Thanksgiving: Things we are thankful for in 2013

It is Thanksgiving and there is much to be grateful for. To celebrate, we wanted to take the opportunity to give thanks for all of the things that we have in our lives and the opportunities we had this year.

East Brother

I am thankful for the opportunity this year to have had a chance to drive a number of amazing cars, but none were quite as memorable as the Tesla Model S and the Jaguar F-Type V6S. Each of these cars still sticks in my mind as the funnest test drives I had all year. The upcoming coupe version of the Jag is going to be a blast and should be on everyone's shopping list next year. Tesla's impressive Model S sets the stage for the soon to be released Model X SUV and as yet unnamed mid-size sedan.

I am also thankful that I got to participate in the Pan Mass Challenge this year. This was the first time I have ever done a charity ride and my first full century ride. Training for it motivated me to improve my cycling and focus on growing my skills as a cyclist. That has led to a lot more fun riding for recreation as well as for transportation and a greater appreciation of what it takes to be a cyclist year round.

West Brother

I am thankful to have met folks like Bronson Wright of Subaru Pacific. The  Subaru BRZ was easily the most fun car I had test driven all year and thanks to Bronson, I was able to get the full experience of wringing out the car in a supervised test drive that most salesmen would never even think about doing. But it is not just the test drive I am thankful for. The Subaru BRZ, and its sister car the Scion FR-S, have injected life into a car segment that has been dying a slow and painful death. With the success of these two cars, I am hoping that other car manufacturers will now get their act together and put out more enthusiast oriented, reasonably priced sports car.

This year, I am also thankful to have had the opportunity to visit the Honda and Acura Collection. This was an event that I had been looking forward to since the day the event was posted on Acura's Facebook page. It was great to be able to meet one of the long time veterans of American Honda, as well as get the history behind some of Honda and Acura's best known cars. It was also a somewhat sad event as well, as the collection tour served as reminder of an era of Honda when the company truly cared about its enthusiast following, and not just making money.

Finally, we are thankful to have had the opportunity to share our experiences and adventures with all of you. We hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving with their friends and family.

Exclusive: Visiting the Honda/Acura collection

Both my brother and I have been fans of Honda and Acura vehicles for an incredibly long time. Nearly every car we both have owned has been a Honda or Acura product. Our parents are also big fans of Acura vehicles, owning 10 Acura vehicles in the past 22 years. To give you a sense of just how much we are fans, here is a list of all of the different Honda/Acura vehicles we have collectively owned as a family:

1991 Acura Vigor
1998 Acura 3.2 TL
1997 Acura Integra LS 5MT
2002 Acura 3.2 TL
2004 Acura TSX 5AT
2005 Acura RL
1997 Honda Accord LX
2005 Acura MDX
2006 Acura TSX 6MT
2008 Acura TL Type-S 6MT
2008 Acura TL Type-S 5AT
2008 Acura MDX Base
2007 Honda S2000
2011 Acura RL Tech
2011 Honda Fit Sport
2011 Acura MDX Tech
2012 Acura TSX SE 6MT

Suffice it to say, we are loyal customers.

Beginning this year, Acura's social media division began giving tours of the private Honda/Acura car collection in Torrance, CA. In order to become part of the waiting list for tours, fans of the official Acura Facebook page could post a story on the Acura owner's site with the title "My Historic Acura." Being such a huge fan of Honda and Acura products, I jumped on the opportunity as fast as I could. And so, on May 8 of this year, I joined the second group of Honda and Acura enthusiasts in touring this amazing facility.