Exploring the legacy of the 1986 Acura Integra, this episode dives into the origins of Acura as a brand and its significance in the automotive landscape. The hosts reminisce about the car's launch, its specifications, and how it catered to a growing market for more luxurious and performance-oriented vehicles. With insights from Honda's heritage division, listeners learn about the preservation of vintage models and the importance of maintaining their history. The episode also highlights the Acura brand's evolution and its connection to car enthusiasts today.
In this episode we’re in Redondo Beach, California with Acura for an exclusive first drive of the 2026 Integra. Before hitting the road, we sit down with Carl Pulley, curator of the American Honda Collection Hall, to revisit the car that launched the brand’s luxury legacy nearly 40 years ago—the original 1986 Acura Integra.
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"Because this is the 1986 Acura Integra. So one of the two first vehicles that came to the US with the new brand, right?"
Acura is Honda’s upscale brand. The 1986 Integra was the first car they sold in America, showing Honda’s move into higher‑end cars.
The 1986 Acura Integra was the first model introduced by Acura in the United States, marking Honda’s entry into the luxury car market with a sporty compact sedan.
"And that was the first vehicle that we sold in the US with a V6 engine. So obviously a lot more performance than the equivalent Accord at the time."
A V6 engine is a type of car engine with six cylinders that are set in a V shape, giving the car more power and smoother running.
A V6 engine is a six-cylinder internal combustion engine arranged in a V configuration, offering more power and smoother operation than four-cylinder engines.
"And the platform was based upon the Civic. But the three door was almost exactly like the Civic platform."
A car platform is like a common skeleton that many different cars share. The Acura RS/LS were built on the same basic structure as a Honda Civic.
A vehicle platform is the shared set of mechanical components and architecture that underlies multiple car models. The Acura RS/LS used the same platform as the Honda Civic.
"But also the whole top end was changed to have a double overhead cam 16 valve powertrain."
The engine has 16 valves total, which means each of the four cylinders has two intake and two exhaust valves. This setup helps the engine get more air and run better.
A 16-valve powertrain refers to an engine with four valves per cylinder (two intake, two exhaust) across a four-cylinder layout, improving breathing and performance.
"But also the whole top end was changed to have a double overhead cam 16 valve powertrain."
In a car engine, the camshaft controls the opening and closing of valves. A double overhead cam means there are two camshafts above the engine, which helps it run smoother and faster.
A double overhead cam (DOHC) engine uses two camshafts located above the cylinder head to operate intake and exhaust valves, allowing better airflow and higher performance.
"[1070.0s] We have ticket giveaways for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach."
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is a big car race that takes place on the streets of Long Beach. Drivers race high‑speed cars around a temporary track built in the city.
The Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach is a street‑race event held on the temporary track around downtown Long Beach, California. It’s part of the IndyCar Series and attracts high‑performance race cars from various manufacturers.
"[1077.0s] we had just launched the Honda Passport Trail Sport."
The Passport Trail Sport is a special edition of Honda’s Passport SUV that’s built to go off‑road. It has extra protection and a tougher look so it can handle dirt and gravel better than the regular Passport.
The Honda Passport Trail Sport is a rugged, off‑road‑ready version of the mid‑size SUV designed for more adventurous driving. It features higher ground clearance, skid plates, and a more aggressive exterior styling to handle rough terrain.
"[1299.0s] And then we have a lot of race cars, including two Formula One cars."
Formula One is the top level of car racing where very fast, special cars compete on tracks around the world. It’s like the Olympics of car racing.
Formula One is the highest class of international auto racing for single-seat, open-wheel cars. Races are held on circuits worldwide and are known for cutting-edge technology and high speeds.
The RA272 is a special racing car made by Honda that raced in the top level of motor sports called Formula One. It was famous for being very light and fast.
The Honda RA272 was a Formula One race car built in the early 1970s, known for its lightweight design and innovative aerodynamics. It competed in several Grands Prix before being retired.
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How are you, Carl?
Very well.
It's wonderful to see you.
This is fascinating because my very, very first interview when I started in public relations was with you in the HRV.
Oh my God.
This is a nice reminiscent.
Now we're going a little bit further back in time.
That's right.
Because this is the 1986 Acura Integra.
So one of the two first vehicles that came to the US with the new brand, right?
Exactly.
Yeah.
It was an American Honda innovation.
So I was looking at this historic document here.
Let me see if I can pull it out.
No, not this one.
Which one was it?
There's one.
Oh, I think it's that one.
Maybe the owner's manual.
Yeah.
So this one, Robert and Gene Kennedy, who live here in Pasadena, March 28, 1986.
