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Back to the Routine: Car Washes, a Magazine Feature, and Racing NSXs

Posted in ILX, Legend, Vigor on June 12, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend Coupe): 543,280

Odometer (Legend Sedan): 150,380

There’s nothing like an inbox of 1,300 unread emails to come back to after being out of the office for 9 business days! I spent Monday digging out from underneath all that nonsense that accumulated during my Alaska trip.

It’s always such an ordeal around here to get to a coin-op car wash. I don’t have access to a pressure washer at home and I sure as heck wasn’t going to attempt the muddy ILX detail with my measly little garden hose in the driveway. Luckily I had about $20 worth of tokens for the local car wash at Miller Rd & McDowell Rd in Scottsdale, so I cruised over there. Here’s how that ended up going.

Dang, the car wash is now closed and has construction fence around it. So much for that wasted $20 in tokens.
I guess I’ll google “car wash” and find others.
Drove to 2 more locations about a mile away. Neither was self-serve. Scratch that.
I know there’s one in Tempe at McClintock & Apache; I’ll just go down there.
Looks like it’s $1.75. I’ll just blow the few quarters I have and see how far I get.
(Time ran out). Definitely need more. I’ll have to go get more change, but I don’t have cash.
I’ll google “Wells Fargo ATM.”
Went a mile away to the Wells Fargo branch, inside a Safeway store, at Rural & Broadway.
Well, now I have to break this $20. There’s a Pei Wei in the parking lot and I’m kind of hungry.
(After eating and getting change) Alright, back to the car wash.
And finally, finished the job. Then drove home.
And washed the car again in the driveway anyway.

Nothing irks me like wasted time and effort, but I did finally get the job done – an initial swing at it, anyway. The whole back end of the car feels a bit like sandpaper because of the contaminants on the paint, and I may have given my new Hoover vac a workout with all the pebbles in the driver’s footwell. I do not usually condone the use of a foam brush! But in this case, heavy duty was absolutely required for the bugs on the front end!

I even took the high pressure spray to the door jambs with the doors OPEN! Dirt was caked in there.

Finished result, not too shabby!

Today, as a matter of fact, marks the 4-year-anniversary of the day I got the ILX with 16 miles on its odometer. It has a little more than 172,000 miles on it. I don’t have an exact number because my friend Jack has the car in Las Vegas until tomorrow. But that comes out to around 43,000 miles per year.

It was good to get the other cars awakened after a 2.5-week slumber. The Legend coupe was reluctant to start – initially I got only a “click” but no “crank,” so I ended up rolling backwards down the driveway and doing a clutch start in reverse. Now it runs fine after cruising around a little. I’m still trying to figure out if it’s a battery issue or a starter issue. The starter (aftermarket, Denso) was barely installed 3,000 miles ago, back in December by Hon-Man locally in Tempe.

I drove it to work on Friday.

My brother is up to his eyeballs in projects for my NSX which is at his place in southern Utah. The passenger side window regulator went out on him, so he sent me this picture while tearing in to replace it.

Night shot, cruising around in the 1994 Vigor

And a night drive in the 1993 Legend sedan (Christmas tree of dash lights here!)

This one will be up for grabs (cheapo) soon. I’m waiting to hear back from a couple of potentially interested parties.

On Saturday I buzzed over to Glendale and pulled the 1994 Legend GS out of storage for a bath. The dust was bad!

At home with the 93.

I went and viewed a house in Central Phoenix I’ve been eyeballing. It has a 5-car garage 🙂

Back to storage.

Later in the evening, stopped by the Scottsdale Pavilions weekly car show. It seemed to be domestic car overload. Camaros and Mustangs for days. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

The sunset was stunning last night. Arizona always does them right.

I was pretty thrilled to get a few copies of the May-June issue of Arizona Driver magazine in the mail this week. I’d recently submitted an article about a group drive some friends and I took to Chiricahua National Monument.

Sweet!

And finally: Check out this hot ride:

This NSX will be tearing up the Colorado mountains in a couple of weeks at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. From Acura’s press release that was distributed on Thursday:

Acura will field a pair of 2017 Acura NSX supercars in the 100th Anniversary of the running of the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb on June 26, marking the North American racing debut of Acura’s next-generation NSX: the pinnacle expression of Acura Precision Crafted Performance and the only supercar made in America.

