Crosslinking, like Hansel and 25-year-old movie references, is so hot these days. There’s no better way to fight Google’s nonsensical algorithm than by creating imbedded links to other stories across one’s site.
But this specific article isn’t just a shameless attempt to juice more page views. In my 20-ish years of reviewing cars, I’ve made a self-effacing joke or two calling out the fact that my “daily” is a slammed, old Honda—mostly as a way to say whatever car I was reviewing, no matter its qualities, was objectively much nicer than what I’m used to.
And said old Honda is the car you see here: my 1992 Acura Integra LS.
The DA chassis Integra doesn’t get the love of its later DC chassis sibling, but the older ‘Teg was a big deal for Honda. I mean, this is the car that introduced VTEC to the world, with Japan-market models packing B16s as early as 1989. And regardless of powertrain, the chassis was one of Bubble-era Japan’s best, boasting a modern-for-the-time four-wheel disc brake setup and a double-wishbone suspension front and rear.
This Integra—my Integra—didn’t come with any cool variable valve timing technologies. Just a standard 1.8-liter inline-four good for maybe 140 horsepower when new. A blown head gasket back in 2004 convinced me to do a full engine rebuild (by which I mean, convinced me to pay someone to do a rebuild for me), so now this B18A1 has a blueprinted and balanced bottom end stuffed with Type R internals. If I didn’t care about passing smog, I could slap a VTEC head on this thing and shout Fast and Furious lines each time I shift. But I like passing smog, so the stock head remains.
This one has the obligatory one-piece headlights (picked up—for free!—while on a work trip in Japan in 1999), and is lowered on H&R Sport springs and brand-new Koni yellow shocks. It’s also got a Tanabe exhaust, selected for its relative quietness compared to, well, every other aftermarket exhaust.
But mostly, it’s a pretty-stock slammed Honda that’s now considered a classic. I love the thing, but am too lazy to be a “classic car owner.” I like cars that shift themselves, with airbags and cup holders. So any car I review will continue to feel indulgent compared to this thing.
But when the roads are empty and the weather is perfect, this thing is still incredible to drive. Maybe I’ll hang on to it. Or maybe I’ll pass it on to a new caretaker. Who knows? All I know is, I’m gonna be cross linking the hell out of this story for weeks to come.
