Over here, we enjoyed our 3-day holiday weekend with friends from New York and Texas, as well as family members from Utah. January in Arizona is prime time for perfect weather, so for the next several weeks I’ll be hosting folks from around the country who want to bask in our desert sunshine. Next on the docket will be a road trip to Sedona this coming weekend so stay tuned for that. This past Sunday morning, I participated in the Arizona Rock & Roll Half-Marathon, sponsored by PF Chang’s restaurant.
Along with about 11,000 other finishers, I ran from University Avenue near downtown Tempe, Arizona, on a counter-clockwise 13.1-mile circle through Scottsdale and Papago Park, and then finished at Tempe Beach Park in front of thousands of spectators. It’s always a rush to come around the final bend and see the banners and finish line in the distance, then dig deeply for every available ounce of energy and make a strong finish. My so-so running pace put me in the middle of the pack as far as my age range was concerned.
My friend Lance summed up part of his weekend here in Arizona as “Acura Merry-Go-Round” because we rotated through some different cars during his stay. The Arcadia Green Vigor was the vehicle of choice for primary transport to and from the marathon exposition at the Phoenix Convention Center downtown, to brunch, and to the race start line itself.
Fez on Central was a great place for some open-air dining.
The Vig at its parking space on race day in Tempe, Arizona.
I was able to host more than a dozen friends at my home on Saturday night with a carb-heavy dinner menu consisting of spaghetti with two types of sauces, grilled chicken, and all sorts of side dishes. My mom and stepdad were nice enough to staff the kitchen and carry out most of the duties there while I was entertaining. It’s the most use my appliances have had in the 7 years I’ve lived in the home.
On the race day itself, we met up at the start line (in “corral 3,” anyway) with seasoned runner Beau.
Post-race reception and runner recovery area at Tempe Beach Park.
Here were my standings.
Conor and I took the NSX out for a Saturday cruise to Papago Park. It was his first time driving an NSX and he was sold! His current S2000 satisfies his need for speed in the meantime.
Kyle’s GMC Sierra could have easily driven right over my hood.
Lance and I took the NSX to meet up with fellow road tripper James Lee for brunch at MacAlpine’s in central Phoenix. Look at how a 2016 Mazda Miata MX-5 dwarfs a 1992 NSX in size comparison!
The Vigor went in on Monday morning to Midas for a new muffler to replace the rusted-out original. Peace and quiet again!
It also received an oil change this afternoon.
Thanks to Dana & the crew for the fine service as always.
Posted in Legend, NSX, Vigor on January 9, 2016 by tysonhugie
Odometer (Legend): 540,492
Odometer (ILX): 152,358
Happy 2016. I’ve been up to my eyeballs in work. “Welcome Season” at the office is an annual window of time when I’m one of 225,000 employees at my company putting in some extra effort to make sure things go smoothly in the new calendar year. Somehow, though, I’m going to skip town for the next 3 business days and head to Detroit this coming week. Think anyone will miss me? We’ll see.
This afternoon I’m typing this entry from a new coffee shop in Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona called “Fourtillfour.” 3:56. As in, the Porsche 356, a sports car produced from 1948 through 1965 that still today has a strong enthusiast following.
Only half of the 76,000 356 models originally produced are estimated to be in existence today. But one entrepreneur decided to launch a themed coffee joint in Scottsdale that was inspired by Porsche – complete with a Snap-on tool chest and plenty of automotive memorabilia on the walls. Seems like my kind of place. The hot chocolate’s not bad either.
About the only automotive news I can share from the last week or so is that 3 of my 6 Acuras are wearing ‘new shoes’ now. I took the opportunity while I had the Vigor in the garage at home to throw it on jacks and pull the tires off. Ever since I got the car last July I’ve been wanting to have the 15″ alloy wheels refinished. Sans a few bumper bruises, the body of the car is pretty dang mint, but those wheels endured 21 years in Colorado and had a few scars. Alloy Wheel Repair Specialists in Phoenix got that taken care of for me.
Before:
After:
I also put a set of refinished wheels on my Legend GS sedan, and I put my 1992 NSX back to its factory original setup. While the car looked really nice on its 17″ wheels all around (those were from a 2002-05 model), I think it handles much nicer on the staggered 16″ rear / 15″ front setup that it left the factory with 24 years ago. The older I get, the less I care about how it looks and the more I care about how it drives. Besides, there’s a sheer sense of satisfaction the purist in me gets by having the car look the way its designers originally intended.
I need to extend a quick congrats to two friends who made excellent automotive purchases in recent weeks. First is Scott with his 2014 Jaguar XKR. This thing is a looker! He met up with me today at Fourtillfour and took me for a ride.
The second is my buddy Chase in Utah who picked up his dream car, a 1991 NSX. Chase, we’re twinners now! Congrats guys!
And I haven’t shared any Legend “Spy Shot” posts in several months, but I’m still collecting them. My friend James had a good one today from a TV episode. Thanks for keeping an eye out everyone.
