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Original 1992 Acura Legend Owner: Ben’s Story

Posted in Legend, Reader's Ride on June 19, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 522,442

Odometer (ILX): 41,793

Commitment: Can you imagine keeping the same car for over 20 years? That’s what my friend Ben has done. He’s been a proud Legend owner for twice as long as I have. As for many of us, his love for Acura started before he even had a driver license. This story centers around his 1992 Acura Legend LS coupe that he bought brand new. I hope you’ll enjoy some of the highlights of his ownership experience as much as I enjoyed learning about them.

Ben’s car is still wearing its original “3D” series California plates dating back to its in-service date in 1993. California plates have since sequentially moved forward to today’s “7A.” It’s extremely rare to see a vehicle still wearing its first combination. And look at that stack of registration stickers – 20 of them, stuck on top of one another.

Ben’s Legend story started was 14 years old when he first took a ride in his friend’s father’s 1989 Seattle Silver Legend sedan and was amazed at the smoothness and features it had.

When Ben was 19 years old, he bought his Frost White Legend coupe with black interior from Acura of Mountain View in Mountain View, California (the building has since been converted into a pool hall). The asking price was $29,995 and it was the last 1992 Legend on the lot.

I still remember the day I saw it for the first time, and the following day when we bought it. I still remember the salesman, Steve Cheng. I wonder where he is today. I wonder if he’s still selling cars. If so, it would be cool to re-enact the key handoff (with the unused keys) in the Tyson tradition! If we could find him, he would probably be in his 60s today. I remember he told me after we bought the car that I had made the right choice. I had previously had my heart set on a 3G Nissan Maxima. He said that long after the Maxima is gone and forgotten, the Legend would still be a nice, classy car, and he was right!

Ben’s car had just 65 miles on the odometer when he took delivery. He still has all of his original paperwork as well as documentation on the car’s complete life history. These are a couple of pictures from before he added an OEM spoiler and some 16″ Legend GS wheels to replace the 15″ stock 7-spokers.

Below is a photo essay of some of the highlights of Ben’s ownership experience.

When the car was a week old – Lake Cachuma

Spring 1993 at the University of California – Santa Barbara campus

1993 Mission San Miguel, Central California

Shadow pic, 1993

Ben has owned several other very elite rides over the years, including a BMW M3, Toyota Supra, and Acura NSX, but he’s hung onto the Legend longer than any of those. As the years went by, he racked up the miles traveling to Legend meets and other destinations.

February 26, 1997 – Ben parked his Legend in “Sport Car Only” parking. Seems fitting!

April 13, 1997 – Stearns Wharf, Santa Barbara

May 4, 1997 – Twin Peaks, San Francisco

May 4, 1997 – Coit Tower, San Francisco

June 12, 1997 – Ben’s first recorded attendance at an organized Acura Legend meet. This event from 16 years ago has since been succeeded by dozens of meets across the country. Today’s National Acura Legend Meet – NALM – carries on in spirit the intent of this historic meet-up. It’s something special to meet & interact with other individuals who share our passions.

Here’s a line up of the cars, and their owners, who were in attendance at that first meeting.

The later half of 1997 became a very busy year for Ben, as he attended sometimes multiple meets per month. Here’s one from July 19, 1997.

I wonder if any of these other folks still have their Legends today besides Ben.

September 19, 1997 – Exact Motorsports meet

September 20, 1997 – BMWCCA Rally. This was Ben’s first (and only) rally experience, after having been invited by a friend who had a 1992 BMW 325i.

October 11, 1997 – Legend Meet

November 2, 1997 – Legend Meet. This is a great close-up of the pioneer of the online Legend community as we know it: Jim Trinh. His green 1991 LS sedan, named “Vivian” became famous in the late 1990’s as the feature car for website Legend.org.

December 7, 1997 – Autocross Event

December 13, 1997 – Legend Meet

April 11, 1998 – Legend Meet. In a future post, I’ll discuss more about what I’ve learned from Ben about how the Legend’s online following got its start. He was there for the early days and is still every bit as involved today.

1998 – Willow Springs Racetrack, California. Ben put his Legend to the test.

1998 – HID headlights installed. Ben was one of the first to install this upgrade on his Legend. This update as well as other are discussed on a website he put together in the late 1990’s.

1998 – Meet with various makes & models

Fall 1998 – Visit to Honda headquarters in Torrance, California

March 13, 1999 – Winery visit in Santa Cruz Mountains of California

May 6, 1999 – NSXPO Scenic Drive

December 12, 1999 – Legend Meet

February 25, 2000 – Hitting 100,000 miles on Interstate 5 near San Diego, California

May 18, 2000 – Racing at Thunderhill

The Legend looks right at home with all these sports cars.

Fall 2002 Legend Meet – San Luis Obispo, California

One of Ben’s Legend’s first trips out of California was for the National Acura Legend Meet in 2007 in Nevada.

This was the NALM 2007 group at a gathering hosted by Acura of Las Vegas.

Since 2009, however, it’s been on multiple cross-country trips in connection with the annual National Acura Legend Meet.

NALM 2009 in Branson, Missouri

2009 Legend meet in Los Angeles, California

NALM 2010 in Salt Lake City, Utah

Canyon drive in the mountains east of Salt Lake. Pictured with my Legend.

At Rocky Mountain Raceway – racing on the 1/4 mile dragstrip

NALM 2011 in Morristown, New Jersey

NALM 2012 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with Legend mechanic Matt Wallace

And with another car that you all should recognize.

NALM 2012 drag races

Today, Ben’s car has 183,835 miles on it.

He’s based in China and only travels back to the U.S. a few times a year, but the car is regularly exercised and it has become an icon at the annual NALM due to its ownership history and condition.

When I asked Ben what’s kept him driving the Legend for all this time, he said:

It was my first brand new car, and has been with me for almost my entire adult life. It was with me when I graduated college, been through several job changes, friends have come and gone, other cars have come and gone, I’ve moved several times (including in and out of the country), but through all this, the Legend has been a constant in my life, and has never let me down or left me stranded at the side of the road.

Ben added that he also kept the Legend because he hasn’t yet seen a worthy replacement for it. His maintenance history with the Legend has been meticulous since the car was new:

Every 3000 Miles: Oil/Filter Change
Every 7500 Miles: Minor Service
Every 15000 Miles: Medium Service
Every 30000 Miles: Major Service
Every 75000 Miles: Replace Radiator
Every 90000 Miles: Replace Timing Belt, Water Pump

He’s on his 3rd battery, 2nd set of radiator hoses, 3rd set of brake rotors, and has replaced other parts as needed.

Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS)
Driver Interior Door Handle
Driver Exterior Door Handle
HVAC Blower Motor
Brake Master Cylinder
2 CD Changers
Aspirator Fan
A/C Compressor clutch (a result of driving through a river)
1 Set Shocks
Driver Window Regulator
Left and Right Rear Window Exterior Trim
Driver Side Window Switch
Catalytic Convertor Heat Shields Upper and Lower
2 Bose Amps (1 under recall in the late ’90s)
1 Set CV Joints
Taillights
Cupholder

The car will be undergoing a very extensive service prior to a cross-country trip from California to North Carolina in a couple of months.

