vandals for the most part have left things alone in the 4 months it’s been closed.

A recent Arizona Central news article stated that the property will become “Raptor Ranch,” a showcase of birds of prey. So perhaps there is another chapter to the location’s history as a tourist destination (or tourist trap, whichever way you see it).

I bid farewell to the dinosaur skeleton in the parking lot and headed home after a fulfilling day exploring the Arizona high country. Thanks for coming along!

Here are a few more pics and a short video from my day on the road.

Headed out on backroads while finding my way toward Grand Falls

Puddles of Mud (isn’t that the name of a music group?) as a result of recent rains

Grand Falls, not so grand, but still a nice view

My 4×4

Better than rush hour traffic

Beginning the ascent to Snowbowl

A Yabba welcome at Bedrock City

Other updates for the last couple of weeks are below in random order.

My local Honda dealer congratulated me via email on being a member of the 100,000 mile club. They’re only about 16 years and 460,000 miles late.

My friend Joseph picked up a sweet Acura Vigor

Which prompted me to take mine out for a spin

Jason clued me in to the fact that a street named “Acura Court” exists in LA. I’ll be going.

I did a little junkyarding. These Troopers didn’t have anything I needed.

A friend shared a quote from the reveal of the 1996 Legend (but named 3.5 RL in the states).

Integra outing to Tempe.

I got ahold of a rare OEM rubber cargo mat for the SLX.

Also found out that one local dealership still has Isuzu signage, despite the fact that Isuzu stopped selling passenger vehicles in the states 10 years ago.

I built a little bookshelf for my service manuals.

My friend Jack copied my pic from Baker at the World’s Tallest Thermometer.

I found some 1950s car ads. Zoom and read some of these gems.

I sorted through my collection of “Style” magazine, which is now out of print.

I found out I still have a copy to the ignition key to my original 1989 Prelude Si.

And last weekend, i visited my friend Vlad’s garage, complete with RLX, Integra Type-R, and NSX.

Have a great rest of the weekend!

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February News: NALM 2019 Announcement, ILX M/T Stats, & More Guests

Posted in ILX, Legend, Maintenance, NALM, NSXPO, SLX on February 18, 2019 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 565,101

A friend sent me a snapshot of an article with a “then and now” comparison. It talked about how the average cost of a car in 1982 was $5,967. His comment was, “You still pay that price.” He’s not wrong! Haha. I love my garage full of $5k oldies.

I recently got my hands on some pretty sweet data recently regarding the breakout of ILX automatics to manuals. My fellow Acura geeks won’t need this history lesson, but for the benefit of everyone else: The ILX entry level Acura sedan launched in mid-2012 as a 2013 model, slotted below the TSX in the hierarchy. There were three available drivetrains: a 2-liter automatic, a 1.5-liter hybrid with a continuously-variable transmission (CVT), and a 2.4 liter with a 6-speed manual transmission. I ordered my ILX as a manual and took delivery on June 12, 2012 with 16 miles on the odometer. It was #00082 on the production line. The rest is history.

In the years following the ILX launch, “take rate” on the 6-speed manuals was never very good. Some surmised that it might be as low as 3-5% of overall sales. To nobody’s surprise (but much to my own disappointment), the manual option was dropped when the car was first refreshed for the 2016 model year. Newly-released information from Acura indicates that over the 2013 + 2014 + 2015 model years, only 2,786 cars were sold with a manual transmission. That works out to about 4% of the overall volume, which was right in line with predictions.

What does it all mean? Nothing, really, other than the fact that I can feel sort of exclusive in driving a “rare” model. The vast majority of car buyers today don’t want to be troubled with a third pedal. Chew on that data for a little while.

I had a couple of action-packed recent weeks, with my dad being here in Phoenix for a trade show, travels to southern Utah for a birthday party, and some out-of-town guests. Keeping you up to speed on current & upcoming events:

Registration is now open for the 3rd annual “NSX WestFest” event in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will be held April 11-14 and promises to be one of the best NSX events of the year aside from the annual NSXPO. This year’s NSXPO is slated for October in Washington D.C. More to come on whether I’ll be able to make that cross-country drive / flight / teleportation.

It’s also been announced that this year’s 15th annual National Acura Legend Meet (NALM) will be held in October as well and headquartered in beautiful Daytona Beach, Florida. Here’s the official posting from the AcuraLegend.org forums with the latest information. Lodging and registration details will be posted on March 1. I’m looking forward to the journey – I haven’t missed a NALM since the event started in 2005. This will be one of the longest trips in the history of my 1994 LS coupe, at roughly 4,500 miles round trip. I’m even thinking of starting the drive from San Diego, California so I can make it a true “Pacific to Atlantic” adventure.

It would be the car’s longest trip since Alaska in 2006.

Daytona looks beautiful!

Here are some assorted pics from over the last few weeks. This is my friend Mitch from Indiana. He is a long-time fellow Honda & Acura enthusiast who was recently featured last month in an article by Hagerty about his restoration process of a rare Zanardi NSX.

I had dad’s MDX in town for a couple of weeks. Tech has come a long way since the 1997 SLX!

Sedan out to dinner.

And a couple other random beauty shots on my way to work.

Legend sighting at the parking structure of the Phoenix Convention Center. Name that color!

I finally sourced some “bumper plugs” for my 1992 Integra sedan. Here in Arizona, we don’t have front license plates, so I needed something to cover up the unsightly holes where the bracket would attach in other states.

Helping dad set up his booth at the convention center – before.

And after.

Went and saw the latest LEGO movie, courtesy of Chevrolet, with James and Abigail. Go check it out!

Legend coupe in for an oil change.

And a fairly clean bill of health – just leaks noted for the power steering & oil. I already knew about those.

Check out my “safari sunroof.”

Got Branson’s Legend out for a little spin.

Road trip back to Utah in dad’s MDX.

Visiting niece Ava Mae. Beckam had blue hair that day.

And celebrating grandpa’s 88th birthday.

Late night meet-up with my friend James who has a Moroccan Red 2007 TL-S 6-speed.

Little bit of EGR carbon clean-out in the Legend, courtesy of my friend Shaun who paid me a visit from SLC.

Shaun at the wheel of the GS.

And doing a little junkyarding. We pulled the center console vent trim out of this 1991 LS.

Donald stopped by to join the party in his Vortex Blue 2009 TSX.

My 1990 Honda Accord EX, recently sold on Bring a Trailer, (finally) goes away tonight and is headed to Dallas, Texas tomorrow!

More to come on that soon!

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