So I’m off to Michigan bright and early tomorrow and I’ll bring you updates from the Auto Show if / as time permits. Otherwise tune in later in the week for a recap! Talk soon
At long last, the event that I’d helped to plan for about a year has reached its conclusion and I must say, it’s been a wild ride. Here are a couple more photos that surfaced of this year’s NSXPO / 25th anniversary NSX event. First, our parade lap from Friday at Thermal raceway as captured by Bob Ondrovic. I was only 3 or 4 cars back in the right hand lane (left as viewed in this image).
Seasoned race veteran Peter Cunningham posted a short video (taken by his copilot) that was filmed while driving my car on yesterday’s 100-mile scenic route. I was happy to lend him the keys, and he even left it full of fuel for me! This guy has claimed 91 professional race wins, so I hope he had some fun with my ride.
Closing ceremony last night, as taken from standing at a distance. Each dinner table was illuminated in a different colored spotlight. I never got to see the stage from this angle because I was always either backstage helping with something or seated at one of the front-row / reserved tables.
The NSXPO Planning Committee members handing signed group photos to Acura representatives, with Event Director Chris Willson at the mic.
Today’s events were very casual in nature. Most of our attendees have long drives ahead of them. Each of the three times I had to get in the elevator at the hotel to return to my room and pick up a few things to pack up my car, I ended up sharing the ride with other folks who were there for the event. One gentleman was about to embark on his return drive to Vancouver, British Columbia. A few newcomers joined us on the second floor of the parking garage for an informal car show, including my friend Ramon and his son (who also brought me some delicious cupcakes which I’m holding in this photo).
The casual meet & great was a nice break from the very rigid schedule we had all been abiding by for the previous few days.
Knowing that I had a nearly-5-hour drive home myself, I decided to head eastbound by about 11:00 in the morning, but not before taking a quick photo with my friend Ben Lin. The photo was necessary since Ben & I both attended the NALM (Legend) event in Houston a few weeks ago, so we wanted to document the fact that we were now again together at a different car-related program, only 1,547 miles away from the last meet-up. Ben’s 2005 “Silverstone” car has the updated 2002-05 front end.
I also met NSX Club of America member “Dan.” He’s the proud ORIGINAL owner of a 1991 Formula Red NSX. Though the paint has faded and the car has over 200,000 miles on the odometer, he has hung onto it for 25 years and doesn’t plan on selling any time soon. I only wish I’d taken a photo of the 25-sticker-thick stack of registration renewal stickers on his license plate.
I cruised over to Rancho Mirage area and had brunch with my friends James & Daniel who happened to also be in the area.
Couldn’t help but take a photo at this storefront entrance near the JW Marriott property.
Perfect setting for a relaxing Sunday bite to eat.
My 297-mile eastbound return trip to Phoenix on I-10 was uneventful and I honestly didn’t even turn on the radio until about 3 hours into it. My mind was enjoying the solitude and silence – it needed time to process & download the busy activities of the last several days. I did happen to pass our HPDE instructor / Sponsorship Director Jim Cozzollino a couple of hours into my drive! He gave me a wave and I blew past him.
Posted in NSX, NSXPO on October 11, 2015 by tysonhugie
I put over 13,000 miles on NSXs today. Considering I’d guess about 130 people took today’s 103-mile scenic drive that I helped plan out, that comes out to 13,390 miles. So – sorry to all those collective NSX owners who have lowered the values of their pristine low-milers on account of me!
It was another “crack of dawn” type of morning for me and it’s been a very busy day on the go. We’ve just concluded this year’s formal event out here in Palm Springs with exception of an open-to-the-public aspect of NSXPO called “NSX-tra” which will take place tomorrow morning.
Our participants on today’s mountain drive on the Palm to Pines Scenic Byway started lining up in the surface parking lot around 7:30 in the morning. Prior to today, I had driven this same route a couple of times.
In August with fellow NSXPO Planning Committee members
This time, it was the real deal.
My own car was piloted by Peter Cunningham and his wife, so I had the great opportunity to hop onboard with a couple of other gracious drivers who had a passenger seat available. The first was John in a 1992 Berlina Black model with 110,000 miles on the odometer. We cruised the 30 miles out to Banning and then re-staged the cars to wait for a couple of the other drive groups to arrive before proceeding up the mountain.
The next car I hopped into was a rare (1 of 50) 1999 “Zanardi” edition NSX owned by Glen Kawano of San Diego. His car handled the curves amazingly, and I enjoyed getting to know him over the course of the next couple of hours while we made the loop via Highways 243 and 74, back to the host hotel in Rancho Mirage. Peter took great care of my car and while he was still out and about with it, I made use of his Cadillac SUV rental car! The timing was perfect because I had to run over to Walmart and pick up some receptacles for raffle tickets. It just so happened that the most suitable (and cost efficient solution) was to buy 26 blue plastic pumpkins at $1 apiece. You should have seen the looks people were giving me as I rolled through the checkout line with a heaping cart full of blue pumpkins.
LA Prep arrived to get some cars loaded up on the stage for the evening’s show, so I gave them a hand with load-in. We arranged the Zanardi NSX, the new NSX, the RealTime Racing NSX, and a club member’s car (an all-original 1993 that had driven the farthest @ over 3,000 miles from NY). Our cocktail hour and vendor merchandising show kicked off at 4:00 p.m., and doors opened to the banquet hall at 7:00. Our attendees were treated to a feast for the ears, eyes, and tastebuds for the rest of the evening. NSXPO director Chris Willson kicked off the ceremony with a few words, and then the curtains opened to show the gleaming cars on stage while a dramatic 2-minute Acura “brand” video played on the huge screens flanking the stage and the spotlights danced around energetically. It was awesome.
