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Sedona, Arizona: Red Rocks & 25,000 Miles

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Milestones, Road Trip on January 13, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 518,436

Odometer (ILX): 25,101

As a southern Utah native, I’ve grown up around red sandstone rock formations. The 10,000-resident town of Sedona, Arizona feels a lot like my hometown in terms of the landscape that surrounds it. Saturday’s drive was a 312-mile out-and-back trip in the 2013 Acura ILX, with a slight detour from Sedona to Flagstaff on curvy Highway 89A.

Unlike last weekend’s solo trip to Hope, Arizona, this time I dragged 10 friends along for the ride! We were in 5 vehicles:

Woody and Lucas rode in the 2012 Honda Civic Si
Josh brought his 2012 Lexus IS350
Matt brought a 2012 Infiniti G37 IPL Convertible
We met up with Ryan in his 2006 Acura TL
And Beau rode with me in the 2013 Acura ILX

All 3 of the Japanese “premium” brands were well represented.

Here’s our pre-trip staging at the Circle K gas station in north Phoenix off the 101 freeway and 7th Avenue at about 11:00 in the morning.

These sporty rides look like they’re ready to conquer the hills.

Our first pit stop was the Sunset Point rest area off I-17 after we climbed a couple thousand feet and weather got a little cloudy.

From an online write-up about Sunset Point:

The Sunset Point Rest Area is a large rest area with different things to look at while you stretch your legs. There are:

Vendor Machines
Rest Rooms
Pet Exercise Area
Signs with Interesting Words
Poisonous Snakes and Insects
A Sundial memorial to Transporation Workers
Picnic Benches
… And more!

Thankfully we didn’t encounter any of those poisonous snakes or insects.

Siblings. Woody’s Civic Si and my ILX share the same 201-horsepower 2.4 liter motor and 6-speed manual drivetrain.

There were scattered snow flurries on the 17 as we made our way northbound. Soon we arrived at our turnoff for Highway 179 north which would get us to Sedona in fewer than 10 miles.

Highway 179 curves around various roundabouts, and we started seeing some of the area’s characteristic rock formations right away.

Arriving in Sedona. According to the city’s website, this place receives between 2 to 4 million visitors per year. Those who live there year-round have an average age of 50.

First order of business was to put our hunger to rest, and what better place than an alien-themed restaurant? The Red Planet Diner is another Roadside America hotspot, having attracted guests for decades to its extraterrestrial atmosphere.

This wasn’t the first time I’ve traveled to places of interplanetary nature. In 2005, I took my Acura Legend to Nevada’s state highway 375, also known as the Extraterrestrial Highway, just outside Area 51.

The Red Planet Diner was filled with odd decor.

Sorry aliens; find an ATM!

Most of our 11-person party went with the “signature” Red Planet Burger for $9.49. I enhanced mine with mushroom & avocado for $2 extra.

There were plenty of odd sights to keep us entertained. The food came out surprisingly quick and it was tasty.

This countertop was covered in images that had been taken of UFO or alien sightings over the years.

The exit door has a sign on it that announces our return to Planet Earth.

Outside, our cars lined for a quick photo-op. Combined mileage on these 5 cars is only about 140,000 miles (and over half of those are on Ryan’s TL alone). These are some new rides.

Three of the five cars were not wearing Arizona license plates:

My ILX: Registered to Acura headquarters in California
Matt’s G37 IPL: Registered to Nissan headquarters in Michigan
Ryan’s TL: Registered in his hometown of Yankton, South Dakota

The Infiniti was the most expensive car there, doubling my ILX’s pricetag at $62,000. It’s equipped with the “Infiniti Performance Line” package including a red leather interior. It was also the most powerful car in our lineup at 348 horsepower. The Lexus followed with 306 horsepower and an MSRP just over $40k.

Here’s the gang at Red Planet prior to our departure. Cheesy group pics are my specialty.

Woody’s Civic, named “Rosie Oprah Ling,” stands out in a crowd thanks to her red paint.

Next stop was Mickey-D’s for a hot cocoa.

This McDonald’s on Highway 89A is the only one in the world with its arches painted torquoise instead of yellow. In Sedona, great lengths are taken to preserve the natural appearance of the community. Residents are emphatic about minimizing the “noise” created by urban development, so they’ve enacted strict building requirements. In this case, reportedly the only way the city would allow McDonald’s to build there was if they ditched the yellow M.

Many communities like Sedona are characterized by a lack of street lights. The goal here, of course, is to minimize light pollution at nighttime and allow the stars to more readily be seen.

Next up we visited the Chapel of the Holy Cross was built at a cost of $300,000 in 1956. It rises 250 feet out of a red rock cliff. Upon closer inspection, the chapel is pictured here. It truly does blend in with the surroundings.

Tour admission was free so we took a gander inside.

I spy the ILX in the parking lot below.

A look inside. There was a gift shop in the lower level.

In the distance, “Cathedral Rock” can be seen. I’ve heard this presents a great hiking opportunity but with temps in the 30’s Fahrenheit, we decided to pass for now.

Back to the cars for the final leg of our journey.

This last shot of the chapel was taken out the moonroof of the ILX.

My intent after visiting the chapel had been to hike Devil’s Bridge, the largest sandstone arch in the area. It’s only a 2-mile round-trip hike, but those chilly temperatures (for us Arizonans, anyway) caused us to rethink that idea. I’ll go back when it’s 50 or so degrees warmer and hike Devil’s Bridge. Instead of hiking, we started our ascent to Flagstaff via Highway 89A.

Hwy 89A climbs from Sedona at 4,326 feet in elevation to Flagstaff at elevation 6,910 feet over the course of 25 miles. The views along the highway are especially stunning when fall colors are at their peak.

This road was a playground for my 6-speed equipped ILX. The car is so fun to shift through the gears that I find myself oftentimes downshifting unnecessarily. On these mountain grades, third and fourth gears were just the right match for giving me the power I needed to climb in elevation. Turns are tight and suspension tuning is key. Here’s where I think Acura engineers did a great job at achieving optimal ride & cornering balance for the 2,978-pound ILX.

This is the Google Map view of the twisties.

For a good chunk of this road, my XM radio was not picking up stations due to the canyon walls blocking the signal. I haven’t had that happen very often! Finally we made it to Interstate 17 and regrouped briefly at a scenic overlook.

Interesting to note here that my ILX happened to be the highest-mileage vehicle in our photoshoot, yet was the newest model year! Left to right:

2012 Civic: 18,000 miles
2012 G37 IPL: 11,000 miles
2013 ILX: 25,000 miles
2012 IS350: 8,000 miles

On the way back to Scottsdale, my ILX completed its 25,000 mile mark.

This milestone means that the Acura ILX is now 5% of the way to 500,000! That doesn’t even seem close, but hey it’s worth celebrating!

Thanks for coming along on the latest drive to five.

Update on Gunther Holtorf’s 1988 Mercedes

Readers who’ve been with me awhile will remember when I introduced them last July to Gunther Holtorf, a 75-year-old man who since 1988 has been traveling the world in his Mercedes SUV, having driven in over 170 countries and traversed over 800,000 kilometers. His inspirational world tour has been without fanfare or sponsors. He expects to visit the last 10 countries by August 2013. Following is a quote by Gunther that I found meaningful:

The world is overpopulated and the tourist industry has sent too many people to too many places. We go to the famous places—Niagara Falls, the Taj Mahal—but exploring the globe means you have to look behind the curtain. You have to visit the small villages. Big cities all over the Third World are very much alike. But in the countryside, it’s a different world.

I also especially liked this quote about how Gunther’s travels are a personal undertaking and for no other reason.

I travel for myself, nothing else. I don’t care about communicating with the world and I don’t do anything to please the world. It’s a private undertaking and that’s it. Many travelers, backpackers especially, they undergo all this stress and strain to find an Internet connection. And they sit there for hours typing stories about what they ate for breakfast or whether the customs officer smiled at them or not. Who cares about reading things like that? That’s their world, but it’s not mine.

