Legend | drivetofive

Archive for the Legend Category

Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, Phoenix Ignition Car Show, & Mom’s New Infiniti G35

Posted in California, ILX, Legend, NSX, Road Trip on March 28, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 542,910

Odometer (ILX): 158,951

Trip Distance: 558 Miles

I attended a 60th birthday gathering for my friend Chuck last Wednesday. As I was just getting ready to head out for another commitment (my second of 3 appointments that evening), he made the comment, “One of these days I’m going to put Velcro on your chair so you’re forced to stick around longer than an hour.” Ha – sounds about right!

legend_desert_center_2

It was a double-duty mileage weekend out here in the American Southwest. My Legend coupe and my ILX both saw some highway use on a trip out to Southern California for sunshine and relaxation. Since the early 1900s, the desert city of Palm Springs has blossomed and grown as a destination for its hot springs, architecture, and tourism in the surrounding landscape. I’ve visited many times over the last few years and it’s an easy 4-hour drive door-to-door from my place in Scottsdale, Arizona.

legend_workstation

Ever the king of multi-tasking, I had to stop twice at gas stations and respond to some work emails. I was in my 1994 Legend LS since my friend, Justin, would be heading out later on in the evening in my 2013 ILX. The drive into the sunset was enjoyable and I made really good time. Even at over 540,000 miles, the Legend is still a great highway cruiser than revs at fewer than 2,500 RPM at 80 miles per hour.

tramway_sign

One of the attractions I’d been wanting to see in Palm Springs for a very long time is the “Aerial Tramway,” a 2.5 mile, 10-minute ride that climbs in a cable car from 2,600 feet to 8,500 feet in elevation. It opened in 1963 and climbs in elevation through a rugged canyon to the top of San Jacinto Peak. Justin and I headed to the tramway station on Friday morning and the wait time was about an hour until the next available departure at 12:40 p.m.

tram_car

The ascent wasn’t without some drama. I have both a moderate fear of heights and a slight degree of motion sickness, so after lift-off when the interior of the 80-passenger car started spinning around, it took me a minute before I could even feel comfortable opening my eyes to look outside. I remember being very grateful that there were a few windows open to let a breeze through so I could get some fresh mountain air.

view

For the $25/adult price of admission I felt like I got my money’s worth! The view from the Mountain Station at the top was spectacular (and weather quite a bit cooler than where we’d started). There are quite a few amenities including a restaurant and snack bar. We indulged in a $5 tray of nachos and some potato wedges before getting ready to hop on the next available car and make our descent.

tyson_in_tram_car

I got back from Palm Springs just in time for a car swap at home, then headed to the 2nd annual “Ignition” car show at the Arizona Fairgrounds in central Phoenix. There were probably 50 vehicles in attendance, spanning a wide range of types. The centerpiece was a 1960 Bentley, but at the other end of the spectrum was a $600 Chrysler LeBaron convertible (think “Planes, Trains, & Automobiles” movie car). I represented with the only Acura, displaying my 1992 NSX. Midway through the day, I was asked to say a few words about the car over the loudspeaker and the master of ceremonies commented on the signature on my glove compartment, which belongs to RealTime Racing driver Peter Cunningham.

Another highlight of the weekend was taking delivery of a new car for my mom. At the same birthday party referenced in my opening paragraph, I happened to be seated next to someone named John who I was meeting for the first time. John and I got engaged in “car talk” and I came to find out that he had just listed for sale his 2004 Infiniti G35 online. What blew me away was the odometer reading: 20,192 miles. On a 12-year-old car!

So my interest was piqued and I relayed the information to my mother who happened to be looking for a (larger, car-seat-friendly) replacement for her 2010 Volkswagen Eos convertible. Over the next 24 hours, she struck a deal with John and on Sunday, I showed up to take delivery of the vehicle on her behalf.

