Attack Of The Orphaned Acuras -
My friend and compatriot Tyson auto journo Hugie is the ultimate fanboy Acura. He owns an Acura ILX June 2013 speeds with the personalized plate ILX , a 1994 Legend GS Sedan 6-speed and 5-speed 1992 NSX that has just hit 100,000 miles. He was honored by American Honda to go 500,000 miles on its 1994 Legend LS Coupe 6 speed. And is currently looking for a 5-speed Vigor in Arcadia Green
Hugie clearly a case of ADHD - .. Acura Definite Hyperactivity Disorder
So naturally, we had to Acuras take her orphaned along with the largest Honda never gave up - a S00 roadster, my 08 32,000 miles - up to a winding course Catalina Highway from Tucson to Mount Lemmon and lament the loss of the late, great Honda cars. All in the name of automotive research, of course.
We were joined by the owner of a 144,000-mile 1993 NSX 5 speed and a group of Southwest auto writers credited to the bottom of this post . We tried in vain to find an example of another large abandoned Acura, Integra R or a GSR. We recently wrote about this 1997 R Phoenix, but it was being sold for $ 43,000, and each other, we spotted on Craigslist was too high aftermarket rear wings to the low hanging trees on our way. Apparently original 190 Integra are as rare as the 190 original Legends.
Kulikowski joked about we make a run Le Mans starts to see who could make an NSX for the first leg. I jumped into Hugie 1992 and initially struck by the way the car is low; In fact, I was looking at S00. The mid-engine NSX is just amazing to drive, with 270 horsepower on your shoulder, Honda precise stick shift and almost neutral corners. Jason said, "The NSX was intimidating to me at first, but in typical Honda tradition, the car felt instantly famili ar and easy to drive. Everything looks raw and mechanics. This is a feeling you can not find more. "
Both NSXs had over 100,000 miles on their clocks, but you could hardly tell, a testament to Honda durability. They were solid rock with not a squeak or rattle to be heard. I doubt that there are many Ferraris 100K are in such a state. Whether you fall into the "it can not be an exotic because it is a Honda" camp or the group "is built by Honda so it is exotic that will not break, "most will agree that the NSX is one of the best sports car ever sold in America
corner Tyson :. 4 Acuras fanatic Acura Hugie have a combined 01.224 miles
I was one of the first Gen 2 Legends cut as a "demo" in 1991 and I still remember what a thrill it was at the time. I doubt Ill ever drive a car as strong 500,000+ mile of the cut Hugie. We drove the car briefly because of a clutch die. The suspension was also a bit doubtful, but the silky 6-cylinder engine fired as readily as the sedan. Surprisingly, this legend was towed once - when the original fuel pump let go at 399.750 miles. The car went through seven distribution belts and purpose Hugie is seven more.
It is not surprising that everyone loved the S00. I told the gang that below 00 RPM, the Honda Miata is rotten in the world: rough-riding, noisy and not a lot of torque. At this stage, kicking VTEC (yo!) And the engine roars to its redline 80 rpm. This may be the largest ever Honda engine: 2.0-liter 4-cylinder with 240 horsepower in the original AP1, 237 horsepower 2.2-liter in the second generation AP2, or 7 more than in the engines of Legends . All agreed the gig was the best car for the Serpentine and smooth Catalina Highway and the time to 70 degrees in the sun, we enjoyed
As to the lack of low end umph. I had a round in high school who had less torque. I do not remember the model, but I remember that it was made by Schwinn
We all agree on the car that most surprised us :. The 147,000-mile Legend Sedan. The Acura sedan last lighthouse available with a manual transmission, it was quiet, fast and comfortable. Pawela said, "The large glass greenhouse and low dashboard makes for an excellent view. When it came time to launch this big boy around a few corners, I am amazed at how composed and body remained level. "Thanks to Acura designers and furtive Desert Mist Metallic paint, the sedan was also voted the car" most likely to be Ignored by the Highway Patrol "
Both Legends came standard with a cool feature now abandoned: uN REAL NAME rather than be one. " Acura RTIGLX "Stop me if you have. Heard it before :. if Acura had kept the name" Legend "and stuffed with a V8 under its hood, the landscape of the luxury car would be very different today
Our chase car was a new Lexus RC350 (which we all loved for its large single seats), allowing us to put cars in perspective. said Lee, "Having the kind of Lexus gave a unique experience - here you have all these cars designed to be "conduct" cars; there was some connection between the driver and the vehicle. As the pilot you felt a sense of control; in fractions of a second, you must decide whether you need more or less steer, adjust your throttle or braking. Going between the NSX, S00, and the legend 4 door, then back into the Lexus, you can see a huge difference in how and what a car is supposed to do. "
Honda and Acura still selling classic cars with a sporty touch, but none like this. There is a revived S00 and NSX on the horizon, but they will feature turbochargers and hybrid be bluetoothed and 27 air-bag, and probably the leading position, two of our testers were missing in other words. basic days (read manual transmission and normally aspi rated) unique, fun and luxury sports cars are down because of the realities of todays auto business. Building a convertible scream 4-cylinder that gets only 18 mpg in the city today? No way because of the CAFE regulations .??? Put a stick shift in a luxury coupe Who Build buy an exotic sports car mid-engine course it will be 150 000 please $ - $ 250,000 or more as Acura dealers are after the fact ADMing new NSX
the greatest compliment we can pay these classic vehicles is as follows :. Go see the soaring price asked for clean, unmodified examples.
We intend to make the second part of this fall and it may be time to find decent copies of a GSR Integra, CRX If CRX HF, and 4th generation Prelude. Or drop the Honda CR-Z as they did recently with the Crosstour and Hugie finds Vigor, we will find a Honda del Sol and to take all four cars to another race - round Hondas Crappy Orphaned .. .
Thank Hugie Tyson, James Lee, Jason Pawela Peter Kulikowski, Kelvin Chang and Beau MacDonnell photographer to make this event happen!