And then I reflected on how in my last post, I talked about what I had for breakfast in Wickenburg, Arizona. Ha! See the article here from Outside Magazine for more pictures and a detailed update. Be sure to scroll through each of the 12 pages.

Honda History Lesson

Long before Acura came around in 1986, Honda’s been building quality automobiles. The first one dates back to 1963. There’s something endearing about the Hondas of yesteryear – they’re so gosh-darn cute. Ever laid eyes on an N600?

As we’ve advanced so far into the world of bluetooth, iPhone connectivity, and even cars that basically drive themselves (look at the new Lincoln MKZ with its “Lane Keeper” system and adaptive cruise control), we seem to have forgotten the simplicity that could once be enjoyed on the road. Honda’s early cars were innovative for their time. Take a peek at some vintage Honda ads on the Production Cars literature website. Following are some things I learned:

A 1986 Civic “Wagovan” with Real-Time 4-Wheel-Drive. Did you know that this car had a 6-speed transmission with ultra-low first gear?
A 1977 Civic 5-speed got 54 miles per gallon highway, 41 miles per gallon city – an industry first to exceed 50 mpg!
The ad copy on some of these treasures is quality. I especially love the final line on the ad for this 1981 Civic GL. “Is the Civic GL a sports car? There’s only one way to settle this. And it isn’t here.”

My friend Tyler knows that I lust after a 1979 Honda Prelude, the first model year of the Prelude. The gauge cluster on this car actually had the tachometer inside the speedometer and running on the same axis. Little known fact: every Prelude from 1979 to its final year in 2001 was equipped with a moonroof.

Til Next Time

Safe travels to all! Elsewhere in the country, winter storms are making a mess of the roadways. This particular 1994-1995 Acura Legend sedan (photo sent to me by a friend in Salt Lake City, Utah this week) looks to be a victim of said storms.

Meanwhile in Arizona, my neighbors are putting blankets over their landscaping when it threatens to freeze.

Tune in next time!

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Hope, Arizona: Passmore Gas Company

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Road Trip on January 8, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 518,436

Odometer (ILX): 24,589

Someone with a sense of humor decided to have fun naming his or her propane business. Thanks again to Roadside America, this past weekend I decided to take my Acura ILX and seek out one of the most random destinations I’ve ever heard of: a propane tank with this odd company name painted on the side of it. My route was about 260 miles round-trip and took around 4 1/2 hours.

The first leg of the trip was on Interstate 10 west which crosses the barren desert toward the California state line. At exit 45, I headed north on Avenue 51E (also known as Vicksburg Road) and made my way to US 60.

Highway 60 at one time was the main thoroughfare that got Phoenix people to LA and vice versa. It parallels the railroad tracks. The road was made obsolete when Interstate 10 was constructed in the late 1950’s. I-10 is a much more straight/direct line to the California state line from Phoenix, but sometimes it’s fun to forget about being in a hurry and just take the back roads for no reason. Shortly I arrived at my destination, just outside Hope, Arizona:

Yes, the name on this propane tank is for real. See the background here:

Unfortunately, conditions for photography (thanks to the sun’s placement) were less than optimal.

There wasn’t much to see in Hope — just a few buildings, really.

But as I whizzed out of town, my eye caught something to my left and I did a double-take. “Wait,” I thought. “Did I just see a blatant typo on that sign?” I quickly came to a stop and pulled the ILX to the side of the road, then made a U-turn. Grammar police were in hot pursuit! Yes, indeed. The people of Hope have improperly used “YOUR” (as opposed to “you’re”) on their sign announcing departure from city limits. Ha!

Continuing east on US 60, I rolled through Salome, Arizona (established 1904). There’s not much to see there aside from RV parks, but I did capture images of a few of the hot spots. It’s a shame the Desert Oasis “Bargain Center & RV Park” was closed. I wonder what kind of bargains they had! A savvy shopper’s paradise it must have been.

I thought this little roadside historical marker was entertaining. It talks about the “Laughing Gas Station” that once operated in Salome. If I ever open up a gas station, that is what I’m calling it. Bonus points if you can spot my shadow waving in the background.

That’s it, folks. The entire town captured in the background here. I wonder if this town had ever seen a 2013 model year vehicle until my ILX rolled through.

Got $99,900 and interested in some real estate? Big Mama’s Country Kitchen is up for grabs!

Speaking of real estate, it looks like this agent has picked a winning name for her business. Anything “Legend” is good, right?

Aguila, Arizona (Aguila means “eagle” in Spanish): The Burro Jim Motel. Vacancy! But I didn’t intend on sticking around.

This wooden wagon’s for sale. Any takers for $500? Let me know – I’ve got a picture of the sign with the phone number on it!

25 miles of straight, flat pavement later, I arrived on the outskirts of Wickenburg, Arizona. This town feels like it’s stuck in time, 100 years ago. And I think the residents there like to keep it that way on purpose.

The AT&SF locomotive #761 is on display near the railroad depot. This locomotive is a “2-8-0” arrangement (refers to the layout of the wheels — 2 leading wheels, 8 driving wheels on 4 axles, and 0 trailing wheels). It was built in the 1890’s and was decommissioned in the 1950’s when it was donated to the city, but it wasn’t until 10 years ago, in June 2003, that was moved to its current location next to the old depot.

Considering that my last blog entry was all about the Saguaro cactus, I found it fitting that I park the ILX in front of the Saguaro Theater. It opened in 1948 and was restored in 2006 and is still open today (looks like I could’ve stuck around for a matinee of The Hobbit at 2:30 p.m.).

Next door, I saw a saw a couple satisfied customers come out of the Twin Wheels Cafe, so I decided to give it a whirl for breakfast since it was only 9:30 a.m. and I hadn’t yet eaten anything except a Pop Tart.

Cowboy atmosphere abounds here.

Coming back from a restroom break, I got sidetracked reading all of these printed-out jokes / quotes on the wall.

My server “Methanie” was extremely friendly. I opted for the meat lover’s omelet – highly recommended.

Twin Wheels is open daily at 7 a.m., but closed on Wednesdays.

I thought I was seeing double when I spotted these stop signs while leaving town. They really mean business!

It reminded me of these duplicate signs I saw last week on Interstate 19 (likely part of a sign replacement project that’s underway). My tax dollars at work!

Hope you enjoyed the drive to Hope!

Have any of my readers heard of the Endurance Rally Association? A coworker taught me about it this week. This is an organization that organizes road rally events worldwide. They’ve even got one that runs from New York to Seattle. It looks like 51 vehicles participated in 2011. The next will be in May 2015. I’ll be there.

I met a new Drive to Five follower this week named Ryan who’s as big of an Acura fan as I am. He’s owned a 2002 CL Type-S and is currently driving an Anthracite 2006 TL. His car has only 78,000 miles on it and drives like new. It’s fully equipped with navigation.

Ryan’s an architecture major at Arizona State but his car is proudly wearing South Dakota tags from his hometown. Ryan says the drive to & from SD each year (about 1,400 miles each way from here) are a definite highlight of his year. I can’t say I blame him!

Ryan and I may be meeting up for some Acura drives in the near future, so stay tuned! Thanks for chauffeuring me to lunch!

It’s tradition to drive the Legend to work once a week, and today was the day. It was glistening in the afternoon sunlight thanks to a one-step Meguiar’s cleaner/wax that I applied to the body over the weekend.

About 8 miles of my drive home were eastbound on Shea Boulevard with the sunset in my rearview mirrors.

Since I had my SLR camera in the car, I couldn’t resist snapping a few pictures.

The next two were taken at a place called “Lyle Fish Point.”

Signing out until next time!

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Saguaro National Park & San Xavier Mission

Posted in Arizona, ILX, National Parks, Road Trip on January 4, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 518,342

Odometer (ILX): 24,218

Over the last few weeks, I’ve made a list of 20 “bucket list” destinations I’d like to visit in 2013. As of January 1st, I’d already crossed one of those off the list. On Tuesday’s road trip, I went to a national park dedicated solely to cacti, traveled the only interstate in the country that’s marked with metric signposts, and stepped inside a historic church that was over 215 years old. Quite the successful day!