Following are a few more notable landmarks that Ben has visited on his Legendary travels:

Continental Divide

Four Corners. This should look familiar!

Musical highway near Lancaster, California. The grooves in the road play a song when driven across. The road originally was funded in part by Honda because it was used in Civic commercials. Residents complained about the noise levels, and the road was paved over in 2008. However, due to its popularity, it was rebuilt in a more remote location. I’m definitely going to travel out there soon!

Mount Rushmore – South Dakota

Bonneville Salt Flats – Utah

Redwood Trees – Northern California

Golden Gate Bridge

Crater Lake, Oregon

It’s fitting to note that Ben’s love for Honda & Acura span beyond just this one single car. Over the years, he’s owned several others.

September 13, 1998 – Ben’s 1989 Legend L 5-speed

Year 2000, his 1992 Grand Prix White on Black interior NSX

Another shot from 2002

Later on: Ben bought a brand new 2005 Silverstone on Black Honda S2000.

And finally: July 30, 2005 – Taking delivery of his new 2005 Acura NSX-T 6-speed manual in Silverstone Metallic with Black interior. He still has this car today, and it has fewer than 7,000 original miles on it. Truly a collector item.

First odometer reading.

Few people have had the luxury of taking delivery of a brand new Acura NSX. Ben is one of them.

The S2000 and the NSX together

And the Legend and NSX together

Quite the impressive lineup of cars!

Much like I’ve done over the years with my Legend (see “State Lines”) blog entry, Ben has made an effort to get a picture of his Legend at every state line he crosses. He’s achieved quite a few! 32, to be exact. Here they are, in alphabetical order.

Arizona

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Jersey

New Mexico

New York

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon

Pennsylvania

South Dakota

Texas

Utah

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Ben’s car will cross through 10 more “new” states during his drive this August to the National Acura Legend Meet in Asheville, North Carolina. Thanks, Ben, for being a loyal Drive to Five follower and for sharing your story with me! I look forward to seeing you at NALM!

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Friday Flashback: Mom’s 1993 Acura Legend L Sedan

Posted in Legend, Throwback on May 24, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 522,209

Odometer (ILX): 38,438

To many people, a car is much more than a mode of transportation. A vehicle carries with it a lot of memories. I really liked this video about how a man sought after a 1948 Plymouth Convertible to give it to his parents for their 60th wedding anniversary. The Plymouth was the same bodystyle as one they’d owned when they got married.

There’s one car to which I can attribute the root of my Acura fascination.

My mom purchased a Geneva Green 1993 Legend L sedan in the summer of 1997. It had 53,960 miles on the odometer and was offered for sale by a small local dealership in St. George, Utah called St. George Auto Center that has since closed. The car had an interesting history. It had spent 2 years of its life in Maui, Hawaii. Here is the screen capture of a recent AutoCheck report:

My mom picked up the car for $19,995. I was 15 years old at the time and I loved the car. She let me take it on dates through high school after I got my license.

Here’s a picture from the day we bought it in June 1997.

Temporary tag:

Other pics from over the years.

Detailing day. Check my red 1989 Honda Prelude Si in the background.

A new set of 16″ polished aluminum Optima wheels, clear marker light lenses, and chrome fender trim had been added. This would have been around 1998.

Later, we went for maximum “bling” and put on a set of 18″ Niche Bella wheels. Mom had the hottest ride in town.

It was during this time that I also first started getting involved with the Acura Legend online enthusiast community, of which I’m still a part. In the late 1990’s, one of the first sites dedicated to this car was launched by a California-based gentleman named Jim Trinh. Jim’s 1991 Legend LS sedan, which he named Vivian, was the centerpiece of his site: Legend.org.

To this day, Legend.org is still up and running, though only as an archive. It hasn’t been updated for probably a decade.

I remember snail-mailing Jim some 5×7 prints of my mom’s car – yes, this was before I even knew how to scan and email, and Jim entered my name in the “2nd Generation” portal of the site under 1993. Two pictures are still there.

And one in the Gallery:

I was away for a couple of years from 2001-2003 and my mom sold the car during that time (in essentially mint condition!) for $7,000. Here is a picture of the date the sale happened in September 2002 at 137,984 miles.

That buyer traded it only a couple of months later on a Dodge pickup at a dealership in Boise, Idaho. That’s the last I heard of the car.

I’d tracked the Legend over the years via Carfax, so I knew it was still in Idaho (and has sustained a couple accidents). I had guessed the mileage must be well over 200k.

One day at work in 2009, I was waiting for an application to run on my computer, and (as I always do) I started browsing craigslist ads. Of all the cities to search, I clicked Boise for the heck of it. Searched for Acura Legend, and… there it was. It took just one look at the picture, and I knew this was the car. Aftermarket spoiler gave it all away. That spoiler was a gift to my mom on Mother’s Day 1998. The clear corner and bumper lights were things that I added.

I called the number in the craigslist ad. I asked him if he could read me the VIN to the car. When he got halfway through the number, I finished it for him. He couldn’t believe I knew the VIN of the car he had for sale. I told him the long story short about this car and asked him to send me some detailed pictures.

The story got even more interesting. This guy ran a town yard and had only owned the car about a month. The car, as it turns out, was involved in a high speed chase. A police cruiser had to do two pit maneuvers to get the car stopped and arrest the driver. That’s what the quarter panel damage came from. When I shared this story with the my friends at the Legend forums, they started calling this the “Outlaw Legend.”

A friend helped me track down two articles about the police chase:

KBOI2.com News Article

Arrest Report Article

As officers picked up the suspect vehicle again on Fairview, the decision was made that the driver was placing the public at extreme risk and the decision was made by BPD supervisors to pursue the suspect. Officers pursued the suspect east on Fairview to Five Mile, south on Five Mile, and west on Executive. Executive turns into Pine. At Pine and Eagle Rd, the suspect turned south. Two Boise Police officers used the PIT maneuver to stop the suspect vehicle. The suspect vehicle tried to drive away after the first PIT, so a second officer used the PIT maneuver again which finally stopped the suspect vehicle. Both the officer’s car and the suspect vehicle came to rest on Eagle Rd just south of Pine on the railroad tracks.

These are the pictures I received from Rick at the towing yard. The paint didn’t hold up too well, it appears.

And the next surprise: At some point during the car’s life it got supercharged by Idaho Speed Center! No wonder the police had such a time catching this guy.

The interior had seen better days.

Aftermarket stereo – probably worth more than the car was at that time!

Ouch!

The battery had been relocated to the trunk.

It was rough seeing the car in that kind of shape, especially after how well my family had cared for it back in the day. If it hadn’t been for a steep $1,600 pricetag, I might have picked it back up for sentimental reasons.

According to AutoCheck, as of April 2011 the car was still on the road in Boise because the registration was renewed that month. This means that someone must’ve spent the money to repair the body damage that happened in 2009.

Something tells me I haven’t seen the last of this one. I tried checking with the tow yard just a couple of months ago to see if they’d share any information about where it ended up, but they weren’t cooperative.

