Let the good times roll! I got to enjoy a couple more new vehicles in recent weeks, aside from my previously-tested Honda Ridgeline in the last blog post.
The Accord is now in its 10th generation and I was blown away at the level of content for a $38k pricetag – not to mention that the car gets over 40 mpg. My video link is below.
The MDX, on the other hand, is now in its 4th generation as of the 2021 model year, and it is definitely the best yet. My video on that is also below.
Stats / Summary:
2022 Acura MDX SH-AWD A-Spec
290 hp 3.5-liter VTEC; 7-passenger, 10-speed automatic, $58,125 as-tested
Good Stuff:
Aesthetics
New design is attractive
Attention to detail – true “Flagship” level of quality
Lighting front & rear
Performance / Drivability:
Steering wheel weight / effort
Great acceleration, smooth power delivery
Good grip and handling for a vehicle of its size & height
Sturdy overall feel
Turning radius surprisingly good
Amenities / Tech:
Precision cockpit design, materials and finishes top notch
Mini MDX in gauge cluster
Good screens – size, resolution
Nice back-up camera
Great panoramic roof with sliding shade
Sound system A+
Wireless charging tech
Tri-zone climate / heated & ventilated seats
Ambient interior lighting at night
Not a Huge Fan:
Learning curve with infotainment
Observed MPG (16 over 200 miles in-town)
Friend suggestion – Maybe incorporate HUD into this trim (Avail on Advance)
Changing things up a bit from the reviews, I will share a couple other videos about recent fun. My friend Scott from Palm Springs picked up a 1994 Legend LS coupe automatic a few weeks ago and I got to celebrate his 200,000th milestone in it on his way back to Palm Springs.
Also, another friend Mark scooped up a 1992 Integra GS-R locally that I helped him pick up, so I filmed a video with that as well. The car is now on its way to Connecticut.
Posted in ILX, Integra, RLX, SLX on August 20, 2020 by tysonhugie
Trip Distance: 400 Miles
Well, well, well! A video that I filmed with Honda about a year and a half ago has debuted.
Get your Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn in the microwave because I have quite a few videos to link you to in this post.
‘Kokoro’ in Japanese means “heart.” There’s a series of “Honda Kokoro” videos hosted by my friend Charles, Honda Brand Culture Champion, who has just recently retired. I was the main character in the 6th video, which just came out yesterday. I think the legal and post-production hurdles that set this back dilute its timeliness (3 of the cars featured there are gone, and 4 more are added) but it’s still a super fun memory.
My friend Chuck has a collection of very obscure vehicles. If it weren’t crazy enough that he owns a custom 1988 Acura Legend convertible (the Legend wasn’t even offered from the factory in a convertible bodystyle), he also has a Dodge Dakota pickup convertible (yes, that one was a thing!), and a 1998 Acura SLX with only 54,000 miles on it.
How he managed to assemble a grouping so eclectic I’m not quite sure, but I decided to make a 6-hour round-trip from Phoenix to Sierra Vista, Arizona visit to pay him a visit this past weekend.
The vehicle called into action for the occasion was my 1996 SLX, since aside from the RADwood show last December, this would be the first time I would meet up with a fellow SLX owner. Luckily, even though the summer heatwave was intense, I made the trip to & fro without incident. My air conditioning even kept things cool the whole way.
It was nice to reconnect with Chuck and Patty, and we dined at one of Sierra Vista’s great Mexican restaurants. The city is located only about 20 miles from the Mexican border, so authenticity is accounted for. Chuck and I also took the convertible Legend out for a cruise. I shot a few video clips that I pieced together. Here’s the outcome.
(Special preview – this isn’t even public on my channel yet!)
Thanks, Chuck & Patty for hosting! Please pardon our masklessness for the photo, and in other instances of the videos in this blog. Rest assured I do have a mask in every single car and I wear them regularly.
Here are a few other updates in recent travels and current events.
With the automotive event calendar being wiped almost entirely clean this year thanks to COVID-19, some venues have reinvented themselves in digital format. One of them is the Future Collector Car Show (FCCS) which hosted a virtual car show on YouTube. I was among 18 finalists who made it to the final round for Best of Show with my 1999 Integra. Here’s a video that was published on the YouTube channel of the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles.
(My car shows up 15 minutes in)
I took a trip to Utah a couple of weeks ago to see some family members.
My mom and stepdad and I dined from Cliffside Restaurant overlooking St. George, Utah.