Saguaro National Park is so-named for the Saguaro cactus. These cacti can grow as high as 70 feet and live 175 years or more. They dot the landscape in many parts of Arizona, but they are most concentrated in the area which in 1994 was designated as a national park. Saguaro NP is unique in that its total 91,000 acres are split up in two separate “districts” – one which lies east of Tucson, and one to the west. For my New Year’s Day visit, I traveled to the east district, also known as the Rincon Mountain District. It was about a 300-mile round trip drive in the ILX.

Departing Scottsdale on a chilly morning. It’s a rare sight to see frost on the cars around here!

When I arrived in Tucson and fought construction on Houghton Road, I was perplexed by the wording on these signs. Could the placement have been done differently to make the message more clear? As it’s currently written, I feel like I’m being asked to share “The Road Drive” with care.

Saguaro’s east district welcomed me and my friend Josh. He’s lived in the Tucson area for 10 years and this was his first time entering the park.

The entrance station was busy with holiday visitors like ourselves. The only day of the year that this park closes is Christmas Day. The fee was $10 and is good for a week in case I decide to go back for a closer look.

There’s an 8-mile one-way scenic loop that Josh and I took. It’s a curvy one-lane road that would be a ton of fun to drive if the speed limits weren’t so crazily low.

That’s right. FIVE miles per hour. They really want you crawling around these corners! We did see quite a few walkers and bicyclists for safety’s sake, the speed limit is probably a good idea.

A few pictures were taken as photo opportunities presented themselves.

This saguaro in particular is probably pushing 200 years old. They’re a highly protected species. In other parts of the state, I’ve seen these cacti “braced” / propped up by wooden boards if the land / root system is disrupted.

This picture of me standing next to that same cactus gives a sense of the size of these monsters.

Josh and I took the opportunity to park the ILX in one of the scenic turnouts and do a little bit of hiking. The weather was great and the air very clear.

Josh and I stopped by his friend Fred’s house to see an immaculate 2000 Honda Civic coupe with the cleanest (wire-tucked) engine bay I’ve ever laid eyes on.

I headed toward Tucson again but this time veered south from I-10 west onto I-19 south. This interstate is the 4th shortest freeway in the country, at only 63 miles in length. Better said, it’s 101 kilometers in length. And motorists better familiarize themselves with kilometer calculations because this is the only freeway in the country that’s currently signed in metric units of measurement.

This notice at the north end of I-19 advises drivers that they’ll need to pay attention to the distances in kilometers, not miles.

Shortly thereafter, Irvington Road comes up 1 kilometer away. Interestingly enough, the speed limits on I-19 are still in miles per hour, not kilometers per hour.

The reason why this interstate was set up with metric signs is that at the time of construction in 1972, it was thought that this effort would push toward the metric system and that perhaps this would be the first of many freeways in the U.S. to begin using metric distances. Such did not end up being the case, yet I-19 retains its existing signs. Talks have taken place regarding changing the entire freeway to “miles” but business owners have pushed back (they’d have to update their directions) so there has been little traction with that initiative.

Here we go – arriving at the San Xavier Mission for my next destination.

What lies ahead of my Acura ILX in this picture is a 216-year-old “White Dove of the Desert,” also known as Mission San Xavier del Bac.

This is a Spanish Catholic mission located about 10 miles south of Tucson. Though the site was founded in 1692, the building seen here was constructed over the 14-year span of time from 1783 to 1797. Considering its age, I’m surprised just how few restoration efforts have taken place!

Entrance was free of charge. I would have liked to visit the gift shop, but it was closed for the holiday.

Exterior is covered in a traditional mud plaster that was refinished within the last couple of decades. The artwork is pretty ornate as seen here.

The grounds are surrounded by cactus gardens.

Inside, there are multiple chapels. The decoration here is supposedly very similar to what it would have looked like when the mission was new.

View of the ceiling.

Looks like they’ve still got quite a bit of Christmas decor up.

It was a humbling experience to be in this place that is sacred to so many. I saw people paying their religious respects quietly.

To the east, there was a hill with a cross on top that people were climbing up.

Some background on the site, from a placard near the south (main) entrance.

I wonder if these wooden doors are original?

The mission was designated a historic landmark 50 years ago in 1963 by the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service.

Hope you enjoyed the drive!

For any who might find it of interest: Acura ILX sales performance reached an all-time high, with 2485 units selling in December 2012. It’s awesome to see the momentum picking up as we go into 2013. Lastly, did anyone else see this immaculate 1994 Legend L Sedan 5-speed on craigslist in Oregon? It’s rare to see a Legend in this kind of condition nowadays. Somebody scoop this baby up, please! $3,200 for 175k miles.

It inspired me to make vacuum tracks in the carpet of my own Legend:

Happy Friday!

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Birthday Bash #31

Posted in ILX, Legend on December 30, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 518,130

Odometer (ILX): 23,729

That sunset is for real! Just one of the many reasons I love Arizona.

Some of the greatest people drive Acuras! Six years ago, I met a guy named Sivaram when I transported a 1994 Legend GS 6-speed from San Francisco to Las Vegas for some friends in Georgia. I never thought that I’d keep in touch with Sivaram but over the years we’ve corresponded via email. He happened to be vacationing for Christmas in the Phoenix area so I invited him to stop by the house this week.

December 17, 2006

December 25, 2012

I turned him loose behind the wheel of the Legend. He admitted it had been a number of years since he’d driven a stick shift vehicle, but he quickly got comfortable and handled it like a pro. In fact, he prided himself on the ability to shift the car with just one finger. That’s how smooth this Legend’s gearbox operates, even after all those miles.

My friend Ryan was in town from northern Utah for a couple of days. Ryan’s owned a few Acuras but currently drives a Honda S2000. His most recent Legend was a 1994 GS sedan 6-speed. We got together in May 2010 at the Utah State University campus in Logan, Utah for a few pictures of our cars together. My Legend had 420,000 miles on it.

Ryan sold his car last year. This was one of his last pics of it:

But I let him take my sedan for a spin so he could re-live the experience.

And we grabbed some In-N-Out Burger on our way to the airport.

Thanks, Ryan, for the visit and for washing the ILX while I was at work on Wednesday! That was a real surprise!

It’s been nonstop company at the house this month. My dad and stepmom arrived on Wednesday night.

I’ve always wanted to take a hot air balloon ride, so Friday morning I fulfilled that wish on my 31st birthday! My stepmom Tanya and I headed to North Phoenix near the Deer Valley airport in the Legend, arriving at 7:00 a.m. for our sunrise flight with Rainbow Ryders.

Fun facts:

During our 1 hour, 16 minute flight time, we traveled 7.9 miles
Our highest elevation was 7,200 feet (1.4 miles) above the ground. Temperatures were chilly up there!
Our pilot gave a demonstration with a business card. He threw it out of our basket during descent. A business card falls at 800 feet per minute. At that time, we were falling at 900 feet per minute so we were actually able to watch ourselves leave the falling card above us! It really is tough to grasp the fact that you’re descending, and especially at that rate!
The air was so clear that at our highest point, we were able to look toward the north and see the San Francisco Peaks in Flagstaff, Arizona which are 135 miles away.
Our pilot, Taylor, had been flying for 12 years. He told us that commercial certification requires 30 hours of flight time.

Our basket held 12 people.

It got colder at the higher elevations. Pictures can’t effectively convey just how huge these balloons are up close!

Great view from up there. It was interesting to be able to look into peoples’ yards. Dogs were barking at us. A few homeowners stepped outside to wave at us. Since the balloon is silent when it’s “coasting,” we could even yell down to the people on the ground and tell them good morning!

Certificate of completion!

Here’s a short video I took with my phone while mid-flight.

We dined at one of my favorite local restaurant chains, Oregano’s Pizza Bistro. I’d highly recommend the Big Rig pasta with chicken — and no meal at Oregano’s is complete without a chocolate chip half-baked pizza cookie and vanilla ice cream for dessert.

