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11-11-12

Posted in ILX, Legend on November 11, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 18,628

Odometer (Legend): 516,913

Tonight I drove 140 miles round trip for a medium strawberry malt at DQ. Typical! I needed to stretch my highway legs a bit so I met up with my friend Will there. He lives in Tucson and drives a 2011 Camaro. Picacho Peak’s DQ, right off Interstate 10, seemed like a logical midpoint between the Phoenix and Tucson areas.

And the malt was worth it.

The Legend is running great but did give me a check engine light on the return leg. I suspect (in fact, I’m almost entirely sure) it’s related to a “code 12” (EGR system) fault. The EGR system on this car has been serviced regularly but I think it might be time for another check-up. The car still ran great!

Tunnel Bucket List

As a follow-up to the Road Bucket List that I put together a month or two ago, I also have a fascination with tunnels and bridges.

Check out this link for a list of some of the coolest places I’d love to take my Acuras.

Another one that didn’t make the Jalopnik top 10 list is the Gotthard Road Tunnel. At 10.2 miles long, at one time it was the longest tunnel in the world. It’s now in 3rd place. Guess it’s time to get my passport renewed and research car-shipping methods!

Alaska Round Two?!

I received an email this week that had the wheels in my mind spinning much like the wheels on my Acuras do. Back in 2006, my longest-ever road trip in the 1994 Legend was from Phoenix, Arizona to Fairbanks, Alaska – totaling around 7,600 miles round trip.

Upon arrival in Fairbanks that May (and unaware beforehand of exactly what types of vehicle services would be available there) I was happy to find a Honda dealership. Well, technically it was a Honda, Subaru, Toyota, Scion, Kia, Mazda dealership! Kendall Auto changed the oil on my Legend before my dad and I started the return leg of our adventure. I hadn’t heard from this dealership for years, until receiving this follow-up email this week entitled “Exclusive Savings for your Legend.”

Maybe it’s time to grab a current copy of the Milepost and start trip planning. Roll up there in the ILX, re-create some of the routes I took in the Legend? Who’s down for a carpool or caravan? Here’s what rush hour looked like on the Alaska Highway for us back in 2006. Traffic was pretty intense!

Welcoming A New Half-Million Miler

Back in July, I met Steve Stone who drives a black 1963 Corvette with a lot of miles and a lot of history. At the time, his car had 487,000 on it.

I extend to Steve my congratulations on hitting 500,000 miles in his car this year! Following is an excerpt from an update I received from him a couple of days ago:

We still needed around 1,000 miles to turn the half million mile mark, so this last week we went to Ely, MN and back. We turned the half million mile mark on Wisconsin highway 12, just south of I-90, I-94 and the Wisconsin Dells. This year we have traveled the Vette around 20,000 miles (so far) and visited 27 of the lower 48 states. We also attended numerous shows and car events.

ILX News & Weekend Updates

The results are in, and the ILX gets 5 stars in crash tests! Pretty nice performance there.

This weekend I hosted a couple of friends who were visiting from out of town. My friend Scott from Dallas was one of them. I met Scott during a cross-country NALM road trip in the Legend in mid-2011 and he attended the Drive to Five celebration last November.

Saturday was car clean-up day. Matt did a detail on the 2012 370Z and Jeremy worked on his 2006 GX470 while the ILX looked on and waited its turn.

Weather was unusually cool for this time of year with highs in the low 60’s. We took a hike up “A” Mountain – also referred to as Tempe Butte. This 1,500-foot elevation hill has a giant yellow A painted on the side in support of Tempe-based Arizona State University (ASU). (This picture pulled from Google Images)

The hike only took 15 minutes but afforded us some great views from the summit.

There’s a jokester in every crowd.

Jeremy raced us back to the trailhead and pulled the ILX around to pick us up.

First time this ILX has had 5 people in it! A tight squeeze for a compact car, especially considering that Jeremy (driver’s seat) is 6’6″ tall. But, Jeremy still was able to get comfortable and he commented on his approval of the smooth-shifting manual transmission. With temps having dipped down a bit, we also put the seat heaters to use. The ILX shuttled us around in comfort AND style.

Sending Scott on his way at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport this morning. Come back to visit soon.

Happy Veterans Day to my readers, and may your holiday travels be safe and scenic.

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SEMA Show Recap

Posted in ILX, Nevada, Road Trip on November 4, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 18,367

Two million square feet of automotive accessory exhibits. Can you imagine how crazy I was to think I could experience all that the SEMA show had to offer in just one day? Not happening! But, I did have the chance to see the “core” booths that I had most looked forward to visiting. Among them, the Acura booth. If I’d gone all that way and seen nothing BUT the Acura booth, my trip still would’ve been a great success. In only 4 days since my most recent Drive to Five update last week, the ILX and I traveled 964 miles from Phoenix Arizona, to southern Nevada and southern Utah. Here is how the adventure played out. Be advised, there are a ton of pictures in here!

I arrived in Las Vegas after the 300 mile drive on Thursday evening. The 4,750-room, 45-floor Wynn casino is where I stayed the next two nights. There’s even a Ferrari dealership inside the main level near the gaming area! This is truly a high rolling kind of place. My friend found a great rate when he booked it way back in February. View from the hotel room at the Wynn (and my reflection!):

The Las Vegas Convention Center which hosted SEMA is just a few blocks from the hotel (and visible in the above picture), but after having walked a few miles on the Strip on Thursday night, I wasn’t about to do any more hiking. On Friday morning, we drove over in the ILX and left it in a $10 parking space while we wandered with wonder through as much of the SEMA show as we could possibly see.

Thanks to my brother for allowing me his entry pass!

Arriving at the convention center.

After a solid 20 minutes of hunting (and trying to decipher a 4-page SEMA directory) I finally found the Acura booth, #24987, right behind the Honda one.

Matt and I acting like we run the place, behind the Acura Concierge counter.

What do you spy in the background here?

That’s right, the star of the Avengers movie: Tony Stark’s car.

It drew a ton of crowd attention!

But the cars I was more interested in seeing were modified Acura ILX’s.

This one is going to compete at a 25-hour endurance race called Thunderhill. It’s been built by Team Honda Racing – West, which is based in Santa Clarita, California.

No heated seats or leather in here! This car is all about weight savings & speed.

The bars on the hood are high power LED lights for nighttime racing.