The trusty old 2013 ILX rolled 225,000 miles, and I filmed a few minutes of video.
I also shot video of mom’s 2016 RLX.
And finally, several weeks ago I had company from a couple of Integra-owning local friends, Eric and Chris. It was nice of them to stop by, and I got some video clips then too.
I especially like Chris’ T-shirt. “Hoard Hondas, Not Toilet Paper.”
My T-shirt was pretty special too. It was a one-day-only design made available on Blipshift.
Lastly, my friend Andy stopped by to show me his 2005 Lotus.
I guess that’s it for now. Just catching you up on the latest.
Can we talk about how cool this little LED sign is? Found this baby on some random Facebook sponsored vendor’s ad. Imagine me getting ads for Acura related merchandise. How dare they think they know my life!
I’m wrapping up about 8 weeks in quarantine as I type this, and if it weren’t for the occasional socially-distant excursion like a couple of weeks ago at my friend’s pool nearby, I might have lost my insanity altogether. Say hello to Midge the pup there in the lower left.
Car updates have been on the checklist as usual, and I’m pretty satisfied to say that I’ve accomplished pretty darn near everything I wanted to do when I set out to make my isolation time as productive as it could possibly be. The 1992 Integra got a fresh coat of VHT wrinkle black paint on the valve cover. It’s something I’d been meaning to do on the engine bay for a very long time. Check it out!
The RL got a new under-hood insulation pad to replace the one that was ripped before.
The Vigor got some suspension bushings and brake pads at Hon-Man.
The laundry room (aka showroom entry) got a new LED lamp like the one I installed in the garage itself. Here’s the before & after.
Here’s a video of those updates.
The SLX is getting a brake master cylinder as we speak. And then I think I’m seriously done for a bit. Famous last words, right? Okay so that gets the chore updates out of the way for the most part.
Take a peek at this cool article from a 2001 issue of a magazine called “Velocity.” It was an Acura/Honda enthusiast mag, and it talked about a guy named Leszek who put 500k on his 1992 Legend sedan by using it as a taxi.
Fast forward a couple of decades. Leszek got rid of his Legend at 530k and then went into an RL that got 450k. Then he moved to Lexus, and now he’s with Mercedes. I found his website – aptly named “Legendary Private Car” – and emailed him. See his email response below.
In fitting timing, a friend needed airport transport last week so I decided to dress the part and pick him up in appropriate fashion, name tag and all.
This is what happens when you’ve been in quarantine 8 weeks and take things way too seriously.
Check out this cool little info blurb I got from a friend about the original concept for the 1987 Legend coupe. They almost named it the Legend Climax.
YouTube is still a major source of entertainment for me as I’ve spent quite a bit of time creating videos.
Here are the latest two productions: A tour of the garage, and then an intro to the assembly of a display rack where I’m showcasing my (100+) brochures in the garage now.
Garage Tour
Display Build
I won’t see much of you all for the next few weeks. Work is still busy, but going through a state of change as the hospital system I’m with transitions through the different phases of the coronavirus pandemic. I’ll be taking a mandatory two-week furlough the first two weeks of June.
But guess what – I’m about to make lemonade out of lemons. I’ve just arranged to get a long-term loan in a 2020 Acura TLX PMC Edition starting May 29th. I’ll be taking that car on a 6-state, 2,000+ mile adventure. You’ll read about it here sometime in June.
Lastly, I’ll leave you with a little bit of Q&A. A couple of weeks ago, I was corresponding with Patricia who bought my 1994 Legend coupe when it was new. I had a few questions for her that I emailed in a Word document.
You might get a kick out of her answers – especially the last one.
1 – I understand you were the original owner of the (now nearly 600,000 mile) 1994 Legend. What did you drive before buying that car?
Honda Prelude
2 – What about the Legend coupe particularly caught your eye or interest when it was new?
Loved the styling and the feel of luxury – it was my first aspirational car purchase. The color was not my first choice – I wanted the dark green but there were no more of that color in stock in California
3 – What was it like to be in the market for a Legend back then? Was the trim, color, and configuration that you wanted difficult to come by, or was the car already in inventory and readily available?
I answered this question above – the Legend was marketed by Acura as their sporty luxury brand
4 – One particularly cool aspect of your car history is that you seem to prefer a stick shift, since the BMW 530i that you replaced the Legend with was also a manual transmission. What do you drive today, and does it also let you row your own gears?