Our keynote speakers were Michael Cao, Acura Interior Design Project Lead, Ted Klaus, Large Project Leader for the new NSX, and Peter Cunningham, award-winning race champion over his 30-year career with the RealTime Racing team. During this same time, dinner service was provided. I had to laugh when Peter gestured to the racecar behind him. “Well, the right rear quarter panel on that car is original,” he started, “but the rest has been through a lot.” We took a short intermission after Peter’s comments and gave people one last chance to buy raffle tickets for the $30,000 in prizes to be given away. Jim Cozzolino took the stage to draw tickets for 26 prices, the biggest of which were a $2,500 clutch from Exedy and a $3k set of Rays wheels.
The conclusion of the show was the presentation of signed & framed posters featuring all the attendees grouped around the cars (the photo that was taken on Thursday night at the air museum). Recipients of the posters were Ted Klaus, John Watts, and Peter Cunningham. I must say it was an honor to spend the evening among the likes of such high class people. The level of camaraderie and respect has been extremely evident throughout this entire event.
Staging for the morning’s drive
Riding with Glen in his Zanardi. Check those driving gloves!
View from the cockpit
At 6,000 feet in elevation, it was THIRTY degrees cooler than we had yesterday at the track in Thermal!
Twisties on Highway 74
Back at the hotel with Glen
Helping the LA Prep crew unload the new NSX and other show cars for the stage
Getting things situated
Jon Ikeda, head of Acura Division, and Jessica Fini, National Public Relations Manager
Senior Manager John Watts displays some of Acura’s wares at the merchandising booth in the lobby
Tables inside the banquet hall were spotlit in different colors
Peter Cunningham at the mic
Ryu Asada – NSX owner and Mattel employee. He designed the Hot Wheels NSX!
With Ben and Graeme – these guys are my Legend brothers. The 3 of us all have Legends & NSXs.
And lastly, our NSXPO Planning Committee, minus NSXCA Liaison John Komar. These guys have been amazing to work with.
An exclusive members-only track facility called The Thermal Club opened its doors for our NSX owners today!
General Manager Brent was happy to roll out the red carpet for our event, and we graciously accepted the invitation. We had a day of hot weather and even hotter cars. Somehow, we managed to make the most of our day before the oven – it was 102 degrees Fahrenheit when I left the track in the early afternoon – really started getting to us. My day started off with a 4:30 a.m. departure from the Agua Caliente host hotel for a 40-minute drive to the racetrack.
I recognized some jewel eye MDX headlights in my rearview mirror, so I knew the vehicle behind me must’ve been full of Acura folks — and, indeed it was. Over the next hour or so, we offloaded a TLX, an MDX, the RealTime Racing NSX, and the new black NSX from a huge transport truck that had brought them. Our general attendees started arriving around 6:30 a.m. and it was a steady stream of incoming NSXers for awhile. Our day was kicked off by High Performance Driving Education (HPDE) coordinator Jim Cozzolino, with a few remarks from Event Director Chris Willson as well as from Peter Cunningham.
Our skidpad, autocross, and “South Palm Circuit” tracks opened up for business shortly afterward, and about 40 people cycled through three different “run groups” based on skill level. I didn’t participate in the performance driving activities, but I’m fairly certain that if I had, I would’ve been with the “Beginner” contingent. The rest of the morning was filled with that characteristic roar of NSX exhaust in the airwaves and the occasional screech of squealing rubber as the cars and people made the rounds. Ted Klaus and other key Acura engineering personnel showed up to educate us a little on the new NSX.
One NSX owner – and I’m sorry I can’t even remember his name – took me for a track ride in his Formula Red 1995 car. It was equipped with a Comptech supercharger, custom exhaust system, and upgraded suspension. I was reminded of just how well the NSX handles when pushed in a performance driving situation.
Lunch was served at an adjacent shaded pavilion – and thank goodness for those high-powered fans on the perimeter. The hamburgers and quesadillas were just what the doctor ordered, not to mention the generous availability of waters and Gatorades made available by Thermal track management so nobody in our group got dehydrated. Around that same time, Peter Cunningham took the wheel of the 2017 NSX – for his first time behind the wheel – and gave ride-alongs to the 3 winners of our charity raffle which raised $2,000 last night. They had huge grins when exiting the track.
The last logistical challenge of the Thermal event was a parade lap where all 100-someodd cars got on the track at the same time. In the lead was the new NSX, followed by Jim Cozzolino and Rahul Chopra, then the mass following of regular attendees. Though speed was low at 15-20 miles per hour max, it was still a surreal feeling to see so many NSXs ahead of, next to me, and behind me.
Dinner was held at The Living Desert, a botanical garden and zoo. It was the perfect “under the stars” setting for our club members to meet and great one another in a casual, picnic table setting. Chris spoke a moment about our sponsors, and then I made a few remarks about tomorrow’s 103-mile group drive to the San Jacinto Mountains. More adventures await! Come back tomorrow for the finale!