The Thunderhill “Endurance Racer” is a sweet ride, but it’s the blue “Street Build” ILX is the one that has me wanting to make some modifications to my car. Pictures do the car no justice; it’s absolutely stunning in person. The upgraded Tein Coilover suspension alone runs $874! Well out of my budget reach for now — which is probably a good thing, because if I did anything with my suspension it’d void the car’s warranty anyway. Here’s a walkaround video of this gorgeous Fathom Blue ride.

I reconnected with Daniel Yong who works in Auto Accessory Marketing at Acura’s Torrance headquarters. The last time I had seen Daniel was in June when I got my ILX.

Some other goodies in the Honda area. 2013 Accords, all tricked out.

There were some interactive displays.

Here’s the race-ready Honda Fit that Acura Senior Manager of Public Relations, Sage Marie, took first place in recently. He participated in the SCCA National Championship Runoffs in the B-Spec class.

Some other sights from around the show.

Loved this Lexus LF-CC coupe concept car.

Ran into my friend John Bazay who’s helped me with some photography in the past. John was working the Giovanna wheels booth.

Nice name for a transmission company!

There was a drifting event going on outside.

Fighting traffic on Las Vegas Blvd (“The Strip”) after leaving the convention center. Thank goodness for a light-effort clutch!

On Saturday, I set my sights on southern Utah for my next destination. A birthday party and a wedding reception awaited me there. But I took a moment to snap a shot of the ILX in front of the Trump tower and the Encore casino – adjacent to Wynn.

On my way out of Las Vegas, I had to pay a visit to my friend Jeff. It’s hard to believe it, but I’ve known this guy nearly a decade now and we met — you guessed it — through Acura. Back in 2003, I was driving my 1994 Legend coupe and Jeff was driving a 1993 Legend coupe. We met at a Las Vegas Acura “meet” and have kept in touch ever since. This picture of us with our Legends was taken in July 2003. That year, Jeff traded his in in Legend on an Acura CL.

Here are our current rides. Jeff’s Nighthawk Black Pearl 2003 Acura CL Type-S is a rare 6-speed manual (one of only 480 vehicles produced in this color & transmission configuration). It’s also equipped with some highly sought-after Comptech upgrades under the hood. His car today is at 92,300 miles. Thanks to his meticulous care, it looks and runs as great now as it did back then. Even the leather interior is supple.

I encouraged Jeff to take the ILX for a spin so we took a test drive with his son Cody. Jeff observed that the slick-shifting 6-speed felt a lot like his CL but the clutch effort was quite a bit less. He liked the small diameter, thickly padded steering wheel. His son Cody was impressed that the ILX comes standard with push-button start and said, “I really like this interior!” Cody also offered to wash my car, which I respectfully declined since I had places to go and more bugs to kill. Next time, Cody! I’ll take you up on that offer.

The drive from Vegas to St. George is only about 100 miles and it’s straight freeway. Boring! In Mesquite, Nevada, I decided to detour a bit. Instead of taking I-15 the remaining 40 or so miles, I instead took my ILX on Old Highway 91 — the road that was the main north-south highway before completion of I-15 through the Virgin River Gorge in 1973. I love taking a step back in time and traveling the old roads because they offer so much more “flavor” to a trip than an interstate.

It would’ve been only 38.9 miles had I taken the freeway.

Instead, it was 47.1 miles and took quite a bit longer.

Narrow bridge on old Hwy 91.

About halfway to St. George, I breezed past some old rusted-out car hulks in a ditch alongside the road. I was intrigued so I turned around and went back for a few pictures.

Amazingly, even the chrome rear bumper on this car is still shining like new.

Can any of my Drive to Five readers identify these cars? I’m guessing something from the early 1950’s.

Time has truly taken its toll on these.

Onward I go! Here are a few other pictures from my backroads adventure.

See how much more fun this is than a freeway?

Upon arrival in Utah, I approached approached the Jacob Hamblin home on the outskirts of Santa Clara. Jacob was one of the more famous Mormon pioneers who settled the area in the 1800’s. Tours of his home are offered but I didn’t have time for much more than a picture of the ILX in front of this two story home made of adobe, sandstone, and ponderosa pine which dates back to 1863. Hamblin only lived in the home until 1869 until he set off for some missionary work and never returned. The home is in remarkable shape for its pioneer era vintage.

Since I was still feeling in a historic mood, this morning after breakfast I swung by Judd’s Store. This place has been around since 1911 and is still open today. They have some of the best breadsticks around!

Another “key” structure in the St. George community is the Mormon temple, which was constructed from 1871 to 1877 under direction of church president Brigham Young. The temple has a total floor area of 110,000 square feet. Its exterior finish is red sandstone (native to the area) which has been plastered white. The building and its grounds are immaculately maintained. Hard to believe it’s over 135 years old!

Just past the Arizona state line lies an exit called Black Rock Road. There’s nothing there, except for this one building that’s totally boarded up. This sign welcomes (and warns) visitors. Needless to say, I didn’t venture inside the structure!

Hopping back on Interstate 15 southbound which would lead me through the Virgin River Gorge.

And home sweet home in Scottsdale I’ve arrived. Thanks for following along!

EDIT updated 11/5/2012: I can’t believe it took me until now to realize I posted this entry on the one-year anniversary of my completion of 500,000 miles! It was one year ago, on 11/4/2011, when I rolled on the red carpet at Acura headquarters in Torrance, California to celebrate the milestone in my 1994 Legend.

I appreciate all of you who have come along for the ride since then. Here’s to many more miles of fun!

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Car of the Year Contender & Vegas Voyage

Posted in ILX, Nevada on October 31, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 516,653

Odometer (ILX):

Happy Halloween! It’s trip time here. I’m off yet again tomorrow to Sin City (AKA Las Vegas, Nevada) for a few days of car-related fun. On Friday I’ll attend the SEMA show at the Las Vegas Convention Center. My ILX knows this 309-mile drive well as we’ve done it a number of times already this year.

This year’s SEMA show promises to have some great features, including some souped-up Acura ILX’s. A press release distributed on Tuesday gives us a sneak peek at the “Street Build” car that will be on display.

Specifications:

Company Name: Evasive Motorsports
Name of Vehicle: 2013 Acura ILX Street Build
Powertrain Modifications: CT Engineering supercharger kit, CT Engineering intake, Hondata FlashPro, Greddy SP Elite prototype exhaust
Chassis/Suspension Modifications: 19 x 8.5 (+45 offset) Volk G25 wheels, 235/35ZR-19 Pirelli P Zero tires, Tein Street Advance Coilovers, Stoptech big brake kit, Evasive Motorsports corner balance and alignment
Exterior Modifications: Acura Genuine Accessories front underbody spoiler, Acura Genuine Accessories side underbody spoiler, Acura Genuine Accessories rear underbody spoiler, Acura Genuine Accessories deck lid spoiler, Acura Genuine Accessories body side molding, Rays Dura-Nuts lug nuts, S&A Design vinyl stickers
Interior Modifications: CT Engineering short-shift kit, Acura Genuine Accessories illuminated door sill, Acura Genuine Accessories trunk tray

Can’t wait to take a peek!

