Oakland Acura window riot damage (Buy Oakland)

As a car guy, I commit a cardinal sin on a regular basis.  You see, I take my car to the dealership for service.  I choose to do business with Oakland Acura because the people who work there (sales and service) are honest, friendly, and helpful.  As with all car dealerships, revenue has been down since the recession.  These broken windows from the riot last night do not help.  I hope this is the entire extent of the damage.

So, if you need to buy an Acura, buy one at Oakland Acura.  You'll not only help the business, but tax dollars will go to Oakland, which desperately needs it.  And if you need your Acura or Sterling serviced, please consider taking it there.  There's a Whole Foods across the street where you can wait, have coffee, and have a light meal.

Strikes at Honda plants in China

New York Times article here.

Honda dogs!

What's up with Japanese people and their dogs showing up at random places?  First, we've got Cooking with Dog.  Now, dogs next to classic Hondas.

Honda Civic RS

Honda Prelude

Honda S800M

Honda T360

Honda S600

Honda City Cabriolet

More pictures here.  Via Stipistop.

Utah U.S. marshals Ponzi scammer auction (Mazda AZ-1, Honda Beat, Nissan Figaro for sale)

All right kids, now that the auction of the century is over, I can post this.  As you may know, an alleged Ponzi schemer's vast and random collection was put on the auction block today.  Blog reader Rich decided to fly to Brigham Young territory and check out the three intriguing kei cars for sale.  So what was the auction like?  What condition were those kei cars in?  And is Rich braving the arid desert highways of Utah and Nevada right now in one of these micro machines?

What was the auction like?
Packed!  Almost two thousand brave souls traveled from all corners of our planet to bid on the 186 cars seized.  So where did they come from?  China, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, and ISRAEL(!).  Nearly all of the cars were sold for at least their reserve price (=2/3 of appraised value).

I am surprised by the number of attendees.  I think the internet really drove up the interest.  With the auction date announced by the likes of Jalopnik and Bring A Trailer, this was inevitable.  I feel bad for those who flew there thinking they would get a bargain.

What about the kei cars?
All three of these cars have titles but are export-only.  They all ended up in Utah by way of Canada.  And by the looks of these cars, they were not exactly pampered.  It didn't help that the poor overhead lighting made the cars look even more unattractive.

Mazda Autozam AZ-1 for sale:
The most intriguing aspects of this car are of course the gullwing doors.  Sadly, all four of the door struts have gone kaput.  So you'll have to go to Home Depot and buy a pair of broom handles to prop them up, hillbilly-style, because the struts are virtually impossible to find (only 4,392 AZ-1s were ever produced).  Apparently, desperate Japanese owners have resorted to McGyver-ism and fashioned their own ad hoc solutions.

Personally, I can't get over the messy exposed wiring and cell phone holder in the cockpit.  Come on, you're an auction house.  The least you can do is clear the clutter and make this rare car presentable.

It was sold for $8,250 (starting bid of $5,000).

Honda Beat for sale:
The first thing you notice is the torn rear plastic window.  Definitely an omen.  The 656 cc mid-engined Pininfarina-penned convertible is cool looking and must have out-of-this-world driving dynamics, but may be a bit too expensive at its final sale price of $8,000 (started at $5,000).

Most random find: A brochure from a Toronto plastic surgeon wedged in the interior.

Nissan Figaro for sale:
One word: rust.  Two words: rust and rust.  Sold for $8,500 (started at $4,000).

Rich left empty handed.  I definitely think he made the right move.  First, it's going to be a pain in the tookus to legalize the cars.  Though the cars are no doubt cooler than hell, they are in poor shape and were definitely abused and/or neglected.  Coupled with the lack of parts and the knowledge to work on them, this is really a no brainer.

Thanks Rich for the report!  A lot more of his pictures are here.

Here is a video news report.

Here are a couple of other cars that I found of interest.  They appear much cleaner than the Japanese trio.

Jaguar XJS

Nice Bentley Turbo R

Really nice

4500 rpm redline?

Never mind

Honda Civic twins

Bad Idea Jeans: Honda Crossroad

A Land Rover Discovery I rebadged as a Honda, sold in Japan and New Zealand.

Best Motoring Convertible Battle

The weirdest lineup you'll ever see. Hint: Don't root for the Cappuccino.