So this was the first delivery, probably, right?
Yes, because it was, if I think correctly, it was March the 27th.
Oh, the next day then.
That was the official birthday of Acura.
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
So next next year in March will be the 40th anniversary.
So this is incredible that this car was sold only a day or so after the brand.
After the opening.
Yeah.
So what were you doing in 1986, in March of 1986?
In March of 1986.
Well, I graduated in England in 1982 at 16 years old.
You graduated from what?
Kindergarten?
No, I wish.
I wish.
That was from high school.
Okay.
So I probably had my first job.
Let me think.
I was probably working in a warehouse.
Oh, wow.
And driving a forklift and driving a delivery vehicle.
You're already involved in something moving with an engine.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
I was already working.
I was already a sports journalist and I was actually the World Cup.
I remember when you mentioned 1986, I remember the World Cup in Mexico.
Yeah.
And actually was at the Argentina-England game where Diego Maradona scored the goal with
a hand of God.
Yes.
And then he scored the second goal which was like the best in the history of World
Cup.
But anyway, so we're going to go out and drive a little bit in this integrable.
So this car now belongs not to the Kennedys but to the for Honda.
Yes.
So.
Seat belts are accurate, I guess, a museum.
Yes.
So it's actually one of the museum collections.
So Honda Heritage Public Relations is a department that I run.
There's a new department for the last couple of years.
And so my department includes our museum in Torrance, California, which I built.
Oh, really?
In our main headquarters.
Wow.
And then we already had an existing museum in Marysville, Ohio.
And that's been around for going on 11 years now.
We had our 10th anniversary a few months ago at the beginning of the year.
And that focuses on Honda's footprint, manufacturing footprint in the U.S.
And so obviously Acura is very important in those terms because today 100% of Acuras
that are sold in the U.S. are built in the U.S.
Oh, really?
Wow.
So I brought my Tokyo hat in honor of Honda.
Fantastic.
Is this the exit here?
Yes.
I think so, yeah.
And I'm always, I always love when you guys or any car company brings the old cars to
the events because it really shows the evolution of not in this case not only a car but the
company itself.
And it really gives you perspective.
So tell me a little bit about this car.
Specs and everything it has a four cylinder engine.
Yes.
So kind of backing up a little bit.
I mean the whole reason behind Honda, American Honda wanting to have another channel which
was what they called it before we came up with the term Acura was for several reasons.
And market research indicated that kind of the mid to higher end vehicles.
The market was going to expand.
But also we realized that some very loyal Honda customers that had had Hondas for decades,
they maybe get to a higher level of household income and they could afford and wanted
some more luxurious items on a car but also a little bit more performance.
So for those primary reasons the Acura brand was founded and Acura is from the Latin mean
Acuratus, which means mechanically precise.
So I think that really that that term is really emblematic of Acura.
So in 1986, well 1985 we announced that Acura was going to come and we were starting with
just a few dealerships.
And it started only in the US, right?
Just in the US. Yeah, it was an American Honda initiative to come up with this
second channel or the second model or brand rather.
And so the two models that we came out with was the Legend.
Which was the sedan?
Sports sedan, exactly.
And that was the first vehicle that we sold in the US with a V6 engine.
So obviously a lot more performance than the equivalent Accord at the time.
And then the second model was the sports coupe, which was the Integra.
And we had two versions.
We had the RS and then the LS.
Which is the one that we had drove.
Yes, the LS was the higher trim level.
And it came with either a three door or a five door hatchback.
And the platform was based upon the Civic.
But the three door was almost exactly like the Civic platform.
But the five door was lengthened a little bit for a slightly larger interior.
But the whole ethos of Acura was not only to provide a high level of feature content
to have a much more luxurious vehicle, but also performance.
So it was based on the four cylinder 1.5 Civic engine.
But with a lot of changes.
So it was bumped up to a 1.6 litre.
But also the whole top end was changed to have a double overhead cam
16 valve powertrain.
So where the Civic was making about 92 horsepower, this made 113 horsepower.
And then the Civic was making about 93 pound feet of torque.
And this made 99.
So really with all of the feature content plus the extra performance,
this very aerodynamic and sporty body work really,
really filled the spot that we were looking to find.
And, you know, right off the gate, Acura's sold like hotcakes.
Yeah, so from the very beginning that was, it's always been the difference, right?
Like this, the Acura brand always offers more in every aspect.
I mean, in this case, again, this is the first car.
And compared to today's cars, not of high tech, to be honest.
This still has a cassette player, but an equalizer, I guess, like back then,
that was like a big thing.
Exactly. Equalizer and it has cruise control, you know,
a bit all of the HVAC systems of the time, you know, being in the mid 80s.