Weather (at least on this side of the country!) has been prime the last couple of weeks so I’ve taken advantage of every opportunity to get the cars out. Friday after work I took a quick jaunt up Arizona Hwy 87 toward Payson with the moonroof open and rear windows down in the coupe. Lots of saguaro cacti out that way!

Car of the Year & ILX News

Acura has known how to build quality cars for a long time now. The original Legend coupe which debuted in 1987 took home the title of Import Car of the Year. Now, 25 years later the 2013 Acura ILX is in the running for Motor Trend’s highly coveted Car of the Year title. Read up on it here.

I’ve had a blast with my ILX since I got the keys in mid June, and my friends know how much I love showing the car off. My buddy Nick works graveyard shift for a local towing company and was sure to let me know when he’d found his first ILX victim this week! D’oh! To the unlucky new ILX owner in Tempe – keep an eye on those parking restrictions!

The ILX movement is catching on, and it’s fun to see the enthusiast community grow. Facebook ILX Owners group member Luke from Columbus, Ohio just picked up this beautiful Crystal Black Pearl 6-speed.

Check out this new ILX commercial demonstrating the car’s abilities to read text messages, a feature I experimented with awhile back.

Aaron’s New Ride

Finally, I’m sending some well-deserved congratulations to my good friend Aaron on today’s purchase of his 2013 Audi S5. I had the privilege of shuttling Aaron from central Phoenix to Audi of Chandler tonight where his 333-horsepower, “Monsoon Gray” sports coupe awaited delivery.

The Acura feels a bit out of place in this parking lot but still proudly shows off its innovative design.

Aaron’s car as it awaited him in the “Delivery Area.”

And getting some hands-on training from the salesperson.

Since I had a bit of time to kill while Aaron took care of paperwork, I watched another gentleman take delivery of the below car, a 2013 Audi A8L. This monster is a 500-horsepower, 463 lb-ft of torque luxo-ride powered by a W12 motor. The pricetag? Only $154,000.

I watched with a bit of wonder as the salesperson showed the new owner, a boots-wearing cowboy from Tucson, a special feature that assists closure of the front doors and “sucks” them in once they are lightly closed. I didn’t have the heart to tell the guy that my 18-year-old Legend had that same feature in 1994, and Acura called it “Active Door Strikers.” Didn’t want to spoil his fun.

🙂

Finally, the customary key handoff and send-off!

Aaron’s making a huge upgrade from his black A4 and promised the salesperson he’d keep the speeds reasonable as he got acquainted with his new ride.

34 miles and just a baby.

Aaron let me drive his car back from our celebratory dinner, and I must say it was one sweet ride. The flat-bottomed steering wheel was one of my favorite features. As much as I’m not usually a fan of automatic transmissions, this one is a 7-speed dual-clutch unit and actually is quite fun to drive!

Safe travels to all this weekend and make every mile Legendary.

7 Comments »

ILX Under Construction

Posted in ILX on October 18, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 516,247

Odometer (ILX): 17,041

17,000 down; 483,000 to go.

How cool would it be to see your vehicle during its assembly process? Back in April I visited the Honda Manufacturing of Indiana (HMIN) facility in Greensburg, Indiana just south of Indianapolis. There, I was able to watch the line-off event of the 2013 Acura ILX and get an exclusive tour of the facility.

Just a few weeks later, my very own ILX (Production #000082) was set to roll down the assembly line. The date fell on a Thursday and I was not able to be there in person for its birth, but I did ask the nice folks at HMIN to document the occasion.

They followed through and provided me these amazing pictures of my ILX being built in exactly the configuration that I’d ordered it: Silver Moon exterior, Black interior, and equipped with the 2.4 Liter engine and 6-speed manual transmission. Come along with me and enjoy the pictures as much as I did.

Pretty sweet. It’s been about 5 months since my ILX was born and the people in Indiana have been busily producing more. My local dealership looks like this now. They’ve got 6 0r 7 ILX 2.0 automatics, 3 hybrids, but zero 6-speeds currently.

My friend Brent is working on a deal to pick up a 2013 ILX in Polished Metal Metallic now that the lease on his 2009 TL is up. Hope he joins the ILX fam son!

In Legend news – The old high miler got an oil change this past weekend at 516,168 miles from Acura of Tempe. In contrast to the days when I used to drive this car 1,000 miles a week, this time it took me 5 months to rack up 3,000 miles! Needless to say I’ve put the ILX to use and given the Legend a rest.

Dana, my service advisor, knows the drill well! No wash, 5W30, and I’ll be waiting in the customer lounge until it’s finished!

Here’s the report that was provided. Some oil leaks were noted but they must be slight as I’ve never seen a drop of oil on my garage floor and the level’s always good when I check it.

Happy Friday!

9 Comments »

Metric Concert: Tempe, Arizona

Posted in Arizona, Concerts, ILX on October 12, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer: 16,801

Rock on! There’s a good reason why I know that the Acura ILX Premium Audio System volume maxes out at level 40 and still sounds crisp and clear. I love my music! And so does Acura, which is why the automaker has partnered with musical group Metric for a tour. The latest destination in the Metric concert tour brought the band to a venue just 5.1 miles from my home: The Marquee Theatre. Easy drive!

I’d last seen the band in June of this year when I drove to the Avalon Theatre in Hollywood. That event wasn’t a concert, but rather a “listening event” where I interacted with band members, music industry representatives, and Acura folks. Since then I’ve become quite familiar with the latest Synthetica album. This week’s event was my first real taste of what the band sounds like live. Marquee has the capacity to hold about 1,000 people.

Heading across the Mill Avenue bridge to head into downtown Tempe for a bite to eat with my friend Kelvin before the show.

Tickets baby!

Inside the Marquee Theatre.

Kelvin and I await the start of the show.

After an opening performance by fellow Canadian band Half Moon Run, Metric takes the stage!

Lead vocalist Emily Haines started off the setlist with Artificial Nocturne.

My favorite song, Speed the Collapse, was played third.

Great show! Outside the theatre, a Crystal Black Pearl Acura ILX 2.0 was on display.

Stickers on the rear doors.

