There are many legends in the world—King Arthur, Bigfoot, and that guy that scored more than 110,00 points in Space Invaders just to name three. Still, today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Acura is the only sort of Legend you can drive. Could this coupe’s price just add to its lore?
What’s the most flag waving, eagle fist-bumping, my way or the highway American car out there? Is it the Mustang? Or maybe the Corvette? The F-150?
No, I’d say, when you want to go to battle with the other auto making nations, you’re going to want to do so in a Jeep. Hell, we went into real battles in them so we might as well have them fight the metaphorical ones too.
Yesterday’s 1976 Jeep CJ7 Renegade looked to be a fine example of our national pride, and it even carried another iconic American brand on its side—Levi’s. At $9,500 American however the patriotism began to flag. The note in the ad that the CJ wasn’t running in tip top condition didn’t help either, and it ended up with the poor little Jeep falling in a 57 percent Crack Pipe loss.
The Jeep brand is legendary. That goes without saying, even though I just did. It would have been the height of hubris however, for the Jeep’s various makers to have so named one of their models. No, that name was taken by a brand that, at the time of both its and the model’s birth, had yet to develop any history, much less a mythology surrounding either.
This 1992 Acura Legend L is an example of that marque and that car, and while neither could live up to the model’s name when it was new, there is an argument to be made that the car at least fulfills the prophesy today.
That’s mostly because the original Legend models were so good, and modern Acura’s are mostly kind of… well, not legendary.
This ’92 represents several things you can’t get from Acura any more. First off it’s a big coupe. The Japanese near-luxury brand doesn’t offer coupes any more outside of the NSX hybrid sports car. Next, it carries that Legend name. Back in the day Acura’s model names meant something and were easy to differentiate between the models. Now it’s just a mess of letters and nobody cares which model is which.
The last important element of this Legend is how it carries the all-alloy V6 engine under that long tapered, almost phallic nose. That engine sits longitudinally rather than crosswise. It may not really mean anything that it does but again it isn’t something you can get in an Acura other than in the new NSX.
Okay, so it’s got a lot of things going for it that may or may not really matter in the long run. The question is: could this red over beige coupe be any good? Well, according to its ad, it has it’s good points and its bad.
In that ad, the seller notes the car to be extremely clean both inside and out. He does call out some rock chips in the paint but says it’s otherwise solid and without issue. The interior is described in even more glowing terms. It’s claimed that the car carries original mats on the floor, but it’s a puzzle why a beige interior would rock what look to be grey inserts. An aftermarket double DIN stereo and upgraded speakers provide the tunes in here, and distracts attention from the mats.
The ad notes that the car starts without fail, but the seller does caution that there are a couple of mechanical woes that will need to be addressed. The first is a bad ABS modulator. The seller claims that a replacement can be sourced through a junkyard for about $70 but doesn’t mention that the system will need to be drained and bled to install it. The other problem noted is a broken parking brake cable. The part will apparently come with the car, but not installed.
Other than that, the 200 horsepower 3.2-litre V6 and 4-speed automatic are said to run well. The seller does warn that the timing belt is of an unknown age so add to your valuation that element’s replacement.
Add as well the $5,500 asking. This is $1,000 off what the seller wanted in the car’s first eBay rodeo, and is well off the crazy price being asked for this Legend. With just 66K on the clock and a clean title, do you think this one could command that asking? Or, do the downsides outweigh the good making this Legend more a miss than a myth?
You decide!
eBay out of Denver, CO, or go here if the ad disappears.
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