Quick shot with my dad and the ILX. This guy taught me everything I know about how to take care of a vehicle.

Dinner with friends & family at Kona Grill / City North in Phoenix.

When my dad drove down to Phoenix on Wednesday, he brought my old N-Scale train set. My grandma and I put this masterpiece together back in 1996 when I was 14-15 years old. It has paper mache mountains, a resin lake, two tunnels, and even illuminated buildings in the “town” (which I named Tysonville). I dug out the diesel locomotive to see if it still worked. Sure enough! Looks like I was putting miles on toy train sets long before I was driving the wheels off a car.

The ILX and the sedan got a bath yesterday morning, and the ILX was also treated to a one-step Meguiar’s cleaner / wax thanks to some help from my dad.

The ILX also got its leather treated with “Leather Care,” a product by Griot’s Garage.

Met up at lunch with my friend Jeremy who’s driving his “new” (to him) 2006 Honda Accord coupe V6 6-speed. He picked up this car in Memphis, Tennessee on Thursday morning and he was in Scottsdale, Arizona (nearly 1,500 miles away) the following night. This guy puts on miles like I do!

Really clean Accord, and it’s a fun car to drive too. It’s got just over 114,000 miles on the odometer and still has an extended warranty to 120,000.

A fitting headline for my blog on the cover of this Sports Car Market magazine:

Hope all my readers enjoy their New Year celebrations!

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Utah Holiday Travels

Posted in Ghost Town, ILX, Road Trip, Utah on December 24, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 23,385

Dashing through the desert in a 201-horse, front-wheel-drive sleigh. That’s how I kicked off my weekend on Friday after work. When I wasn’t spending time with family or friends, I was behind the wheel of the Acura ILX over the last few days. Here are the details of my travels!

About 3 hours (200 miles) into my drive, I stopped for a little Route 66 side-trip in Kingman, Arizona. The original highway, now bypassed by Interstate 40, is called Andy Devine Road. Even though it was after-hours, I made my way to the Visitor’s Center (which used to be the city’s power plant, thus is now named Powerhouse Museum). There’s a marker here that denotes the site’s elevation: 3,333.3 feet above sea level. A spike in the building denotes the exact location.

I circled the location of the sign in red here, on the building behind the ILX. Photoshop skills at their finest.

When was the last time you saw a pay phone? Better yet, when was the last time you USED one?

Across the street, a 1928 steam locomotive was on display. This one was Santa Fe #3759 – a “4-8-4” style that was built in 1928 and ran until 1957 when it was donated to the city of Kingman. It’s sat in its current location for 55 years! The locomotive reportedly ran 2.5 million miles of service before its retirement. Now that’s something a half-million miler like me can appreciate! Each year during this season the train is decorated with Christmas lights so I got a few pictures before continuing on my way.

In Las Vegas I met up with Drive to Five fan Jessie, who is a proud Legend owner. His Rosewood Brown 1992 L Sedan automatic has only 134,000 miles on the odometer. Jessie strives to keep his car running in tip-top shape. I was privileged to take it for a drive around the parking lot.

Saturday in St. George

Hike time! On a cool (30-degree), crisp Saturday morning I picked up my mom, my stepdad, and our friend Holly for a trip up to Snow Canyon State Park by following State Route 18 which leads north from the St. George area.

About 10 miles up the road, we arrived at the trailhead for the Cinder Cone hike. The hike itself was only 3/4 of a mile long each way, but it traverses some rocky / jagged terrain and ascends about 500 feet in elevation.

Reassurance marker along the way, though trail was clearly visible.

Last stretch before reaching the summit.

Freezing but still celebrating our arrival at the top.

The views from the top are spectacular.

Since Cinder Cone is an ancient (and now extinct) volcano, from the summit, the crater is still visible.

Our descent went much more quickly and we soon enjoyed the comfort of the ILX and its heated seats to take us back to St. George.

Sunday’s Ghost Town Road Trip

Modena, Utah. It’s a town that I visited 7 1/2 years ago in my then-175,000 mile Acura Legend. I felt like giving it another look to see what’s changed. As it turns out, aside from a few more years of aging, it sits largely the same as it did in 2005. On a crisp Sunday morning I headed out from St. George Utah via State Route 18 to explore some of southwest Utah’s backroads in the ILX. Total distance was about 170 miles round-trip.

As I began my climb to the higher elevations, I started seeing white-capped mountains in the distance.

Soon I was passing through Veyo, Utah (population of 483 people as of the 2010 census). This giant red sign advertising Veyo’s famous pies caught my eye on the roadside. More on that later!

I decided to take an 8-mile detour to the east to visit a tiny town called Pine Valley. This place is a popular cabin destination for folks in St. George who want to escape the triple-digit temperatures during the summer months.

This was the first time my ILX had seen snow, so I pulled off for a quick picture.

Arriving in Pine Valley via Grass Valley Road. It was a crisp 27 degrees Fahrenheit according to the ILX’s exterior temperature readout.

I got a picture of the Pine Valley Mormon chapel, which was just starting to welcome its guests for the 10:00 a.m. Sunday service. This chapel was built in 1868 by Ebenezer Bryce, who used the scheme of an upside-down boat. Today, it’s the oldest continuously-used Mormon meetinghouse.

Next it was time to loop back to SR-18 and continue northward. The summit on this road is elevation 6,150 feet.

At Enterprise, Utah, I veered right to stay on SR-18 for another 15 miles or so.

Closing in on my destination! From the intersection of SR-18 at Beryl Junction, Modena lies another 16 miles west. During this 16-mile stretch, I counted only two other vehicles that I encountered. This is an extremely remote location! Speed limits are 60 mph which seems agonizingly slow for the wide open stretches.

Arrival!

Unfortunately, the Last Chance Saloon is no longer open for business. I would have loved a bite to eat.

The 1936 schoolhouse is probably the best-preserved building in town. From the “360 Cities” website regarding Modena:

“With the advent of the railroad in Iron County and its arrival in the Modena area in December 1899, Brigham J. Lund, along with two partners, E. M. Brown and Jose Price, started a small business venture here. In time they were freighting to St. George, Utah; Pioche, Nevada and Delamar. Lund soon bought out his partners and in 1903 incorporated under the name of B. J. Lund & Company. The name “Lund” is still found on several buildings in town including the General Merchandise & Hotel building. By 1903, a U.S. Weather Bureau office had also been established in Modena. The Last Chance Saloon now closed and boarded up is a reminder of a distant era.

The change from steam to diesel by the railroad brought about the demise of Modena which today is almost a ghost town. Only five families remain. There is a small convenience store/post office and a gas pump (no services available as of this writing) in town which served locals and others working the silver, iron ore, and beryl rock mines around the area. A stone school building is one of the more imposing solid structures in town. Edna Thorley 91, taught elementary school children in the building. She still lives in town and keeps up scrapbooks filled with memories of the past and present. Just north of town is the Modena cemetery.

B.J. Lund & Co: General Merchandise & Hotel. This place has been around for over 112 years.

I left the ILX parked for a time and wandered around on foot to explore some of Modena’s streets. It was eerily quiet aside from the crunch of my shoes on the snow. I intentionally kept quiet because I didn’t want to awaken any dogs that might be in the neighborhood.

I was able to boost myself up and peek inside the hotel’s main floor. When I visited Modena in 2005, I actually went inside, but given the latest “No Trespassing” signs, I decided to play it safe this time.

Back side of the hotel.

And a few other buildings within walking distance.

Here’s a shot looking inside the General Store area of the Lund Hotel. I wonder what this place would have looked like in its heyday – bustling with people and commerce as the steam locomotives brought people from near and far.

Here’s a fun “then and now” look.

June, 2005:

December, 2012:

This building was at one time the post office. When I visited in 2005, it had a (dry) gas pump out front which has since been removed.

Some background information here. Can you believe this place didn’t have electricity until the 1940’s?

I was intrigued by this little 2-room wooden home. Let’s take a look inside, shall we?

Someone left a pair of boots in there.

Quaint little bedroom!

