[larchmont]

Yes, I finally saw one!

No sooner did I get done haranguing PRBallard and all the other Vigor fans about how you never see any Vigors any more, when I saw one this afternoon going south on the Henry Hudson Pkwy, then exiting to the GW Bridge. I think the car was black, but it was hard to tell because of the snow and gloomy air. Driver was a sharp-looking black dude, on a cell phone. Sux! Not because I think it was dangerous for him to be on the cell phone, but because if he was on the phone I couldn't wave to him.

Long live the Vigor! :bowdown1:

 

[kiteboy]

That's funny, I saw one on the weekend for the first time in many years. It was that beige-salmon colour. I went by fairly quickly so didn't see who was driving, but the car looked to be in excellent shape. Nice, clean early-90's Honda styling.

 

[prballard]

Yes, I finally saw one!.......

Long live the Vigor! :bowdown1:

Thanks Larch! As you know I have been a proud owner of two of them. Great cars and great looking too!

 

[GRAYTSX]

I also just saw a black one just last week. A woman was driving. I haven't seen a Vigor in many years either.

 

[larchmont]

So......... any Edsel sightings?

 

[kiteboy]

Well, I saw a Buick Grand National today. Not in great shape, which was too bad, since it's a bit of a collector's car.

 

[larchmont]

Well, I saw a Buick Grand National today. Not in great shape, which was too bad, since it's a bit of a collector's car.

Like what year(s) are we talking about?

 

[kiteboy]

1987. http://www.fast-autos.net/spotlight/buickgn.html

I used to have a '79 Regal with the 4.9L V8, which is probably that car caught my eye.

 

[larchmont]

1987. http://www.fast-autos.net/spotlight/buickgn.html

I used to have a '79 Regal with the 4.9L V8, which is probably that car caught my eye.

If they'd made it for 1 or 2 more years, I'd be able to check it out in my old Consumer Reports. I have them back to '89.
Or maybe not, because it seems this was a true limited-production car and CR doesn't usually cover those.

Some car! Huge hp and torque, and ripe for mods.
Quarter-mile in the 13's, and down to the 10's (!) with certain mods.

And pricey -- 30K in 1987!

As a point of reference: The Legend came out I think in '86 with MSRP of about 20K.

 

[prballard]

Here is a review of the 94 Vigor GS. I never owned 94 Vigor (had a 92 AT and 93 MT). This is an archived article from 1994.

http://www.newcartestdrive.com/review-intro.cfm?ReviewID=1

Check out that MSRP (slightly more than a TSX w/navi). WOW what a deal we all are getting on the TSX 10 YEARS LATER!!!!!

Here is their review of the TSX

http://www.newcartestdrive.com/review-intro.cfm?ReviewID=1382

 

[larchmont]

When I saw the word "striven," I figured it had to be a British site, but seems it's not.

"The Acura Vigor is certainly a vehicle striven to change that perception....."

(They were talking about the perception that a Japanese car couldn't be luxury.)

Interesting review. As I've said, I'd had the impression that the Vigor didn't ride as comfortably and quietly as we'd want. That certainly isn't what this reviews finds. The only complaint is that it's just a little too small inside. FWIW its exterior dimensions were similar to those of the current N.A. Accord -- length about the same, but width about 1.5" smaller. Regarding size inside, I don't trust interior dimension specs and so I wouldn't view them as definitive, but I do think it's reasonable to believe that the Vigor was noticeably smaller inside than the current Accord -- judging from the looks of the cars plus the apparent trend for newer cars to be somewhat larger inside, relative to their exterior dimensions, than in the past. I imagine PRB might know if the Vigor was indeed smaller inside than we'd usually find in a current car with a 190" length and 70" width. (The current Accord is 189.5/71.5, and the TL is 186.2/72.2 but it's so unusually proportioned that I don't think it's useful for comparisons like this.)

 

[prballard]

Yes, the review is pretty right on. Really legroom is the only place were the Vigor is a bit tight. When I first bought my Vigor in 1992 I was cross shopping it versus the 2nd generation Legend Coupe. Sort of the way some people cross shop the TSX vs. the Accord Coupe now. Both had identical legroom, but the Legend Coupe was wider. Sound familar? I like the Vigor better and it was less expensive. My annual salary then was just a little more than the Vigor cost, so I was pretty maxed out anyway.

Comparing the Vigor to the TSX. The TSX has more legroom, but not really much more room in any other way. The 1992 Accord did have more legroom, but I didn't want an Accord. The Vigor was much more stylish inside and out than the Accord and I loved the feel of that longitudinally mounted 5 cylinder engine. It took one hell of a car to persuade me to part with my Vigor.

I love my TSX!!!!! 1blue1.gif

 

[prballard]

A little more personal Acura history. I bought a 95 2.5 TL. It was in many respects a Stretch Vigor, but it never was as fun to drive. I then bought a 97 CL (mistake). It was fun to drive, but I never liked the feel of the car. I don't know if it was because it was a V6 or American made or both. I replaced it with a used 93 Vigor. I love the feel of my TSX. It is a perfect match for me or at least as perfect as perfect can get.

 

[larchmont]

.....I then bought a 97 CL (mistake). It was fun to drive, but I never liked the feel of the car. I don't know if it was because it was a V6 or American made or both.....

If we took a poll, I don't think there's much doubt what the answer would be.

But I think the bigger answer is that Acura just basically lost its way in the '90's and evolved into designing/making cars that weren't such a great idea.

 

[prballard]

I would agree that the Late 90's to the early 2000's was not Acura's finest hour.

 

[larchmont]

I would agree that the Late 90's to the early 2000's was not Acura's finest hour.

I think we can take it back a bit further, at least in terms of the Legend. They had a great idea and a great car, and I guess they knew they needed to keep "improving" their line so they kept fiddling with it, basically growing it a bit every year or two. And, it seems to me, they just made it less and less good after about '89, until eventually it didn't have that much resemblance to the original thing or to what had made it so great.

 

[kiteboy]

The lux-end of Acura definitely lost its way after the Legend. I wonder if they were trying too hard to be Lexus?

otoh, they did really well with the 94-01 Integra, which of course includes the infamous ITR.

 

[larchmont]

The lux-end of Acura definitely lost its way after the Legend. I wonder if they were trying too hard to be Lexus?

otoh, they did really well with the 94-01 Integra.....

Absolutely right, across the board, IMHO.
Except I'm saying they lost their way during the Legend -- I guess that's what you meant too.

.....the infamous ITR.

Do you mean there was some problem with it? I don't really know anything about the car, except that Real Time Racing used to use it for some of their races and did well with it.

 

[kiteboy]

Do you mean there was some problem with it? I don't really know anything about the car, except that Real Time Racing used to use it for some of their races and did well with it.

infamous - in a good way. The ITR was considered to be one of Honda's most hard-core driving machines, next to the NSX and S2k. At its introduction, the 8400 rpm redline and 108 hp/L were among the highest of any normally aspirated production car.

It's also the car that started the whole big red R thing.

http://www.edmunds.com/used/2001/ac...4340&tid=edmunds.e.roadtests.content...Acura*

 

[larchmont]

AHA! "Infamous" in the same way that "bad" means good, and "the $h!t" means the best, and "No way" means I see what you're saying, and "phat" means.....

Yeah I guess I get it.