Pikes Peak has been on my must-see list for some time now. I would have driven it a couple of summers ago when I was in the area, but it was closed for a bicycle race and my friends and I drove Mount Evans instead. It’s good to see the NSX making its way into the professional racing circuit and I’m anxious to see how it performs!

Hope everyone has had a great weekend!

20 Comments »

Visitors from Oklahoma & A Car Wash Party

Posted in Arizona, Vigor on May 9, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 543,149

Odometer (ILX): 163,108

I love it when I can help people find their next vehicle. Just in the last few weeks, I got my mom into a G35, my friend Jack into an RSX, and now my friend Michael picked up a Vigor. Just call me the automotive matchmaker.

Several months ago, a guy named Michael from Tulsa commented on the key-handoff Instagram photo of my 1994 Vigor GS that I’d posted. He mentioned that he wanted me to let me him know if I saw any similar cars/deals.

We corresponded via Direct Message a bit, eventually became text buddies, and then Facebook friends. And finally this weekend, we became friends in real life. All because of a 22-year-old Acura that we both have a soft spot for! As it turns out, Michael’s first car was supposed to be a black Acura Vigor but his dad wouldn’t let it happen. So now many years later, Michael bought one after all. He says he’s going to park it in his dad’s driveway as a surprise.

The car Michael bought is this twin to mine that I blogged about a few weeks ago. This Vigor will be a combination restoration project / daily driver / get-around toy. Michael already has a Toyota Tacoma and Toyota MR2 in his fleet back home in Oklahoma.

Michael, his friend Chris, and I took the Legend coupe & the NSX to breakfast in Tempe, Arizona on a beautiful Saturday morning. This was their first time visiting the state so I felt a duty and obligation to show them some decent food and sights during their very short (< 24 hour) visit to the state. We had omelets at NCOUNTER, then cruised up to the Vigor seller’s house in North Scottsdale.

It took about 30 minutes to get through the purchase paperwork and get on the road in our tandem “Vigs.” Michael was enough to share with me a spare set of “cognac”-colored floor mats since the car came with multiple sets. The seller had also included boxes full of spare parts and a several quarts of Honda transmission fluid. He’d done all his own maintenance over the years so he knew just about every nut and bolt of the car. He kissed the hood just before Michael drove away. That’s how you know someone took good care of their car and will miss it!

Michael sent me an update from the New Mexico state line as he was midway through his 1,025-mile drive home to Tulsa. Here’s a short video documenting his purchase & send-off.

Photo pre-departure

Leaving AZ (for good!) and heading eastward.

I hosted several friends yesterday for a car wash. Every once in awhile, I clear out the garage and driveway and invite people to come over and shine up their rides. I don’t claim to be any sort of detailing expert, but the basics are a piece of cake. We shined up Kevin’s Ford Escape, Ryan’s Lexus IS350, Jack’s RSX, Chandler’s Genesis, Michael’s Mini Cooper, and my ILX. Couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend an 85-degree day.

Oh, and Jack wanted a “douche bag” photo so we had to flex for one.

Here’s a video showing some of the moments.

Nice looking lineup!

Love the color on Kevin’s Escape.

James caught this picture of me at dinner last Tuesday. Legend City!

Finally: Check out this neat paperwork I came across. I can’t remember where on the Internet I found it originally. So the new 2017 Acura NSX is finally on sale, right? I don’t think anyone has taken delivery yet, but the configurator online at Acura.com is “live” and orders are being placed (supposedly). But are people going to be paying OVER sticker price for the car due to high demand? That’s what happened with the original NSX. Look at the next 2 documents. First one is the monroney sticker for a 1991 NSX. $61,600.

But here’s where it gets interesting. Look at the markup this dealership put on the car. Last line item reads: “ADJUSTED MARKET VALUE: $30,000.” Seriously! And remember, this was 25 years ago! A $30,000 markup in 1991 translates $53,032 markup in 2016 dollars. Pretty wild. But clearly they had no problem selling NSXs back then, even at a premium price. Or did they? Were any of my readers in the market back then to know? Chime in.

