This year marked the 20th annual National Acura Legend Meet. Since 2005, the event has served as a “family reunion” for like-minded Acura owners and enthusiasts, and the community bond remains stronger than ever. (Here’s a story about last year’s program.)
Burlington, with a population of about 44,000 people, is the largest city in Vermont—known for its outdoor recreation and panoramic scenery. It is located on the shores of Lake Champlain and, most importantly, it offers some excellent driving roads. Husband-and-wife team and area locals Ty and Ashley MacWalters rolled out the red carpet with an event schedule that was brimming with fun activities in early September.
Background on the Community
The Legend laid the foundation for Honda’s luxury division as its flagship model back in 1986 and remained in production until it was replaced by the 3.5 RL in 1996. Over its decade in production, more than 400,000 units were sold in the United States. This year’s NALM attracted about 25 of those that remain on the roads, and they drove from 18 different states to attend (including Leon, who made the long haul from California). One devout attendee, Al, flew from his home in Alberta to Ontario so he could rent a car in Montreal and drive across the border for the festivities. The dedication of these folks is unmatched!
Attractions
Event highlights this year included a visit to Vermont Sports Car, a facility that designs and manufacturers competition cars, as well as a number of other noteworthy destinations. The group toured the world headquarters for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream—complete with free samples at the conclusion. A group photo was captured at Stowe Mountain, a favorite destination for world-class snow skiing. Finally, on the last day, the group convened at Veteran’s Memorial Park for a public “cars and coffee” event, which drew participants from around the community.
The Big 6-0-0
One of the noteworthy pieces of the program, for me anyway, was achieving the long-awaited 600,000-mile mark on my 1994 Legend LS coupe. With careful planning, I was able to roll the milestone at a precise date, time, and place—quite a feat, especially considering my drive from Arizona to Vermont alone was about 2,700 miles one-way.
Award Recipients
The competition was fierce, but Best of Show for this year’s NALM went to the Altrui family from Branford, Connecticut, who brought out their stunning 1993 Legend L coupe in Milano Red with fewer than 30,000 original miles on the odometer.
Recognitions were given for cars with the best paint, best interior, best wheels, and more. There was a special mention for all first-time attendees to the event, for the women who attended, and for NALM’s youngest attendee, four-month-old Hudson, who came with his parents Richard and Danielle from North Carolina. Lastly, the group made sure to give its long-time member Alan from Florida a hard time because he celebrated his 70th birthday during the week.
The Legend Lives On
Even though Legend owners experience the same struggles as other classic-car-owner groups (scarcity of replacement parts among them), enthusiasts have proven that the passion for keeping their cars on the road is well worth the hurdles and challenges. The overarching sense of “family” among the NALM group is the reason they come together year after year.
Proposals will be accepted beginning later this fall for the 2026 NALM event location. More information will be posted on the Acura Legend forums at this link.