Back to my own ILX after the show.

And rocking out to some fitting music on the iPod as we headed home.

A car is a way for people like me to express identity. For many folks, that means customization. Even though the Acura ILX has only been on sale for a few months, aftermarket accessory companies like suspension-maker TEIN have already started launching products for ILX tuning. I saw these pictures posted on the company’s website.

Pretty aggressive stance on this Fathom Blue ILX!

And don’t you think the ILX would look stunning as a 2 door coupe? AcuraConnected posted a rendering today of a Crimson Garnet ILX photoshopped as a coupe.

This post marks Drive to Five’s 150th entry! I suppose it’s time to start shooting for 500 posts, just like I shot for 500,000 miles, right?

Have a great weekend!

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St. George Marathon

Posted in ILX, Running, Utah on October 8, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 16,666

26.2 miles doesn’t sound very far to go. It’s a feat that my 1994 Acura Legend has completed nearly 20,000 times. But when you’re on foot, it’s a whole different story! This past weekend’s adventure was a trip to my hometown in St. George, Utah where I participated in the St. George Marathon. I ran this one last year as well.

The race runs down State Route 18 in Washington and Iron counties. It’s one of the most scenic races in the world – and one of the fastest, thanks to its largely downhill terrain. The highway parallels Snow Canyon which has always been a favorite automotive photo-op background, like this photo set from February 2005 when my car had 155,000 miles on it. At the time, I had a McCulloch 8000K HID kit for the headlights, and Catz XLO foglights.

It was also here that I filmed this June 2007 video of my 1994 Acura Legend when it had about 290,000 miles on it and was wearing my 19″ Racing Hart C2 wheels.

Here’s how my adventure started last Thursday night. After work, I departed for the 5 hour drive to Las Vegas, Nevada from Scottsdale, Arizona. I picked up my friend Jeff who’d flown in from Calgary, Alberta.

Our drive to St. George from there was just 100 miles and took about 90 minutes. I admit, it took a high-volume concert of Psy’s song “Gangnam Style” to keep me awake until our 1 a.m. local time arrival. The following morning, Jeff and I indulged in the best breakfast in town with my mom, courtesy of Bear Paw Cafe on Main Street. I highly recommend the French toast! The fresh squeezed OJ hit the spot, too.

Mom’s 2003 Lexus GS430 has recently completed its first 100,000 miles. Still looking good! The silver cars posed for a quick photo-op after breakfast.

Jeff and I made a quick pit-stop at my brother’s workplace. He’s got an old Lincoln Towncar limousine out back that we’ve taken out on the town before.

Evening before the race.

3:30 came far too quickly the next morning. Anxious to get the show on the road, we headed to the finish area where shuttle buses took us to the start line up the canyon. Here I’m pictured with Jeff and with my step-mom, Tanya who also competed.

Temps were only in the 50’s up there so we huddled around bonfires with about 7,000 other participants until the race got underway.

Here’s the race course.

At 6:45 a.m., we were off! My fast-paced music playlist got me motivated. I snapped this picture with my phone while running.

Highlight of the race was definitely the crowd support. My mom watched for me from mile 16, grandma and friend Matt at mile 24, and dad with sis-in-law Kali at mile 25! It was great to see familiar faces to keep my mind off the task at hand.

Thanks to my buddy Rob for capturing this pic as I made the final stretch into the finish gate!

And a much-needed mist bath to cool off!

My average mile was 9 minutes, 29 seconds. I ran 6.3 miles per hour. This put me at a 4:08 finish time.

Meet-up with mom post-race. There were 5,696 people who finished the race.

And getting shuttled back to the house in style, courtesy of my friend Matt’s 2012 Infiniti G37 convertible. This car’s equipped with the “Infiniti Performance Line” (IPL) package, which includes both performance enhancements and some hot styling upgrades (red leather interior!).

Jeff wrapped his calves in tape to help ease some soreness. Stylin’.

And as if we hadn’t had enough adventure for the day, we headed to Las Vegas for the evening.

The ILX made its way down the Strip to our hotel, Treasure Island. Traffic was a mess but the ILX clutch is light and doesn’t give my (sore!) left leg as much of a workout as the old 516k Legend clutch does.

Walking about the town.

And the southbound view from our 32nd floor room at Treasure Island on Sunday morning.

Prior to going our separate ways, we dined at Denny’s.

New York, New York in the background.

Matt captured a few on-road pics on Highway 93 just north of Wickenburg, Arizona.

A great weekend of mile-making for both me and for the Acura ILX! I was remarkably rested when I got home and that’s thanks in large part to the comfortable ride and spacious cabin in the car. I look forward to getting to spend time behind the wheel. Let’s see where it takes me next.

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Tortilla Flat

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Road Trip on October 3, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 516,084

Odometer (ILX): 15,733

Nothing like a twisty road to put a car’s handling to the ultimate test!

Since the ILX hadn’t yet driven Arizona Highway 88 – the “Apache Trail” – I decided to take a quick Saturday afternoon ride up to Tortilla Flat. This road a favorite among motorcyclists and sports car drivers due to its highly technical nature. It made for a perfect setting to run the ILX 6-speed through its gears. This place is located northeast of the Mesa, Arizona area – shown here at Point A. The squiggliness (my computer doesn’t think that’s a real word) of the line for Highway 88 should tell you something about how fun the curves are!

Here I was reaching the first of two short one-lane bridges. This one is near Canyon Lake.

Canyon Lake in the background is a popular summertime destination for folks seeking a break from the intense heat of this area.

Finally, I arrived at Tortilla Flat. This place was settled in the very early 1900’s (and maxed out with a population of 100) as a stagecoach stop on the Apache Trail. Today it’s pretty touristy. I’ve eaten at the restaurant, though, and it’s good stuff.

Just a few miles after rolling through Tortilla (and a lot more curves) the pavement ends. The next 20 or so miles of road are dirt until arriving at Roosevelt Lake. I drove this dirt road in my Legend a few years back but I wasn’t about to subject my new car to that type of terrain!

Meanwhile, I did grab a couple of scenic shots before turning around to loop back to civilization.

The driving experience in the 2.4-powered ILX leaves little to be desired. The suspension seems to have been tuned for roads specifically like this. Very little road noise even from the pavement that’s deteriorated on certain sections of the road. For being a 4-door sedan, the car is very well planted in corners (there’s far less body roll than my 515k mile Legend!) and it’s light and nimble on its feet. I especially loved the short throws of the 6-speed transmission and the light clutch engagement. This car loves to rev high and scream through the corners – traffic and road conditions permitting. I had a blast!