Engines Exploded Views

Infiniti Q45 V8

Acura NSX Type S engine

BMW M5 V10

BMW M3 V8

Chevy LS9

Very similar V8 in CTS-V

BMW S54

AMG 6.3

5 Cylinder Acura Vigor Is the Porsche Cayman of Hondas

I've been struggling since last night trying to describe the Acura Vigor and put it in perspective. I started with comparing it to Goldilocks. It's not as big as the six cylinder Legend and it's not as small as the four cylinder Integra. But it isn't just right. I finally came to the Porsche analogy when I spoke to my friend P this afternoon about Porsches.

P has a Boxster. He wants, as we all do, a 911. But like most of us, he can't. So I asked, why not get a Cayman? Well, no. Because it's barely faster than the Boxster and to put it bluntly, it's not a 911.

Which perfectly describes the mid-range Vigor. It's got leather and a sophisticated sound system. It even has an F1 inspired suspension. But it's not as impressive, in stature or horsepower, as Acura's Q-ship. Aside from the front angle, it looks like a moderately priced compact. And though it is a half a step above an Integra, most people would just spend a bit more and get an Integra sedan with all the bells and whistles.

GMC Typhoon: The Original Sport SUV

Before the Cayenne Turbo, even before the Merc G55 AMG, there was the GMC Typhoon:

Here it is drag racing against an NSX with a slushbox and a manual Supra:

1992 Honda Acura NSX For Sale Video

Prepare to waste hours of precious holiday time in front of your computer.

I'm working on a super-post on the VW Phaeton, which I deemed the best sedan of the decade. I'm scrolling through the VW Vortex Phaeton forum. I've watched reviews of the car by Russian journalists. I'm even going to drive a couple of them (both V8 versions), hopefully this weekend.

During the process, I came across Chicago Cars Direct's channel on Youtube. A guy named Chris goes over his inventory of used exotic cars. Each ten minute video covers one car and he's got a huge library posted. The videos' level of detail, from the interiors to the test drives, is commendable. Granted, he's a used car salesman and he's selling the cars. But the videos are still definitely worth watching. Here is an example.

How to Start (And Maintain) A Car Collection (FAQs)

Rich Chen is a frequent visitor to this site. I draw a lot of my ideas from his miscellaneous ramblings. In a relatively short span of time, Rich has accumulated an eclectic collection of more than a dozen cars. Like many of you, I've daydreamed about owning a car collection. Rich has been kind enough to sit down and answer my questions about how to start and maintain a collection. Interspersed between the questions will be pictures of cars from Rich's collection.

1985 190E 2.3-16

Wish list. Do you have a list of cars that you want and you just tick them off a checklist? Or do you buy cars spontaneously? Is there any theme to your collection?

A collection would be too generous of a description -- Many of these are idiosyncratic, borderline used cars, opportunistically bought for "used Camry money" by an overcompensating Gen X'er. There's certainly not a theme beyond that they are "interesting" -- be it a product of engineering prowess (Corvair), aesthetics (BMW CS), development story (NSX), or my own childhood anomaly (anything with quad headlamps). Many are chance encounters -- while I'm sure there will be targeted "bucket list" cars along the way (Dino! Stratos!), if a clean first-gen Honda CVCC turned up, I'd get excited about it.

1966 Jaguar E-Type

The Hunt. What websites do you frequent to look for cars? Magazines or publications? Do you use brokers? Classic car dealer or private party?

Hello, my name is Rich Chen and I am a Craigslist addict. I practice the Craigslist equivalent of mainlining, using RSS readers. Most of the cars have been found this way. I absolutely prefer buying from a private party, so that I can meet with the owner and learn the underlying history directly. A couple were found on dedicated online forums, after I clicked through to user profiles to ascertain their non-broker-ness. I should also give a shout-out to the dangerously habit-forming website bringatrailer.com, which has been responsible for a couple of the cars.

1973.5 Porsche 911T

Pre-purchase inspection. What do you look for? Do you inspect it on your own? Do you take it to a specialist? Bring a friend?

I'm a sucker for ownership documents and artifacts, not only to give confidence around the car's mechanical upkeep, but to make the car historically "whole" -- I'm drawn to older cars partly because of all the neat owner stories they embody, and things like receipts, scrapbooks, and spare parts really testify to the love they received. I think I've gotten a proper pre-purchase

inspection twice, and being a non-mechanic I really *should* be getting them especially for cars requiring specific expertise -- BMW M-cars, Alfas, engine swaps -- but so far I've bought recklessly many on gut ("It's clean, doesn't leak much, comes with a giant stack of papers, and didn't crush or poison me during the test drive!") and then sent them to a barely-better-late-than-never post-purchase inspection with a specialist.