The last car I drove was an automatic Lexus 250 – I wanted to continue to drive a manual but was later convinced an automatic was better for resale. I just read a recent article that most automotive companies are no longer offering manual transmissions.
5 – Your ownership of the Legend lasted about 9 years and 90,000 miles, which is longer than many people keep a car. What were some of the road trips or experiences that stand out as highlights during that time?
Difficult to remember but, living in Northern California provides anyone who loves to drive so many opportunities for open roads and beautiful vistas.
6 – When you sold the Legend, did you ever think you’d be interviewed for a questionnaire about it 18 years later?
No – I was surprised when I received your phone call, identifying yourself as the new owner, and wanting to connect.
7 – On a scale of 1 to 10, how crazy do think Tyson is?
That took me long enough. The Legend coupe was at 572,XXX ever since getting back from Florida last October. I was getting sick of that 2 staring me in the face. I’ve been plugging away over here in my director chair coming up with content for YouTube.
Except, I don’t just occupy a director chair. For a total of 9 episodes now, I’ve taken each car in the collection and cleaned it, prepared supporting documentation, filmed it, edited the footage, and uploaded it. I’ve scheduled releases through the beginning of June, each Saturday. That was a lot of work but it’s also been super rewarding.
The Legend video has made it into 2 news articles (Motor1 and Carscoops) and even an article in Germany. As I type this on Wednesday April 22nd, the view count has surpassed 120,000 in just the 3 weeks it’s been live.
Here are two more uploads exclusive to the blog since they won’t be public on the channel for a while.
Integra SSBP GS-R Video
RL Video
I also took a little bit of time to put together a summary video of the 15-year history of the National Acura Legend Meet. This 5-minute piece captures select highlights from each year of the event starting in 2005.
The other day, I was rummaging through my case of printed car pics. Back in the day, I used to have all my media printed up at Walmart. I have hundreds of photos in plastic organizers, split out with dividers according to model, month, and year. This shouldn’t surprise any of you. But I came across a couple of photos from 2004 of my 1989 Prelude Si – the first Honda that really got me hooked – and it prompted me to do a little more digging.
These pictures show my friend Branson holding a camcorder and recording the scene. We were looking at my then-wrecked (former) Prelude at a salvage yard in St. George, Utah. We just happened across the car coincidentally. I’d sold it about four years prior, and the new owner was rear-ended which ultimately was the demise of the car. To this day I still have the rear “H” emblem off the trunk lid in my display case at home.
Anyway, I was determined to find the footage that Branson filmed that day. And I did. Below is a video showing the scene. It opens up to October 30, 2004 when he and I were swapping wheels on a newly-purchased $700 project car, a 1991 Legend L coupe 5-speed, that I’d purchased from my friend Mike to use as a “winter beater” while I was going to school at Utah State University in Logan, Utah.
The video then cuts to Branson’s footage of the Prelude. Next it takes you through some other things like me attempting to start detailing that $700 pile of junk. Some things never change.
Below is another video from the same “Hi8” cassette tape that I found interesting. It contains test drives of my 1986 Chevy Celebrity with 194,000 miles (displayed as 94,000) when I bought the car back for a brief moment of time in spring 2005. It also has a clip of driving the Legend coupe. It had about 165,000 miles on it at the time and as you’ll notice, it had the “TCS” (Traction Control System) light in the gauge cluster illuminated. I remember that being because of a faulty TCS Control Unit, which was fixed later in September of that year.
Perhaps most interesting from this video though is that it has a brief walkaround of the 2000 Acura 3.5 RL, which I ended up buying back earlier this year after it had been passed around the family for 14 years. The RL at the time of the video clip had only 23,880 miles on it.
Today, it has about 212,000. Thankfully, it looks about the same cosmetically with the exception of now having the factory 16″ wheels on it instead of those awful aftermarket chrome 17’s. You’ll also get introduced to our family cat, Gizmo, who is long gone.
Video quality has come a very long time over the last 15 years, hasn’t it?
I’ve crossed a few more home-improvement projects off the list in the last couple of weeks, including something I’d been meaning to do for a while. Below you’ll see the last addition to the garage: A sign for my (pretend) dealership. The lettering is made from 3D foam from a company in LA called Front Signs. I told them the design I had in mind, supplied the artwork, and they mailed me a box with everything I needed including the template to get everything installed in proper alignment.
