Originally posted by: kt
I still have my commuter Acura Legend (it's considered a Honda since it says Honda on the engine).. '87 Legend coupe with 226,413 miles.. soon to be 226,453 miles once I get home. Still running like a champ.
Legends are great cars, the best ones that Honda built during those years. Acura was a new nameplate back then, the first entry of a Japanese make into the luxury market, almost half a decade before Lexus was on the scene. At that time it wasn't known yet if the Japanese could build a luxury car that could be taken seriously.
The Legend was to be Acura's flagship car, while at the same time given an appropriate and affordable price. Honda knew that the reputation for the Acura nameplate rested on those cars so Honda gave them the appropriate build quality.
The Legend was a resounding success, in fact it was so successful that it eventually led to the axing of the nameplate. Owners would brag about their
Legends and not their
Acuras.
Obviously this didn't sit too well with Honda who wanted to build a world class reputation for their Acura marque, so they eventually killed off all of the early Acura names, the Integra, the Vigor and the Legend. So because of the Legend, today we call Acura's by their alphabet soup names.
Unfortunately, now the closest thing to a Legend is the RL, but they are pricey and it's not a compelling product especially alongside Lexus' LS series and Acura's own TL. It's front wheel drive and lacks a V8 option which aren't good design choices for vehicles of this class.
My favorite anecdotal Legend story is one that my friend tells. He works on a first generation Legend, rear ended, salvage title, flooded and pulled out of a river. Even after all that the car has about 250K miles, it doesn't burn oil and when he checks the spark plugs, they're clean.
The Legend is quite the legendary car.