It was every bit as immaculate as described. It’s painted a brilliant Garnet Fire Metallic with Willow leather interior. Power comes from a 3.5-liter V6 engine with 260 horsepower and the transmission is a 5-speed automatic. Beyond the standard equipment, the car has the following:

Premium Package (Bose Audio, Glass Sunroof, Dual Zone Temp, and more): $3,200
Aero Package (Rear Spoiler, Diffusers): $550
Sport-Tuned Suspension Package (17″ Alloy Wheels, Sport-Tuned Springs): $425
Body-Color Splash Guards: $120
Price as Equipped: $35,045

When John drove the car off the lot with 36 miles on the odometer on March 20, 2004, it right away became his special occasion car. Neighbors would say, “You must have a date,” each time it would leave the garage. (His daily driver was a white Chevy S-10 pickup).

Over the last 12 years, he paid close attention to detail and maintenance, changing the oil and fluids himself. He has kept detailed notes on everything done to the car, and during our transaction he walked me through all the paperwork. Most used cars don’t even come with an original window sticker. This one not only came with that, but also with full books & records, a 4-page handwritten maintenance log, even a printed page from Infiniti.com from when John “built” his car online before taking delivery.

The car has found a good home and now resides in my garage for 2 weeks until mom flies down to get it.

Here are the rest of the pics from this action-packed last few days!

The Legend coupe in Desert Center, California

Morning view in Palm Springs

My friend Scott taking a spin in the ILX

Road ascending “Tram Way” to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

Staging area for the tramway with a man-made waterfall

View toward San Jacinto Peak

With Justin at the summit

Headed back down toward civilization

Hanging with other friends that afternoon, Chris & Vince

Out and about on the town later in the evening

Scott’s 1965 Mustang interior

Photos from the Ignition Car Show: Tyson and a Titan

Grassy lawn on the west side of the Coliseum

Old Pontiac Bonneville with only 14,000 original miles

And a few more photos from the day I got the G35 for mom

From the driver’s seat

Back at the house with the ILX

Interior still smells new

Tucked away with the NSX until mom’s arrival

Window sticker at $35,045

Other records and paperwork

27 Comments »

“Unstoppable” Video Collaboration with Six Speed Blog

Posted in Legend on March 6, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 542,205

Odometer (ILX): 156,485

How’s everyone’s weekend going?

The first time I heard Sia’s song “Unstoppable,” I fell in love with it. My friend James of Six Speed Blog has recently delved (that’s a word, right?) into the world of YouTube and has some impressive skills, so I bounced the idea off him about potentially doing a Legend video.

What you see here is the 3-minute result of that conversation, whittled down from over 4 hours of footage taken yesterday with the help of our friends Brock, Andy, and a 2016 Kia Sedona minivan (our camera car). Hope you enjoy!

A few photos from the day here:

The Legend GS (right) is wearing its new license plate. Stylin’.

And finally, for you other hyper-milers out there, read about this guy who has 750,000 miles on a 2011 Ford!

http://blog.caranddriver.com/really-long-haulin-what-its-like-to-drive-200000-miles-per-year/

Until next time 🙂

8 Comments »

Dad’s Visit, NSX Configurator Website, & Other Updates

Posted in Arizona, Hikes, ILX, Legend, Road Trip, Vigor on March 3, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 542,181

Odometer (ILX): 156,073

My mailbox was overflowing with Acura maintenance coupon postcards yesterday afternoon. Every time they have some sort of promotion I seem to get multiple notices – but hey, I’m not complaining. Especially when the main featured car is Ludacris‘ 1993 Legend sedan.

Clever stuff, people!

And I might be taking them up on this $28.95 oil change at Acura of Tempe the next time I get over there.

The one thing that does put the enthusiasts in a tizzy is the fact that the tagline for the promotion is “Keep the Acura you Love Maintained for Life.” And just exactly how are we supposed to do that when so many critical parts have been discontinued? Thus, us true ” Legend lifers” are left to dumpster dive and go junkyarding every so often to find the parts we’re looking for.

CHECK OUT THESE NEW PLATES! This’ll go on my Legend sedan to replace the existing set. I couldn’t believe the plate combo was available when I went to search for it a couple of months ago. Don’t mind if I do!

Perfect use for this emoji.

It would be selfish of me to keep all 300 days of Phoenix sunshine per year completely to myself, so once a year my dad & stepmom travel down from Utah to partake. I was happy to share some rays. Having lived in Arizona now for 10 years, I definitely have my favorite hot-spots that we try to visit each time I have friends or family in town, but every once in awhile I throw a new destination in the mix to spice things up a bit.