The letters came in plain black so they needed to be primed, painted, and clear coated. The whole process took a couple of weeks because I ordered all the supplies online as opposed to breaking my quarantine and going to the hardware store. Additionally, the lamp you see there was ordered on Amazon and I had to run the power cord through the garage cabinet in order to get it wired up and working.
Here’s how it played out in a 1-minute video.
The next garage to get more work will be the ‘west’ garage which is begging for some custom flooring and paint. All in due time.
A friend tipped me off on an article that showed up in the February 2020 Japanese magazine called Honda Style. The magazine reads “backwards,” in other words, the pages flip from left to right instead of right to left. The SH-AWD 1997 SLX that was part of last year’s RADwood build made a 3-page article! I ordered 2 copies of the mag and sent one of them to the Public Relations team at Acura.
Lastly, a friend in Seattle hooked me up with an ‘actual’ 1992 GS-R window sticker, although it’s missing a chunk. This helps as a point of reference either way, especially when coupled with the replica that Jason helped me with a couple of years ago.
Hope everyone is having a safe and enjoyable week out there. Take care.
Checking in on all of you out there! Let me know how you’re doing.
I’ve been productive around here playing Steven Spielberg when I’m not tied up in work meetings from home. Get your popcorn ready. Actually, make a couple of batches while you’re at it. If you’re in the mood for a movie marathon at some point, here are some selections I cooked up, with walkarounds for some of my cars.
Most are still ‘unlisted’ and will debut on my public YouTube channel on the dates indicated (subject to change!). You’re welcome to wait and just watch them then!
ILX Detail – Public
1992 Integra – Public
NSX – Premieres April 18
Legend Sedan – Premieres April 25
SLX – Premieres May 2
Vigor – Premieres May 9
The RL has not yet been shot but I’m prepping the car over the next couple of days.
Here are a few ‘beauty shots’ taken at the time of each film shoot.
I had the Vigor console out the other day in order to get the serial number so I could track down the radio anti-theft code.
Used the SLX to haul some firewood.
Did a bumper light restore on the 1992 GS-R.
Dug through some magazine articles to archive more stuff.
Adopted a friend’s modified 1995 NSX for a few days while he refinished his garage floor.
Received a massive Easter egg delivery from family in Utah.
Hung up some art work in the ‘ugly’ one-car garage that usually gets no attention.
And detailed my mower, topped off with an “A” emblem on the motor.
This morning’s work teleconferences started off with an Acura wine glass of iced coffee.
As you can see, I’m staying plenty entertained here.
Day “I don’t know.” It’s Groundhog Day around here, and I feel like Bill Murray hitting the snooze button on the alarm each day wondering if something will be different. Well, a few things have been different. There’s a lot less traffic whizzing by on the street outside. Solitude and seclusion are the norm – and will continue to be for another 4 weeks at least, since as of yesterday evening the state of Arizona is on a ‘formal’ lockdown of non-essential travel.
So my cars will sit but my mind and body will keep moving as best they’re able to. The good news is that I’ve found miraculous ways to keep busy. What started out as organizing my top desk drawer for the first time in about 5 years ended up in complete, comprehensive Spring Cleaning that purged 3 huge boxes of stuff from my closets.
And like any analytical person would insist on doing, I took inventory of what was inside my desk drawer so I could share it with you all. I know, seriously. Has quarantine gotten to me that badly? Here you go.
Desk Inventory March 2020:
19 pens
18 sharpie markers
2 scotch tapes
2 sheets of stamps
3 calculators
3 hole punches
4 post-it pads
5 highlighters
7 checkbooks
8 chap sticks
8 flashlights
9 mechanical pencils
9 USB drives / storage mediums
binder clips box
box of business cards
extra go pro battery
notepad
paper clips box
pocketknife
ruler
safety pins box
scissors
staple remover
stapler
thumb tacks box
I don’t know why I needed that many flashlights. I don’t even think I need a single one. My phone has that built-in. Same with the calculators. Man, how stuff has just become obsolete overnight!
Thanks in large part to the Legend video that I shared with you all on the last blog post (17,000 views and counting in the last 4 days), I will likely be hitting 6,000 subscribers sometime tonight. It’s hard to believe, but I only had 4,000 around the first of the year. So a 2,000 subscriber bump in just the first quarter of 2020? I’ll ride that wave as long as it’ll carry me. I think I can attribute some of the traffic to the fact that I’ve been diligent about publishing a video about once per week consistently. Here’s my channel if you aren’t already subscribed.