Here are the rest of today’s shots.
Notice the clock in here: 4:47 a.m. and headed to the track. Yawn!
Unloading the new NSX at the track
Having a seat in the RealTime Racing NSX when we had to move it forward. Pushed, not started!
TLX lights up the Realtime Racing NSX
Getting things set up in the Acura display as attendees start parking
Driver meeting kick-off at 7:30 a.m.
The cars behind me were prepping for track day
Spectator cars
Mountain views that never get old!
All set for my ride. Standing with Automobile Magazine author Michael Jordan
New NSX takes to the Thermal track, solo
D’oh! Had to lay off the pics for a bit! It got toasty out there.
Paused at the end of the parade for some group photos
New NSX at the front of our group during photos
Burn, baby, burn!
Back at the hotel parking garage. Nice try, Camry.
Parking at dinner. One of these things is not like the others!
I’m broadcasting live from the biggest U.S. gathering of Acura NSX owners in history.
NSXPO, the event that brings NSX fans together year after year, is based this year in sunny Palm Springs, California. The event opened for registration at the end of May and sold out at 250 tickets in a matter of only about a week’s time. The level of interest has been unprecedented, and we are geared up for a very busy next few days. 2015 marks a special year in NSX history for a number of reasons. It’s the 25 year anniversary of the year when the revolutionary NSX first launched. It also represents a 10-year anniversary of its last year of production. And finally – after a long-awaited hiatus – the newest iteration of this iconic sportscar has come back stronger than ever. Acura Division is here to show us its latest creation in all its glory. You’ve seen it discussed here on Drive to Five a number of times – even as far back as the North American International Auto Show in Detroit nearly 4 years ago, but now it’s finally here in tangible form.
(photo credit: Bob Ondrovic)
I’m an 11-time NALM veteran but this marks the first time I’ve participated in an NSX gathering of this size and scope. Best of all, I’ve been able to play a key role in the planning & development of the program. Our 5-person NSXPO Planning Committee has worked hard for about a year now on putting the pieces together to make this possible, but the rewards have been worth it and we’re thrilled that so many other like-minded fans will appreciate our efforts and enjoy the weekend.
Tonight, we kicked off the festivities with an exclusive event at the Palm Springs Air Museum. The logistics behind corralling over 160 cars into a parking lot behind and airplane hangar got a little complicated – especially when during a 2-hour window of time we had to check people in, have them sign 3 waivers, get them wristbands for the track day tomorrow, give them “swag bags,” ask them to do some judging for the car show, and keep our sanity together! But, somehow we made it through and thankfully everyone is being very patient with us as we do our best to keep things on track.
(photo credit: Bob Ondrovic)
My drive out to Palm Springs was a piece of cake last night. This morning, we had about 50 people check in early, so that helped put a dent in our remaining headcount for registration. We had some great volunteers to help us get goodie bags assembled and get credentials in alphabetical order. Then the onslaught of people started arriving. While people were outside in the heat trying to get cars parked evenly for a group photo, the rest of us were getting everyone inside the hangar situated with their gear. When I finally peeked outside, I saw a sea of aluminum: more NSXs in one place than I’d ever seen before! A few celebrities arrived, too – including Ted Klaus who is the large project leader on the 2017 NSX, RealTime Racing driver Peter Cunningham, and a few other special guests from the Acura development teams, marketing teams, and other areas. Automobile Magazine author Michael Jordan attended, as did Ben Hsu from Japanese Nostalgic car, and we even had a drop-in from Jason Cammisa of Motor Trend. Needless to say, I was a little star-struck.
It felt like we were all on The Price is Right when Event Director Chris Willson announced the 3 raffle winners for tomorrow’s ride-along in the 2017 NSX with Peter Cunningham at the wheel. “Come on down!” he said. The recipients were super excited and the rest of us will be eternally jealous!
Here are a few photos from our first day of fun out here in Palm Springs. Thanks for coming along!
Video!
The Legend out and about a couple of days ago
I-10 westbound in my 1992 NSX with 102,000 miles on the odometer
Staying last night with my friends Scott & Sandy. Scott has a 1992 NSX that’s a twin to mine (but with half the miles)
Good way to start the day! Group message with the other Planning Committee members.
With Event Director Chris Willson during early registration at Agua Caliente
Check-in table signage
Les Rowe and Jim Cozzolino from the Planning Committee, getting a little friendly!
Arrival a the Air Museum before the masses got there
Goodie bag assembly line
Solo shot with my car and the 2017 NSX in Berlina Black!
Scott sent this of the lineup of cars waiting to get in around that time
Chris Hand from Acura Social Media
The view outside!
View 2
View 3
Scott and I were in heaven.
And more
The new NSX was on a rug at the front of the pack
Rear ends
They keep going and going
Racing legend Peter Cunningham arrived with his wife. Peter had just gotten back from the “NSX Fiesta” event in Japan.
I asked him to sign my dash with a silver Sharpie, and he obliged!