Have a great week!

9 Comments »

Legend Spy Shot Roundup #7

Posted in Legend, NSX, Spy Shots, Vigor on April 20, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 543,106

Odometer (ILX): 160,842

Happy hump day. The garden hose came out and the ILX got a much-needed bath on Sunday morning.

Later in the day I took the Legend to a neighborhood in Chandler, Arizona that has a street named Tyson.

It’s that time again for some spy shots! Here are the previous roundups for your viewing pleasure. These are all thanks to you, my loyal Legend hunters, who continue sending them to me on a daily basis.

Tim gets the grand prize of all Legend spotters for finding Ayrton Senna driving a 1991 “Twilight Blue Pearl” LS sedan for just a few seconds during a 51-minute video. Tim, you’re a winner! Look at 27:49 in this YouTube video.

We’ll kick this one off with a non-Legend photo. My good friend Conor in New York spotted this fully A-Spec’d out TL!

And here we go with the Legends:

Vigors

NSXs

SLXs

Preludes

7 Comments »

Seeing Double: Arcadia Green 1994 Acura Vigor GS Twins

Posted in ILX, Vigor on April 14, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 543,029

Odometer (ILX): 160,207

Odometer (Vigor): 105,500

together2

Feast your eyes on some “BG-30P” code paint deliciousness! This here is a double-dose of a color that we all saw back in the 90’s that has long since been replaced by today’s boring silvers, grays, charcoals, and…. yawn.

Several weeks ago I bought a new T-shirt on blipshift.com that says “Alive With Five.” It felt appropriate that I wear the shirt to a meet-up on Monday night with newfound friend Chris in Scottsdale, Arizona who happens to be an old-school Acura 5-cylinder fan just like me.

My friend Ryan made a snide remark about how little I will probably wear the shirt.

Bridging the gap between the Integra and the Legend, the Vigor split the difference between 4 and 6 cylinders with its 2.5-liter, 176-horsepower inline-five-cylinder motor. I shared some history about the model when I picked up my own Vigor last July in Denver.

This middle sibling was forever overshadowed by its larger, more popular, big brother the Legend. The Vigor enthusiast network in general was just a lot smaller. While the Legend community has been able to support enough interest to host an annual meet every year since 2005, the Vigor club members held regional meets until about the early 2000’s and then the fire died out. Consider the fact that there were more than ten times as many Legends sold as Vigors.

Acura Legend sales, 1986 – 1995: 477,831 units
Acura Vigor sales, 1992 – 1994: 43,908 units

The Acura Vigor Club was an online community started in 1998-1999, right around the time that I was spending my teenage years browsing Legend.org (still alive for archive purposes) and HondaPrelude.com (long gone). In January 1999, a “Yahoo!” group was founded for the Acura Vigor and Legend Club.

vig_club

More and more members began joining the community at acuravigorclub.com, with “Timely Topics” monthly DIY tutorials being posted by contributors and with meets being organized in select regions. In 2005, the website hit its peak with about 100,000 total hits, including one specific day in March that had over 900 views. Here is a (grainy, tiny, characteristic of those early days) photograph of a meet in Seattle in the early 2000s.

In the decade since, the website has become a ghost town. Last updates were posted in 2007 but by then the Vigor model was already 13 years old and a good chunk of the Vigor fanbase had likely moved on to the wildly successful new Acuras being offered on the showroom floor, like the crowd favorite 3rd generation 2004-2008 TL.

tyson

“Chris” was one of the rare, few people who took interest in the Vigor model when it was near-new. In 1996, he bought his car with around 25,000 miles on it. Over the last 20 years, it’s gone from daily driver, to weekend cruiser, to pretty much sitting around all the time – now that he has 3 other vehicles and a motorcycle competing for his attention. Thus the reason why he finally decided, at 200,400 miles on the odometer, he’s considering letting his pride and joy go to the next worthy owner.

together1

I was impressed with the condition of his car from the moment I arrived. It’s clearly been cared for. A mechancial engineer by trade, he’s performed all of his own maintenance over the years – everything, in fact, except for the tire installations and balancing. The timing belt was changed 20,000 miles (and 8 years) ago. The radiator and battery are new, and he says he’d trust the car to drive across the country without thinking twice.

engine

“Nice Vig,” was Chris’ comment when he saw my car. And, I definitely return those sentiments. We took his for a spin and it was interesting to get used to not kicking at a clutch pedal, but it idled, ran, drove, and braked as smoothly as could be – even with twice the miles that my car has on it. Hope you enjoy seeing some of the photos of his car that I captured during my visit.