Since Throwback Thursday starts in a couple of hours, here are some photos of a 1996 scrapbook that I unearthed out of a box the other day while looking for something else. This Chrismasy-colored page has to do with when my mom bought a 1990 Integra GS sedan – the car, in a sense, that started my entire Acura-ddiction.
Here’s a page where I listed out my “Dream Cars” at age 15. The Ford Expedition had just come out, so I loved that. A few oddballs are on the list including a Toyota Camry. And I had a lot of domestic cars, and only 1 German. The photo at the bottom of the page is me with my great-aunt’s 1993 Grand Cherokee Limited that we used to detail for her. I loved that 5.2L V8.
Another oldie, this shot of me being picked up from middle school. I can tell my mom was driving the red Integra when she took this. Also, was I wearing socks with sandles? Let’s bring that style back in 2021.
When was the last time you saw an Acura Legend advertised “under factory warranty”? Funny thing about this ad clipping that I saved: Just a couple of weeks ago, a Legend coupe sold for $25,800. So would you say that Legend prices have come back to 1996 levels after being discontinued for 25 years?
Before our lockdown hit, I took the chance to get the Vigor out for fresh air and deliver something to my former roommate James who bought a place of his own. This skeleton was part of our Halloween decor for the last couple of years. I got a lot of odd looks from people while I drove him to his new place. Seat belted in, of course.
One of the projects I’d been wanting to do for a contribution to the Acura Legend enthusiast community was to assemble a comprehensive media archive of all available / known magazine articles on the car. It took about 20 years to collect all the magazines that I needed (and a still probably missed a few). But, the result was worth the effort and I ended up with a massive library that came out to:
And here’s the list of what all is in that, if you want to click & read. Mark, I’m completely ashamed that I forgot to include “High Mileage Heroes” in the mix! I had it in a special / separate drawer and spaced it. Next volume.
Catching up on maintenance – again, before we were chained to our homes. Vigor first (it had been 13 months since an oil change, yikes).
And green GS-R, which only saw a few hundred miles last year, I think.
You all saw my drive-thru window (AKA my bedroom window) on my last blog post. Well, I think I took things a step too far. I found a $28 ‘open sign’ kit on Amazon and ordered it. Here, we have the open sign, business hours, and a “closed” sign if I need it. Yes, I put my work attire and badge on for this.
I think it’s also the first time I’ve done my hair in 2.5 weeks. A friend commented on my instagram post about this, “You’re doing it all wrong. Working from home doesn’t require wearing pants.” He has a good point, but this isn’t that kind of blog. We are a family friendly environment over here at Drive to Five.
Last bit of news, I have to give a shout-out to David in Florida who bought my old Integra sedan. He sent me this picture this week – the car safely tucked away! He rolled 75,000 miles on his drive to Florida earlier this year.
How is everyone doing? I saw a meme the other day: “What a year this week has been.” Yeah, sounds about right. I’m going to spare you from having one more place to read about the current state of the world around us, because I know your TV and your social media feeds are absolutely saturated with it. Over here in Arizona, my travels have dialed back to just the occasional trip to the grocery store or drive-thru – in fact, those are the only 2 trips I took all week. And as much as I love being on the go, I have actually kind of enjoyed being homebound. Shocker.
For one thing, I spent about 2 hours in the yard this morning with a complete cosmetic revamp. Mow, trim, weed killer, and sweep. It was satisfying and refreshing, especially in this gorgeous spring weather. I have projects underway with the house, with the cars, and with work, not to mention writing / YouTubing / organizing / planning / journaling. I spent an hour this afternoon on the phone with grandparents catching up.
Sometimes having a chance to slow the pace of life down a little isn’t necessarily a bad thing. And even though my travel calendar has been wiped clean for at least the next couple of months, I’m confident I’ll stay busy and productive.
I had a couple of visitors in town earlier this month including my friend Jason and my cousin Jandi. Jason drove in from Las Cruces in his Contour so we could go meet with Kevin Marti of Marti Auto Works, who has a specialty Ford facility on the western outskirts of Phoenix.
Kevin is a licensee to Ford’s complete production database – in other words, he can authenticate and give detailed background on just about any FoMoCo vehicle. His “Marti Reports” are the renowned source of truth when it comes to production numbers rarity. I last visited his place in 2014.
