The Minty Checks Out Acura’s ILX #weekwithILX
Acura’s new entry-level luxury car, the ILX
Next week, I’ll be test driving Acura’s new entry-level luxury car, the ILX. I thought it was pretty cool Acura wanted a peek into the life of a food writer. But what’s even better is they would like to know what you would do if you got to test-drive the ILX for a week? Be sure to tell me in the comments, Facebook it to me or tweet it to me with the hashtag #weekwithILX!
The first day, I want to just cruise around and see how it drives. There are a few models including a hybrid version. After poking around the features, I see there’s also USB/iPod integration. That’s pretty cool! I’ll have to load up my iPod for music because I’m also planning on a road trip to Las Vegas. I might as well check out the texting feature too while on the road. I really love my car now but it was made before even CD players were standard so you can imagine my excitement over technology like being able to send a short text while driving. This solves the no texting while driving in California law.
I also plan to hit up the Mark Bittman talk, the Opera and maybe hit up a few snazzy restaurants and hotels next week. We shall see where the wind takes the Minty in her ILX. Also, look out for a special Instagram contest I’ll be doing. Ladies (and maybe a few gents), I know you’re concerned about trunk size. Let’s see how many pairs of shoes I can fit in the ILX’s trunk! Respond with your best guess on that Instagram pic next week!
I look forward to seeing your responses! You never know if you’ll win the car for a week. Acura is also giving away $50 and $100 gift cards for other great responses. So get your thinking caps on!
Acura has invited me to test the new ILX and share my honest thoughts through social media. I may receive product, access or content, but all commentary is my own.
© The Minty 2012
Oooh. What fun. I think if I had such a fancy car, I would finally take big California road trip I keep talking about taking but haven’t—Yosemite, the Eastern Sierras, Big Sur, the works! Though I think I’d want to stop by the office at least once to show off.
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I would take that car as far up Route 66 as it would go in a week, stopping at every roadside attraction and dive road food shack in between – the real way to see America and one of its legendary highways.
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Road Trip! I’d drive to Cayucos and go to the Brown Butter Cookie Company to stock up on holiday goodies, then I’d go to visit Hearst Castle. Perfect to get ready the Great Gatsby. If I were YOU, I’d take the car out on one of your crawls. Can’t wait to read more! (that commercial is one of my faves by the way).
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Sure, I’d drive around town, show it off to my friends, idle in traffic, and play with all the sweet features. I’d wink at a few ladies who are lucky enough to set their eyes on me behind the wheel of such a great machine, and give a nod to all the dudes admiring the way Acura engineering propels my good driving into greatness. I’d get groceries, run errands, and do all the normal stuff.
But then, let’s be real: it’s time to cruise. I’d take the scenic route down the coast to San Diego- the beach wind in my hair, the smell of the ocean, and my ultimate road trip tunes playing on the sound system. I’d stop by little shops, restaurants, and whatever else I saw as I wound my way down the coastline. I’d high-five surfers and bicyclists and even beach dogs who stopped to admire my killer ride. And it would be awesome.
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For my ##weekwithILX, I would do two major things:
1. See if the car is designed for a GIRL driver. For instance, drive/sit comfortably in a ponytail (every girl hates cars that don’t), switch from driving in flats to 5″ heels for a night, see what happens when I spill makeup on the seats, easy to change in the car, can store shoes/groceries in trunk WITHOUT having them get sun-damaged, mirror lighting is good enough to put on new eyeliner before a night out, talk and drive, gps directions are easy….the little things that matter….
2. Take my fiance to an “engagement-moon” to see if we can live our lives together in the confines of a car. Can our music compromise? What if he’s hot and I’m cold, so can the car regulate temperature? I’m 5’5″ and he’s 5″11, can we both fit? Can we hold hands while we drive down the highway comfortably?
And during this engagement moon? Oh we’d visit all the things we love: FACTORIES!! I love to see how stuff is made. Breweries and all the dive taco stands that his stomach can handle..and see a musical somewhere across state lines. We’d take goofy pictures of our adventures (we’ve already named our life’s adventures “JJ Adventures) and finally do the one high school dream that we both never got to have which is to lie on the hood of the car and watch a starry night outside the smog of LA.