I guess it’s only a matter of time until it pops up again.

I picked up a GoPro camera this week so I played around with it on my commute to work this morning. Here is my 10-mile commute (15 minutes) shortened to just a little over 2 minutes. Enjoy!

I’m off to southwestern Colorado in the ILX tomorrow! I parked next to one of my favorite Hondas at lunch today: a 2001 Electron Blue Pearl Honda Prelude SH. Love that color. Hope everyone has a great holiday weekend!

14 Comments »

Throwback Thursday: Legend Trip to Zion National Park

Posted in Legend, National Parks, Throwback on May 16, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 522,135

Odometer (ILX): 37,640

Red sandstone at dawn is one of my most favorite things ever. This April 2007 picture of my Legend at Snow Canyon State Park in southwest Utah captures some of the beauty that can be observed during that peaceful time of day.

Capitol Reef National Park, September 2006:

Utah Highway 12, approaching Bryce Canyon National Park on Highway 12. I had chrome 16″ OEM wheels on the Legend at the time.

Just a 45 minute drive from my hometown in St. George, Utah lies the mouth of the stunning Zion National Park, established in 1909.

Massive sandstone cliff walls border a narrow canyon with the Virgin River at the base. This has always been one of my favorite road trip destinations. The first time I remember taking my Legend there was on June 13, 2004. This was back when it had 18″ Mille Miglia chrome wheels on it.

Following is a picture I took at the time, when my car had just 140,000 miles on it:

At the time it was completed in 1930, the Zion – Mt. Carmel Tunnel was the longest non-urban tunnel in the United States. It’s a 1.1 mile tunnel with 5 “window” openings that were carved at various intervals through the sandstone rock. This picture from a 1930 issue of Popular Mechanics shows the route taken by the tunnel, which took 3 years to complete.

Stopped at one of the windows / “galleries.” When the tunnel was originally built, cars were allowed to pull out at these openings and enjoy the view.

On June 27, 2005, I took a 1,000-mile “Utah Tour” trip when I rolled through the tunnel at about 3:45 in the morning. About halfway through the tunnel, I stopped the car, shut it off, and turned off my lights. I have never felt such complete and utter darkness and silence as I did at that moment in time. That memory has stuck with me as one of my fondest road trip memories.

Angel’s Landing is not the best hike selection for those afraid of heights. At only 5 miles in distance round-trip, it’s not the distance that’s daunting – it’s the elevation gain of 1,500 feet and treacherous terrain.

During ascent, a series of 21 tight switchbacks are soon followed by a trail that requires chain hand-holds to maintain balance and direction. Huge, sheer drop-offs on either side can give a sense of dizziness. Reaching the final peak at 5,785 feet in elevation requires a great deal of bravery.

View from the top, June 2004. Look at that mop of hair I had (at left in the picture):

I’ve hiked Angel’s Landing three times and it’s felt like a different experience each time. These are pictures from one time I hiked it in October 2010.

The little red ribbon at left in the below picture is the two-lane road at the valley floor, thousands of feet below.

Here’s the last ascent before reaching the summit. No turning back now!

For any looking for an unbelievable national park experience, I highly recommend a trip to Zion!

This week I drove past Amy’s Baking Company in Scottsdale. This place was home to a bit of a social media disaster this week. If you recognize the name, you’ll know what I’m talking about!

And I also saw the Frank Lloyd Wright spire. This was originally designed to be on the grounds at the Arizona state capitol, but it instead ended up being placed in a shopping center. The spire was designed by Wright in 1957 but wasn’t constructed until 2004. It’s made up of 1,700 individual pieces of steel and it weighs 75 tons!

The spire lights up blue at night so I’ll have to stop back by for another picture sometime soon.

Best part of my commute:

ILX Updates

The 2014 ILX is now on sale as of two days ago. The new model now comes with 8 additional standard features for the base model including the 17″ alloy wheels and an active noise cancellation system. Further refinements to the interior include upgraded leather seating surfaces, door panel trim, and other features. It’s hard to believe it’s already been almost a year since I got my ILX. I’m still loving it!

Some of you have already found me on Instagram. If not, look me up under @tysonhugie.

If I had $200 burning a hole in my pocket, I’d buy this 1:18 scale ILX Hybrid die-cast model car on Ebay.

A guy can never have too many toys, right? 🙂

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Arizona Acura Legend Meet: Space Age Restaurant

Posted in Arizona, Legend, Road Trip on April 21, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 521,840

Odometer (ILX): 35,000

Here’s a family portrait if I’ve ever seen one! These people are as crazy about Acura as I am.

There aren’t quite enough Acura ILX owners to get a meet together in my area yet, but I’m still hanging out frequently with the old Legend crowd. I’ve been going to Legend meets for over 10 years. This weekend, I got together with a bunch of other Acura fans and we took a scenic drive to lunch. Final stats:

8 Legends
2 Miatas

Trip Distance: 192 Miles

This was our initial meet-up in Casa Grande, Arizona.

We made our way via Florence Boulevard to Interstate 8 which would’ve led us to San Diego, California if we stayed on it about another 5 hours. Exiting at Gila Bend, this sign gave an idea just how close to the Mexican border we were.

As the entrance sign at the west end of town announces, Gila Bend is home to fewer than 2,000 people. Or, more specifically, “1,700 friendly people, and 5 old crabs.” Thankfully, we didn’t meet any of those crabs during our short visit.

Gila Bend was founded in 1872 and named for a 90-degree bend in the Gila River near where the town is located. The Space Age Lodge and Restaurant opened in 1963 and has been a signature landmark on the main road through town ever since.

On Saturday, our group took over part of the dining room and enjoyed the space-themed decor as well as the cuisine. The chicken quesadilla was most excellent, and if my friend Ari’s chocolate milkshake tasted half as good as it looked, I bet that was tasty too. The restaurant itself is also known as “Outer Limits.”

If it’s offbeat, I’m probably going to want to eat there! The theme here reminded me a lot of the Red Planet Diner in Sedona, Arizona where I went with some friends back in January.

Joe, Michael, and Ari

Tyson, Robert, and Gabe

Kelvin and Ian

There was a special occasion for our Legend meet. Long-time Legend enthusiast Rosalinda chose to spend her 29th birthday with us. Mark and Rosalinda have shared many of their special days with their brothers and sisters from the Acura family. Even their wedding in 2009 had multiple individuals from the Legend forums invited.

Here’s a video of our group’s talent (or lack thereof) at singing happy birthday to her:

Back outside, it was time to line up the cars for a traditional photoshoot. This looks like we’re preparing for some type of group huddle but we were really just shooting the breeze and talking cars.

Here are the individual rides and a little bit of information on each. First is Austin’s 1987 Legend sedan. This car is was the oldest in the bunch but still ran amazingly. Austin swapped the transmission on this car from an automatic to a 5-speed several years ago. He also owns a Sherwood Green 1994 Legend GS. Legend owners, I’ve found, often prefer to own multiple versions of the car.

