drivetofive

Odometer (Legend):  532,654

Odometer (ILX):  114,724

I consider myself pretty skilled at car karaoke.  When a song like Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody comes on my iPod or the radio, there is no stopping me from belting it out just like Wayne & Garth in Wayne’s World.  I took a year of choir in 6th grade, and I took piano for about 6 months at age 8 until my instructor made me cry.  That was the end of that, and my musical talents haven’t developed any further since.

Some people got a heck of a lot more musical know-how than I did.  One of those is Christoper Bridges, better known by his stage name Ludacris.  The 37-year-old has had a wildly successful career in the entertainment industry, centered largely around his rap music.  Ludacris has published 8 albums since his first in 1999 and has soared to the top of the billboard charts plenty of times.  His film career is nothing short of successful, too, having appeared in 18 movies including four Fast & Furious movies.

But speaking of fast and furious, did you know that Luda’s automotive tastes align very closely with many of ours?  I present to you the album cover for his 9th and latest record, set to debut on March 31.

We are looking at a Cashmere Silver Metallic 1993 Acura Legend LS sedan.  Ludacris has proudly owned this car since the early days of his career, and to this day it’s his favorite automobile.  The album cover – entitled “Ludaversal” – also features Ludacris’ private jet.  I find it pretty awesome that a guy with 20 million Facebook followers and countless other fans is staying true to his trusted old Legend.

Luda talked about his Legend on the Ellen show last year.  “It’s one of those things I will never get rid of,” he said.  Sounds like Ludacris and I have quite a bit in common!  Especially since he notes in the video that his car has over 250,000 miles on it.  Here’s a short video clip capturing those comments.

Hey Luda, you’re only halfway broken in.  And check this out – great minds must really think alike because I have a picture of my Legend with an airplane, too.  Different settings but same idea!

“My” version of the Legend-airplane shot was taken just a little over 10 years ago, in February 2005 during one of my first road trips through Arizona.  My grandma and I had driven to Phoenix from Southern Utah to visit my great-aunt who was receiving care at one of the hospitals there.  Grandma flew back to Utah, but I continued my big road trip by making my way toward sunny (or rainy, rather) San Diego.  These shots was taken in Gila Bend, Arizona.

In the spirit of a little throwback, since it’s Thursday after all, here are a few other shots from that same trip.  First of all, here’s my skinny self at Hoover Dam just outside Las Vegas, Nevada on Highway 93.  This was back in the day when the highway traffic used to actually pass over the dam. Today, a multi-lane bypass bridge carries traffic across the ravine a little bit downstream (and cuts travel time by about 20 minutes in the process).

Rain on Interstate 8, and my (only) 159,000 mile odometer reading.

Stopping in Algodones, Sonora, Mexico for a quick drive-through.  I was really going out on a limb here:  No passport, no Mexican insurance policy, and no prior knowledge of how to find my way around town.

Morning shot at the pier in Oceanside, California.

Lastly – Check out this high-mile Legend!  (thanks Scott for the tip).  It’s sitting at 392,924 miles and for sale currently on Ebay.  Though, it doesn’t have the original engine, and cosmetically it’s looking quite ragged.  Still, it’s nice to see another Legend that has covered some distance.

Yikes!  Who let the grizzly bears get in there?

Have a great Thursday!

Odometer (Legend):  531,765

Odometer (ILX):  102,174

It won’t come as a surprise to any of my readers that I was the Historian of my Boy Scout troop growing up.  I am a person who obsesses over the details of dates, events, and experiences.  In fact, for about 15 years now I’ve kept a daily journal.  If you asked me what I did on November 6th of five, six, or ten years ago, I could look it up and tell you in detail.  It’s that bad.  Now, sometimes it’s handy to have such an addiction.  It makes for some fun reminiscing.

Before the digital camera age – and even for awhile after it started – I was having 3″ x 5″ photo prints made up at Walmart for every picture I ever took.  The other day I pulled out one of three huge boxes that are chock full of car pics.  That’s right, just car pictures.  They’re organized by month & year, of course, making it easy to “pick a date – any date” and see what my automotive interests were like at the time.  I can get sidetracked for hours thumbing through pics.

This week, my time travels took me back to 2003.  I was still in “honeymoon” phase with my 1994 Legend LS coupe, having picked it up with 95,000 miles on the odometer in March of that year.  What else happened in 2003?

• Apple launched iTunes (and it went on to sell 10 million songs within 4 months)
• Finding Nemo and Bruce Almighty hit the box office
• The average cost of a gallon of gas was $1.83

For starters, let’s look at this shot from April 2003 in St. George, Utah.  That DIXIE painted on the red sandstone rocks in the background refers to the community’s nickname as “Utah’s Dixie,” having been founded as a cotton-growing farm town by Mormon pioneers in the early 1860s.

Around that same time, I landed (pun intended) my first real job — at an airline.  SkyWest Airlines is a regional carrier that dates back to 1972 and currently operates as Delta Connection and United Express.  I commuted from home to the St. George-based corporate headquarters while attending school part-time for my degree at the local community college.  My role at SkyWest was in aircraft records maintenance (imagine that, keeping track of maintenance – doesn’t sound like me at all, right?).

I remember how excited I got when I found out there was another employee who drove a Legend coupe.  Looks like I still had a thing or two to learn about how to park between the lines.

A friend from high school grabbed a Legend coupe of his own.  Here, Blair and I are standing next to our Legends at my family’s garage.  Blair still has his Frost White 1992 LS coupe today.

Another view of the garage, this time featuring Grandpa’s Heather Mist Metallic 1997 Acura 3.5 RL.  And don’t miss my dad’s antler collection.

Blair and I got together frequently for photoshoots and car detailing sessions.  Here’s a shot of us taken overlooking the city.

In June of that year, I took some off-roading adventures to Beaver Canyon a hundred miles or so north of town.  I remember when my brother snapped this picture.  My T-shirt was a few sizes too big and I can’t remember the last time I wore athletic socks like that.  At least the Legend’s sense of style hasn’t aged as much as mine has.

It didn’t take me long until I’d let that “mod bug” bite me.  At 21 years old, it was bound to happen.  I put a set of 18″ chrome Kaotik Z5 wheels on the coupe (the first of over a dozen sets of wheels and tires I’ve gone through of the years).  I must have had a thing for cargo pants & shorts that year.

In July, I made a trip to Salt Lake City and met up with my friend Chi.  His Taffeta White 1994 Legend LS coupe was fully tricked out.  I especially loved his “Type II” license plate.  Chi has since sold his Legend.

These pictures were taken at a shopping center called Trolley Square.

Thanks for taking the quick drive with me down…

Check out this Acura-only parking I found when I took the NSX to dinner last night.

This weekend?  Road trip, of course:  A quick drop-in at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, and some hiking in southern Utah.  See you on the flip side.