[TDRacer]

Someone started a blog detailing his experiences with the new 2013 ILX for the next few weeks. It's obviously a marketing promo but give it a read if your interested.

The ILX Experience
Odometer: 508,964

After completing my Drive to Five last November, naturally I started thinking about the day that will inevitably come when it’s time to retire the old Legend from daily duty. Today, I’m 9,000 miles later in my Legend but getting some very exclusive behind-the-scenes perspectives on a brand new and exciting Acura model called the 2013 ILX. I was sitting on the front row at the Acura Press Conference in Detroit at the North American International Auto show when the cover was pulled off the ILX concept car, and I’ve since been able to sit behind the wheel of the production version. It’s a sleek ride!

Acura has graciously invited me to spend some time with the design teams and executives at Headquarters who are responsible for bringing this new car to life. I also got to see, touch, and even drive a pre-production ILX. As I’d shared in a recent post, in the coming months I’m going to share this exclusive look at what’s new from Acura with all of you. I’ll be relaying my discoveries on a special Acura Facebook page called “ILX Experience“.

- The first tab, ILX Access, will chronicle my encounters through a series of videos. Already posted there are a few videos from my trip to the Detroit Auto Show in January, as well as meetings in Torrance, CA with Jon Ikeda (Acura Chief Designer), and John Norman (Acura Interior Designer).
- The second tab will provide more details about the ILX itself including pictures and technical information.
- The third tab gives a little background on me, and
- The fourth (Tyson’s ILX Blog) will parallel Drive to Five with some insights into my observations about the new car. The Facebook portal also serves as a Q&A for anyone who wants to interact with me by asking a question about the ILX.

The ILX Experience « drivetofive

 

[TDRacer]

Designer Jon Ikeda has a long history with Honda & Acura – it was incredible to have a dialogue with him about his role as a pioneer in Acura design. I quickly learned during our visit that everything you see on an Acura, whether it be in my old Legend or this all-new ILX, has a great deal of design strategy behind it. Stay tuned to the upcoming videos as I learn more.

I’m really excited about continuing to share my experiences! Join me for the ride.

I was raised around cars; my two brothers and I have always shared an interest in anything with a motor and four wheels! The old Legend made a 50-mile trek yesterday to the outskirts of western Phoenix in a teeny town called Wittman, Arizona. Wittman is home to the Speedworld Raceway which hosted the 2012 Desert Diesel Nationals drag-race event. My younger brother Bentley is owner of a diesel truck performance company called H&S Performance. He brought his race truck down from Utah to compete in yesterday’s event.

Arriving at the speedway. Perhaps I should have entered the high mileage Legend in the Sand Drags or the Mud Bogs?

Pre-race shot with my 2 brothers, Bentley and Payton.

 

[TDRacer]

This 2008 Dodge truck is equipped with a 6.7 liter Cummins diesel motor. Tricked out in its current state, it produced 946 horsepower in a recent dyno test, over 4 times the 230 horsepower output of my little 3.2 liter Acura Type II V6!

Payton finally gets his shot at the 1/4 mile dragstrip. His best run of the day was an 11.7 second quarter mile at 127 miles per hour. This is one pickup with some serious pick up!

Payton’s time was good enough to get him a first place trophy in the Pro Street class. Congratulations P!

My parting shot today is special for two reasons: It’s taken at a CVS pharmacy (my employer) and it shows perhaps the most car-friendly parking space ever! For someone who typically parks a mile away to avoid door dings, this particular spot at the store on Indian School Road in Scottsdale, Arizona gives front-row store access without putting your car into a battle zone!

I loved it enough to snag a couple of phone pictures last night.