This is Gabe’s 1992 Legend LS coupe: yet another Legend that has at one point in its life undergone major surgery. This car is special because the motor itself is in fact out of a 1997 Acura 3.5 RL. Gabe’s car is equipped with a 5-speed manual transmission and he’s got a lot of nice upgrades both inside and out.

Here’s the newest member of our Arizona Legend owners club: Joe. Joe picked up this 1995 Legend LS coupe just a couple of weeks ago from a local craigslist listing. It’s a Cashmere Silver Metallic automatic with about 150,000 miles on it. Joe is glad to be onboard with the Legend family and aside from an intermittent ABS light illuminating on the dashboard, says that the car is running great.

Here’s Jordan’s 1991 Legend L coupe. Jordan’s done some motor work on this one. Instead of being equipped with a “Type I” 200-horsepower engine, it’s been swapped to a 230-horsepower “Type II.” Jordan has a full exhaust system and some other performance upgrades to keep himself ahead of the pack when it comes to acceleration.

And this is Rosalinda’s 1993 Legend sedan, with the appropriate license plate “93LEGND.” This is a custom two-tone paint job that is one of a kind. The car is running on 17″ wheels from a 2004 Acura TSX. This is actually a set of wheels that I used to own and I told to the Bandonis a few years back.

Here’s Michael’s 1994 Legend LS sedan. This car is painted pearl white but it used to be Desert Mist Metallic like mine. Michael’s got some suspension upgrades like Koni red struts and he does all the work himself.

This is my 1994 Legend GS sedan 6-speed. I’ve had it for 5 years but it usually gets driven fewer than 2,000 miles per year. When I picked this car up, the intent was to have a replacement for the Legend coupe, which at the time had over 300,000 miles on it and I thought might be nearing the end of its useful life. As we now know, that Legend coupe never ended up dying. The sedan turned over 144,000 miles on its way to the meet.

These are some rolling shots from our drive westbound on Interstate 8 from Casa Grande to Gila Bend.

The abandoned gas station where we took our pictures was a destination in itself. Anyone who follows my blog knows that I have a fascination with creeping around abandoned places, so I couldn’t resist taking a peek inside this one.

The roll-up door on the side of the building was already open, but inside it looked like just a bunch of junk.

Rosalinda’s 1993 Legend definitely won the award for the cleanest engine bay. Immaculate!

It seemed only fitting that Mark wore his “I void warranties” T-shirt, based on the Miata he was driving.

Here’s Mark (and his steering wheel) goofing off in the Space Age parking lot. Mark’s Miata packs quite a punch. It’s got over 270,000 miles on the body but the entire drivetrain has been enhanced.

Turbo! Mark’s 5-speed Miata would undoubtedly out-accelerate and out-handle any of the Legends at the meet. He’s also equipped it with a full rollcage. This is a race-ready ride if I’ve ever seen one.

And, it’s tradition for Mark to sprawl out across the hood of my car at meets so we carried on that legacy.

This is Ian’s 2012 Mitsubishi Lancer. Ian’s been a part of Drive to Five since I first met him over a year ago and he was driving a Civic Si at the time. The Lancer is a nice replacement!

A few other pictures from throughout the day.

Gabe captured this picture of me driving back to the Phoenix area via Highway 238.

It was great to once again reunite with old friends and share our love for these great cars.

Today, I did a little junkyarding in the 2013 ILX. There’s a local “pick & pull” yard in Chandler, Arizona where you can pay $2 (and bring your own tools) and help yourself to any parts you’re looking for.

Among the treasures I walked out with, I found a “Type II” badge from the intake manifold of this 1994 Legend GS sedan automatic.

It looks right at home placed on the 2.4 liter powerplant of the ILX, right? Ha!

I have always loved the bodystyle of the 1987-1990 Acura Legend coupe like this:

I found one of those cars in the junkyard, too. It was in pretty sorry shape.

However, the taillights looked good and they are particularly rare, so I grabbed them. The 1990 model year was the only year when the lenses were clear / red as opposed to amber / red. I’ll clean these up and re-sell them.

Gotta love scavenging. Hope everyone’s had a nice weekend!

16 Comments »

Friday Flashback: ABC15 News Feature

Posted in Legend, Throwback on April 19, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 521,642

Odometer (ILX): 34,848

On June 16, 2009, my Acura Legend made news headlines on the morning program of Phoenix, Arizona’s ABC15 program. Automotive journalist Michael Hagerty had interviewed me a couple of weeks prior regarding a piece he was putting together on vehicles with over 200,000 miles on the odometer. My Legend, with just over 378,000 at the time, qualified. Here’s a picture from our meet-up:

I was lucky that a friend saved a copy of the video, since the article has now expired on ABC15’s website.

In the nearly four years since the clip aired, much has happened. My Legend went on to drive to 500,000, and Michael Hagerty moved on to other career avenues. He’s currently the editor of auto-review site TireKicker. He’s featured my Legend as one of his “TireKicker Time Machines.” (Page Link)

I also recently checked in with Dave Poore, the owner of that 1972 Chevy Impala that was featured in the same video. The Impala, “Archie,” is alive and well. It’s since been wrecked – and totaled (for the second time) – but, as the license plate says, it “STILRNS.” Here’s Dave’s latest report from his email to me:

Archie is still sitting at about 400k. He blew a front tire at 70mph on the 101 in mildly heavy traffic in the middle lane. That was a little scary.

In fact, Dave has even recently used the car in an annual drive called the Cannonball.

Dave has a fun website about his adventures with Archie and the other cars in his stable. Check it out at StillRuns.com.

Now, moving forward to 2013 (and very fitting for this blog), TireKicker just a week or so ago posted an article about the 2013 Acura ILX. Michael discusses some of the pros and cons of Acura’s entry level luxury compact. Check out the write-up here.

Happy Friday to all!

4 Comments »

Acura Past & Present

Posted in ILX, Legend, Throwback on April 5, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 521,628

Odometer (ILX): 33,775

Sometimes, history can be fun. When the Acura brand was born, I was just 5 years old.

“Acura’s Bargain Birth” is a 2011 article on the beginnings of the Acura. Here’s a link to the page. The Acura concept was initially called “Channel 2.” The thought of bringing a car with a V6 powerplant and a pricetag of over $20,000 to the Honda family of automobiles seemed by many to be crazy in the early 1980’s, but that was the idea. In February 1984, a press release announced the creation of the second brand, which at the time hadn’t yet been named. I thought this excerpt regarding the Acura name itself was fairly interesting:

The name came from NameLab’s Ira Bachrach, whom Elliott described as “a nutty linguistics professor, with an office on a houseboat in the San Francisco marina.” NameLab proposed a derivative of the Latin word “Accuratus,” which means, “careful, accurate, exact.”

Acura didn’t have a logo until three years after its launch. Initially it was a set of widely stretched mechanical calipers, with a cross-beam that made the logo look more like an “H” than an “A,” in tribute to Honda.

But when Munekuni showed the logo to Soichiro Honda, the company founder said the calipers should be closer together.

“Mr. Honda had no problem with the brand having a different name,” Elliott said. “Actually, Mr. Honda regretted putting his name on his car. We took the Honda name off all Honda products in the U.S. at about the same time as Acura launched. We talked about not putting the Acura name on the car, but it was a new brand, so we had to have it.”