Best angle!

My own Vigor in the background.

Front end is remarkably rock-chip-free for 200,000 miles

I need that spoiler!

The 2004 BMW in the driveway is one of Chris’ newer vehicles

Extra mats in the trunk! I need!

Cognac-colored interior has held up well, minus the driver’s seat & console lid.

Rare finds in this kind of condition.

And I happened to be passed by a 1991-92 Legend sedan whilst on my way home!

legend_sighting

A few other bits & pieces today to catch everyone up. Cruise on by TSXTravels.com, and say hello to my friend Josh who is now only a mere 8,000 miles away from the big 500,000 milestone on his 2005 TSX!

I got my tires ordered for the ILX. I ended up going with Michelin Primacy 215-45-17s for $725. They’ll be installed in early May just before the Alaska departure. Michelin has a $70 rebate going on right now so I figured the timing was right to go ahead and get them ordered.

Check out my new cologne from Nordstrom:

My friend Jason seems to think it should smell like leather & burlwood. No such luck!

My mom flew in last night to get her G35. Here’s a video she captured of me pulling up to the airport to pick her up!

And she delivered a diecast model car (Chevy Nova) to my nephew for me when she arrived home with her G35 this afternoon. My brother sent me this pic. Love that kid!

becks

Catch ya later!

22 Comments »

Weekly Updates & “Serial Number One” – 1967 Honda N600 Restoration Project

Posted in ILX, Legend, NSX, Vigor on April 3, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend coupe): 543,021

Odometer (Legend sedan): 150,233

Odometer (Vigor): 105,477

Odometer (ILX): 159,320

It was 39 years ago when Honda made its entrance into selling passenger cars in the United States. The company’s first model, a simple (and teeny) “N600,” was cute and efficient. Little did the world know that it marked the beginning of an automotive power-player that would sell over 123,000 units in the month of March 2016 alone. Honda is big.

One special car – the first – is currently in the hands of “Merciless” Tim Mings, a southern California-based mechanic who is heralded as THE subject matter expert on Honda’s early cars like the N600, Z600, and S600 models which were the precursors to today’s Honda lineup. Some of you may recall the special little Z600 that I test-drove last year from my friend Scott’s collection in Palm Springs.

I’ll be following this restoration project very closely and hope you’ll do the same!

I have an assortment of updates from the last week or so to share today. It should come as no surprise that I’ve been playing with cars as much as time allows, so I’ll let the photos tell the story and keep this week’s blog entry short and sweet.

My friend Armando and his pup Sable visited from California. We took the NSX to breakfast.

Armando is the proud owner of two Subaru SVXs, a Mazda, RX-8 and a Mazda RX-4

My family members from Utah visited and soaked up the sun for a few days.

My friend Jeremy visited from Utah as well for a few days and picked up a ‘new’ BMW X5 diesel here.

I made an attempt at installing some spare “A-Spec” wheels on the ILX but found out they were the incorrect bolt pattern (5 x 120 instead of 5 x 114.3), which means they came off an Acura RL instead of a TL. Shucks, no new wheels for me!

Night drive in the NSX

“Cars & Coffee” in Scottsdale, yesterday. This huge event draws hundreds of high-end cars, every first Saturday of the month.

Quick pic with automotive spy photographer Brenda Briddy who was there

After C&C I took the ILX to explore a remote area called Rio Verde, northeast of town.

Most of Rio Verde’s population lives in the 55-and-older golf community.

I made a quick stop at McDowell Mountain Regional Park. It has over 80 miles of hiking trails so I’ll need to plan another visit back soon.

