After a six-year hiatus, Acura returns to the SEMA Show in Las Vegas with the Avengers NSX Roadster and a pair of modified ILXs. Thankfully, Acura Enthusiast Tyson Hugie of Drive to Five made the trek to the event in his 2013 Acura ILX and was kind enough to share a few photos and some of his thoughts:

Two million square feet of automotive accessory exhibits. Can you imagine how crazy I was to think I could experience all that the SEMA Show had to offer in just one day? Not happening! But, I did have the chance to see the “core” booths that I had most looked forward to visiting. Among them, the Acura booth. If I’d gone all that way and seen nothing BUT the Acura booth, my trip still would’ve been a great success. In only 4 days since my most recent Drive to Five update last week, the ILX and I traveled 964 miles from Phoenix Arizona, to southern Nevada and southern Utah. Here is how the adventure played out… 

Continue reading the rest of Tyson’s SEMA recap on his blog Drive to Five.

[Source: Tyson Hugie - Drive to Five]

Tyson’s Silver Moon Acura ILX

Tyson’s brand new 2013 ILX reached five thousand miles, minuscule compared to the five hundred thousand his 1994 Acura Legend surpassed last year. Still, you’ve got to give him some credit, accumulating 5000 miles in about a month’s time is nothing to laugh at. I’m starting to wonder if Tyson ever gets out of his vehicle. Is the ILX that comfortable?

Tyson will soon put the ILX to the test as he heads out on a cross-country road trip to the National Acura Legend Meet(NALM) on July 26-28. The trip will take him approximately 3,706 miles round-trip from Phonix, Arizona to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Find out how the ILX holds up by following Tyson’s blog, Drive to Five.

I’ll leave you with some stunning photos of Tyson’s Silver Moon ILX reflecting sharply off the watery pavement after an Arizona thunderstorm. Head over to Drive to Five for more.

[Source: Drive to Five]

Tyson’s 2013 Acura ILX

At 514,200 miles on the odometer it’s not Tyson’s Acura Legend that wants to call it quits. Sometimes you just can’t fight the allure of a brand new car. Especially when its got features, styling and technology that’s almost 20 years newer than the vehicle you currently drive. So as Tyson bids farewell to his 1994 Legend for the time being, he welcomes in Acura’s newest model, the ILX.

Here’s a bit from Tyson on his new 2013 Acura ILX:

Thanks to Acura I’m the proud driver of a brand new 2013 Acura ILX, 6-speed manual with 2.4 Liter, 201 hp engine.  It’s finished in Silver Moon exterior, black interior, and outfitted with accessories to align exactly with just how I want it to look.  I love it!  “New car smell” is something I’ve never until now experienced for myself.  The newest car I’ve ever owned – my 1994 Legend – was already 9 years old when I bought it in 2003.  I’ll be sharing my experience with this new ILX from behind the wheel and behind the scenes in the coming 12 months.

Without further ado, I present the newest Tyson-mobile in all its glory.

Congrats to Tyson on his new Acura!

Continue reading the rest of Tyson’s post on his blog Drive to Five.

[Source: Tyson Hugie - Drive to Five]

Tyson at Honda Manufacturing of Indiana

Take a peek into Honda’s award-winning plant in Greensburg where the all-new Acura ILX will be produced.

“Tyson had the opportunity to attend the ILX line-off ceremony in Indiana where he watched the very first Acura ILX’s come down the assembly line.”

Click here to view the video

Acura Naming Conventions

It’s all in a name! In the same year that my Legend surpassed the 500,000 mile mark, the Acura brand surpassed a milestone of its own – that of celebrating 25 years as one of the world’s premier automakers. As the company launches into its next 25 years, a new image is about to unfold – and it will begin with a new naming convention that promises to better define the Acura family of cars.

I had the privilege recently of meeting with Vicki Poponi, Assistant Vice President of Product Planning at American Honda Motor Company, Inc. I’d first met Vicki in Detroit at the North American Int’l Auto Show (NAIAS) back in January and was grateful for her to take a few minutes to answer some of my own questions about the exciting momentum at Acura and the new direction that the company is going.

There were three key things that stood out to me during my conversation with Vicki about Acura’s naming conventions and the meaning behind them.

1) If you look at the word “LUXURY,” the X is at the centre. Acura is, first and foremost, a luxury brand of automobile. Even the ILX as an entry level premium vehicle still brings with it the amenities that we’ve come to expect from Acura. In the next generation of Acura vehicles, “X” will be a common thread in the name of each model. Those who tuned into the recent New York Auto Show watched the RLX reveal – the flagship model now bringing with it that symbol of luxury within its name.

2) A recognizable naming pattern will improve model identification and awareness. Acura’s sedans will all share an “LX” suffix, while the truck lineup will have “DX,” and the NSX rounds out the family as the sporty long awaited supercar that we’re all excited for. In this way, Vicki said, each type of vehicle that Acura offers will share a unified naming convention that brings a sense of belonging. In a world full of acronyms, I agree that this consistent direction will help simplify the “alphabet soup” that we’ve become so accustomed to among luxury car manufacturers and their model names.

3) What about the ILX specifically? Was there any reason this name was chosen for the all-new 2013 entry level premium offering from Acura? YES. Selecting the perfect name for a car is a far more involved process than one would think and it can take months or even years to finalize. The meaning behind “I-L-X” starts with the letter “I”. This car truly is designed with the driver in mind, complete with features that buyers in my demographic are asking for: Smart features! A car as intelligent as its driver. Let’s not forget individualistic and independent. Clearly the “I” was the right choice as the prefix for this sedan.

So, even though the ILX is “Incredible Looking” and “Impressively Luxurious,” the truth is that the I means it’s a car for the individual, the L ties it to Acura’s already great lineup of sedans, and the X rounds out the name as the ultimate center of luXury. The ILX truly lives up to its name. Huge thanks to Vicki for sharing her insight into this unsolved mystery!

For more insight on the all-new ILX, follow my blog, the ILX Experience on Acura’s Facebook page.

[Source: Tyson Hugie's ILX Experience]

Tyson Hugie

Tyson Hugie talks with Jeff Conrad, Acura Vice President of Sales about the Acura ILX at the 2012 ILX Press Event in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Click here to see the video

Tyson Hugie and Acura Chief Designer Jon Ikeda

Acura Enthusiast Tyson Hugie was invited to Acura headquarters in Torrance, California to learn more about the ILX directly from the design team. Hear him discuss the ILX’s exterior and interior design in the videos below.

There’s still more coming up from Tyson, so follow his ILX Experience and ask him a question through Acura’s Facebook page. 

[Source: Acura via FaceBook, Acura via YouTube]