Acura’s first dealership was in Claremont, California and it was called Metro Acura. Today, there are 272 dealers.

The man at the helm of Acura’s public relations during those formative years was Kurt Antonius. I have a bunch of old press materials in my literature collection, and one of them is this Press Release dated October 4, 1991 announcing the features of the 1992 Legend. Kurt’s name is listed as a contact in the header.

Kurt has since retired from the Honda organization but in September 2010, I had the privilege of meeting him at a special Honda S2000 event at the Honda / Acura Headquarters in Torrance, California.

To me, he and the others who led the early efforts of creating the Acura brand were pioneers. Acura truly did trailblaze the way for other Japanese luxury brands that soon followed suit around 1990 (Lexus, Infiniti). This is a picture from the February 1989 Chicago Auto Show when the revolutionary all-aluminum NSX sportscar was unveiled.

Thanks Ryan for sharing the article.

Twenty seven years after its introduction, the Acura name to me is still synonymous with precision and performance. My 2013 ILX 2.4 is a great example of that. It was a big jump for me to take a 19-model-year leap forward when I retired my 1994 Legend from daily duty and started driving a 2013 ILX.

This week, I had a friend in town from Salt Lake City, Utah for a few days. At 6’6″, Jeremy doesn’t fit in very many cars, but the ILX seemed to accommodate him well. He borrowed the car during his Phoenix visit. He’s owned his fair share of Acuras and definitely joins me in appreciation for the brand.

jeremy_with_acura_ilx

My car is now 1/3 of the way to 100,000 miles already!

Jeremy sent me a picture of the iMid display showing a call from me. That was kind of a trip.

Last night, we took the ILX to the “Old Town” Scottsdale for dinner with a couple of friends. The underground parking deck off Camelback Road was eerily vacant but it made for a photo op that was too good to pass up.

On the Legend front, aside from cleaning off the bugs that I picked on my way home from Utah this past weekend, I haven’t done much with it. I’m getting excited for the Arizona Legend Meet that’ll be held two weeks from tomorrow.

Anybody looking to be my stunt double? There’s a twin to my Legend and it’s for sale currently in Florida for $3,800.

The ad copy is shown here.

That interior doesn’t look half bad for its age!

For those who are still hungry for a little more of a history lesson today, several weeks ago, I came across an old CD-ROM in my literature collection called the “1995 Acura Advertising Planner.” It was full of treasures.

This one is my favorite:

Here are some of the others that I enjoyed.

And finally, I feel inclined to share on the blog these latest renderings of the 2014 Acura RLX, courtesy of Dillon – aka “Hondatalover.” With a few enhancements to the already-handsome RLX design, he has made the conservatively-styled car into a show-stopping hot rod. Look at those gigantic split 5-spoke wheels. I love what he’s done there.

The RLX is now, by the way, on sale as of a couple of weeks ago! I might head over and build & price one of my own on Acura.com shortly.

Thanks Dillon for sharing these! Hope everyone has a great weekend.

10 Comments »

Legend Trip: Easter Car Show in Hurricane, Utah

Posted in Car Show, Legend, Road Trip on March 31, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 521,467

Odometer (ILX): 32,675

Trip Distance: 947 Miles

In nearly 1,000 miles traveled over the course of 3 days in the 520,000 mile Legend, the only thing that I could even consider a “mishap” was when I hit a large tumbleweed dead-on, southbound on Hwy 93 near Wikieup, Arizona. No damage was noted, just a few stray twigs lodged in the grille that I picked out on my next pit stop. The joy of traveling through the desert!

One of the annual traditions that I most look forward to is that of traveling to my hometown each Easter to participate in a car show. This is a picture from the show in 2004. My friend Blair entered his 1992 Legend LS coupe automatic with Frost White exterior and black interior. He and I both ended up taking home trophies in the “Imports” class that day. Blair’s car had all kinds of upgrades, including a set of 18″ Giovanna wheels.

Nine years later, I entered the Legend in that same show this past weekend.

Here’s the play by play of the weekend. Heading out on Friday – my friend Matt took his 2013 370Z, and I took the 1994 Legend.

Along the way, our first pit stop was in Boulder City, Nevada (home of Hoover Dam!) to meet up with my friend Jessie. Jessie has a Rosewood Brown 1992 Legend L sedan automatic with 140,000 miles on it. He has taken great pride in restoring it mechanically and it runs great. Next on his list are some paint and body work.

Legend lovers. Jessie’s Legend is older than he is! If only I’d been so lucky to have such a ride at his age.

🙂

The OEM spoiler, tinted windows, and chrome wheels round out the package. Jessie says he’s on the lookout for some of the factory 16″ Legend GS wheels like my coupe has.

After having lunch, Jessie followed me on Hwy 93 toward Las Vegas and snapped this pic at a traffic light.

Matt and I leap-frogged each other a number of times throughout our 6 1/2 hour journey to southwest Utah. Here I let him take the lead in his Magma Red 370Z on Interstate 15 north of Las Vegas, Nevada.

Once in St. George, I met up with another guy who appreciates Acura as much as I do. This is Cody, and his car is a 1993 Legend L sedan in Cashmere Silver Metallic. His car isn’t just any Legend, though. It’s a rare 5-speed manual version and it has only 65,000 miles on it. That’s right, this car has averaged just 3,250 miles per year over its 20 years

Cody was lucky to pick this up just a couple of weeks ago in Salt Lake City, Utah. It’s immaculate.

Low mileage, meet high mileage.

I peeked inside and this thing still smelled new. No cracks in the leather, no cracks on the dash — virtually zero detectable wear on this pristine example. Cody could sense my amazement (and probably my jealousy!).

The only update Cody has planned for this car is window tint. I agree with that decision – protect the interior and keep the car otherwise 100% stock. It’s a truly unique find in this kind of condition. Thanks, Cody, for meeting up! Next time I’m in St. George, let’s swap car keys so I can see how that thing drives.

Reunited at last with my niece and nephew. These kids are my pride and joy!

My friend Branson and his dad Don arrived in the evening. After some late-night car detailing, we all set out very early in the morning (6:45 Utah time; 5:45 Arizona time) on Saturday morning for the car show in Hurricane, Utah which was about 20 miles away. We got great parking spots on the grass lawn.

Pictured here are Don’s 1965 Ford Mustang 289 and Branson’s 1995 Acura Legend LS coupe.

We positioned the Legends so that they’d face one another. I had a couple of laminated signs on my windshield: One stating that the car had over 520,000 miles on the original drivetrain, and the other was a color copy of the window sticker showing its $41,885 price in 1994.

Out came the detailing supplies for some last-minute touch ups. This shine was achieved with Meguiar’s Gold Class wax, applied by hand and buffed off with microfiber towels. I used Meguiar’s Endurance tire gel on the Michelins.

Matt’s 370Z turned over 2,000 miles on its odometer on the way to Utah. It got a little bit of detailing too. Those 19″ Rays wheels came as part of the Sport package. You can also see the new-for-2013 LED lights in the front fascia.