With Ted Klaus, Matt Stall, and Michael Cao – these are some of the key players in the development of the new NSX
Ben Hsu from Japanese Nostalgic Car
Jason Cammisa from Motor Trend
The group assembled to have dinner
Arrival back at the parking garage, with my friend Ben Lin. I’ve now seen Ben at THREE automotive events in the last couple of months: S2000 Homecoming in early September, NALM in late September, and now NSXPO. We are on the same car show schedule apparently!
He’s the original owner of a 2005 “Silverstone” color NSX with only 7,000 miles on the odometer!
Tomorrow: Track day and an evening at “The Living Desert.” Stay tuned!
How does a lowly Legend owner get a VIP invitation to a car show with over 200 Honda S2000 sportscars? Luck of the draw, I guess! It happened to me and I made a special trip to Honda’s North American headquarters in Torrance, California this past weekend to celebrate the occasion.
It’s been almost exactly 5 years since I attended the last s2000 meet-up of this magnitude. That one was called “Homecoming II” and was organized by the same individual who put on this year’s shindig. I shared a write-up, photos, and short video of that event on the Acura Legend forums at the time (it occurred just 6 months before I started this blog, or you would have seen it here). One of the many highlights of that event was the chance to personally meet Mr. Shigeru Uehara, the father of the NSX & S2000.
My Legend had just 441,000 miles on it at that time, so it’s taken me 5 years to add another 94,000 miles.
“Homecoming III” was slated to be even bigger and better than the prior event. I took off from work last Thursday afternoon and hit Interstate 10 westbound. Well, not right away. Interstate 10 in Phoenix is a bit of a danger zone right now, with about a dozen random “car shootings” taking place over the last couple of weeks. I detoured around Loop 101 until I got to Avondale before hitting the 10. The 430-mile drive was smooth sailing and it reminded me of how I racked up so many miles on the Legend in the first place: Low revs on the highway (fewer than 2500 at 75 miles per hour), smooth ride, and a great stereo. It was sundown by the time I rolled LA town via I-10, Highway 60, I-605, Highway 91, and I-110 to my exit on Sepulveda Boulevard. Welcome to Los Angeles.
Friday was an action-packed day including meetings with key contacts at Acura regarding next month’s NSXPO convention in Palm Springs. By late afternoon, my ‘hired driver’ (AKA, trusted friend) Peter had arrived at our hotel in Torrance with the NSX which would also be attending Homecoming, so both cars were safe and sound on location. I worked up a sweat doing some last-minute detailing in the parking lot (LA is experiencing a heat wave and the humidity is killer!), but both cars ended up glistening with some Meguiar’s quick detail spray and a little tire shine. My friend Ira had arrived from Portland in his 2002 Acura NSX in Long Beach Blue Pearl, as seen here in the background.
Game day (Saturday) came quite a bit earlier than we’d hoped. My alarm went off at 3:15 a.m., in fact. By then, I’m sure Peter was regretting his decision to volunteer as my second driver for this crazy adventure. We had a 4:25 a.m. meet-up with others from our hotel, a 4:45 meet up 2 miles away with the 12 other “showcars” in the Homecoming event, and a 5:05 arrival at Honda’s huge campus where we staged the showcars in a “mock” situation. I’m telling you, the ENTIRE DAY had timing laid out with that kind of precision. Exhausting.
In the meantime, Event Director Mike Trinh put us to work – breaking ice bags, filling up the cargo beds of two Ridgeline pickup trucks, and throwing in bottled waters and iced teas. By 7:30, we were ushered into hiding with our cars around the backside of the building while the row after row of Honda S2000 rolled onto campus and into their designated (by color) parking areas. If you’re afflicted with a moderate to severe case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder like I am, you’ll greatly appreciate that the fact that every section of the parking lot was perfectly color coordinated. See what I mean?
The S2000 model has a huge enthusiast following, as do so many other Honda models. The “S2K” (as it’s lovingly been named) sold over 66,000 units in total from its first year in 2000 through its final year in 2009. I know a few of my loyal readers are lucky enough to own such a vehicle, including Conor. This is his baby:
I talked for a bit with Chris Martin from Honda Public Relations and he asked me to help him pull a 2016 Honda Pilot out of the garage and bring it over to the showcar area. I happily obliged, and though my drive distance with the Pilot couldn’t have been more than 1/2 mile, it was my first time in the all-new redesigned model and I liked what I saw. Chris also had an Accord coupe and an HR-V on display. The HR-V was a 6-speed manual! It seemed like it would be a blast to drive.
From his wireless microphone, Mike T kicked off the opening ceremony and announced the originating city and owner’s name for each of the “showcars” as they filed in during a parade. Peter and I were sandwiched into the middle of the pack, but in line next to one another. I took the lead in the NSX and Peter followed in the Legend as we pulled into the main event parking lot amid a cheering crowd.
One of the key highlights of the morning was getting to visit the Honda “secret museum” down the street a few blocks on Van Ness. I think this marked my fourth time going in there, but it never loses its appeal to witness the preservation of such neat low-mileage examples of important Hondas of the past. Best of all, I reconnected with pioneer Acura founding executive Kurt Antonius and the Manager of Auto Shows & Exhibits, Dave Heath. Kurt is pictured here.
This is one of the vehicles on display: A 78-mile (yes, 78!) example of the 2004 Acura NSX.