Over the weekend, I introduced them to Sedona on a short overnighter (2.5 hour drive each way in the ILX) to explore the red rocks landscape of that area. Aside from hiking Devil’s Bridge which I’ve blogged about a few times in the past, we also made a visit to the Chapel of the Holy Cross – a church built in 1956 directly into a rock formation.

A definite highlight of their visit was our dining experience on Saturday night. I’d made reservations at Compass Arizona Grill, a revolving restaurant on the 24th floor of the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Phoenix.

My dad’s not big on heights (and for that matter, neither am I) so the ride up to the top in an exterior-facing elevator was just the start of a pretty exciting evening. The restaurant has fixed exterior windows in a circular form with a floor inside them that spins around, making one complete revolution every hour. I was slightly concerned about the implications of being prone to motion sickness and having to sit through a dinner while in motion, but it didn’t end up bothering me at all. Best of all, our 6:30 start time meant we hit the sunset lighting perfectly.

Our high-class ride of choice that evening was my green 1994 Vigor, shined up for the occasion. We also put a few miles on the ILX (Sedona trip) and the Legend coupe (airport run) over the course of dad & Tanya’s 4-day visit. Many thanks to them for taking the time to come see me. I’m extending an open invitation to anyone who reads this – if you’re a fan of road tripping and want to explore the southwest with me and my friends, come on down to visit!

Here are the rest of the photos from the weekend adventures.

Opening night dinner at Oregano’s – our favorite place for a Pizza Cookie.

Meeting up with Chandler and Jack for “Canal Convergence” festival at the Scottsdale Waterfront.

While rummaging through a few old photos, I dug up one taken in 2001 – when I was 20 years old – of me in my Mormon missionary garb standing next to my then-dream car, an Acura Vigor. I figured it would be fitting to take a picture of that picture, in front of my Vigor!

Putting dad to work on home improvements, including replacement of some trim in the garage.

Quick stop in New River at the abandoned gas station called Jack Ass Acres

Just about to enter Sedona, Arizona on Highway 179 – the Red Rock Scenic Byway

Checked in at the Sky Ranch Lodge in Sedona, near the airport

Doing some shopping in the Uptown district

The only McDonald’s in the world with turquoise arches

Midway through our Devil’s Bridge hike

Tanya and me on the bridge. Dad was a little nervous for us here.

With Tanya at the chapel

View from inside the chapel

ILX in Sedona

Dinner group at the restaurant

Great way to start a Sunday morning: Brunch at Cafe ZuZu inside the Hotel Valley Ho in Scottsdale

Tyson, Linh, Tanya, Craig

Airport run in the Legend later in the afternoon

A few other bits of news to share with you:

Just days after I posted my recent “Magic Fives” blog entry highlighting my 155,555 milestone on the ILX, my mom upstaged me. Her 2010 Volkswagen EOS turned over 55,555 miles at 51 degrees at 55 miles per hour at 8:55 in the morning. Congrats, and nicely done!

Who has $1/4 million I can borrow? Now’s your chance to get online and configure your dream 2017 Acura NSX. Mine would be Nouvelle Blue Pearl and loaded to the max with just about every available accessory. Orders are now being taken! I’m told there are over 1 million possible combinations of specific configurations of Acura NSX. There’s a good chance yours will be one-of-a-kind.

http://nsx.acura.com/

And lastly: Check out this beautiful Legend coupe on Ebay being sold by a friend of mine! Just 35,000 miles on a 1993 6-speed.

Have a great rest of the week!

13 Comments »

Special Feature: Happy 30th Anniversary, Acura!

Posted in Legend on March 1, 2016 by tysonhugie

On March 27, 1986, the Acura brand was born. On this day in 2016, my friend Josh Clymer of TSX Travels and I are tipping our hats to the brand that got us to the moon and back – multiple times. Here’s a 2-minute video celebrating our mileage mania. Hope you enjoy.