So, but also, you know, the materials as well.
I mean, you know, the two tone color scheme of the interior.
You know, just just a high level.
I mean, even having a right side mirror back in the 80s for the Honda side,
that was that was an accessory.
Accessory, yeah.
And so these cars are maintained by the new division,
like the historic heritage division for Honda.
Yes.
Another old car there.
Yes.
So Honda heritage, public relations.
We have a total about 140 cars.
Oh, wow.
They're equally distributed between our Ohio Museum and the California one.
And in both museums, they're roughly around the same size.
And we can generally get about 40 cars in each museum.
So then we have warehouses where we keep the others.
And, you know, as any car enthusiast,
especially a vintage car enthusiast, if a car isn't driven,
it ceases to be drivable.
Yeah, absolutely.
So we've been a lot of work to give them running, right?
It is.
I mean, you know, it's like they say, painting the Golden Gate Bridge.
As soon as you reach the end, you have to go back to the beginning again.
So, yeah, I mean, I'm blessed to be involved with this
and to work with some fantastic vendors,
both Honda and Acura dealers and then local vintage Honda and Acura experts
to get them up into the best condition and then to keep them running.
And the fantastic thing or the interesting thing is that the museum in Ohio,
which, as I said, was focused on a manufacturing for many of the vehicles there.
Certainly the ones that we manufactured in the U.S. came directly off the assembly line.
So those are pristine examples with very, very, very few miles.
However, American Hondas headquarters in Torrance,
we started to collect vehicles in about the year 2000.
We moved to our current large headquarters in 1990.
And we realized that we needed to have a collection of our vehicles
because people were very enthusiastic about both the Honda and Acura brands.
So many vehicles, as you noted in the owner's manual,
these were bought off the used car market.
Oh, really?
The Honda went out and Acura went out and looked for it in the market.
So that's the history of this car.
Do you know where it was and everything was still here?
I don't have all of the provenance of this vehicle,
other than knowing who the first owner was.
And obviously, you can kind of do VIN checks with some later models,
but not something as early as this.
But the thing is, I love the fact that many of these vintage vehicles
that we can have members of the media like you drive
have a little bit of a patina of age
and they have a lot of miles on the odometer.
168,272.
But it runs perfectly.
I mean, I guess you have, as you just said,
a team of mechanics that people who drive them
and keep them up to date with all the maintenance and all that.
Yes, absolutely.
But cars are meant to be driven
and the motorcycles that we have in the collection
were built to be ridden.
So I love that they have a little bit of wear and tear
because you know that someone bought this new
and they were so proud of it when they purchased it.
It was their pride and joy.
But a car is new only for like 20 men, right?
The moment it gets out of the dealership, it's already used.
But the feeling of having the car
knew it's something really, really cool.
And to me, to see it again,
I mean, I guess the seats maybe have been restored.
I don't know if they're completely original.
They look like new.
Yeah, no, this car is basically how we purchased it
other than cleaning up a little bit.
So obviously it was a car that was incredibly well taken care of.
And especially for a car that has a sporty intent
for spirited driving,
you often find the vehicles that are older,
the young car enthusiasts that like to drive
in that spirited fashion, they often modify vehicles.
And they lose value by that, right?
They do.
They do.
Which I mean, it was nice for the people at the time.
They personalized the vehicle to their own tastes.
So sometimes the hardest thing when we're searching
for a used example of a whole old Honda and Acura
is finding one that's in stock condition.
Okay, yeah.
And also one that's in good condition.
So thankfully now, well, there's pros and cons to the fact
that now many, many early Honda and Acura such as this
have reached that eerie where they're collectible.
You know, like you said, you know,
a car's only as new until you drive it off the
floorcourt of the dealership.
And then it's a new car in all intents and purposes.
Then it's a pre-owned car.
Then it's a used car.
And at some point, you know,
the value drops off a cliff.
And it's just, you know,
some people just have them as beaters.
Yeah.
But then especially wonderful examples such as this,
you get to people of a certain age that maybe this was
the first car.
I know, because I have a lot of memories.
Everybody has its own stories with them, right?
Exactly.
And I would almost argue that close to 100%
of vintage vehicle enthusiasts have an emotional attachment
to the era or to the car, the brand
that they are collecting vehicles from.
Whether it was the grandparents' vehicle
that they loved going on road trips,
maybe it was their parents' vehicle,
the first car that they had in high school.
So that's wonderful.
So obviously in 1986, people of our era,
you know, I had not long graduated from high school
and so I would have loved to have this car.
Looking back then, having this as new would have been incredible.
