Honda recently relegated the Accord to auto-only status while their upper-scale brand, Acura, has been manual-free for years. Today’s Nice Price or Crack Pipe Legend hails from a better time and sports a five-speed stick. Let’s see what you might throw down for this throwback.

It was Shakespeare who claimed, “that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” That, of course, was Juliet lamenting her bae’s name being the cause of their monkeyshines being seen as illicit in the eyes of both families.

We looked at a 1976 Dino 308GT4 on Friday and that name—Dino—has never carried quite the cachet as that of its builder, Ferrari. We were all Juliet on the matter however and gave the car’s $38,999 price tag a narrow but decisive 56 percent Nice Price win to close out the week.

Name dropping is one thing. What however if you dropped something else from your car, something like, say, the option of a manual transmission? Would that shortened feature list change your opinion on the car and that of its maker as a whole?

That’s something we’re seeing across the board in the entire industry. The simple fact is that automatic gearboxes have eclipsed manuals in terms of efficiency and even enthusiasts are finding favor in ultra fast-shifting manu-matics that have become ubiquitous in the performance market today.

That wasn’t always the case, and this 1988 Acura Legend Coupé is a throwback to the era when driving stick meant you wanted more say in how the journey was taken. Back then, an automatic said you’d pretty much given up on life and were probably okay wearing slacks with an expandable waistband. You also likely actually used the term “slacks” in describing them.

There’s a lot to like about this Legend in addition to the rare manual gearbox. To begin with, there’s the lovely if torque-wanting 2.7-litre all-alloy V6 engine that’s bolted to it. That mill was introduced with the Coupé body style the year prior and made 161 horsepower and 162 lb-ft of torque. The seller claims the driveline in this car “runs perfect it has lots of power.”

The ad further claims that the car “really runs as the day it drove off the dealer lot.” There seems to have been a good bit of maintenance documented in the car’s early life, although the list the seller shows in the ad runs out in 2008. The seller notes that the records continue to 2019 but doesn’t show them in the ad. Also, I have that issue of Car and Driver too.

Another thing you will probably like about this coupé is the elegant styling and impressively glassy greenhouse. Acura’s press materials back in the day touted a remarkable 323° of visibility in this car, and that’s pretty plausible just looking at it. The paintwork and underlying body seem to be in terrific shape for its age and the 140K the car has traveled. There are a couple of scrapes on the bumper caps, but nothing too egregious. The seller attributes the tidy appearance to a life of garage living.

Unfortunately, the interior is not as nice. The seller doesn’t give us much of a look despite all the glass in the greenhouse, but from what we do get to see we can tell the leather upholstery is split on the seat squabs. That sucks for your butt but once you’re sitting down you probably won’t notice it too much. Just don’t drive without pants, that’s just gross.

Another issue that’s evident in the ad’s pics but didn’t make the seller’s description is a big-ass crack in the windshield. That’s more a problem for the passenger than the driver, but it’s an annoyance nonetheless and is probably only a couple hundred to fix. The title is clean and the wheels are aftermarket and… well, if you like them then you like them.

Okay, that should be enough for you to go on for your task in deciding on a value for the car. And, seeing as you probably finished a cup of coffee reading it you’re very well-prepped to get your vote on. The only thing left is the price, which in the car’s case is $4,700.

What’s your take, is this rare manual-equipped Acura worth that kind of cash? Or, does that make this a Legend that few will remember?

You decide!

San Francisco Bay Area, CA Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

H/T to onlytwowheels for the hookup!

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