17 Comments »

Magic Number Five, High Mileage Stories, & 2017 MDX Teaser

Posted in ILX, Legend, MDX, Milestones on February 24, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 542,130

Odometer (ILX): 155,679

Ever have a weird moment when something happens and it’s too perfect to be coincidental? You might be driving down the road and a song comes on that talks about a specific landmark you’re passing. Or, as happened to me recently, a song came on that had a tempo absolutely identical to the pace of my ILX’s windshield wipers. For the entire 3 minute & 33-second duration of Rascal Flatts’ “I Like the Sound of That,” my wipers were rocking out to the exact pace of that song.

But just now as I was uploading the below picture of my 55,555 and 155,555 mile odometer shots in the ILX, my eye caught the bottom of the text box I was editing here in WordPress and I saw this:

What in the world? I had to screen shot it because the timing couldn’t have been better.

So there you have it:

55,555 Miles on October 7, 2013 en route to St. George Utah
155,555 Miles on February 22, 2016 on my way home from work

And both, mind you, striving for exactly 55 miles per hour but falling just a tad short.

Oh, and one more thing. Dad turned 55 years old the next day. BOOM. My Instagram post:

I guess this blog really became named Drive to Five for a reason.

I had a newcomer in the garage for one night as my friend Hy entrusted me with his pride and joy 2004 Acura TSX. With just 61,000 miles on the odometer, this beautiful little 6-speed looks like it’s fresh off the showroom floor. I especially like the body kit and chrome wheels.

hy2

“Fastidious” is the best way to describe Hy’s care for this automobile. Two layers of floor mats, towels on the seats, and a clear bra on the front end that keeps rock chips at bay. It’s no wonder the car looks, smells, and drives like it’s brand new (not 12 years old).

Meanwhile the Legend got to see some daylight for a bit. It’s developed a nagging power steering leak which is becoming quite aggressive. That comes as a disappointment since the entire rack & pinion was replaced just 12,000 miles ago for $800 with a remanufactured unit. How did my original power steering system last 530,000 miles before it developed a leak, and my remanufactured one lasted only 12,000?

I have a couple of high-mileage stories for you to kill time with today.

This one is apparently old news, but for some reason I’m just now learning about it. There’s a guy named Habib who delivers medical supplies in his 2006 Honda Civic all across Kentucky. This 51-page thread on the Civic enthusiast forums chronicles his progress as he racks up the miles. In 2012, he was featured on Jalopnik at 750,000 miles, and as of latest update on his forum post (this month) the car is still running and driveable but sidelined at 1,100,000 due to a bad head gasket. He plans on fixing it and continuing to drive.

I’m also introducing “Russell” from Connecticut to my blog audience. He reached out to me this week to report that his 2001 Acura MDX has over 495,000 miles on it. Russell bought the MDX brand new in April 2001 and has spent the last 15 years driving it on average 33,000 miles per year. He’s on his second transmission but otherwise has had very few unexpected maintenance needs. Most interesting of all: his choice in fuel. Russell has run only 87 octane for most of the MDX’s life. “Premium Fuel Required”? Maybe not.

Speaking of MDX news, get a glimpse below of the soon-to-be-revealed 2017 MDX in the below image from a press release that came out today. The real deal will be unveiled in a press conference at the New York Auto Show on March 23rd.

One more little quirky mileage find: This 1993 Acura Vigor automatic with 355,781 miles on it was found on a craiglist posting here in the Phoenix area. How in world did that little 2.5 liter 5-cylinder get so far? I’m tempted to call the seller/owner just to ask and find out.

My dad & stepmom are flying in from northern Utah tomorrow so we’ll have a few adventures to share with you on the flipside.

Have a great rest of the week!

19 Comments »

Southern Utah Trip for Grandpa’s 85th Birthday

Posted in Legend, Road Trip, Utah on February 7, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 542,050

Odometer (ILX): 154,338

Trip Distance: 900 Miles

“When will see see you next – Valentine’s Day?” asked my grandpa on Saturday night after we’d finished celebrating his 85th birthday. “That’s next weekend,” I replied. He laughed, “I know. You’ll look for an reason to get in that Acura and point it north!” It appears Gpa knows me well! As do all my other family members, who’ve grown accustomed to my frequent visits to my hometown in southwestern Utah – a solid 400+ mile drive away from my own place in Scottsdale, Arizona.