We All Scream for Ice Cream

Last Friday, I got an extreme sweet tooth craving so I indulged in a mouth-watering treat: Cold Stone ice cream. The Cold Stone world headquarters is located just a couple of miles from the office where I work, and it was here in Arizona (Tempe, to be exact) that the very first Cold Stone location opened back in 1988. The company has now spread to over 1,100 locations nationwide. The store #000001 is located at the southwest corner of Southern Ave & McClintock Rd, right here (Point “B”).

This made for an easy post-work commute in the Acura ILX. The original store is pictured in the background.

I was greeted by a lot of choices, but I already knew exactly what I was going to get.

This, my friends, is the best combination of ice cream mix-ins under the sun. What we have here is a “Love It” size bowl. The ice cream is cake batter, and the mix-ins are cookie dough and rainbow sprinkles. Absolutely delicious!

The ILX owner population continues to grow. The New Owner Sign-In thread on the Acurazine.com forums now has 24 people who have posted about their new rides. Here are some images shared by member “ILXDRIVER” from Toronto, Canada of his Polished Metal Metallic 2.4 liter 6-speed ILX with Sport Underbody Kit like mine has. Looks great!

Legend Update

My Legend got me comfortably to Tucson and back on Friday night (240 mile round trip) without skipping a beat. It will be due for an oil change in just a few hundred miles. I think this is the first time in my 9+ years of ownership history on that car that it’s taken me longer than 3 months to put on 3,000 miles. I thought it would be interesting to post the following image – this is a sticker on the airbox indicating a change interval of 7,500 miles recommended.

I’ve rarely gone longer than around 4k!

I drove the high-miler to work today and enjoyed our (finally!) fall weather. Now if we could just get those daily highs to dip below triple digit range!

Rear windows down allow just enough air flow in the cabin.

The Other End of the Mileage Spectrum

Today I visited one of the 3 Phoenix-area Acura dealerships, Acura North Scottsdale. My friend Dave tipped me off on a minty delicious 1990 Legend L sedan in Tuscany Taupe Metallic with a mere 25,563 miles on the odometer — quite the contrast from my experienced 1994! That comes out to just 1,162 miles per year that were put on this beauty.

This car is absolutely stunning.

These are rare OEM accessory wheels that I’ve never seen in person until today.

Yours for only $7,995!

Interior smelled amazing. The car didn’t have floor mats in it – perhaps they were in the trunk.

A Legend reflected in a Legend.

This is a rarity – the 1990 CD player. I wonder if it works.

The only way the seats could be this supple is if this car has been garaged its entire 22-year life. I almost felt guilty planting my butt in the driver’s seat!

Speaking of Legends as a blast from the past: Thanks to member Ezequiel from the Acura Legend Owners & Enthusiasts group on Facebook for sharing this old newspaper clipping with an ad from his local Boise dealership that dates back to 1995. Only $31,999 for a new Legend!

Here’s one that I saved from the Pioneer Shopper want-ads in St. George, Utah dated about 1998. This black Legend was for sale at a dealership called St. George Motorcars.

And I’ll be heading to St. George this weekend, in fact. The ILX departs tomorrow afternoon for the 400-mile trek, by way of Las Vegas. I’ll be back Sunday.

One of my favorite fortunes I’ve gotten at a Chinese restaurant: You will soon be going on a fun road trip with friends or family. Yes!

Until next week!

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Acura ILX at a Nissan Z Convention

Posted in Arizona, Car Show, ILX on September 23, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 515,647

Odometer (ILX): 15,400

I drove my ILX on a high-speed oval track! The banked curves on the closed course begged to be taken at speed! Even with a chaperone van guiding me, I was allowed to achieve 95-100 mph and it was a thrill with the windows down, moonroof open, and XM radio loud and clear. It kind of felt like this (minus the tricked out NSX):

This weekend I attended a special event at the Nissan North America proving grounds. It’s extremely rare to get an inside look at the site where a vehicle manufacturer does its durability testing. Usually, the only time the public can see inside the facility is through commercials like this.

The ZCCA (Z Car Convention of America) selected Phoenix, Arizona as the host city of the 25th Annual ZCON (Z Convention). ZCON, much like the National Acura Legend Meet (NALM) that I’ve attended for 8 years, brings together owners & enthusiasts once a year in a different part of the country.

As part of the festivities, the Nissan Technical Center of North America (NTCNA-AZ) sponsored a tour day & autocross event. NTCNA is located about 50 miles from my home in Scottsdale, south of the Phoenix area next to a small town called Stanfield.

I headed there bright and early on Saturday morning (only 72 degrees! Fall is here!) in the Acura ILX to see what the event was all about. My soundtrack was provided by Metric. Really loving the Synthetica album — plus, it has special meaning since I got to meet the band a few months ago!

A quick pit stop in Maricopa, AZ at the Amtrak train station was a necessity. I was reminded of my recent Planes, Trains, & Automobiles weekend. This particular station, codename MRC, is a stop on the Sunset Limited train line which runs from New Orleans, LA to Los Angeles, CA.

This sunrise is for real! No photoshop needed!

Soon I was seeing signs for the Nissan Technical Center.

Finally, the entrance to the facility. Right after I took this, I pulled up to the security gate and (along with all other entrants to the campus) was forced to surrender my phone. It stayed with the security personnel for the duration of my stay at NTCNA.

First order of business was a riding tour of the grounds. As I hopped into a white 11-passenger Nissan NV people-hauler van for a tour around the track, there was a family that joined on my particular tour. It was Randy and Ilene Rodriguez with their two small children. Randy is a lead designer at the Nissan Design Center in La Jolla, California. He’s also the “father” of the revolutionary exterior of the current Nissan 370Z bodystyle which debuted for the 2009 model year. Here’s a picture of Randy with his creation at the Toronto Auto Show that year.

This June 2009 article contains a little of Randy’s story with the 370Z. Interestingly enough, the article was written for Import Tuner magazine by Carter Jung, who as of last month is now working in Acura Public Relations. Carter is responsible for the development of press kits, photography and video assets, as well as other communication duties.

Randy’s since done some impressive things too, such as pen the design of the upcoming Infiniti Emerg-E concept vehicle which, when it hits production, will be Nissan’s answer to the formidable upcoming 2015 Acura NSX.