We were starving by this time, so our first stop when we got back to the S2K Homecoming location was to get in line for the Habit Burger food truck. It was worth the wait! Italian ice was served up for dessert – a perfect remedy for the extremely humid weather that left us all chugging water and looking for any slice of shade we could find. Around 2:00 p.m., Mike kicked off the closing ceremony which included a raffle of dozens of items that were donated by event sponsors, many of which were quite high in value. I laid low for the rest of the afternoon back at our hotel, and made the return drive to Phoenix bright and early on Sunday.
One bonehead moment to share from the 6-hour drive home: I stopped briefly to use the restroom at the Love’s gas station in Quartzsite, Arizona just after crossing in from California. As I shuffled through paperwork and garbage on the passenger seat to collect a pile for the trash, I inadvertently threw my $80 sunglasses away in the trash bin. It wasn’t until I was a mile down the freeway that I went to grab for them on the seat and realized they weren’t there. I debated about whether I should return, but decided it was worth it. So, the folks fueling up at Love’s gave me a few weird looks when I returned to the station and took the lid off the trash bin so I could root around in there.
Yep, found the glasses.
Many thanks to the friends who made this memorable weekend possible! Here are the rest of my photos and a 4-minute video.
Someone else’s video: My parade entrance starts around 5:50.
Friday meeting location at Honda’s main office in Torrance. This is the lobby.
Found a random place for dinner that evening. Looked a little retro.
A 2016 ILX was improperly parked in the showcar area bright and early. So, it got towed.
Die-hard Honda fan, Steven, trailered this race-ready Honda S800 all the way from Dallas, Texas for Homecoming.
Lining up – Peter in the Legend, me in the NSX.
Parade fanfare. I’m still trying to track down video coverage of this.
Ira’s gorgeous Long Beach Blue NSX with 28,000 miles.
The crowd assembled for the opening ceremony.
Interior of a 39,000-mile red NSX on display.
Lineup of yellow S2000s
And silver ones…
And black ones…
Visiting with my friend Ben (left) who’s a fellow Legend owner, as well as Mike (center), the guy in charge.
The S2000s were led into he facility by Acura NSX “Pace Cars” which each wore this decal.
Interior of the HR-V 6-speed.
The 2016 Accord Coupe.
NSX + Legend
NSX + Legend again
Abandoned roadside Legend spotting this morning on I-10! Looked like it had seen better days… It had already been tagged by Highway Patrol.
By the way, I had a couple of neat features happen this week. First, this photo share from music artist “Fabolous” who has 2.5 million followers on Instagram. He posted an old (2007) photo of my Legends in Logan, Utah on his page on Thursday and it’s up to almost 27,000 likes now.
The second share was from Acura HQ when they featured a photo of my coupe for #FanFriday. Sweet!
It wouldn’t be a proper 3-day holiday weekend if I didn’t try and squeeze a little roadtrip in somewhere. A friend of mine who I hadn’t seen for about a year and a half was playing at the “WeHo Sports Festival” at the University of California – Los Angeles campus and I took the opportunity to cruise out to LA and meet up with him for a night on Saturday. WeHo is short for West Hollywood, and the WSF event attracted a total of over 2,000 athletes competing in 10 different sports. My friend, Jeff, had flown in from Calgary, Alberta, to play soccer.
The 400-mile I-10 westward voyage on Saturday morning was uneventful and even a little boring – my only two stops were for fuel and snacks at 339th Avenue in Tonopah, Arizona, and then again at Washington Street in Palm Desert, California. I did roll 140,000 miles though, so that was exciting.
I found my way easily to the UCLA campus off Highway 405 and Sunset Boulevard. UCLA has over 43,000 students, making it nearly twice the size of the student body of my undergrad institution in Utah. The campus itself sits at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains and covers 419 acres of land. I thought it was very well laid out and clean.
Unfortunately, Jeff’s team didn’t perform all that well but I still enjoyed spectating from the sidelines in 80-someodd degree weather. It’s the first time I’ve been able to use my cheapo $6 foldable camp chair that’s been rolling around in the trunk of my ILX for the last six months. After fighting Highway 101 traffic for about 45 minutes en route to our hotel (welcome to LA!), we met up with our other friend Jack, then enjoyed a night out in Hollywood glamour (or lack thereof, in our case). I talked a little about Hollywood during my blog post from last August when I attended a party out there.
On Sunday morning, Jack and I wandered from our hotel down Hollywood Boulevard to the TCL Chinese Theatre. On the way, we crossed the “Walk of Fame.” Even by 10:00 in the morning, the streets were already bustling with selfie-stick-wielding, foreign tourists. For a minute, I felt like I was on The Strip in Vegas, because there were guides passing out pamphlets and trying to sell me on a $49 tour of the city. I respectfully declined (I had to get my car out of the paid parking lot by 11:30).
The Walk of Fame consists of over 2,500 pink stars embedded into the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard. Each one contains the name of someone famous, and I recognized the names of a few actors, musicians, and directors as we wandered around. About 20 new stars are added each year.
TCL Chinese Theatre dates back to 1926 and has been home to hundreds of movie premiers over the years. It’s currently home to the third largest commercial movie screen in North America. But what brings thousands of tourists to the facility every year is the concrete out front: Here, you can see over 200 handprints, footprints, and autographs of famous people that have been immortalized on the ground.