This past weekend I made that jaunt in my 1994 Legend. For the first couple hours of the drive, I had company. My friend Josh had flown in from Houston to pick up a new vehicle, so I shuttled him to Prescott where he picked it up at a dealership there.

He was satisfied with his new Mercury Milan, and I had a ways left to go, so I headed on out of town northbound on Highway 89. A few small towns crept up as I headed north but for the most part it was 55-65 miles per hour of traversing the pine-laden forests on a windy two-laner. At the “T” with Interstate 40, I headed west.

My next stop was a town of substantial Route 66 significance called Seligman. I last visited Seligman with my friend Jack and I took a tour of northern Arizona a couple of years ago. I can say with certainty that it hasn’t changed much since then, and I’m pretty sure it probably hasn’t changed much in the last half-century or so, either.

While the Snow Cap restaurant was shut down, I continued on the main road through town and saw that Roadkill Cafe was indeed open for business. And who could possibly drive past a dining establishment whose motto is “You Kill It, We Grill It”? Not me. I swung the Legend into the dirt parking lot east of the building and headed inside to check it out.

Business inside was slow – or so it seemed. Maybe I’ve just become too accustomed to the hustle and bustle of city life to realize what it’s like to be in a place where restaurants aren’t crowded and there’s never a wait list. I must say, it was a welcome change. I seated myself as the only patron in the bar area and I was handed a menu by a friendly staff member.

The yellow glow of the “High Speed Special” drew my eye immediately so I ordered that — buffalo style, of course, for $0.50 extra — and got settled in. My pink lemonade was delivered to me in a giant mason jar. There was complimentary WiFi available so I checked work emails – I was on the clock this whole time, after all.

The rest of the trip to southwestern Utah was smooth sailing. In St. George, I met up with friends and family in enjoyment of the perfect outside weather.

Our Saturday travels took us to two state parks in Washington County not far from my mom’s place: Sand Hollow State Park, and Snow Canyon State Park. Both delivered stunning vistas in every direction with lots of vivid color: red rocks and blue skies being the most dominant of the color palette. I enjoyed visiting with friends and family throughout the visit, and among the highlights was meeting up with a fellow Acura fanatic for a special project he and I are working on. You’ll see more about that in the coming months. Mom fixed homemade soup which we ate in bread bowls for dinner. And this morning, I made the 6.5-hour return trip home!

Here are the rest of my trip pics:

540,000 miles and 40,000 miles, side by side

We kept tabs on each other for the day so he could keep me posted on his location. He was in San Antonio, Texas already by the following morning! I guess he pulled a crazy all-nighter out on I-10.

Main Street in Seligman, AZ was a quiet place at middway on Saturday.

Sand Hollow Reservoir in Washington County, southern Utah

Snow Canyon State Park, southern Utah

Rock formations in Snow Canyon

Birthday festivities for Grandpa

I liked this pic that my friend Brock captured of my ILX last Thursday at a light next to James‘ tester Lincoln MKX.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

11 Comments »

Legend Spy Shot Roundup #6

Posted in Legend, Spy Shots on February 3, 2016 by tysonhugie

It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? It’s been since last June that I shared a Legend Roundup with you. I finally took the time to compile this latest and greatest episode of Legend spy shots. For a refresher course, here are a few of the previous ones:

I decided to post this as soon as I hit 100 submissions, and that happened yesterday. I’ve given up on putting these in alphabetical order by shooter, or even remembering who sent each one to me.

Today’s tally is:

100 Acura Legends
13 Acura Vigors
6 Acura NSXs
1 Acura SLX (go Tyler!)
1 Acura CSX
1 Acura EL
2 Honda Preludes

The 100th car was a Golden Glow 1991 L coupe that Jim sent me yesterday afternoon.

I ran the Carfax based on the license plate, and it was a low-miler. The last odometer reading was in June with 118,000 miles.

Thanks Jim for being one of my top submitters! Along with many others who are reading this.

For your viewing pleasure, I present the Mac-Daddy of all Acura Legend photo collections! Was one of these photos yours?

Enjoy.