My cousin from Idaho also visited and we had a nice time enjoying the weather and company. I’ll let the photos and video below tell the rest of the story because it’s a wide variety of automotive updates I can share with you all.
I was originally scheduled to volunteer as a driver during the Mecum collector car auction a week ago. I had my credential and everything. But then I pulled out given current state of the public situation. But I’m on the list for next year and I will get to drive some cool stuff like this (while I awkwardly sit in the driver’s seat and let people bid on “me.”). Coverage from my visit to Mecum last year is here.
My home office is set up and I moved my desk in my bedroom so that it looks out the front window. Now, I just need a better monitor setup. Stat!
I juiced a couple dozen oranges that I got from a friend’s tree. Citrus trees are in season right now here!
I had the Legend coupe out last week to visit friends in Gilbert with a huge new home. The ceilings inside it are 16 feet tall.
My neighbor Chuck got a couple cool cars from a relative in Texas. One of them is this 1969 Plymouth Roadrunner.
The other is this 1930 Model A. Both were temporarily stored in my backyard for a time.
The Legend sedan saw some daylight last week.
And the RL.
And the NSX was my ride of choice for a last minute grocery store run. For Diet Coke – only the essentials.
I received a recall in the mail today for the 2000 RL’s airbag. I was sort of surprised Acura is having to recall 20-year-old cars. But the letter basically stated that parts for the repair aren’t even yet available.
One of my YouTube subscribers asked me to give an update on the rooftop model cars, so I did that in the video too.
An ‘Instagram friend’ sent me some stickers – check out this one in the shape of a G2 Integra.
I took the opportunity last weekend to check in with some good friends who have helped me a lot over the years with automotive projects and other things. Hy and Linda, thank you!
After that, I met up briefly with my friend Ken who has a 2006 ‘Suzuka Blue’ Honda S2000.
One of the projects I’m keeping myself busy with now is a categorization of about 50 pieces of literature related to the Acura Legend. Over the last 20 years I’ve collected (what I believe to be) every piece of print media that had the Legend in it. I’m in the process now of sorting them all out so I can copy & PDF to share with others.
This dealership even offered a “beeper service” to page you when your car was ready. Whoa.
Here’s a glimpse of what we’re talking about.
The last bit of news is about the SLX, which hasn’t moved for about 10 days and is leaking a puddle of various fluids on my nice garage floor right now, haha.
A friend (again from Instagram) connected me with a resource that was able to decode the VIN plate in the engine bay. I now know exactly what each of those ‘options’ listed at the bottom are. The summary is below in Excel.
My former SLX, the one that Acura rebuilt as a “resto-mod” with RDX drivetrain, is sitting on display right now at the Honda headquarters in Torrance, California. Acura Public Relations representative Andrew sent me this picture.
I also found a couple article on the SLX, which I’m adding to my archive.
That’s it for now! Everyone stay safe out there, and I’ll talk to you soon.
If you’ve ever wanted to visit Arizona, I’ll give you a reason. This year’s 16th annual National Acura Legend Meet is now open for registration as of this past Sunday. In the first 5 days, 13 vehicles have already signed up. We could be on track to witness the largest meet of its kind since 2014 in Los Angeles which saw about 30. Come be a part of history.
In other news, my blogging time has been limited lately because I’ve put a little more effort into my YouTube channel which is nearing 6,000 subscribers. I invite you to join me there for a few updates on automotive projects and other activities. I usually post a new episode (or more) each Sunday. I’ll post 5 of them here to catch you up. Some are still ‘unlisted’ so I can stagger them out over the next few weeks. Get your popcorn ready.
Integra Part 4
Integra Part 5
Integra Part 6
SLX Video 10 – The Project that Never Ends!
Do you want to test-drive 10 cool cars in 5 minutes? Then I have just the video for you. Last Saturday, I had a really unique experience of helping my friend Greg (the same guy who I wrote about with all the Japanese RHD cars) document the driving experience for a collection of cars that he’ll be auctioning off on Bring a Trailer website later this month. Among them was this exceptionally rare 1989 Pontiac ASC-McLaren Turbo Grand Prix with only 5,500 miles on it.
Check out that tech!