And a stack of newspapers dated 1985. The one on top was dated January 21, 1985. I wonder if someone was still living in this little home 28 years ago.

Another home.

Beryl Junction fire truck.

It was last registered in 1998.

There’s a cool, serene feeling about being the first person to walk or drive on freshly-fallen snow.

I’m as intrigued by abandoned cars as I am about abandoned buildings. This Buick Regal 2-door caught my eye.

The driver’s side door was ajar, so I went ahead and took a look inside.

This interior is in pretty remarkable condition aside from the dust. Throw a little vinyl conditioner on those seats and you’d be set!

Is that a CB radio I spy?

According to the license plate sticker, this car was last registered in 1989. The odometer shows only 75,000 miles.

Calling all Drive to Five car geeks. Can anyone identify the year of this Buick?

Now’s when I really started getting a sense of adventure. I drove past a road called “Old Modena” road. I thought I’d give it a quick drive to see what was down there. Except, this road quickly turned to dirt. Well — make that mud. So much for my clean ILX.

Just a couple of miles down the road, conditions got quite a bit worse or I would have continued. The last thing I needed in this remote area was to get my car stuck.

I took the 9-mile drive to the Nevada state line.

Looks like I’m due for a car wash.

Looping back, I’d been thinking about those famous Veyo pies the whole time, so I grabbed a peach pie.

From there I took a new route home by heading west on Center Street. The 2-lane highway curved through some 15-25 mph turns which were fun in the ILX.

Since this was a new stretch of road for me, it seemed fitting that this song came on my iPod. I really enjoy this one from Linkin Park and I played it 3 times back-to-back.

Soon I was rolling through Gunlock, Utah.

Gunlock’s fire engine looked to be in only slightly better condition than the one in Modena. Gunlock is home to fewer than 300 people.

Gunlock Reservoir State Park.

And now at the lower elevations, the beautiful red rocks of southern Utah lined the road.

That peach pie was amazing, by the way!

Christmas Eve – Return drive to Phoenix from southern Utah

Today’s final trip of the weekend was 453 miles. Instead of taking the same ol’ route past Hoover Dam and down Hwy 93, I instead cut south at Boulder City on Hwy 95. This is an arrow-straight multi-lane highway named Veterans’ Memorial Highway. A series of signs along the roadside at certain intervals denote which veterans are to be remembered (there’s a sign for WWII, Vietnam, and others. I remember noticing that the last sign said something to the effect of, “Veterans of the continual war on terror”).

But first, I had something to see in Las Vegas. Some of my readers may remember a cartoon called The Simpsons. Well, thanks to Roadside America, I learned that there is in fact a home in the Henderson suburbs that was built after the design of the cartoon home in 1997. It’s in the South Valley Ranch community off Boulder Highway.

Check it out! And disregard the filthy car, please!

Compare to the cartoon version:

Pretty fun. I wonder how many people drive by it each day for a picture.

Here’s where I veered off US93 and took the 95 southbound. “Cal Nev Ari” (noted on the sign) is a 400-person community at an intersection of California, Nevada, and Arizona.

Lots of vast open land out here! The speed limit dipped quickly to 25 mph as I rolled through Searchlight, Nevada. This town is so teeny I couldn’t even find anything worthy of a photo-op. Amazingly, at one time this was a boom town that had a population greater than Las Vegas. Today, there are fewer than 600 residents.

When I approached Hwy 163, I headed toward Laughlin Nevada. The road drops sharply in elevation toward the Colorado River in the valley below. Laughlin is the third most visited casino and resort destination, after Las Vegas and Reno. I did not pit stop here but did snag a picture of the Riverview Casino out my passenger window.

The road climbs from the riverbed up to another pass and then on through Kingman.

And 3 hours later I was home sweet home in Scottsdale.

I’m exhausted from these travels and looking forward to spending the evening relaxing with friends. Hope everyone has a safe and happy Christmas tomorrow.

13 Comments »

ILX Sales Performance

Posted in ILX on December 5, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 21,491

With anticipation, I look forward to receiving the press releases the first week of each month illustrating the sales performance of every vehicle in the Acura lineup, but specifically the ILX. I was pleased to read that the ILX had a huge upswing in sales for the month of November, jumping to 2,108 units from 1,529 the prior month. I think the momentum will continue!

Automobile Magazine has an ILX in their long-term test fleet. Check out some of the staff’s comments here. The car community is catching onto the ILX and recognizing its place in the lineup. The enthusiast community, too, continues to grow. For some fun ILX destinations on the web, check out:

Acura ILX Owners & Enthusiasts Facebook group: Now with 43 members
Acura ILX Owners Sign-In thread on Acurazine: Now with 40 members (incidentally, 17 of which have opted for a 6-speed manual ILX)

With an Arizona sunset in the background, you can truly make a photo-op out of just about any setting — including a landfill, which is exactly what I did here. I was on my way home from work this afternoon via the southbound “Beeline Highway,” Arizona State Route 87. The setting sun was just right, so I pulled off (plugged my nose) and grabbed these shots of my Silver Moon ILX with my Canon Digital Rebel XTi camera.

Established in 1993, the Salt River Landfill covers 200 acres and services the communities of Scottsdale, Mesa, Gilbert, and Tempe. If I’m going to post pictures of my car somewhere, I might as well make my message educational, right?

I keep discovering features about this car that I never knew existed. Today’s learning experience: The car will actually let you close the moonroof AFTER you’ve shut the car off. I pulled into my driveway, hit the Engine Stop button, then realized I’d left the roof open. For kicks, I still reached up and hit the close button. It closed the roof. Pretty remarkable thought has gone into every feature of this car.

There’s one thing I’ve had pretty remarkable luck with on the old Legend. Light bulbs! While I’ve replaced a couple of taillight bulbs, and a couple sets of marker lights over the years, I’ve never done any of the interior lights. They’ve finally decided to start burning out. Yesterday when I drove home from work, my climate control bulbs were on the fritz.

Until I tapped the control unit with my finger, then some of them (well, half the temp dial anyway!) lit up. I’ve still got to get around to replacing the 2 or 3 bulbs in my instrument cluster that have gotten tired and extinguished, too.

The joys of owning an old car! I’ll be out of touch until after the weekend, as my holiday travels are taking me (by plane and train, this time!) to Colorado and Utah.

Safe travels to my fellow Acura-Holics out there.

Mystery Castle

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Road Trip on December 2, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 517,298

Odometer (ILX): 21,385

This weekend I’ve hosted my Salt Lake City-based friend, Branson here in Phoenix, Arizona. We went out on the town to explore some of the area’s “points of pride.” The first was my rooftop. We had to do a check-in and see how my rooftop durability test fleet is holding up. There are six 1:18 scale die-cast cars on my roof. A couple of them have been up there for nearly 3 years.

This 1957 Chevy Nomad ain’t looking so hot. Whitewall tires are now “Yellow”-walls.

BMW 3-series has some faded taillights.

We then pulled the two Acuras out for some photos in Tempe, Arizona near my home. It was fun to be able to see my own Legend driving down the road.

We headed out in the Legend to hit up lunch at Zoe’s Kitchen, then headed up to South Mountain Park — the largest city park in the United States. It covers over 16,000 acres of land just south of Phoenix. There’s a fun 5-mile twisty road (speed limits posted at 15 mph) that winds to the summit overlooking the Phoenix valley. The Legend, though a bit floaty with its worn-out suspension, was still fun to drive up the mountain.

Had the air been clearer, this could’ve been a great shot of the Phoenix valley in the background.

The summit, called Dobbins Lookout, sits at elevation 2,330 feet.

There’s a stone structure at the top of the mountain. It’s not clear whether this was once a dwelling but I think not.

Our next destination was a 67-year-old castle made of garbage. That’s right!

Tours are offered at the Mystery Castle for 7 months of the year, from October through May. This 8,000 square foot home was built over a course of 15 years by Boyce Luther Gulley until his death in 1945. He’d add on to the structure with each passing year, procuring building materials from the surrounding area. Most of the home is constructed of garbage, essentially. Recycled materials like bricks, telephone poles, glass bottles, and even the hubcaps of Boyce’s old car were used.