18 Comments »

A 150,000 Milestone, Barrett-Jackson Auction, and Papago Park Meet

Posted in Arizona, Legend, Milestones on February 1, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 541,020

Odometer (ILX): 154,063

Get comfy on your office chair / easy chair / toilet. (I know some of you *cough* Chris *cough* read my blog from there). It’s time to recap the last four days’ worth of activities here in Arizona. I had friends visiting from the east coast for a few days and our schedule was packed with activities, most of which revolved around automotive stuff. Are you surprised? I doubt it.

Among the highlights were a big milestone for one of my Legends, a day at one of the world’s premier collector car auctions (and VIP access while watching a $1.2 million car find its new owner), a scenic desert drive in the Superstition Mountains, a Sunday morning hike near Arizona State University, and a 12-car meet-up in Papago Park with some Acura fanatics. Let’s get this party started. Inline with these stories are four YouTube videos for your viewing pleasure. If you’re so inclined, subscribe to my channel! I need just one more YouTube subscriber to put me at 500, and you know how much I love hitting milestones. Channel Link

Chris was one of my guests. He’s the guy with a ‘twin’ Legend to mine who drove to last year’s Houston Nat’l Acura Legend Meet (NALM) to meet up with me there. I reserved for him the opportunity to roll 150,000 in my car when he flew in for his visit from Baltimore. His request specifically was a “sunset” rollover, so that’s what we had. Around 5:30 p.m. on southbound Galvin Parkway in Phoenix, he hit the 150,000 milestone in my car and Thursday evening we got a few pictures (duh!) to commemorate the occasion. That car has only been driven 18,000 miles in the nearly 8 years I’ve owned it.

After rolling into Papago Park for a more appropriate photoshoot.

And the video:

On Friday, Chris and I spent the entire day at the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction in Scottsdale. This place was a candy store for any automotive enthusiast. Just one drawback: These were some very expensive sweets. I saw cars routinely crossing the auction block for 6-figure pricetags, and each time a vehicle met that amount, the spectating crowd would cheer and clap in excited support. When Chris and I weren’t watching the auctions, we were browsing the automobilia, tire-kicking the classics inside & out, chowing on footlong sausages from the food trucks, and PEOPLE-WATCHING. If I had a dime for every guy I saw with a mullet and a “Camaro SS” cutoff T-shirt, I could have probably bought a Camaro SS!

I’ll spare the details of the dozens of cars that caught my eye as we made the rounds, but I did really enjoy a few things, like this old Cadillac.

This pearl white Dodge Stealth only had 55,000 miles on it.

A 2000 Bentley Arnage with <50,000 miles, sold for $30,000. You’d look like a millionaire for $30k!

There were, of course, plenty of tailfins in attendance, like the ones on this 1958 Buick.

The front ends of those cars are equally shiny.

This one was for Kevin – a rare 1963 Chevy Corvette split-window coupe.

But the real draw was Lot #3007: a 2017 Acura NSX, VIN 001, scheduled for auction at 7:30 in the evening.

So, Chris and I made our way to Skybox #15 which I’d been given tickets to. The Skybox was a flight of stairs up, and overlooking the left side of the stage. Senior leaders from Honda & Acura started filing in by around 6:00 p.m. in anticipation of the big event. Jay Leno’s Ford F-150 pickup truck went for something like $200,000, and a Chevy Camaro “COPO” Edition went for over $300k, so I felt like Acura would be well positioned to get a good price for its new NSX. What I didn’t expect, though, was just how crazily the bids would climb.

Moments before the “athletic red” NSX made its way up onto the stage, all the Acura folks were ushered out to accompany it. Chris and I were about the only people left in the booth to watch from that area. A short video introduction played on the screens flanking the auction stage. All proceeds for the new NSX were to benefit two charities, the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation and Camp Southern Ground.

At the blink of an eye, the bids were already at $600,000. Then a million. More perks were thrown in – special ride-alongs at the Indy 500, backstage passes to a concert, yada yada. Slowly the price crept one more time to $1,200,000 and then it capped off. The auctioneer’s gavel hit the podium and the car was SOLD to Rick Hendrick, founder of Hendrick Automotive group. Hendrick has been known to buy similar cars for similar prices. Apparently he paid $1M for a Z06 2015 Corvette not long ago. At least he spends his money on fun things!

