The other day I was goofing around on Wikipedia, and for some reason I bumped into the entry for the Ford Pinto, a completely little econo-car from the 70's. Perhaps more significant was that it was one of my very first cars. So I decided to make a list of all the cars that I/Kristie & I have owned. I started looking for pictures, and that's how we got here.
The problem with it was the clutch was so tight to push in, it was a chore to drive. And that's what CR said...it was a miserable car to drive. But it was too late, we were owners. I took it into the shop to maybe get the clutch loosened and we received a list of repairs a mile long. One of the cylinders wasn't firing, the brakes needed a complete overhaul. It was a piece of junk. But, we had gotten a good deal on it (wonder why...), so while we didn't like paying for all the repairs, we were convinced that once they were done, we would have a premier vehicle.
1986 Acura Legend
We knew we had to replace the pickup with something more kid friendly. We now had the Landcruiser, so we had a truck of sorts. At the same time, a guy I worked with was trying to sell his Acura as he had come into a car due to a death in his family. We put together a deal and bought his Legend.
It was comfortable. It was powerful. It had all the toys: cruise, air, locks, windows, sun-roof. Combine that with Acura's legendary quality and you had a winner. Or so it seemed.
In all of my years of reading Consumer Reports reviews of cars, I'm certain I've only seen one Honda/Acura product receive a "not recommended" stamp. It was the 1986 Legend with a 5 speed. The automatic? It was a best buy. But the 5 speed...run away. So naturally that's what we had.
The problem with it was the clutch was so tight to push in, it was a chore to drive. And that's what CR said...it was a miserable car to drive. But it was too late, we were owners. I took it into the shop to maybe get the clutch loosened and we received a list of repairs a mile long. One of the cylinders wasn't firing, the brakes needed a complete overhaul. It was a piece of junk. But, we had gotten a good deal on it (wonder why...), so while we didn't like paying for all the repairs, we were convinced that once they were done, we would have a premier vehicle.And then Kristie was driving home one night from work and hit some black ice. She lost control of the car and it spun into the other lane. She was fine. The other car that she hit was fine. Actually the Acura was in decent shape, not totalled or anything. But we decided it was "jinxed" or something. After we got it out of the shop...again...we put it in the paper and sold it. We got back our initial investment ($7500) but the $2K of repairs prior to the accident were ours to eat. So while the experiment was less than successful, we were out of the car. I will state with complete certainty that it was the most comfortable car to sit in, both in the front and the back. It was like living room furniture comfortable.