At the time when the home was built, it was a remote 10 miles away from Phoenix down rugged dirt roads. The home was built for Boyce’s daughter Mary Lou who at the time lived in Seattle. It wasn’t until after Boyce’s death when Mary Lou was 19 years old that the family learned of the inheritance and moved into the castle.

Today, tours cost $10 and take about 45 minutes. Branson and I got to see both levels of the home as well as its 18 rooms and 13 fireplaces. One of my favorite features was a bar next to a wishing well of sorts – a pulley system that could be used to bring drinks up from the level below. It was called the bar of wishes. As our tour guide put it, though, “But it was a dry bar and a dumb waiter, so don’t get your hopes up!”

Another of the fascinating features was a trap door in the lower level. At Boyce’s request, Mary Lou and the rest of the family were not allowed to open the trap door until they’d lived in the castle for 2 years. Within the trap door they found two $500 bills (that must’ve been a sizeable chunk of change in the 1940’s!), some gold nuggets, and a Valentine letter that Mary Lou had sent to her father when she was growing up.

I’d toured the castle a few years ago and I had the chance to meet Mary Lou. She’s since passed away (November 2010) but right up until her death she was still able to scale the steep staircases around the property. She had an affinity for cats, and the castle was home to up to 18 at a time. Mary Lou’s favorite cat, Cleocatra, is still alive.

Master bedroom. This place didn’t have electricity until 1992!

View of Phoenix from the kitchen area. The windows are all hand-made and thus wavy due to glass irregularity.

Our tour guide enthusiastically educated us on this crazy piece of architecture.

Here’s a look at the Legend parked in the desert while we toured one of the patios.

A 1948 Life Magazine feature brought attention to the castle with a picture of Mary Lou at the top of a freestanding staircase in one of the courtyards.

This “Window to Phoenix” was framed by discarded bricks. When the home was built, the entire town of Phoenix would fit in the window.

Entrance to the lower level consisting of a chapel and a bar.

Here’s an ancient organ in the castle’s chapel. It was brought in from Tombstone, Arizona. Notice the window in the wall – it was made from a hubcap off the builder’s car.

And so concludes this tour of offbeat Phoenix roadside destinations! Hope everyone else had a great weekend, too.

3 Comments »

LA Show Day 2 & Return Trip to AZ

Posted in California, Car Show, ILX, RLX on November 29, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer: 21,174

Los Angeles is notorious for its love of cars. Perhaps that’s why the city is home to the worst traffic in the country. But along with that congestion, the city’s residents also embrace automotive technology and there is no place where “car culture” thrives more than in southern California. Day 2 at the press days of the LA Auto Show was every bit as exciting as the first. Here’s how it played out.

After a drizzly 18-mile commute to the Los Angeles Convention Center in the ILX, we paid our $15 and stashed the car away in a parking deck.

First stop was the Honda booth, as big things were to be announced there. Staked out in our second-row seats for the 10:05 a.m. press conference, we waited.

The big news? This car. Honda’s Civic has been around since 1973. By 2012, the car had been through 8 different generations. But just one year after the new 2012 bodystyle, the Civic was redone yet again. Meet the 2013 Civic Si Sedan. New front and rear fascia, revised interior finishes, additional technology and safety features are among the changes that were made.

As Honda Senior Vice President John Mendel announced during the press conference, this new Civic is appropriate as 2013 marks the 40th year of its existence. Jeff Conrad, Acura VP, stopped by and we visited for a few minutes.

I also reconnected with John Watts. John’s the Sr. Manager of Digital Marketing at Acura who presented me with the key to to my new 2013 Acura ILX back in June. John and I talked about his recent travels to the Grand Canyon in his new Crystal Black Pearl RDX. John also told me that he’d visited the Skywalk. I’m jealous – I’ll be heading out that way soon, too, I hope. Any excuse for a road trip!

Here’s a shot of the 2013 Civic EX Sedan.

A few other sights from around the Honda booth and beyond. This fun little roadster is called the EV-Ster. It’s all electric.

And this was a nicely modified Honda Accord coupe put together by Honda Racing Development.

The Accord Hybrid will have industry-leading fuel economy. We learned during the Honda press conference that this car is capable of 49 mpg city and 47 mpg combined. Impressive!

A spy encounter. This is none other than Brenda Priddy, of Brenda Priddy & Co, specializing in automotive spy photography. She gave me a BP&Co wristband which I wore proudly!

I’m really digging this new Lincoln MK-Z. But would you believe that a car this large is only powered by a 2.0 liter 4-cylinder?

Here’s a new innovation that’s going to make its way to Acura as well. Capless fueling!

I’m not a Ford guy but I have to admit, there’s something hot about the latest iteration of the Fusion.

What’s not to love about a Porsche 911 Carrera S? Yum.

Finally, the Acura booth. Since Acura held its press conference yesterday, there was no longer a reason to keep several rows’ worth of plastic chairs in the space any longer. The full model line-up was brought in.

The beloved TSX Special Edition. This car is powered by the same 2.4 liter, 201-horsepower 4 cylinder that my ILX 6-speed is.

RDX, ILX, TSX

ILX and RLX: Entry level and flagship sedan. Two different sedans, same Acura philosophy — luxury at any price.

I love that Acura chose to present its models in a uniform color — elegant black. Nothing says “luxury car” like a spotless, gleaming black paint job.

These are some handsome looking back ends.

This ILX 2.0 with Technology package had only 4 miles on the odometer. I played around for a bit with the navigation interface.

Finally, it was time to make our way eastward and return to Phoenix. This was taken as we ramped up to Interstate 10 which would be our only freeway from that point forward. The LA-to-Phoenix drive is a piece of cake if you’re directionally challenged.

$3.99 / gal for some 91 octane at the Chevron in Palm Desert again.

Yeah, I relinquished the driver’s seat for a couple of hours! I don’t mind zoning out and reclining once in awhile.

This was a pretty clever way to communicate a safety message. Check out the yellow signs on the back doors of this 18-wheeler.

The California desert, after rising in elevation from the Indio area.

Once I got back into the driver’s seat, we realized just how handy the ILX’s dual climate zones are. I like it chilly, Branson likes it hot. We were both happy.

I can never resist a nice sunset photoshoot. These were taken just west of Blythe, California on a deserted offramp.

It’s good to be home! Back to work I go tomorrow. It was awesome to see the latest & greatest from Acura and from other vehicle manufacturers at this year’s LA Auto Show. I’m excited about automotive trends and more than anything else, I loved the chance to meet & greet some of the great folks BEHIND the cars that I so love. For some of us, cars (and Acuras specifically) are a huge part of our lives. My good friend John Bazay is an example of that.

John has already photoshopped his ideal Acura RLX. Check out this beauty sitting on Vossen wheels. The car’s not even on sale and yet people like John are already planning what they’ll do with it. That, my friends, is how to recognize a true enthusiast!

G’nite!

7 Comments »

ILX in LAX! Los Angeles Int’l Auto Show

Posted in California, Car Show, ILX, RLX, Road Trip on November 28, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 20,775

“Flagship.” It’s a term referring to a vehicle that embodies the ultimate expression of an automaker’s capability. In Acura’s case, it was a position that was held by the Legend for 10 years, from 1986 to 1995. Then came the RL in 1996, running 17 years and retiring as a 2012 model. The successor is now here, and it’s dressed to impress. The 2014 Acura RLX was unveiled today, and I was there when the sheet was pulled off the production model. I’ve been to lots of auto shows this year! It all started with Detroit in January. I also saw SEMA and Phoenix. The latest destination was to Los Angeles, California for this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show.

Just two days after having returned from my Thanksgiving trip to Utah, I saddled up once again in the ILX for a long road trip. This time, though, I had a copilot. My Acura Legend-owning friend Branson joined for the ride. Branson’s 1995 Legend LS coupe 6-speed is Cayman White Pearl and has only 143,000 miles it:

The drive from Phoenix to LA was around 400 miles. Piece of cake for the ILX. Branson’s a fun road-trip partner. Though his OCD tendencies make things interesting sometimes (he absolutely refuses to let me set the volume at level 13 or the temperature at 73!), we have a great time laughing our way to our destinations.