We were driven throughout the expansive facility which contained a number of cool features, each designed with vehicle testing & evaluation in mind:

Mud Splash: They can drive vehicles through depths of water to evaluate intrusion
Salt Spray: Corrosion testing bay
Frame Twist: This one’s only for the trucks, though it looks like it’d be a blast to take a car on. It’s a roller-coaster wavy road intended to determine if the chassis will withstand highly uneven surfaces
Marketability Course: Here, there are sections of road that are modeled after (and constructed identical to) real-life roads. Expansion joints from a freeway in New Jersey, concrete freeway, twisty banked curves from San Gabriel, California, and a deteriorated stretch of highway near Detroit
‘Hot soak’ area with cinderblock walls that block any wind movement and are used to keep air still to see if a vehicle will overheat (a true test of durability when it’s pushing 120 degrees here in Arizona!)
Cold chamber which allows a vehicle to be run from cold all the way up to normal operating temperature.
High speed oval! Minimum speed here is supposed to be 90 miles per hour.
A series of ramps, curbs for impact testing, and other fun features.

Here’s what the area looks like from overhead. They actually allow farmers to grow crops from within the oval!

After the riding tour, I was allowed to drive my own personal car on the track! I followed half a dozen Z cars as we traversed these various types of terrain again. The highlight for me, without a doubt, was the high speed oval. I can only imagine what it might’ve been like if I really let loose and got into triple-digit speeds. Again, without a phone or camera, you’ll just have to picture it in your minds, but it was remarkable and I promise I was grinning the whole time.

Randy signed my copy of the 2012 ZCON program:

I had the privilege of shuttling his wife Ilene and kids back to their hotel which was about a 30 minute drive. They enjoyed the ILX amenities!

One of the most popular bodystyles of Nissan Z at the event was the “Z32,” better known as the 300ZX, which was sold from 1990-1996.

I had a great time exploring the proving grounds. Maybe someday I’ll get the chance to visit the location where Honda does similar testing.

How’s this for a blast from the past? I was rooting through an old box of junk and came across these ancient driver licenses. Turns out I’ve been driving (matchbox cars, then RC cars, apparently) since I was only 3’9″ and weighed 54 pounds!

This next one was from when I was 5’2″ and 96 pounds!

My how times have changed. Another treasure surfaced in those boxes, too. Micromachines! Anyone else who grew up in the 80’s and 90’s has to remember these. Commercial narrator John Moschitta spoke so fast I could barely understand him! Loved the commercials, though.

Speaking of the olden days, my old high school friend Jaesi posted something on Facebook about how certain cars reminded her of friends from our graduating class. The thread lit on fire within the first couple of hours with about 200 comments from others in our class who loved to reminisce about the cars we drove and memories we had with them. It made me dig out this picture to contribute to the dialogue.

As I already shared in a prior post, I’ve always been one to obsess over getting just the right parking space wherever I go. That was definitely the case at Pine View High School in 1998. My red 1989 Honda Prelude 2.0 Si was parked right out front, along the road. No door ding potential here!

ILX Updates

A few lucky people have joined the ranks recently of 2013 ILX owners. One such individual is Colin from Honolulu. I met him via the Acura ILX Owners & Enthusiasts Facebook group. Colin upgraded from an Acura RSX to a Bellanova White Pearl ILX 2.4 6-speed and shared his story on the following link. Congratulations, Colin!

I’m upgraded to iOS6 on my iPhone 4 but I’m still having a tough time getting the SMS text messaging set up. Any tech people want to walk me through it?

One of my favorite features of the ILX is this great cutoff line with the projector HID headlights. The song playing on my iPod when this was taken is “One Day” by Matisyahu. One of my current faves. Give it a listen here.

Legend Updates

Tomorrow, 9/24/2012, will mark the 18-year anniversary of the date that my 1994 Legend LS coupe was purchased new by its original owner in Pleasanton, California with only 288 miles on the odometer. I was lucky enough to score all of the original Bill of Sale paperwork when I bought the car in early 2003.

Saw a pretty sad looking 1991-92 Legend sedan in central Phoenix.

Coming Soon from Acura – Trip to the LA Auto Show!

In April of this year, the new 2014 Acura RLX concept car was unveiled at the New York Auto Show, bring some much needed updates to the aging RL platform that’s been around since 1996 when the Legend (as we know it here in the USA) was discontinued.

The car reportedly will come with Acura’s new Precision All Wheel Steer system (reminds me of my old 4WS Prelude!). The car will be powered by an all-new 3.5-liter direct-injected VTEC V-6 engine producing 310 horsepower. Design wise, Acura is also raising the bar. My favorite feature is the “Jewel Eye” headlights. From a press release that was distributed earlier this week:

Acura’s exclusive Jewel Eye™ LED headlamps use a dual-stacked array of multiple high-intensity LED lamps, with ultra-reflective optical lenses and high-gloss trim, to provide powerful down-the-road illumination, while simultaneously giving the RLX a distinctive and bright-eyed look in both daytime and nighttime conditions.

Since the New York show, many have speculated about just how “true” to the concept vehicle the actual production version will be.

Well, I’ll get a firsthand look in a couple of months! The production version of the 2014 RLX will be unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show. I’ll be attending the event as a media colleague during the press days on November 28 & 29! Can’t wait.

It’s been a productive weekend for sure. To top it all off, I organized the car detailing supply closet.

In closing for today:

I really liked this commercial for the all-new 2013 Honda Accord. It really captures how Honda and Acura recognize their customers and build their vehicles to fit well into “real life.”

Happy weekend everyone.

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Twin Arrows

Posted in Arizona, ILX, Road Trip on September 19, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 515,564

Odometer (ILX): 15,127

I get a kick out of visiting offbeat roadside destinations! Maybe that’s one of the reasons why Roadside America is one of my favorite websites to kill time on. After seeing this music video which was put to Depeche Mode’s song “Route 66,” I was intrigued by a set of matching arrows made from telephone poles featured multiple times during the song.

After a little more research, I was inspired to take a 360-mile round trip Saturday drive in the Acura ILX to find these very same arrows.

Bingo:

Success.

The arrows lie along what is now Interstate 40, about 25 miles east of Flagstaff Arizona. For me, that meant climbing from about 2,000 to 7,000 feet elevation and into Coconino County where the Ponderosa Pines dominate the landscape. Perfect weather and a full tank of gas to burn? That’s all the reason I need.

Interstate 17 northbound from the Phoenix area was pretty much wide-open. I set the cruise control in the ILX to 80 and enjoyed the scenery. I did discover one inconvenience. My ‘main’ iPod (a beastly 80 gig “Classic”) has 15,605 songs on it. It was handy to be able to control the iPod using the audio interface on the instrument panel, but when I had a craving for a particular Hoobastank song, I had to scroll through 1,011 artists manually until I got to Hoobastank. There must be a more convenient way to do that! I’ll have to research it when I get time.