Hendrick will be customizing his future NSX in the coming weeks and months. After all the one driven across the auction block was in fact a pre-production car and not destined for sale to the public anyway.

With Chris, showing our Skybox view

NSX Project Leader Ted Klaus, and Honda Vice President John Mendel

RealTime Race Team Driver Peter Cunningham

The NSX making its way to the auction block

Up on the stage it goes

Celebrating with VP Sales, Jon Ikeda, after the auction

Text from Ted Klaus showing the SOLD sign with $1.2M written in sharpie across it.

Video of the auction.

That brings us to Saturday, when we finished working on some maintenance on my 1993 Acura Legend L sedan. By this time, my friend Jake had flown in from Virginia so he lent us a hand installing some hydraulic hood struts. Soon afterward, we hit the road in the 1994 Legend GS and the 1992 NSX for a 100-mile round-trip drive to Tortilla Flat, one of my favorite destinations in the region. Slow-moving traffic and less-than-optimal road conditions kept us from really pushing the limits of the cars too far, but we had a great time enjoying the perfect weather and soaking up the scenery. Saguaro cacti dotted the landscape – something my east-coast friends don’t get to see much.

We dined at the saloon-style restaurant and then made our way back to the Scottsdale area. Here are the pics from that day.

Original intake installed – I threw away the aftermarket Ebay setup that the car came to me with.

Jake taking the wheel of the Legend GS. As a BMW guy, he appreciates a car with nice handling!

Just after lunch in Tortilla flat, with John Wayne and walls covered in thousands of $1 bills

Chris enjoying the sunshine so he could take a tan back to Maryland with him

Just before heading back to civilization

Video of Chris at the wheel of the Legend sedan

Sunday morning, I had a brunch spot in mind so we took the Legend coupe to downtown historic Tempe, Arizona. It turned 541,000 miles on the way there, and Jake captured this picture from the backseat, of me capturing the milestone. Documentation of documentation!

We burned off a few of our breakfast calories by hiking up ASU’s “Hayden Butte” to get a nice view of the cloudless winter day.

That afternoon, it was Legend-mania as we made our way to a Phoenix area meet at Papago Park. The guys helped me clean up the cars so they were ready for action. Peter came as well so he could assist with transport.

Shot taken by Jake as he was following Peter (NSX) and me (1993 sedan) to the meet venue.

Jake with the high-miler.

Here’s the lineup!

Can we just talk about Jimmy’s seats for a second? These have lived underneath sheepskin seat covers since new!

Group shot – missing a couple folks who came later in the afternoon.

My 1994 LS coupe

Phil’s 1992 LS coupe

Jimmy’s 1994 LS coupe

Jimmy’s 1994 GS sedan

Tyson’s 1992 NSX

Mirel’s 1994 LS coupe

Mirel’s 1993 LS coupe

Tyson’s 1994 GS sedan

Tyson’s 1993 L sedan

Walter showed up with the famous “Acura Legend Concept” which has been featured previously on the blog.

And Chuck brought his 1988 Legend ragtop (custom)!

Chris got a taste of Vigor-ous driving today.

I sent him to the hills near Superior and Miami off US Highway 60, but snowy weather proved treacherous!

What a whirlwind weekend of car craziness. Huge thanks to my friends near and far for taking part in it with me, whether here in person or via the blog. Adios for now.

Edit: Almost forgot to share – here’s the final (extended) version of that Super Bowl Commercial teaser I showed you last time!

25 Comments »

Acura’s 2016 Super Bowl Commercial Teaser & Chris’ Visit Underway

Posted in Legend on January 28, 2016 by tysonhugie

Greetings! Acura’s marketing team asked me to share this with you all: it’s a teaser for an upcoming ad that will air during the first quarter of this year’s Super Bowl. While the 2017 NSX in most regards is old news, having been shown in various iterations over the last 4 years, it’s almost time for it to (finally) go on sale – tomorrow, in fact, at Barrett-Jackson – and I’m sure they’ll have a memorable ad in the upcoming game to attract a few more buyers. A sweepstakes will also soon be launched that will offer racetrack test drives of the new NSX to winners. More details on that are on the way!