Fueling up in Tonopah, Arizona just west of the Phoenix area on Interstate 10. Branson also picked up some Powerball tickets here. With $500M up for grabs, who wouldn’t want a shot at that?

Typical gorgeous Arizona sunset. For a change of pace, I took the passenger seat and had Branson pilot us westward.

Too much sugar in my system. Thanks Twizzlers Nibs.

And some rockin’ tunes to provide a soundtrack for our drive.

Fuel stop in Indio, California at Chevron.

Finally arriving in the LA area around 9:00 p.m. local time, we crossed underneath the LAX airport runway on Sepulveda Rd and got to our hotel called “Custom Hotel” on Lincoln Boulevard. The ILX got valet parked for its first time since I’ve had it! This is a valet-only hotel (and parking is $20 a night! Ouch!).

The rooms are cool, though – some 1960’s decor in here including a multi-colored strobe light in the windows. Flashy.

This morning – first things first! After a 30 minute drive to the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown LA on Figueroa Street, Branson and I got our media credentials.

The Acura booth was the first destination – of course. We were greeted with some impressive design in the booth itself, and the new tagline for the RLX flagship which we’d soon see unveiled: “Synergy of Man and Machine.”

Someone left the headlights on when they installed that car cover!

Some may recognize this car. The Acura NSX concept vehicle. I’ll take it!

Branson and I are soaking in all the shiny scenery.

Soon it was time for the big reveal. Here’s a video of the first few minutes of the (total 20-minute) presentation after the cover was pulled off the RLX and it spun around before our eyes on the giant turntable.

Having owned a Honda Prelude 4WS (Four-Wheel-Steering) in the past, one of the features I was most interested in learning about on the RLX is called PAWS (Precision All Wheel Steering).

Here’s a little excerpt from today’s press release discussing the innovative technology:

Precision All-Wheel Steer™ (P-AWS) is the world’s first technology to feature independent and continuous control of the left and right rear-wheel steering (toe) angles to achieve new levels of handling agility, high- and low-speed maneuverability, and confident handling control for a two-wheel-drive luxury sedan.

Sounds pretty sweet to me! But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Check out this long list of features!

Jewel-Eye LED headlights (an Acura first) LED lamps enhance the RLX’s modern and distinctive appearance while providing outstanding light distribution and improved down-the-road illumination.
Acura Navigation System with Voice Recognition™ offers a wide range of search options including local search functionality and AcuraLink Real-Time Traffic™ for both highways and surface streets.
Agile Handling Assist (an Acura first) uses active braking to help the driver smoothly and easily trace the desired line through a curve with smaller steering inputs.
Electric Parking Brake (an Acura first) provides one-touch parking brake activation.
Automatic Brake Hold (an Acura first) maintains the vehicle’s position when the driving or parking brake are released until the throttle is depressed.
Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Low-Speed Follow (an Acura first), allows the RLX to independently maintain a set following distance in low-speed traffic situations, including stop and go traffic, and to initiate vehicle braking when necessary.
Forward Collision Warning (FCW) uses a camera mounted in the upper portion of the windshield to detect vehicles ahead of the RLX and audibly and visually alert the driver when it determines a frontal collision with a detected vehicle is possible.
Lane Departure Warning (LDW) uses the same windshield-mounted camera to detect lane markings on the road and alerts the driver if the vehicle is wandering from a detected lane.
Front seatbelt e-pretensioners use electronic control to reduce belt tension under normal driving conditions, while also enabling automatic belt tensioning in hard cornering maneuvers or in the event of a collision.
Multi-angle rearview camera with dynamic guidelines uses guidelines that reflect steering wheel inputs on the display to aid in backup maneuvers.
Capless fueling (an Acura first) eliminates the fuel cap and improves ease of fueling.

Some more pictures below captured the crowd’s excitement after Jeff Conrad’s remarks. He invited the press to come forward and join him in getting a closer look at the car.

The first of several (to me) “celebrity” encounters. This is Scott who is an integral part of Acura’s social media program.

Acura Vice President Jeff Conrad – someone who’s diligently followed my Legend / ILX adventures since we first met at the Drive to Five event a year ago.

And Sage Marie – Acura Sr. Manager of Public Relations – AND the lucky individual who will get to drive the race-tuned 2013 Acura ILXs at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill endurance race event soon. This guy’s got some driving skills!

Finally this guy – a true Acura pioneer. Kurt Antonius retired not long ago, but his history with the brand dates back to before it even existed. Kurt is one of the key individuals who built Acura into what it is today from its early beginnings in 1986. He told me about how Acura was originally code named “Channel 2” before it even had a real name. It was great to visit with him again.

Checking out the technology in the RLX interior. Even the glove compartment is electronic push-button activated!

Lunch at Rivera just a couple blocks away with some of my friends from the Social Media team.

And walking back to the Los Angeles Convention Center in overcast but comfortable weather.

As much as I would’ve loved to spend all day in the Acura booth (in fact, given the option I would’ve loved to put up a camping tent and live there), I did wander around the show. Here are a couple of other cars that caught my eye. This was the Infiniti “LE” concept vehicle. It’s 100% zero emissions.

This gorgeous ride is the Lexus LF-LC. That color is just stunning – the photo does it no justice!

This was the Audi booth. The big news there is that Audi is rolling out 3 “TDI” (diesel) models – including the A6, the A7, the A8 and the Q5. Clean diesel is becoming a huge piece of the market for Audi. The president of the company reported during the press conference that 33% of the A3’s sold currently are diesel powertrains.

Exhausted and ready to roll out for the night!

It was fitting that this song – “California Love” – by Tupac, came on the XM 90’s on 9 station. Love rocking out to this! By the way, I also figured out how to change the color of my display screen on the dash of the ILX. The “default” color was blue, but I felt like red fit better with the red gauges and sporty demeanor.

Acura was ranked #1 by ALG, an industry benchmark for vehicle values, in a study recently. Acuras are known for holding their value long-term. Great to see the brand getting the recognition it deserves! Makes me proud to drive an Acura.

Tomorrow we’ll see a bunch of booths in the show that we didn’t get a chance to see today — including the Honda press conference at around 10:00 a.m. I’m hoping to score a front row seat for that one like I did today for the Acura presentation. Plus, they’ll be clearing out the chairs in the Acura booth and bringing in some of the company’s other models for us to get up close and personal with. More pics to come — thanks for checking in!

11 Comments »

First 20,000 Miles!

Posted in ILX, Milestones on November 25, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 20,235

Family, friends, food, and a flashy new Acura ILX. This was a Thanksgiving to remember! My turkey day travels took me to southern Utah and Nevada in the ILX.

These were taken on Hwy 93 between Wickenburg and Wikieup, Arizona when I departed from Phoenix last Wednesday.

Fewer than 6 months ago, John Watts from Acura HQ handed me the key to my 2013 Acura ILX. Since then, the ILX and I have had our share of adventures together, and it’s proven itself as a worthy successor to the Legend for my day to day travels.

Here is a look back at some of the memories we’ve shared:

Est. 609 gallons of premium fuel
201 horses at my command
82nd ILX ever made (production number 000082)
32.8 miles per gallon observed
14 states visited
6 trips to/through Las Vegas, Nevada
5 favorite XM radio stations (BPM, 90’s on 9, 80’s on 8, Prime Country, Octane)
4 oil changes with 5W20 oil (#4 is scheduled for tomorrow)
3 concerts driven to (Metric x 2; Deftones)
2 younger brothers driving gas-guzzling trucks who are jealous of my MPG’s
1 National Acura Legend Meet (NALM) attended in Milwaukee, WI
0 unscheduled maintenance visits and 0 tickets! Woot!

There’s a lot to love about the ILX. To name a few of them:

Torque. I like being able to keep the car in 6th gear during a highway ascent. There’s one in particular between Logandale and Mesquite Nevada on I-15 northbound that always requires me to downshift to 5th in my Legend. The ILX pulls the grade without needing a gear change.