1988 M5

Significant other. How did you get away with your collection? Is your SO a saint? Was there a quid pro quo involved? Are you hiding the collection from her?

I love my wife -- I've been fortunate to have married an inprobably tolerant woman who has had to deal with things like a Datsun 240Z (L28ET swap done by the founder of Southern Oregon Z Owners Club -- see, stories!) showing up unannounced. While she's not an enthusiast, she can handle a manual 5-speed and at least feigns interest. I'm not hiding any more cars from her, but if I were to, strictly hypothetically, I'd spend more time here on your blog professing

my absolute love for her. Did I already tell you that I am madly in love with my wife?

1972 280SE 4.5

Storage. How do you store these cars? In a warehouse, a hangar, a large garage?

Here in the Bay Area, storage space really is the #1 constraint for a binge habit like this, since the cars and support networks are plenty available. The cars are mostly located in an industrial warehouse, and I've also been known to approach neighbors to lease extra garage spaces they have.

1974 Alfa Romeo GTV

Insurance. How do you insure the cars?

Hagerty. Extraordinarily reasonable and wonderfully responsive when things go wrong, and they've made me a lifetime fan. Most of the cars are <$100 per year to insure. The total premium actually went *down* when I crossed the 10-car threshold, although you'd think that kind of irrational behavior flags you as being a bad risk.

1967 Jaguar 420G

Maintenance. Do you take each car to a different specialist? Or do you have one trusted mechanic who works on everything? Do you do any of the work yourself?

For being an Asian guy I'm woefully lacking in problem-solving and dexterous hand skills, but will try as much work as I can, and learn along the way -- mostly one- and two-wrench icon projects on a five-wrench difficulty scale. Fortunately there is an insane range of specialists to whom I can come crying, all within 10 miles of where I live -- Alfas and Jaguars are well-covered, and even Lancias and Citroens have patron saints around here. Maybe in my next life, I'll get to hire a fleet manager who's also an ace mechanic. *Clenches fist*

1990 M3

Rookie mistake. What is one important piece of advice that you wish someone had shared with you before you started collecting?

Learn to break up. Sell some of the cars and move on without lingering emotional attachment. I've become attached to them in a way that really gets in the way of proper garage hygiene -- At these numbers, it does get a bit tedious to keep all the cars exercised and healthy.

1973 240Z (turbo)

Future. What is your next car purchase going to be?

If German & Japanese cars are gateway drugs and British & Italian cars are the hard stuff, the logical terminus would be something French. Or Czech. Or pre-Hu Chinese.

1972 BMW 3.0CS

Passion. Why do you like cars?

As hobbies go I think it's got a wonderful range to it. There is a side to it where you appreciate things like engineering and design. And then there's a hands-on challenge where you have to go find one to buy. Or where you figure out what's broken, fix it, and are rewarded with a working machine. There's history about people who made these cars, and people who owned them before you. You get to drive them out there, feel great, and get into interesting conversations with neat people. It all feels very satisfying.

Like for so many others, my interest goes back to childhood. Kids in late-1970s Tokyo were swept by a supercar boom that not only ate up western imports like "The Gumball Rally," but domestically gave birth to things like supercar TV quiz shows and manga comics -- one protagonist drove a Lotus Europa, even. (See "The Circuit Wolf") As an adult I'm clearly overcompensating for my past inability to race cars in bell bottomed nomex suits -- Basically, I'm being a kid and enjoying meeting other kids.

1994 NSX

Honda Motocompo Video

Great juxtaposition of the red scooter, the Mini Cooper, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Look for a cameo by a 2CV.

1970-73 Honda Vamos

I'm a little ashamed to admit it, but I had a Tomica car, pink, with Snoopy in the driver's seat. It was an odd car with an open top. I finally found out what it is.

From 1970 to '73, Honda had a kei truck called the Vamos. It had a 356cc 2 cylinder engine. Its design was certainly unique, but it was not a commercial success. Only about 2,500 were sold.

Here is a video on removing the Vamos's soft top. Once you're on the Honda site, check out the other clips available in the Motion Gallary (sic).