Here was the list of cars, in order of appearance in the below video:
1989 Pontiac Turbo Grand Prix
2000 Mercedes-Benz CLK55 AMG
1989 Dodge Lancer Shelby 5MT
2000 BMW M5 6MT
1989 Honda Prelude Si 4WS 5MT
2000 Honda S2000 6MT
1992 Toyota Aristo (RHD)
1992 Jeep Wrangler Renegade 5MT
1990 Nissan 300ZX TT 5MT
1992 Autozam AZ-1 (RHD) 5MT
Which was my favorite? Honestly, and this might get me in trouble with my Honda friends, I fell in love with the BMW M5. The sturdy shift feel, the power, the growl, and the utility of a ‘sportscar’ 4-door sedan with a manual really made that one check all the boxes for me.
And speaking of Bring a Trailer auctions, you might have missed this so I’ll share it here. A record-setting sale took place this week when a 1994 Legend LS coupe 6-speed sold for over $25,000. Here’s the link.
Maybe my own collection will be worth a dollar or two someday as well? I guess time will tell.
As Spring Training baseball games get underway here in Arizona, we are soaking up our last few weeks of very enjoyable weather and I’ve been spending quite a bit of time working on the never-ending list of “to-do” items. The latest 1999 Integra, which started out with a laundry list of 50 “needs” that I listed in an Excel document, has already been through half. So in two months’ time, it’s come a really long way.
One of the major milestones for that car was a comprehensive ‘professional’ detail, for which I engaged the help and services of a friend named Travis who helped not only with the interior & paint, but with removal of the hodge-podge of aftermarket stereo & alarm spaghetti wiring that was strung throughout the car. It was strangled.
The results speak for themselves. This paint was rough, and it came out brilliantly.
The NSX doesn’t get a video this time around, but I took it to the experts at Science of Speed for a regular checkup and it’s doing great at 116,000 miles.
I had a few special guests in February including folks from Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Detroit, and Seattle. The guest book is nearing page 50 and I’ve already purchased a second volume because pages are running out.
Here’s Tim:
Jaysen and his sister Tavali
Brad and Richard
Dave
Finally, I had to share some new wallhangings in the garage. I loved this anniversary 1986-1996 photo enough to frame and hang it up.
And the one in the middle here – I have to show you that a little more closely.
It contains the 6 Acura models from 1997.
The paragraph suggests that you pick whichever one fits “your definition of luxury.”
Except, the punchline suggests you should just buy a big garage and own all 6 (highlighted above).
Does that remind me of anyone else you know? This is the ad that goes along with it.
My friend Eric sent me a photo of himself (with his Acura TL in the background) under a blanket of snow on the morning of his departure for a visit to Phoenix from Lexington, Kentucky last Friday. Needless to say, he was ready and anxious to get some AZ sunshine.
Eric’s arrival was timely because we were able to check out some great events taking place in & around town. One of them was the “Concours in the Hills,” an 1,000+ car show at Fountain Park in Fountain Hills.
The fountain there was the tallest in the world from 1970 through 1980, at 560 feet in height. We took the opportunity to stroll through the automotive merchandise (“Look but don’t touch!”) and the scenery did not disappoint. Among the cars on display was an unbelievably rare McLaren F1. There were a total of only 106 of those built between 1992 and 1998 and they’re going for $20 million or more each. I’ll take two. But perhaps my favorite car was this DMC DeLorean in appropriate BTTF garb.
… and complete with a ‘Mr. Fusion’ fuel tank. I didn’t have any banana peels to deposit at the time.
The Concours has accelerated quickly in growth over its seven years, and for good reason: It’s one of the premier automotive events in the southwest and it promotes good causes. This year, proceeds from the event raised over $250,000 for Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
The level of organization and planning that went into the staging was impressive: Cars were grouped according to make & model. There was a strong turnout of NSX owners, including my friend Greg with his lovely Formula Red 1995 with fewer than 10,000 original miles.
I also introduced Eric to a portion of our scenic drive that will take place as part of the 2020 NALM event. It’s a nice 90-mile round trip loop that introduces visitors to the Tonto National Forest and Saguaro lake, capped off with a lakeside lunch at Shiprock Restaurant.
Our host hotel will be the Best Western Chandler Inn, pictured below. When registration goes live on March 1, it will include a hyperlink for booking at the contracted group rate for October’s event.
On Sunday, my friend Vlad brought his 2000 model year Phoenix Yellow Integra Type R over to the house. It only has 31,000 miles on it, and the engine bay looks absolutely brand new.