Style. The ILX carries with it a presence that is not found on other entry-level premium cars. A coworker asked me shortly after getting the car what its pricetag was and was surprised when I said $30k. The car “feels” like a substantially more expensive car.

Technology. The audio interface, bluetooth connectivity, and “smart” features. I love my dual auto-up / auto-down windows in the front. The one-touch moonroof. The three-blink turn signal. And the HID headlights which offer some of the best nighttime illumination I’ve ever seen.

Ease of entry. I’m really spoiled with the keyless access system. With just the fob in my pocket or backpack, I walk up to the ILX and enter the car and start it without having to dig it out.

Comfort. Even though I live in one of the hottest cities in the country (Phoenix), I still have greatly appreciated the heated seats in the ILX so far this fall. Climate controls operate easily and quickly. Seats are comfortable and for being a small car, even the back seat can accommodate an adult which is rare. The gauges are easy to interpret at a glance and are all intuitively placed.

Economy. There’s one thing in common with both of the Acuras that I’ve spent my time driving – they’re over-performing on MPG’s. My Legend’s highway rating was 26 mpg. I consistently get 28+. The ILX’s highway rating is 32. I’m getting nearly 33. Every bit of efficiency helps greatly when you drive as many miles as I do.

Handling. Even without the need for aftermarket suspension tuning, this car has so little body roll. I drove it to Tortilla Flat, one of the most technical roads in my area, and was amazed at how flat it corners at speed.

Here are some photos from this weekend’s travels. It was great to see my family again.

Here I am with my most loyal blog subscriber, “Mama Tia,” and the ILX. This is an overlook on the Black Hill with a great vantage point of my hometown, St. George, Utah. The community was settled in 1861 and its population is now over 75,000. It was a perfect day (around 70 degrees) for a moonroof-open drive before feasting on Thanksgiving dinner at my grandma’s house.

Speaking of grandma’s house, it’s worth nothing that the Acura affinity runs in the family. My grandma has been driving a Heather Mist Metallic 1997 Acura 3.5 RL since 2004. It currently has just 118,000 miles on the odometer. She’ll get to 500,000 eventually!

On Thanksgiving night, I met up with Chanc. Long-time Acura owner and enthusiast, he’s currently got an Integra GSR and a TSX. Chanc gave me the opportunity to test-drive his car. It’s a rare 70k-mile Arctic Blue with Black interior, 6-speed manual. It’s also equipped with navigation. This is one smooth ride! It’s powered by the same “K24” engine that my ILX has. His car’s a bit quieter and offers a tad more space, but otherwise I felt like they were very close siblings.

Chanc also took the ILX for a spin and said that he felt like the ILX captured some of the traits he loved about his Integra GSR, including a feeling of “light weight” and great handling. He also said the car felt like it had more pick-up than his TSX does.

I drove 100 miles and spent Friday night in Las Vegas, Nevada at the New York New York casino with some friends.

But first, I made a pit stop at Acura of Las Vegas. This dealership has been servicing my cars since 2003 when I first got my Legend. The performed its first oil change under my ownership at 97,000 miles. I thought I’d pop in and see what kind of ILX inventory they’ve got. It just so happened that they have a twin to my car in the front lot. This is a 2013 Silver Moon ILX 2.4 6-speed. Production # is 567.

It’s pretty striking to see the difference visually between a totally stock ILX vs one with some of the factory accessories installed.

Time to hit up NYNY!

At one point during the evening, we walked down to the Bellagio Casino. This 1998 addition to the Las Vegas Strip is known for its 8-acre manmade lake in front of the building.

There are water shows nightly and we happened to be in the area when one was just about to start. This is an impressive sight to watch! A series of 4,500 lights illuminate 1,200 water nozzles and are choreographed to music that changes with every season. Some of these nozzles have the capability of shooting 450 feet into the air! Here is a video I took with my iPhone.

Back in Utah on Saturday, I went to lunch with my mom.

Historic 1876 St. George, Utah tabernacle:

Time to pull out the Christmas decor. Random trunk-related discoveries about the ILX: It’ll accommodate a lot more than I thought it would! I got a few boxes of fake trees in there without having to fold the back seat down.

Secondly, when I went to shut my trunk lid with the same hand that was holding my key fob, the car wouldn’t let the trunk lid latch. It kept popping back open because it thought the key was inside the trunk. Seems like the sensitivity needs to be adjusted a little, or else I should just start closing the trunk without having the key anywhere in range.

Sunday was a 415-mile travel day to return home to the Phoenix area from southern Utah. The route that I took consists of mostly 2-lane back roads and it goes along the east edge of the Grand Canyon. Traffic was extremely light as I departed at 5:30 in the morning. The sun finally started to peek over the horizon over an hour later.

My path looked like this.

As I crept closer to Fredonia, Arizona, the temperature sank. For the first time since I got my car in June, I saw the dash display temperatures in the 20’s. At one point the temperature reached a low of 18 degrees. Heated seats, yes please!

Highway 89 “Alternate” creeps up from Fredonia to about 8,000 feet in elevation and offers some great banked curves and twisties along the way. This picture was taken at Jacob Lake, just before the road begins its sharp descent back to the desert landscape from the pines. Notice the snow on the ground here as this area frequently gets snowfall in the winter.

Suddenly the highway breaks free from the green & the trees and gives drivers a panoramic view of the red hills known as Vermillion Cliffs.

Here’s one of the roadside photo-ops I’ve frequently visited along the Vermillion Cliffs. This is a place called Cliff Dwellers, named for the Native Americans who historically have built their homes along the sandstone cliffs.

It took some nerves to get this next shot. I placed a bit of faith in the fact that this huge rock didn’t come tumbling down and make a pancake out of my ILX.

Just a bit down the road, the Marble Canyon Lodge greets travelers. From a Google review about this place:

As the closest accommodations to Lees Ferry, this lodge frequently fills up with rafters eagerly awaiting the journey into the canyon or fishermen stocking up for their next excursion. The traffic gives the place a busier, less personal feel than the nearby Cliff Dwellers and Lees Ferry lodges. The rooms here vary, but the ones in the 300 building are brightest and look out at Echo Cliffs. A restaurant and lounge are on the premises, and the lodge also has a selection of unusual books about the region as well as a jewelry store selling handmade silver, copper, and brass designs. Marble Canyon Lodge also rents eight two-bedroom apartments at prices ranging from $134 to $150. Hunting and fishing licenses are sold here.

Since much of this area lies within the Navajo Nation Indian Community, there are multiple pull-outs along Highway 89A where the Indians operate roadside stands selling their wares – usually jewelry, clothing, or artifacts. Today, the stands were closed but I used one of them as a temporary parking spot.

The long-awaited 20,000 mile mark happened in a remote town of “Gap,” Arizona. There’s truly little else there besides just a gas station and a trading post.

Here’s a video of the 20k roll-over, as is tradition:

Just for kicks, on this trip I tracked the per-gallon fuel costs at each of my stops. Here they are in order (these are all for 91 octane Premium fuel – the highest available in this area):

Scottsdale, Arizona: $3.70 at Shell
Kingman, Arizona: $4.05 at Chevron
Mesquite, Nevada: $3.96 at Rebel
Hurricane, Utah: $3.95 at Chevron
Flagstaff, Arizona: $3.89 at 76

I had a great trip and hope you enjoyed the ride as much as I did.

This afternoon I visited the Arizona International Auto Show at the convention center in downtown Phoenix.

Acura was well represented at the show.

Among other models, there were three ILXs: A hybrid, a 2.0 automatic, and a 2.4 6-speed.

This is the Crystal Black Pearl 6-speed that was on display. Production # 1179.

All I want to know is: Where can I get one of those ILX rugs for my front room at home!?

I spoke with Brand Ambassador “Karla” who said she’ll also be attending the Los Angeles International Auto Show this upcoming week. I told her I’ll see her there!

Watch for the full write-up on the next installment of D25!

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