While we waited for the show’s official 10 a.m. start time, we wandered down the street for a breakfast buffet. Branson couldn’t resist dumping $5 into this claw machine in search of a stuffed animal. He failed.

Back to business. Here, I’m teaching Dan about the difference between a Type I and a Type II Legend engine.

Dan, by the way, drives this right-hand-drive Nissan Skyline with a long list of modifications. He was also registered in the Imports category and he parked near us.

Video of some of the action.

Branson displayed his window sticker as well. His car’s MSRP was $44,270! The car’s color is Cayman White Pearl, which was offered for only the last year of Legend production — 1995.

Inside, Branson showed his factory literature including two brochures from 1995: a Legend-specific 12×12 brochure, and a smaller full-lineup brochure, both in mint condition. The trophy there is from a previous show that Branson won in.

Don’s here trying to point out a speck of dirt on the front end of the car.

Over the course of the day I was approached by at least a dozen people wanting to talk about the car. Usually the first question they’d ask is, “What kind of oil did you use to get it to last that long?” Many were surprised to learn that I’ve only used conventional 5W30 oil and never synthetic. I also had a print-out handy of all the car’s maintenance so that I could tell anyone if specific parts had ever been changed.

Many of my conversations with spectators also started out with them saying something like, “My so-and-so had one of these. It had XXX miles on it and they sold it so so-and-so, and it’s STILL going…” It seems nearly everyone has been personally involved in a high-mileage Honda or Acura success story at some point. I enjoyed chatting about them. And I especially loved it when people said things like, “That can’t be original,” or, “It still looks brand new.”

Here’s another look at the 1965 Mustang that Don and Branson restored from the ground up. It’s equipped with a “Pony Package” interior that included a wood steering wheel. The car drew a lot of attention.

Panorama of some of the other vehicles in the show.

There was a lot of nice stuff. I was impressed by this build – our friend Keith put an LS2 Corvette motor into an older bodystyle car.

It was interesting to observe the different types of people who were drawn to the cars. The Z was always popular with the younger generation, the Mustang with the older generation, and the Legends were a little of both.

Showing off some mirror shine here. Branson’s car in the background has a set of 17″ wheels off a 2003 Acura TL Type-S.

Here’s an Acura driver in training. This is my nephew Beckam sitting inside the Legend. The set of floor mats seen in use here are actually for show-only use. I swapped them out with my “daily” mats before driving away.

Another nephew: Rex. This little guy is only 3 weeks old. Such a cutie.

Visit from some friends. Here are Buck and Kyle. Buck is an Acura driver with a very clean 2002 RSX Type-S.

Gabbing it up.

Finally, here’s little Miss Vivienne. She’ll be 2 years old in a couple of weeks, and she’s the sweetest thing ever.

At 4:00 p.m., the awards ceremony kicked off. Matt end up placing 2nd in the Imports category.

Departure from the park. There you can see Matt leading the way in the Z, then Dan’s Skyline, then Branson.

Later that night, I got a driving experience unlike any other I’ve ever had: I got to drive a school bus. Last year, my brother picked up a retired bus because he needed to shuttle a bunch of people around at an event. Since then, the bus has mostly sat unused in his company’s back lot. Well, my friends and I decided it was time to give that bus a little exercise.

Matt was the first to get behind the wheel. It took us some time to figure out how to operate the controls. There is a push-button automatic transmission, and the switches for the overhead lights are on the panel to the left of the driver’s seat.

This is a 1996 Bluebird school bus. It’s got capacity for 84 passengers. We didn’t travel far but we did get the bus out on a deserted open road where we could practice maneuvering a vehicle of that size.

One of my favorite features was the “Body Fluid Cleanup Kit” (see below picture) hanging above the windshield. I wonder if that’s ever been used?

Branson took the wheel next. Believe it or not, the turning radius on this thing was actually pretty good! At one point Branson did have to three-point-turn in the middle of a road and I was amazed that he was able to do it.

Obligatory bus + Legend shot. The bus was spray-painted by an employee of my brother’s company for the event they used it in.

Big thumbs up for this fancy ride.

The bus had 205,343 miles on it. I was impressed that it fired up on the first try! We did have to wait a little while for the air brakes to pump up.

Finally, here I am settling into the driver’s seat, which is quite bouncy. The seat itself has an independent suspension unlike every other seat on the bus. I enjoyed taking this gigantic ride for a spin. It was gutless but fun.

Branson and I had Matt pick us up as if we were going to school – lights and everything! What a riot.

Who wants a ride? I should borrow this thing for a cross-country tour and pick a few of you up.

Have a great week!

6 Comments »

Ten-Year Anniversary with the Legend

Posted in Legend on March 26, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 520,521

Odometer (ILX): 32,309

Today marks the ten year anniversary of the date when I flew to California to buy my 1994 Acura Legend coupe. With a Ziploc bag in my pocket containing 95 $100 bills, I hopped on a flight from Las Vegas to San Jose and later that day laid eyes on the car I’d be driving to half a million miles. It had just 95,000 on it at the time. Here’s the original AutoTrader ad.

And my American Airlines plane ticket from when I flew out to pick up the car.

Below is the key handoff picture. I bought the car from someone named Carla, but she’d only had the car a few months. The original owner was Patricia. It was a happy occasion to be finally purchasing the Acura I’d been wanting for years. I re-created the handoff picture this morning at work (thanks Tiffany for being my photographer!).

3/26/2003 on top and 3/26/2013 on the bottom. The car looks about the same, but I think I’ve aged a bit! Pardon my Photoshop skills, or lack thereof, as I attempted to stitch these pics together.

My first fuel up when I bought the car was at the “MBP Travel Plaza” off I-5 in Firebaugh, California. I paid $2.49 for Chevron Premium.

An 11-hour, 696-mile drive later, I was in my hometown. One of the first places I visited with my new car was my grandma’s, and she took this picture of the car with its proud new owner.

In this thread on the Acura Legend forums (my first post there) entitled “Finally got my six-speed,” I proudly announced my new purchase the day after I’d picked it up:

After months of searching intensely, I found one that fit my needs. Yesterday I flew from Utah to San Jose CA to pick up a car I’d found on AutoTrader just a few days before (I saw the ad just 20 minutes after it had gone online, and immediately called the owner.)

I drove the car 10-hours home and I must say I couldn’t be more thrilled with what I got. It’s a tannish-brown (what’s the real name?) ’94 LS six-speed. Best of all, it only has 95k miles, and has had two female owners who BABIED it! I have a receipt book to prove it! I even have the window sticker ($41,800 for my car in ’94).

This Legend is pristine and I know I had a grin on my face during all 697 miles I had to drive it home. In sixth gear, you’re only revving the motor 2600 rpm at 80mph. It just wants to keep going faster!