Stopped by “Legends” automotive repair shop. (Notice the sign)

Fun fact: This location at 2412 N Scottsdale Rd was once the Valley’s first Acura dealership, 30 years ago.

I have to wonder if the people who currently own & operate the business even know that history.

Mom’s G35 is still awaiting its new owner. She’s flying down a week from Wednesday to pick it up.

I went and grabbed the Vigor. This car will probably go in for a timing belt change in the next few weeks.

At the grocery store, I happened to park next to a 1992-93 Honda Accord in my same paint color, code BG-30P “Arcadia Green.”

Twinners!

That’s it for now. Have a great week everyone.

13 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 »

2016 Arizona Rock & Roll Half-Marathon Weekend

Posted in Arizona, NSX, Running, Vigor on January 20, 2016 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 540,655

Odometer (ILX): 153,336

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.

That’s about it from this end! Tune in next week.

14 Comments »

Porsche-Inspired Coffee, New Wheels, & Upcoming Detroit Trip

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

14 Comments »

Visit to “Legend City” Amusement Park Exhibit in Tempe, Arizona

Posted in Arizona, Legend, Vigor on November 24, 2015 by tysonhugie

Odometer (1994 Legend Coupe): 540,174

Odometer (1993 Legend Sedan): 178,468

Odometer (ILX): 147,200

Odometer (Vigor): 104,780

The 1994 Vigor GS came out to play for a bit in the beautiful Phoenix weather this weekend. I drove through South Mountain Park and captured a few images in the bright afternoon sunlight. Moonroof open, of course.

Arcadia Green in all its glory.

And a few cacti thrown in for good measure.

On Sunday morning, I met up with my friend and avid road-tripper Kevin at the Phoenix Botanical Garden near Papago Park.

After brunch at Gertrude’s there, we headed over to Tempe to check out a new feature there. For about the next year, a special exhibit is on display at the Tempe, Arizona History Museum. It’s dedicated to a long-gone landmark from the Phoenix Valley: Legend City.

Concocted from one 28-year-old entrepreneur’s dream, the amusement park operated (mostly in the red, financially) for two decades until its close in 1983. I wish I had been able to visit this place, but by the time I was two years old, its features were already being auctioned off and the land being razed to make way for industrial development by its new owners.

I have always had a fascination with abandoned sites and the history of infrastructure, so the story of Legend City caught my attention right away when I learned of it. The fact that it has Legend in the name was just a sheer bonus. Kevin and I enjoyed walking around the exhibit and seeing all sorts of artifacts. They even had one of the old gondola “pods” on display that at one time used to transport park-goers via cable some 100 feet above the ground across the site from end-to-end.

When Louis Crandall, the father of Legend City, designed his theme park, it was modeled loosely after Disneyland, with a train station out front sharing clear similarities to that of Disneyland. Among the many attractions within were a miniature golf course, a rollercoaster called the Sidewinder, boat rides, and a shooting range. Admission for adults back in the early 1960s was a steep $3 per head. Here’s some food for thought: $3 in 1963 is about $24 in today’s dollars. Do you know how much a park pass to Disneyland costs today? $235. Ouch.

Aerial view of Legend City in its prime.

By the late 1970s, after some ownership changes, a 20,000-capacity stadium venue was carved out of the southeast corner of Legend City, called Compton Terrace. Fleetwood Mac and many other music groups performed there. In its final few years, the value of the land on which Legend City sat had far out-valued the payback from keeping the park open, despite the fact that it was profitable by about $1 million per year. The Salt River Project, a utility company, bought out the land and razed all of Legend City. Since then, some roads have been realigned and all-new infrastructure built on that land. There is nothing left of the park aside from the memories.

Oh, and this awesome T-shirt I picked up before taking a cruise in my 1993 Legend L sedan.

Making a visit out in Mesa, Arizona.

I met up with my friend Chris there who’s a long-time Acura enthusiast. He was one of the first people who I met in the Phoenix area when I moved here about a decade ago. At that time, he was driving a 1994 Legend L sedan. We met up for photos from time to time, including our trip to Tombstone. Back in March 2007, we did this photoshoot out in Superior, AZ, when I had a white Legend sedan.