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I’d head straight to Arizona for a epic pizza fueled food tour! Pizzeria Bianco! Pane Bianco! Pizza Furiosa! Then test my pizza making skills with Caleb Schiff of Pizzicletta in Flagstaff…
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What would I do with an Acura ILX? I’d like to say that I’d take it for some mountain action up on Angeles Crest Highway, but no. With a comfy 4-door luxury car, I’d take a road trip up the west coast. Forget taking the I-5, this cushy-mobile is screaming to be driven up PCH just as surely as a USC undergrad at Seven Grand whiskey bar will order a Macallan 12 on the rocks.
I’m a bartender, so I’d wrangle up 3 other industry friends or bloggers on a Monday and take the 101 straight up to the Golden City of cocktails, San Francisco. After hitting up all our favorite bars and chowda’ joints, we might stop for the night. Loading up on fresh pastries and pour-over coffee, we’d jam up to Portland, Oregon for seasonal cocktails with a side of autumn weather. A great time to test out the windshield wipers and traction control, eh?
Moving on with our chai tea and Stumptown coffee in hand, we’d drive up to Seattle for chainsaw ice in our Old-Fashioneds and plenty of fish. Repeat in the other direction and arrive in LA for a grand homecoming.
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I would use the #WeekwithILX to bring donations to all of the shelters on Staten Island for hurricane Sandy victims. Cleaning supplies are also much needed in areas hit the hardest by the hurricane so I would bring clean up supplies to those areas.
I’d drive to and from work in my new ride, and hopefully get some Christmas shopping done.
My guess is that you can fit 32 pairs of shoes in the trunk! =)
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#WEEKWITHILX
I’m a stay at home mom of a special needs child. What does that mean? I’m a taxi driver and a slave to my kid. I constantly traipse all around the area in an effort to provide fun therapy for him. Preschool, play dates at other moms homes, playgrounds, swim class, yoga/kickboxing….the list goes on. What would be nice is to taxi my kid in a car that isn’t my 15 year old Honda CRV. A working CD player would be nice and big bonus points for a AUX input/output. I would like to sit in a car that has actual horsepower as I get on that freeway on-ramp. And on rare times when I’m alone in the car I would like to contemplate on the past, present and future of our family as I run around doing errands.
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I would use my #weekwithILX to drive from Los Angeles up to Alaska. Very few people know that one can drive straight up the west coast into our northernmost state. I would take the British Colombia / Yukon driving route through Whistler, Prince George, Whitehorse into the town of Tok in the state of Alaska.
What could be a better way to test how far a vehicle will take me than to drive it through the roughest conditions possible? Even during the winter season, I’d be willing to see if I can freeze my **** off and take this vehicle to its limits.
Even if I somehow got stranded in a pile of snow 3 stories high and couldn’t make it back to work in time, I would just use that excuse to enjoy the great outdoors and test some of my theories on yellow snow.
When I get to Alaska I will create a highly publicized online streamed event to answer the question: “How many eskimos can fit into an ILX at one time?” (sponsored by Lexus) We’ll get in the Guinness Book of World Records and forever place the ILX into the record books.
I will capture the entire endeavor on video and upload it to youtube to create the most viral video of all time, which will begin an endless number of parody videos of people trying to fit XX number of YY ethnic group into their own ILX. What could possibly be better publicity than that?
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I would take this car to the people who said my Camry is for old people, and trick them into thinking I bought a new ride; they would beg me to be their friend and I’d laugh instead. I would continue to Bolinas, Point Reyes, and Mendocino. Cap it off with a beer (Winter Solstice) at Anderson Valley in Boonville. I’d wait to sober up, of course.
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Pingback: My Week with Acura’s ILX #weekwithILX « The Minty
I’d love to take the ILX on a road trip up north to the Hearst Castle, Big Sur, etc.! Looks really sporty and fun, I bet it gets good gas mileage too.
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