Anyways, after years of admiring the 2G LS coupe, I finally got one. My mom introduced me to Legends when she got her ’93 L sedan (now sold) and I must say, I’m hooked! I’ll never go back to any other car

It was only a few weeks later when I installed a set of 18″ chrome wheels on the car and tinted the windows. I mentioned later in the introductory forum thread that one of my first “mod” plans was to get an OEM 6-disc CD changer for the trunk, but I never ended up doing that. The stock stereo was ditched for a Pioneer DVD setup in 2004 which remains today (but I intend on changing back to the original Bose head unit soon).

It’s been a great ride since that purchase day a decade ago. As I shared in my blog’s kick-off post, the miles came fairly quickly:

100,000 Miles: May 20, 2003
200,000 Miles: December 3, 2005
300,000 Miles: July 29, 2007
400,000 Miles: October 30, 2009
500,000 Miles: November 4, 2011

Awhile back, AcuraConnected featured a short article on what I would call my “Top 10 Road Trips.”

Times have sure changed. When I bought the Legend, I was 21 years old. I’d not owned a car for the prior two years because I was a service missionary for my church. I was living at my parents’ home, working on my Associates degree at Dixie College in Utah, and working for a locally based regional airline in the maintenance records department. Little did I know that I’d keep that Legend through 5 moves, 4 employers, 3 college degrees, and countless road trips.

I took the Legend to work today and it started up on the first try just like it has many times before. Here’s a very boring 2-minute look at the first part of my drive today. I typically keep the revs under 2,000 RPM until it’s warmed up.

I’m dedicating most of my seat-time to the 2013 ILX so the Legend is enjoying retirement, though I still get it out regularly to stretch its legs. Here’s an ILX shot at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport, Terminal 4 parking deck from a few days ago.

This is an ultra-hot Crystal Black Pearl ILX at an auto show recently – it’s not my video, just one that I enjoy watching.

And one more nice ILX – this one a Hybrid – from a member named “954tsx” on the Acurazine forums. This one’s been upgraded with some 17″ wheels off the 2005-06 Acura RSX Type-S. Great looking car!

Tonight, my ILX met a new silver-painted friend. My friend Matt brought over a 2009 Nissan GT-R that he’s doing some evaluations on for his work at the Nissan proving ground near Maricopa, Arizona. We took it for a (fast!) spin around the block. This thing has a 3.8 liter twin turbo motor with horsepower in the high 400’s. I got a little motion sick! Whiplash anyone?

I can’t wait to see Acura’s answer to this car when the next generation NSX comes out in a couple of years.

Here’s to another 10 years of Acura ownership! Thanks everyone for following the blog.

14 Comments »

Acura Legend + Integra: Sunday Morning Photoshoot

Posted in Arizona, Legend on March 19, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 520,407

Odometer (ILX): 31,771

Every once in awhile, I’ll meet someone who’s just as obsessive compulsive about his or her Acura as I am.

On Sunday morning, I traveled to Apache Junction, Arizona to meet up with the proud owner of a rare 1999 Acura Integra GS-R coupe 5-speed in an extremely sought-after color: Supersonic Blue Pearl. Dave has owned his car since September, 2011 but has been in the Honda & Acura family for much, much longer. He started with a Honda Civic Si sedan, then drove an Acura RSX before picking up his extremely nice Integra. At only 32,000 miles on the odometer, it’s hardly broken in.

I had an idea for a high + low mileage Acura photoshoot, so I arranged to meet up with Dave for a few pictures. Sunrise was scheduled for 6:34 a.m. so our meeting time was just prior to that, at the mouth of Arizona Highway 88 which is one of my favorite local roads. Its two-lane switchbacks make for a lot of grins when experienced with a car that handles nicely.

Dave’s Integra build thread on the AZHT forums has received over 14,000 views since it was started in January 2012. Dave posts periodic updates on the progress of his car. See for yourselves just how clean it is:

Dave’s got big plans in store for this motor. My friend Josh has an Integra turbo that I’ve blogged about before, and this Supersonic may very well be the next to get that kind of motor upgrade!

Here’s Dave’s extensive (and impressive!) build list.

Engine

Custom Powder Coated Valve Cover
Aftermarket Spring/Retainers
JDM Oil Cap
BLOX Intake manifold
AEM Fuel Rail
BWR Fuel Pressure Regulator
Marshall Fuel pressure gauge
AEM Cold Air Intake (autoworks short ram coming)
Skunk 2 68mm Throttlebody
K.G. Precision Engineering Stage 3 block
Arias Pistons, Manley Rods, Full Metal Jacket Ductile Sleeves, Chamfered & Micro Polished Crank, Modified Oil Pump, Balance & Blueprint, New bearings
ARP Head studs
Moroso Turbo oil pan
DC 4-2-1 Header
Magnaflow Catalytic converter
Greddy SP1 Exhaust
Fluidyne Radiator w/Spoon Cap
FAL Dual Fans
Chipped P28 ECU tuned on Chrome
Walbro 225 Fuel Pump

Exterior

Full Re-Spray: Supersonic Blue Pearl
Honda Badged
Wiper Delete
Type R lip
6000k HIDs

Interior

LED Bulb conversions
JDM Clock Cover
JDM Shift Boot
BWR Neo Chrome Shift Knob
Kenwood Deck/speakers
Megan Short Shifter w/urethane shifter bushings

Suspension

Ground Control coilovers on stock shocks
BWR polished lower control arms
BWR Front/Rear Camber kit

Rollers

16×7.5 Kosei K1’s on 205/45/16 Yokohama EVS100

This same highway continues on to Tortilla Flat via some technical twisties. For any kind of “enthusiast” driver, it’s a must-see. Thanks, Dave, for taking the time to meet up with me bright and early on a Sunday morning.

Speaking of OCD, if you get time, check out my friend Anthony’s site, OCDetails. He’s a car detailer by trade and he has some great tips and tricks for ultimate shine. Back in 2005, he hosted a car show in Salt Lake City that was judged exclusively based on cleanliness. My Legend took home the award for “Best Engine” – two years in a row, in fact!

This quote is something I’ve truly come to live by:

For some of us, driving is a passion and not just something that gets you from Point A to B. Check out the story of the Arenas family and their 1996 Nissan Altima 5-speed that turned over 500,000 miles a few weeks ago. These are the kind of owner stories that any car manufacturer loves! Even as a long-time Honda/Acura fanatic, I congratulate Alicia and her husband on an impressive feat. The car looks super clean, too.

Blast from the Past

I tracked down this video from one of the largest Legend meets I’ve ever attended, from over 9 years ago in February 2004. It was my first “real” Acura Legend meet, and the event that truly jump-started my passion for this brand. My enthusiasm was beyond cheesy when I narrated (I was 22 years old and wide-eyed), so mute the audio or you’re going to make fun of me later.

And one other video, just for fun. My aunt Jodi posted this on my Facebook wall yesterday and said, “Tys, you need this!” A Phoenix-based inventor has created an at-home car wash. For $29,000 + $4,000 for the installation, I could get one of these babies in my garage. It’s like a dishwasher for your car.

The cost, however, would be more than the MSRP of my ILX itself. I’ll pass, but it’s fun to see this kind of technology!