Today, Chris is in this black 2006 Acura TL. He does the best details in the Phoenix area. If you’re local, give him a call!

I found a Thai restaurant on Indian School Road in Central Phoenix that almost bears my name. It’s called Thai-E-San. Full review pending after I give the menu a test-drive in the near future.

That’s it for quick updates this week. I’m off to southern Utah this week for Thanksgiving festivities. Hope everyone has a great holiday!

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Mileage Updates, Trip Recap, Visit from Tom, & Emissions Check

Posted in Arizona, Legend, Vigor on November 2, 2015 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend Coupe): 539,421

Odometer (1993 Legend Sedan): 178,388

Odometer (1994 Legend Sedan): 149,669

Odometer (ILX): 144,915

Odometer (Vigor): 104,652

Odometer (NSX): 102,757

Total Miles: 1,219,802

Happy Monday. Time to catch up on life! I just celebrated first weekend at home in Phoenix in at least the last couple of months. I realized last Tuesday during my 400-mile return trip from Los Angeles that I’ve made the trip from Phoenix to southern California via Interstate 10 a whopping SEVEN TIMES since the end of August. Need a recap of those?

8/28: Palm Springs in the ILX
9/4: Los Angeles in the ILX
9/11: Los Angeles in the Legend
10/8: Palm Springs in the NSX
10/18: Los Angeles in the Legend
10/22: Los Angeles in the ILX / Back in the LS400
10/26: Los Angeles in the LS400 / Back in the ILX

Somewhere between all of that, I had a road trip to Houston and back for the National Acura Legend Meet, and I ran a marathon in Utah. I’m exhausted. So is my wallet. And so are my cars.

If you’re interested in some additional reading, here are some great articles:

NSXPO 2015 by Michael Jordan of Automobile Magazine
NALM 2015 by James Lee of Six Speed Blog
Million Mile Lexus by Jason Pawela of Driven for Drives
Million Mile Lexus by James Lee of Six Speed Blog

My friend Tom visited from Connecticut this past week for work. On Thursday night, he and I went over to Mesa to check out my friend Jimmy’s “new” 1994 Legend coupe. We took it for a spin.

This thing had an incredibly aggressive suspension setup but it handles amazingly!

Saturday was a perfect-weather day outside so I made good use of it. Ecology Auto Parts at 35th Avenue & Broadway in Phoenix was bustling with people like me who paid $1 to walk the aisles and scope out the place for used auto parts. I didn’t find anything I absolutely needed to have.

I spent some time cleaning up the 1993 L.

Still need to ditch all that aftermarket intake stuff.

Thanks to a tip from a friend, I also got the CD magazine inside the trunk un-stuck! Inside it were 5 discs from the prior owner that had been in there since 2008! Doobie Brothers – gotta love it. I’m mailing these back to the seller.

Also got the Vigor out and about for a quick wash.

Happened to see this “Legend Distributing” company sign on 51st Avenue in Glendale, but I was in the wrong car.

The Legend sedan did come out, too. In fact, I made a point to drive all 6 cars over the weekend.

Last night I visited the Pavilions car show, which takes place in Saturday in Scottsdale, the whole year ’round.

Yesterday morning, the ILX got a much-needed bath.

Cleaned up both inside and out!

I guess I picked the right place to live. In January, I’ll celebrate my 10-year anniversary of having moved to the Phoenix metro area. A new study by Waze, a GPS app that uses real-time feedback from drivers on road & traffic conditions, has named Phoenix as the best city in the world for drivers. Here’s the full article.

Lastly, the coupe passed its emissions test recently with flying colors. It had been two years since the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) put the car on a dyno to evaluate its emissions compliance. Results are below, including the car’s emissions numbers as well as the allowable limits for each of the pollutants evaluated. The technician who handed me the printout at the end thought the odometer reading was a typo!

Next on the agenda I’ll be heading up to the SEMA show in Las Vegas this evening. Among many celebrities who will be in attendance is Irv Gordon, the Guinness World Record holder for the most miles on any car! I will be finding him.

Have a great week!

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