A quick side-trip to view a quaint looking log cabin estate alongside the interstate. Six “No Parking” signs in a row. Yet I parked there! But only for long enough to capture this picture of something that I thought looked pretty absurd.

Finally I connected with Interstate 40 in Flagstaff and took it to Exit 219 where the Twin Arrows lie.

Twin Arrows started life as the Canyon Padre Trading Post in 1949. By 1954 when this picture was taken, it was a bustling stop along Route 66. Interstate 40 came along in the 1970’s and paralleled the old road, but probably pulled business away from Twin Arrows because it made Flagstaff (just 25 miles away) even more readily accessible.

Even up until this picture was taken in 1998, the cafe was pretty well kept. In further research, I learned that this cafe is in fact a “Valentine Diner.” A Kansas-based company mass produced these metal diners and delivered them to their destinations on flatbed trucks. This is reportedly one of 7 remaining prefabricated Valentine Diners left standing in Arizona.

However, the cafe was closed that year and the last 14 years have really taken their toll. The arrows themselves were restored in 2009 but the rest of the property has become a trash pile.

The price of the last fuel dispensed at this station, according to one online resource, was $1.39/gallon.

In 2003, concrete barricades (visible in the background of the above picture) were installed along the frontage road preventing access to the site. However, I was able to drive around the barricades about 1/2 mile up the road and back-track on a dirt road to get to Twin Arrows for a closer picture.

My mission of getting to the arrows had been accomplished, but I wasn’t finished with my adventure. My curiosity got the best of me and I decided to see what the inside the buildings might be like. I don’t think this stove has cooked a meal in a very long time.

Ever heard of Urban Exploration? Little did I know that there is a whole ‘hobby’ around going into abandoned buildings and taking pictures there. I’m fascinated by it. In fact, there’s even a website/forum dedicated to providing a venue for people to share their experiences. It’s called the Urban Exploration Resource.

I had to be careful where I stepped since I was in flip-flop sandals and there was broken glass everywhere. Also, if the pictures appear blurry it’s because I was in a hurry! I didn’t want to A) get caught inside in case it was trespassing, B) get attacked by anyone who might be crazy enough to live inside this place, or C) encounter any rabid animals who’d made it their home.

An eery feeling overcame me as I saw a remaining booth from when the diner was in operation.

This garage didn’t have any cool treasures inside it, but I looked.

Finally I’d had my fill of Twin Arrows so I decided to head back to Flagstaff.

Having worked up an appetite, and determined to continue to experience some historic landmarks, set my sights on one of the few remaining restaurants that’s still in operation from having been around during Route 66’s heyday: Galaxy Diner.

On the way there, I spied some other interesting places, like the “Route 66 Dog Haus” where you can drive through the center of the building to get take-out. The lettering above the opening reads: “IF IN DOUBT, BACK IT OUT.”

Historic downtown Flagstaff.

And my next destination, Galaxy Diner at 931 West Route 66 Drive.

Stepping into this place was a trip back in time.

I sat at the bar and chatted it up with a few locals who were enjoying lunches as well.

My selection:

And the temptation was just too strong – I caved and got dessert. I asked the waittress, “Can I just get a small vanilla sundae with a little hot fudge?” She brings me this creation and asks, “Is that all you want on it?” Holy cow! Sugar overload.

The Galaxy hosts a hot rod car show every Friday night. Plenty of great selections in that jukebox!

Farewell, Galaxy, and thanks for a great meal.

Back to Phoenix I went. About 20 miles south of Flagstaff, I hit 15,000 miles. Here’s a video I captured. I’ve realized it’s a lot more “suspenseful” to watch the miles roll by for this car than for the Legend because there’s no tenths digit in the odometer! I had to keep the camera glued to the display while I waited for it to turn. Skip past the first half of the video – it’s boring!

The great news is that my ILX is getting phenomenal gas mileage. This trip meter was reset when I got an oil change 395.8 miles ago. The car has achieved 34.7 miles per gallon since then. Awesome!

Other High Milers

My friend Wayne in Houston who bought my old 1994 Legend GS sedan in Sirius White Pearl sent me an email today. His service advisor at Sterling McCall Acura shared some pictures of a 1993 Honda Accord that’s well into “driven to five” status. This sedan has over 566,000 miles on the original engine. It’s had one transmission replacement. Remarkable! This 1990-1993 bodystyle of Accord is so bulletproof. It’s the same drivetrain that achieved 1 million miles in Million Mile Joe’s car last year.

Check out Margaret Dunning from Plymouth, Michigan. She’s 102 years old and still driving a 1930 “straight 8” Packard.

Margaret is an inspiration! At her age, she’s still probably a better driver than most young folks on the road. Best of all, she appreciates each vehicle for its truly unique characteristics – because not every car is just “four tires and a steering wheel.” My favorite part – and you’ll have to watch until the very end of the clip – is when she puts out a towel on the running board of her Packard before she gets inside. Love this lady! She reminds me a little of Rachel Veitch who I blogged about in April as still driving her 580,000-mile 1964 Mercury Comet. Keep on rolling, Rachel and Margaret!

Lastly:

Ever wondered how to capture that perfect automotive photograph? This short 3-minute video highlights a few of the tips that I’ve used over the years and easy tricks that I’ve also seen the professionals use. Thought some of my readers might find it interesting.

Happy hump day!

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Family Time: Trip to Beaver, Utah

Posted in ILX, Road Trip, Utah on September 9, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer: 14,604

It wouldn’t be a Drive to Five weekend unless it involved traveling at least 1,000 miles, right? If the Grand Canyon National Park hadn’t been in my way of getting to southern Utah to visit my family, it would’ve been a lot shorter. Maybe someday they’ll bridge it.

After spending Friday night in my hometown of St. George, Utah, I joined 5 other family members for an annual pilgrimage of sorts. Each fall, we visit the location where we’ve buried the remains of my great-grandmother, “Granny,” far into the hills of a remote canyon in central Utah. We took two vehicles and the Acura ILX was one of them.

The 100-mile drive to Beaver from St. George goes quickly via Interstate 15 thanks to its 80 mph speed limit for most of the way. My cousin Dillon and his wife Crystal joined me for the drive up. Thanks to Bluetooth connectivity, Dillon was able to be our DJ and we rocked out to some music selections from his iPhone as we motored northbound. Turns out we’re both fans of the musical group “Fun.”

