The Legend, sold as Acura’s flagship model from 1986 through 1995, offered luxurious appointments as well as a sense of style that has endured the test of time. In its day, Legend was the best-selling import luxury car in America. The Legend propelled Acura to become an industry frontrunner and it set a benchmark by which other brands were measured. Today, nearly two decades later, the Legends live on with a strong enthusiast following. In late July 2014, a group of Legend owners congregated in southern California to participate in the 10th annual National Acura Legend Meet (NALM). A few of these die-hard Legend fans had driven from as far away as Florida to be a part of the festivities.

NALM started in 2005 with its inaugural program in Dallas, Texas and has since transitioned to host cities across the country each summer. The four-day event, headquartered this year in Thousand Oaks, gave Legend fans an opportunity to interact with one another and share their passion for this “niche” vehicle that was so important for the Acura brand. The first day, American Honda invited a caravan of over 25 Legends to its Torrance facility where head of Auto Shows & Exhibits, Dave Heath, provided a warm welcome to the private Honda Collection museum. The following day, the canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains northwest of Los Angeles gave the group an opportunity to put their suspensions to the test of some of its twisty roads like Mulholland Canyon. Neptune’s Net in Malibu on Pacific Coast Highway was the lunch destination that day.

Other attractions for those attending NALM were a dyno event at HK Motorsports in Van Nuys and a visit to the renowned “Supercar Sunday” weekly car show in Woodland Hills off Highway 101. Every minute of every day was accounted for, and the Los Angeles-based ground team who had organized the planning and logistics did a flawless job of keeping things on track.

The Legend fanbase is as diverse as can be, spanning a variety of ages and backgrounds. And each Legend, too, had its own personality. From a 32,000-mile all-original 1993 LS coupe owned by Chuck, to my road warrior 531,000-mile 1994 LS coupe. From a bone stock 1995 L sedan still in the hands of its original owner, Steve, to the highly-modified and customized 1994 LS coupe owned by Alex, which he essentially built from the ground up. No matter the condition or status of the vehicle, there is an understood appreciation and sense of brotherhood (or sisterhood) among the people who are passionate about these old cars. And as the original 1986 Legend has long-since earned “classic” status, the Legends just keep getting better with time.

Here’s to another 10 years of keeping the Legend alive.

[Source: Tyson Hugie – Drive to Five]