Beverly Hills, 90210: It’s a location that’s been made famous thanks to TV and movies, and it’s pretty posh for sure. Driving along westbound Sunset Boulevard, you see posters alongside the road frequently saying “STAR MAPS!” and encouraging you to pull over at some roadside stand and get a guide to (I’m guessing) where the movie stars live. I didn’t take the time. Even as I type this entry, Weezer’s song “Beverly Hills” is stuck in my head. I was surprised to learn that the median income there is only about $90,000 – I might have expected it to be at least in six-figure territory.
As has been widely publicized in the news, California is experiencing a huge drought right now, and the impact is even hitting the folks in Beverly Hills. The streets’ medians have had their sprinklers shut off, allowing the grass to die off and turn gold. I saw a huge billboard along one of the interstates that said, “Let Your Grass Go California Gold” with a photo of a dead/dying lawn.
I rolled home Sunday afternoon, exhausted from such a quick adventure: Arrival in LA at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, departure at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. Would you expect anything else from me? In & out. Places to go and people to see. Thanks for joining!
A rare sight of traffic freely flowing on northbound, 8-lane, Highway 405 in Los Angeles
Meeting up with Jeff at the UCLA campus
Route (really round-about route, suggested by my phone) to our hotel from UCLA
Anddddd, of course. Parked traffic on the 101 freeway thanks to an accident.
ILX street parking
Wandering past the Hollywood Wax Museum on Sunday morning
Following Jack’s red IS300 on Hollywood Boulevard – and he happened to be next to an ILX
Spotted a Prius towing a U-HAUL trailer on eastbound I-10 on my way home. I wonder how many MPGs he was getting.
Coming up soon: The Legend coupe and the NSX are heading to Torrance, California this weekend for a special event at Honda Headquarters. You’ll read about it here before too long!
In preparation, I hauled 2 new rear tires over to Discount Tire for install…
Did you know? We’re only about 6 weeks away from what’s slated to be the biggest gathering of Acura NSX owners in history. NSXPO 2015, scheduled for October 8-11 in Palm Springs, California, sold out in only 8 days with 250 registered attendees. These people are coming from all across the country – as well as internationally – to celebrate the NSX’s 25-year anniversary with fellow enthusiasts.
There were just fewer than 9,000 Acura NSX models sold in the United States during the car’s 15-year production run. That makes them pretty rare (for comparison, Honda sells over 30,000 Accords in any given month), but NSXPO has been a tradition for over 10 years now and continues to draw a crowd.
One of the activities during our busy 4-day event schedule will be a 100-mile scenic drive through the San Jacinto Mountains just southwest of Palm Springs on the “Palms to Pines Scenic Byway.” The drive loop is comprised by 3 main roads: Interstate 10, Highway 243, and Highway 74. I’ve already taken a “test drive” of this loop (last year) but wanted to give it another go now that we’re getting close to showtime at NSXPO.
There are many logistics to be fine-tuned. Have you ever tried taking a group drive with even just a few cars? Someone needs to stop for fuel. Someone gets stuck at a light. Someone takes a wrong turn. Things can get turned around in a hurry. Now, expand the scope to involve upwards of 200 vehicles. There are special considerations were are taking, even potentially including police escorts. We want the driving event to be fun AND safe for all attendees.
On Friday evening, I drove out to Palm Springs via I-10 westbound and arrived in time for dinner with my good friends Scott & Sandy. On Saturday morning, I met up at the NSXPO host hotel, Agua Caliente Resort, with the following folks:
Scott in his red NSX – 47,000 miles
Rahul in his red NSX – 96,000 miles
JC in his yellow NSX – 98,000 miles
Les in his black NSX – 138,500 miles
Chris in his burgundy TSX Sport Wagon – 15,000 miles
Me in the silver ILX – 139,000 miles
Newest car in the bunch, and I still had more miles than anyone else! Chris rode along with the rest of us and even took a turn at the wheel of Scott’s car. Unlike last October’s test-drive, we decided to take the loop counter-clockwise this time. That meant our first leg would be via I-10 westbound to Exit 101 for Hargrave Street which connects to HIghway 243.
The highway narrowed to a two-laner as we started making our way up the grade. For being a Saturday morning, I was surprised how little traffic there was. I was also surprised how polite the other drivers were about pulling over to the turnouts when they recognized faster moving traffic (us) in their rearview mirrors. Road conditions were great and we had fun with our mildly-aggressive ascent up the mountain. Les became concerned about a fuel smell at one point and we took a break to investigate. He ended up continuing on and his NSX was fine for the rest of the day, however.
We dined at Jo Ann – a burger place in the center of bustling Idyllwild. Parking was a bit of an ordeal, even for just 5 cars, so we decided it will be best for NSXPO purposes if we tell our 200+ participants NOT to stop there for food or drink, but to continue onward. Les & JC headed back toward Banning & Orange County, while Scott, Chris, Rahul, and I continued on to the junction with Highway 74 and descending back into Palm Springs.