Beaver‘s a 2,500-resident town that claims its fame as being the birthplace to Philo T. Farnsworth (inventor of TV) and the birthplace of Butch Cassidy. Beaver is also home to the ‘best tasting rural water’ , based on a 2006 contest that spanned the entire United States. We didn’t stick around town long enough to appreciate the water, but instead continued our drive and climbed State Route 153 to the east which would lead us up the Tushar Mountain Range, shown as the curvy yellow road in the following map.

The ILX hugged the curves during our ascent into Beaver Canyon. A river parallels the two-lane highway and the landscape is very green. Moonroof-open is the only way to travel on a road like this in September.

About 10 miles up the road, however, we were met with a road closure due to installation of a water main. “You can go around,” a UDOT representative told us, “But it’s a 22 mile dirt road detour via Kent Lake and I wouldn’t take that car on it,” as she motioned to the ILX. Bummed out but still determined to make our trek, we parked the ILX and piled into the Dodge Nitro to resume our adventure.

As it turns out, having a high clearance vehicle was definitely a necessity. The detour was full of washboard, ruts, and huge potholes that bounced us around plenty. We maxed out at 10,000 feet in elevation – this road was way up there! We did make it safely to our destination (though an hour or so delayed) and pigged out on our picnic lunch. Here are some pictures from our Saturday activity.

The red rocks of southern Utah have made the area famous for its popularity as a place to film old Western movies.

The climb into Beaver Canyon is (as my grandpa says) “gargeous” this time of year.

But here’s where we encountered our little speed bump in the plans:

No matter – we ditched the ILX for Jodi’s Dodge Nitro 4×4 and left the ILX at the roadside for a few hours.

The rest of our voyage up the mountain looked something like this, but with some sections of road in far worse condition and with steep grades.

The scenery, though, was phenomenal. Anderson Lake looked like a nice place to stop for some fishing if we’d been prepared.

Grandma in the cargo area – yes. She insisted!

Bathroom break and a chance to validate our directions. It’s a good thing we stopped, in fact, because for a short time we’d been traveling the wrong way. Though they may not be highly visible in this shot, my cousin Dillon (in front of the Dodge) is facing probably a dozen cows that were creeping closer to us.

Finally, we did reach our picnic destination along a small creek.

It took a few retakes (and a few laughs) to figure out Aunt Jodi’s iPhone timer and find something to use as a tripod.

The drive back down the mountain went much more quickly. After retrieving the ILX, we made a customary stop at Mel’s Drive-In on Main Street in Beaver for ice cream.

Mom got a vanilla cone since twist cones weren’t available that day.

Saddle up!

And we’re off again.

What a great way to spend the afternoon with family! Nothing like a road trip to bring us closer together.

Following are some of the other pictures from this weekend.

The ILX prior to this trip, by the way, got its first wax job with Meguiar’s Gold Class. My fave!

Highway 93 in northwestern Arizona. Home to Nothing. Literally. This town – if it can even be called that – is the town of Nothing. Population 4. The “All Mart” looks like it’s been closed for quite some time. From a placard that’s since been removed from the site:

Town of Nothing Arizona. Founded 1977. Elevation 3269ft.
The staunch citizens of Nothing are full of Hope, Faith, and Believe in the work ethic. Through the years, these dedicated people had faith in Nothing, hoped for Nothing, worked at Nothing, for Nothing.

One of many call boxes along the highway. While I had always thought these were kind of obsolete now that so many motorists are driving around with cellular telephones, the advantage of a call box in an emergency is that the exact location is immediately known by the dispatcher at the other end of the line.

Wikieup Auto Repair. Wikieup, Arizona. If you want their attention (per the sign to the left of the picture), you’ve got to “Honk 3 or 4 Times. Or Call.” Anyone need a spare hubcap or two?

Wikieup is also home to the Snoopy Rocket. Yeah, I wasn’t sure what it was either. But in this picture you can clearly see that the roadside attraction was clearly made out of a telephone pole and features a wooden Snoopy (or two) riding on top. Bizarre? You bet. But totally worth stopping for an ILX photo-op.

I got Rick-Rolled by the ILX right around this time on Pandora – my ’80’s on 8′ station always gives me something to chair dance to!

St. George, Utah Legend sighting. Rare 1991 L model “Golden Glow Pearl” coupe. It’d seen better days but it’s a rare color!

Highway 91 in St. George became known as St. George Boulevard and is still one of the main arteries through town. While many of the old relics of the mid-1900’s have long since been demolished, a few motels like the Sands Motel are still in operation.

I especially like that in the year 2012, the Sands is still advertising the fact that they’ve got color RCA TVs in each room. When was the last time any of us saw a black and white TV? I might actually pay extra to stay in a motel room that had one!

While reminiscing about the past, I also drove to and hiked around this old tunnel which in its day was the gateway into town from the north, long before Interstate 15 was sliced through the bluff.

A visit to grandma’s place after that – and what do I find? Old school pictures on the wall. I’m at the left. Bleached hair was all the rage in high school in the late 1990’s. I promise.

Grandma’s in a Heather Mist Metallic 1997 Acura 3.5 RL seen across the street in this picture. It’s been in the family since 2004.

Morning hike with a view of the landscape in my beloved hometown.

This morning, I had the chance to chauffeur some very important people to church with me. My grandpa and grandma took their first ride in the ILX and commented on how smooth it was.

I made the motion to swing into a parking space right near the front door to the church building. “What are you doing?” Grandpa asked me. “Just parking,” I responded. “No, go all the way to the end!” were his instructions. Sure enough, Grandpa knows proper parking technique! Must run in the family!

After saying my farewells, it was time to start my 6.5 hour return drive to Scottsdale, Arizona from St. George. Here’s a state line sign that I hadn’t captured yet. The Silver State!

I observed 34 mpg in the ILX from Mesquite, Nevada to Kingman, Arizona, about 150-160 miles away. Just north of Kingman on Highway 93, some ominous storm clouds loomed just ahead. Sure enough, I got dumped on. The volume of rain was so bad, in fact, that many cars had pulled off to the side of the road and were waiting the storm out with their emergency flashers activated. I motored on at a safe rate of speed and got through without any issues.

By the time I got to Phoenix, it was a nice evening out.

And it wouldn’t be a Drive to Five blog post if it didn’t end with a classic Arizona sunset.

This coming Wednesday I’ll celebrate 3 months of Acura ILX ownership and I must say that the nearly 15,000 miles we’ve already shared together have been memorable! Thanks as always for coming along for the ride!

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