9 Comments »

Friday Flashback: 2005 Seattle Trip

Posted in Legend, Throwback on February 8, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 519,415

Odometer (ILX): 26,733

I wore my black Acura Polo shirt to work on Thursday (as I do frequently!) and was asked by my coworker Virginia, “Shooting a commercial today?” Haha, I love my coworkers! I went ahead and drew up an “A” logo to pin it to my cube wall just to further let everyone know where my automotive loyalties lie!

I took the ILX to its lowest “range” a couple of days ago. First time I’ve had this in the low 20’s before.

It’s fun to leave the car’s ignition in “ON” position and watch the range creep up as the fuel is being pumped in. I even thought to take a video. Range went from 22 miles to 422 miles in a matter of a few minutes. The ILX fuel tank has only a 13-gallon capacity.

A fellow ILX driver on Loop 101 southbound in Scottsdale, Arizona today gave me a peace sign through the moonroof! I don’t know who this guy was but he had a Nevada plate and a really clean looking ILX 2.0 base model in Crystal Black Pearl. Thumbs up right back atcha!

In other ILX-related news, Dillon’s been at it again. He goes by “Hondatalover,” and he loves putting together photoshops of anything Acura. This is his latest rendering of the ILX featuring a few key enhancements:

Oversized wheels from the ILX Hybrid
Updated taillights
Wing spoiler
Decklid badging
Dual exhaust

I think it turned out pretty sweet!

High Mileage Success Stories

High mileage S2000! A post from my friend in Florida showed up on my news feed this morning. Impressive mileage at over 282,000. Even if this car is the oldest S2000 (model year 2000) it’s still averaged about 21,700 miles over the last 13 years. Just shows that even a sportscar is capable of being a long-hauler.

Hondabeat’s latest story in the High-Mileage Club is about a 2007 Honda Fit with over 369,000 miles on it. That works out to over 60,000 miles per year! These people drive even more than I do!

Car Chases & “Slimer”

I love a good car chase – and any car movies, for that matter. Gone in 60 Seconds is one of my faves. But my friend Marc shared a video link with me this week that was of particular interest because of the car that it featured. This chase is 7 minutes ‘ worth of abuse to a 1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport. It’s from a 1973 film called “Fear Is The Key.” Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. That thing handles like a yacht!

When I was 10 years old, my dad had one of these as a carpool car. It was bulletproof. He’d take us out to empty parking lots covered in fresh northern Utah snow and we’d do donuts in the wintertime. The car’s lime green exterior and dark green exterior were very 1970’s. The car also leaked antifreeze, so we named it Slimer. As in, Ghostbusters Slimer:

There are only two pictures we have of Slimer (hidden in the background). It was parked on the side of the house, behind my dad’s pride and joy 1989 Ford F-250 4×4 pickup. My youngest brother Payton is riding his bike on the driveway. Payton is now 25 years old, married, with one child and another on the way! Time truly does fly.

Here’s another picture we were able to dig up. Slimer is in the background, but I’m standing on the lawn with my brother in front of my mom’s 1989 Pontiac Grand Prix coupe 5-speed. That was a fun car! The speedometer was digital, as I recall. And the glove compartment had a combination lock on it.

I’m not sure where that Gran Torino ended up, but even in 1992 at 20 years old it was fairly rusted out as I recall. Here’s a clean one on Ebay in Houston that I’d love to pick up.

Legend Updates

The Legend is doing well but I’m wondering how much longer I’ll be able to milk the original clutch. Back in 2009 when I was pricing out replacement clutches for my Legend sedan, I was quoted nearly $3,700 parts & labor! Gulp. I think I’ll try for a few more miles on the original unit.

Flashback – First Road Trip to Seattle

In July 2005, I took my Legend to the Pacific Northwest for the first time. Following is a post I shared with the Acura Legend forums recapping the event. The purpose of this trip (aside from just an excuse to take a drive) was to visit my friend Patrick who lived in the Seattle area and to enter my Legend in a car show called the Lakeland Hills Rockin’ Auto Show.

At this time, my Legend had 195,000 miles on the odometer. This round-trip drive was about 1,700 miles and I departed from Logan, Utah where I was going to school at Utah State University.

Following are a few pictures that Pat posted of the car show itself. His 1991 Persian Red LS coupe out-shone mine by a long shot. There’s a good reason why we called this guy the “Detail King.”

The following was what I posted to the forums on 7/31/05:

Home sweet home at last! That was quite the trip. I won’t go into a lengthy report, but a few items of note…

Round-trip was about 2,400 miles. I left Thursday night and just got back now (Sunday afternoon). Slept in the car in Boise, ID going and coming back and had one night in a hotel room in WA. Had clear skies for the entire drive — and believe it or not Pat, my car still looks great minus the bugs plastered all over! Didn’t see one other G2 coupe on the roads the whole way there or coming back.

Washington is very scenic… Huge pine trees all over, a few fun tunnels to go through and plenty of nice bridges to cross. Wish I could have stayed longer.

I decided to come home through Portland. Oregon is also very scenic — but let me just rant for a bit. Did you know you can’t pump your own gas in Oregon?! What is up with that? For some reason, that just irritates me. #1 – I showed up at one gas station and no attendant came to assist (I didn’t want to break the law like I did the first time when I didn’t know better :)) #2 – Many gas stations close up at like 10 p.m. What are people supposed to do when they need to fill up after that time? I’m lucky I got to the station when I did. Also — Oregon speed limits max out at a whopping 65 mph. I was DYING by the time I finally got to the Idaho border and could throw the cruise control on at 82 mph again. Why 65?

All in all — it was a really fun trip and I must say, for those who haven’t seen 91LSMAN’s car, it is EVEN BETTER looking in person than in the pics! The shine is unbelievable. This kid knows his stuff! I was privileged to have him work on my car! On to my pics…

Here’s where it all started!

Pat’s vault of supplies!

The result:

Chris’s car (SBWooder):

Pat driving:

On my way back through Oregon, I saw a photo-op I couldn’t pass up. As the sun was setting, the river alongside the road looked awesome. These pics were taken last night on Interstate 84 just outside Portland, OR.

A shot of the scenery:

A nice TL that was at my hotel:

And finally, this is what my “office” looks like when I’m on the road for 17 hours at a time… cruizn 6th gear, atlas, MapQuest directions, phone, drinks, CDs, etc etc. 😀 Gotta love my ‘plasticked’ carpet! (Thanks Mastervtec)

Amazing how times have changed! Back when I took this trip in 2005, I printed up page after page of directions & maps from Google Maps. I had no GPS. No iPhone. And no iPod. Just a regular Sprint flip phone, a giant road atlas, and CD’s! I’ve still kept in touch with Patrick, Chris, and the other Legend fanatics who I met on that trip. Patrick’s in a Torch Red C5 Corvette now, and Chris has an absolutely stunning Milano Red 1994 Legend LS coupe automatic.

I have since traveled back to Seattle a couple of times. I’ll share a write-up of my subsequent trips in a future flashback. Is the phrase ‘future flashback’ an oxymoron?

Everybody go rock out to this song! It sure sounded awesome in the ILX 7-speaker Premium sound system.

Company coming into town tonight! There will be some car-related adventures this weekend, so stay tuned.

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