For a time, I got to ride in Rahul’s car and it was a real treat. Rahul’s NSX is special because it’s a limited-edition 1999 “Zanardi” edition, custom designed by Alex Zanardi, professional race driver from Italy. It’s one of only 50 cars that were built in that configuration – with fixed roof, upgraded suspension, unique wheel design, and other enhancements over the stock NSX. Rahul’s car is #16.
Here’s the numbered plaque behind the seats:
Continuing down the mountain:
Last stop on my Palm Springs visit was a check-in at Scott’s warehouse/museum. We happened to line up 6 Acuras outside and it seemed only fitting to take a photo. I got to drive his immaculate 1988 Legend L coupe with only 81,000 original miles on it, as well as his latest acquisition, a 1996 Subaru SVX with only 52,000 miles on it. Both cars drove amazingly.
Drive time home to Phoenix was about 4.5 hours and despite some extreme weather I made it with time to spare. Check out this dust storm I drove straight into, just west of Buckeye, Arizona on Interstate 10.
Here’s what it looked like from inside the storm.
Thanks for coming along for the ride, and enjoy the rest of these pics!
Short video of our Acura lineup at Scott’s:
Friday night arrival at my hotel on Indian Canyon Road
Parking in Idyllwild
Photo by Chris – getting ready to head back out after lunch
1992 & 1999 NSXs
Chris, Tyson, Scott – looking straight into some very bright sunlight
Lineup of Acuras at Scott’s storage facility
I suggested to Scott that he acquire the following cassette tapes to play in his 1988 Legend.
Rick Astley, George Michael, Whitney Houston… this is a star-studded lineup!
I agree with this graffiti on I-10 near Desert Center, California. Enjoy the drive!
Sunset in my sideview mirror to close out a great day. Thanks again for coming!
Lots of cities & towns across America have letters or numbers painted on mountainsides nearby to represent something symbolic. My hometown in southern Utah has a huge white “D” on the hill since St. George is “Utah’s Dixie.”
But, there aren’t many towns that have an entire 7-letter word spelled out in massive 100-foot-tall letters! For anyone who’s driven nearby on Loop 202 or northbound on Ellsworth Road, you’ve probably seen this view (you’ll have to click/zoom at top left):
Located on Usery Mountain in Mesa about 20 miles east of Phoenix, a giant “PHOENIX” marker is made of rocks that have been painted white. It took a Boy Scout troop over 5 years to assemble them in the early 1950’s. Most of the information that I found stated that the marker served as a guide for aircraft at the time, similar to the concrete arrows found across America.
Unfortunately, access to the PHOENIX sign is a little tough right now. I made it almost all of the way there and then ran up against a metal gate with not one, but 3 padlocks attached to it. Those, along with the plentiful “NO TRESPASSING” signs, kept me from trying to get any closer.
I did the best I could to capture a photo with my car, of course.
From there, I looped around toward Saguaro Lake on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.
I promise, I was having a good time!
These cliffs at sunset are brilliant. I need to get back out there at the right time of day.
Sending some hearty congrats out to TWO friends who’ve joined the ranks of “Bellanova White” Acura TLX ownership in the last week or so. Ed in North Carolina went with the 2.4 liter. Here it is parked next to his roommate’s 3.5 RL:
And Ira in Oregon traded his TSX 6-speed in on a new 3.5 liter TLX SH-AWD.
A stunning purchase if I do say so. Well done, guys!
Let’s have some NSX Talk for a minute. This guy Sheldon has a mileage achievement to share that’s pretty dang impressive. His NSX has logged 400,000 miles!
Tuesday was a special day for the Arizona NSX fanclub since we learned that two production-spec NSXs were headed our way as part of a testing shakeout during the “#AcuraNSXOnTour” campaign. My sources had told me to be at the Acura of Tempe dealership between 3-5 p.m. So, I drove my own 1992 NSX to work, thinking I’d leave directly from there to head to the dealership in the afternoon. What I didn’t anticipate was extreme weather:
My poor car saw rain for the first time in my 3.5 years of ownership. Oh well! As my friend Mike said, “Don’t worry about it. It’s not like it’s going to melt or anything!” Very true, Mike.
The arrival of the 2016 NSX models was delayed, and the ETA was pushed back to 7 p.m. An anxious crowd of about 20 people started assembling at the dealership around that time. Current NSX owners comprised the majority of the group, though most didn’t have their NSXs with them.
One attendee was a guy named Stewart from Fountain Hills who has never owned an NSX but who was specifically invited by dealership management who is interested in getting one. He’d better get in line! I don’t know how many cars will be allocated to each dealership, but I heard that there will be only 8 NSXs produced per day at the Ohio assembly plant.
By 8:30 p.m., I’d waited 90 minutes and the NSXs hadn’t arrived. I had to take off because I was already late for a dinner engagement. I received a text message just minutes later from my buddy Jhae who was still waiting – I’d missed the arrival by just a teeny bit of time. No worries, I stopped by this morning with my friend Kelvin and we had the cars all to ourselves inside the service bay.
The red one looked clean, but the black one had clearly spent a lot of time on the road. It was covered in dust and the front end was buggy.
Still, I’d take one! Would you choose the red or the black?
Hope everyone is having a good week. Before you go, check out these awesome roads in a short “Dream Roads” video put together by Infiniti! I’m determined to visit some of these.
drivetofive 