We’re already off to a busy start with my friend Chris being in town from Baltimore for a few days. I picked him up on Wednesday morning from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.

First stop was at Smashburger at Tempe Marketplace

Then I put Chris to work right away. We decided it was time to ditch the “boy-racer” aftermarket air intake that came on my 1993 Legend L sedan and reinstall the original airbox and piping. Notice that Chris was wearing appropriate Acura technician apparel.

We did find out that we were missing a few hoses and pieces of hardware, so we headed down to the local “pick & pull” junkyard to scavenge around. We found about a dozen G2 Legend sedan and one G2 Legend coupe.

Back at the house, time for some tear-down.

This is an “EGR Tube” with 149,990 miles worth of carbon build-up inside it. The photo doesn’t fully illustrate, but the opening is almost fully clogged. One of the projects Chris and I are undertaking is a clean-out of this piece.

Superman at work over there. Doesn’t he look comfortable?

We’d worked up an appetite so we went to a place in Scottsdale called Hogs & Hops BBQ.

Left to right: Josh, James, Tyson, Chris, Jimmy, and Mirel

You’ll see more of these guys later in the weekend!

14 Comments »

“Future Classics” Car Show & Barrett-Jackson Visit

Posted in Arizona, Car Show, Legend on January 27, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 540,769

Odometer (ILX): 153,863

There’s a new generation of “classic” these days. If you’re like me, you still think 1990 was about 10 years ago… not 26 years ago. That means that the cars I lusted over as a teenager and as a new driver are now hitting that first milestone at 25 years old. Of course I can (and do) appreciate virtually any era of cars: I’d go crazy if I could get my hands on a 1950 Buick, or a 1968 Nova like my brother’s, or a 1972 Ford Gran Torino Sport like one my dad used to own.

But the cars I’m more excited about are the ones that rolled around the streets when I was growing up. Maybe that’s part of the reason why I’m hellbent on acquiring the entire early 1990s model year fleet in my Acura collection.

Hagerty Insurance and ClassicCars.com recognized the growing appreciation for cars from 1975-2005 and put on an event specifically catered to those (oft-forgotten) three decades’ worth of automobiles. It was called the Future Classics Car Show (FCCS). The venue for this first-annual event was “City North” located at 56th Street in Phoenix, just off the Loop 101 freeway. Organizers had arranged to seal off a shopping & entertainment district called High Street for the occasion. I rolled in with my 1994 Legend coupe around 5:30, and judging started by around 7:30. The $10 entry fees were donated 100% to the Red Cross.

I enjoyed the wide variety of cars at the show, and the sense of fellowship everyone displayed. It didn’t matter that I parked in between a Porsche 911 and a Nissan Pulsar – we all got along and enjoyed the show together. Among other cars that my friends brought were Michael’s BMW 635csi, Kai’s Lexus LS400, Peter’s BMW E46 Wagon, Mike’s Acura NSX, Kyle’s Pontiac GTO, John’s Mustang and more.

A definite highlight was meeting Jonathan Klinger of Hagerty, the man who inspired this very blog. You see, from October 2010 through October 2011, Jonathan blogged about his experience in daily-driving a Ford Model A for an entire year on 365 Days of A. It was March 2011 when I started Drive to Five. Jonathan is visiting from Michigan this week and was one of the judges at FCCS.

My friend Kyle and I broke away from the show to head over to the opening night at Barrett-Jackson collector car auctions. Since 1989, Scottsdale Arizona has become a mecca for car enthusiasts each January as over 1,000 vehicles are auctioned off. The Scottsdale auction is Barrett’s largest, and it always brings out the high rollers with fat wallets. Just how much money are we talking about? In 2007, a 1966 Shelby Cobra sold for $5.5 million. Spendy!

Acura is a major sponsor this year and hosted an opening night gala for VIP guests. The venue was decorated in festive garb and offered food, drinks, and live music for entertainment. Here are the rest of my pics from Monday night’s fun.

Right-hand-drive 1989 Nissan 300ZX imported from Japan