So in terms of, let's talk a little bit more about
the new museum, start open to the public,
are there other initiatives within Honda and Acura
about like making more of a presence of the history
and offering different, I don't know, vintage
merchandising or what's doing, what is the company doing
Yeah, so the American Honda Collection Hall,
which is what we call the museum in our headquarters in Torrance,
that was unveiled.
We had our grand opening in September of 2023.
And then the following month,
we had our first cars, bikes and coffee show.
Oh, okay.
So it's like a traditional cars and coffee style event
and enthusiasts.
And we invite everyone from every brand,
every model, every era to show up.
So we have our parking lot filled with enthusiasts
that bring their own wonderful cars and motorcycles.
But I would argue that it's the world's largest
cars and coffee style event.
Because we've been doing it every other month.
So six a year and we get an average of 2,600 people.
Wow.
So we get 12 to 1,600 vehicles.
The biggest attendance that we had was in February this year
when we had 3,700 people showing up.
And so we open up our museum.
We have food trucks, vendors, a live DJ.
And we often have special activities based on each theme.
So we theme each event.
Oh, I see.
So for instance, in April,
we always time it the week before the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
And the theme is racing.
And we have a parade of performance.
So we have race cars driving through the event.
We have ticket giveaways for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.
That event that I mentioned this past February,
we had just launched the Honda Passport Trail Sport.
And we brought in literally tons of dirt
and created an off-road driving experience in our parking lot.
And that's what prompted so many people to show up.
So it's a fantastic event.
And as I said, we've been doing those every other month.
The museum is open during regular business hours during the week.
No fee whatsoever.
We have a Starbucks in the lobby.
We have a store.
You mentioned about vintage apparel and things like that.
So we work with multiple vendors, including one called Honda Vintage Culture,
who make these wonderful vintage inspired apparel items that are very sought after.
And then in Ohio, we host the Honda Meet,
which is a big Honda and Acura only car show.
We had our biggest one yet this past September.
And then in the new year, starting in April,
we're going to have Saturday openings once a month over in that museum.
And again, that museum is open during regular business hours for no fee.
So we have lots of different groups, retiree groups and school groups,
Boy Scouts groups.
Lots of people come.
And so we're thrilled to be a part of the environment.
And one of the kind of the focuses that I have is invite in and reach out.
So not only do we invite people to our museums, to our cars, bikes and coffee shows,
but also we participate in other shows, like the Japanese classic car show.
I saw a bubble beast.
There was a big presence there too, right?
Exactly.
So it's great that we have these resources, these vintage vehicles
that people are very interested in.
And then especially when we have new vehicle launches,
like obviously we're just about to launch.
The new Integra, yeah.
The new Integra and then the new Prelude.
So bringing out the vintage versions, especially the very first one like this is,
you know, it gets a lot of interest with obviously members of the media like you,
because you know that your audience will also be interested in learning more about that.
So I mean, we're running out of time now,
but unfortunately because I would drive this all day.
But let's say someone is listening and they have an all Acura or Honda.
Should they contact you and maybe see if there's any value in their old cars?
Yeah.
So, you know, we're often looking out for prominent vehicles and good condition.
So we do have a website.
It's HondaHeritage.com.
Okay.
And so that gives information about our two museums or activities.
There's a contact us section there.
They can reach out.
And again, like whenever you have something,
you always think it's more valuable than you might be.
And there are a lot of cars sold over 40 years.
But maybe there's something out there that you haven't seen or you are interested in, right?
Yeah, no, absolutely.
And we also have, we're on social media at HondaHeritage US.
That's on Facebook and X.
And that's the best way to learn about what's going on.
Because we post at least once a week, often more than that.
Because we're always changing out the displays in the museum.
Right now we have a celebration of our 50th anniversary of designing product in the US.
So we have a great display in our Torrance Museum.
We have a pop-up Honda Racing Corporation store that's selling some fantastic racing inspired apparel.
And then we have a lot of race cars, including two Formula One cars.
The very first one was taken to the Mexico City Grand Prix recently, right?
Yeah, that was the RA272.
And yeah, we were celebrating our 60th anniversary of our first Formula One win.
A lot of history.
Lots of history.
I love that.
So thank you very much for your time.
You're very welcome.
Nice to see you again.
And unfortunately we're going to go back and return these beautiful cars to the park.
No, it was a pleasure chatting with you again.
Thank you.
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It's my best friend.
Listening to him is like a relief that I didn't know I needed.
AT&T knows that these parties are perfect to share your voice.
If you have time without calling someone, it's time.
Because more than a conversation, it's your chance to say something you'll always remember.
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Happy parties.
I wish you AT&T.
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