Joining for the pictures was my 1999 Integra which recently had some work done. After about two and a half weeks at Hon-Man in Tempe, it was ready to retrieve once again. The good news is that the erratic idle miss/stumble has been resolved with just an adjustment of the valves. The bad news is that the inspection revealed some prior collision damage to the left rear corner, and a few other issues to resolve in future service visits. Check out my upcoming YouTube uploads for info on that.
Here’s the video update:
The SLX hasn’t left town since SoCal “RADwood” in December, but it did go in for a visit to one of my local body shops to have some fog lights installed. The skilled technicians at USA Collision in Phoenix took care of it in a matter of just 3 days. And the work was not very easy – it required some custom work to get the brackets to properly mount since the corroded original hardware was basically crumbling away.
Eric’s too SLXY for his shirt, but not for his University of Kentucky sweater. But those fog lights!
Capping off the weekend was a visit to the local U Pull & Pay junkyard on Buckeye Road in Phoenix. The treasure of the day there was a 1993 Oldsmobile Silhouette minivan, more lovingly referred to as a “Dustbuster” thanks to its iconic wedge styling. The icing on the cake was the fact that I found an actual Dustbuster in another van a couple of rows away. This picture begged to be taken.
It was nice having a friend in town, and I always look forward to my guests!
After 15 years of driving all around the country for the National Acura Legend Meet, to 13 different states, my trip to the 2020 annual event will require me driving… guess how far? Just 25 miles from my house to the host hotel! That’s because NALM is finally coming to my own backyard, and I’ll be co-hosting the event here in Phoenix, Arizona along with a few other volunteers.
The dates will be October 7-11, and without getting into too many details – I’ll save those announcements for some future blog posts – there will be some great venues and some great times for all to enjoy. Here is the announcement post on the forums.
Prior event locations are here:
Year
City
State
2005
Dallas
Texas
2006
Tulsa
Oklahoma
2007
Las Vegas
Nevada
2008
Chattanooga
Tennessee
2009
Branson
Missouri
2010
Salt Lake City
Utah
2011
Morristown
New Jersey
2012
Milwaukee
Wisconsin
2013
Asheville
North Carolina
2014
Los Angeles
California
2015
Houston
Texas
2016
Atlanta
Georgia
2017
Sacramento
California
2018
Colorado Springs
Colorado
2019
Daytona Beach
Florida
I’ve created a NALM account on Instagram called @nationalacuralegendmeet where you can follow along for regular updates as we unveil some of the exciting aspects of the itinerary. Maybe I’ll bring out a different car from the garage for each NALM day. And one of the events – of course – is a behind the scenes visit at my house. I might be crazy for opening my doors to an anticipated 25 cars and 50 people, but I’ve said it before: These people are like family to me and I look forward to hosting them as best I can.
Speaking of hosting: Occupancy rates at the house have been running high so far in 2020. Ever since the festivities for Barrett-Jackson, I’ve had company every weekend and enjoyed playing host. My friends Derek, Jay, Nick, and Chris all stopped by. Here they are in that order.
Derek, before I took him to his brother’s place.
Jay, passing through town with his gorgeous new Sherwood Green Legend LS 6-speed.
Nick, at right, here from Key West for a weekend in the desert.
And Chris, visiting from CA and about to take the NSX for a spin with his buddy Tony.
I also managed to squeeze in a few automotive updates in video form, so if you get time, tune in for the recent videos on my YouTube channel. The 1999 Integra is at Hon-Man in Tempe for a laundry list of issues, but I’ve replaced the front emblem, shift knob, license plate bumper plugs, and owner’s manual. I also got those nasty exhaust tips shined up thanks to a product from Mother’s called Mag & Aluminum Polish.
Check that before & after!
And another before & after! All about the details.
The RL received some paintless dent removal, new tint, a new windshield, and some touch-up paint.
I finally got my library of car maintenance binders in order, thanks to some new cabinets my dad and stepmom installed in my laundry room recently.
The two biggest blue binders are BOTH for the Legend coupe. Volumes 1 & 2.
We also installed a flat screen TV in the garage that is looping 148 Acura commercials from 1986 through 1999. It’s 1 hour 47 minutes of runtime. Seriously. I turn it on when guests are visiting.
I’m writing weekly now for ClassicCars.com in the “Pick of the Day” section. Basically, every Thursday I have an article about a vehicle of my choosing that is selected from the 40,000+ listed for sale on the site. The write-ups are short and sweet, but maybe you’ll be interested in taking a look to see if any of the cars I spotlight interest you.
drivetofive 