Paul Niedermeyer's editiorial reveals that our resident automotive historian prizes reliability over style or performance– at least when it comes to long-distance automotive transport. Not me. I believe the car is half the journey (or something like that). Whenever I drive a rental car, no matter how wonderful the scenery or auspicious the occasion, I'm nagged by the realization that I'd be blissing in my Boxster S. No, I'm not a car snob. But c'mon, rentals? Rentals are hair-shirts-on-wheels. That said, I'm not sure my hard-riding Finnish sports car would be the ideal choice for a REAL road trip. So… what is? If I had the choice of any car in which to Cannonball the country, I'd take a Bentley Continental GTC. While I'd still be wishing on a 987 through the curves, high-speed wafting is mission critical for any driver wishing to traverse this big ass country of ours/mine. Unbridled luxury makes any long distance trip more enjoyable and, thus, memorable. And when the sun is just going down, put the beautimous Bentley's hood down and… ecstasy. You?
77 Comments on “QOTD: Which Car Would You Drive Cross-Country?...”
Back to TopLeave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
You can also login using Facebook Connect.
If I could have it back, my 1977 Saab 99. I like smaller cars and have yet to find one that was as nice a ride as that Saab was.
Assuming I have limitless fuel money, I would pick a 1967 Cadillac Eldorado hardtop. In black.
I ve done 2k roadtrips in my 88 528e, much better than the 66 bug I went x country in in ‘77. I know a few guys who have driven their E 28s x country several times.
This would be my ride…
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9663942/
I would put the Bentley on a trailer, and take it out whenever I am in the mood. Either that or an SL 65 AMG.
I would take my C6 Corvette. Great mileage and enough HP to have fun.
I drove across Canada in an 02 Hyundai Accent. Sure, it was underpowered and overloaded, and sure it couldn’t pass uphill, and sure I lost 50km/h of speed with the gas pedal floored going up some mountain roads, and sure the brakes faded to useless going down mountain roads. But I had room for all my stuff and it got me to the Pacific and back. Without a break down.
That said, without finacial limitations, I’d go across country in a hearse. Very comfortable, tons of room, and a ready-made bed.
1965 E-type Jaguar!
http://www.goolsbee.org/roadtrip/
http://chuck.goolsbee.org/archives/category/cars/2007-gttsr
http://www.goolsbee.org/cannonball/
Sure, it might not be the most reliable ride. Yeah the trunk has just a tad more space than a FedEx envelope. But man, is it a ton of fun!
Who wants to come along with me next time?
–chuck
If I were going in the summer, it would be a Porsche Boxster S if I’m by myself. With the family, a BMW 535i w/sport package.
If I were going in the winter and/or wanted to explore trails, a Land Rover LR3.
For Cannonballing, a Mercedes SL65 AMG.
Cross-country USA? There’s only one answer: ‘59 Cadillac, convertible.
Other than that? Perhaps a Volvo 240 station-wagon.
For a trip around the globe, I would happily use an old Citroen 2CV. Or Series II Land Rover Station-wagon.
I’ll just take my Mazda3. I bought it because I feel more comfortable driving that than anything else I’ve driven, and anything faster isn’t going to be useful due to cops and fuel prices. If I truly could take anything, I’d need an extra week to hit up all the dealers for some test drives.
But as a passenger, I’d take my buddy’s ‘04 Dodge Ram 3500 Quad Cab (Cummins). You’re not going to find a more spacious and comfortable passenger seat than that. The center armrest is wider than the seats on some cars, and the cupholders will hold two Big Gulps! Plus, you have the comfort of knowing that if someone plows into you, they lose. If one didn’t have to constantly work the steering wheel to make up for all the front-end looseness, I’d maybe even want to drive it!
I did it last year in a C32 AMG. That supercharger really eats gas for such a small car but the seats were fantastic, and the supercharger came in handy once we made it to the desert. Much better than the S-10 four banger that I did it in all the other times.
2005-07 Toyota Avalon Limited or 2002-04 Infiniti Q45.
Really.
Town Car or Grand Marquis.
Town Car has better seats, but Grand Marquis is close enough.
Across the USA? If I had my kids it would be a 1996 Roadmaster Estate wagon.
No kids…..my 1998 Corvette convertible. Plenty of room, power, style, comfort, and nearly 30 mpgs hiway.
Ford Superduty with the long box so that I could get the two-40 gal gas tank option. 80 gal of diesel in an unloaded truck on the highway would mean very few fuel stops. With the Lariat trim it’d be as comfortable and spatious as any large car.
I’d probably use a Jeep Wrangler so I could take shortcuts! :)
Cross-Country?
Any new volvo. There might be better cars out there, but there are not better seats.
Robert,
I’d happily take your Boxster S. I agree that the car is part of the joy of such a trip. I made frequent drives between Boston and DC, and I’m always happy in my Accord, and I wouldn’t be nearly as happy in some rental. Of course, a x-country trip is very different from Boston-DC-Boston, and the car doesn’t figure as much. Nonetheless…
I may do the trip in the fall, and if I do, I’ll be taking my Accord, which has a clutch. The Boxster would definitely be more fun, especially in the twistier parts of the mountain west.
I crossed twice, in ‘70 and ‘71, in my ‘62 Falcon, which barely made it up some of the passes. And my family of origin crossed thrice, first, in ‘57 in the ‘50 Stude, second and third, in ‘60 and ‘61, in the ‘57 Chevy 2-10 wagon. We spent two months and 3000 miles in Europe the summer of ‘66 in the ‘65 Peugeot 404 wagon. Of the family of origin cars, that’s the one I’d far prefer to take across the country, or do anythign else in. Although two profs of mine at Berkeley had to wait a couple of days in the early 70s in Cheyenne Wyo for a part to come up from Denver, when they drove their 404 wagon from NY.
If there were a sporty minivan–if VW had come out with the New Microbus, perhaps–and if it came with a stick, that would be fun.
Listening to Wagner in a 2003 E39 M5 while snacking on Chick-fil-a.
I’m going to have have to go with a second-gen RX-7. I had an ‘87 GXL, and it was just perfect on the highway. I’d hate to pay to fill it with gas, but I’d love to drive it coast to coast.
Great driving position, plenty of room for two people and their luggage. It would be great on the highways, and plenty of fun on any back roads I found.
Chevrolet Corvette, C4, C5, or C6, with a manual rack, manual tranny, A/C, and cruise control. Steady 100 MPH the whole way across, getting 25 MPG (maybe less with the C4), and a responsive, non-tiring drive.
If money were no object, a Lexus L600h or Audi S8.
I’m with taxman on this one: Town Car.
Especially if you have more than one passenger, and / or a lot of stuff to transport.
It’s not one for the twisties, but a very large proportion of our country is bowling-alley flat and has no twisties to speak of. That’s where the Town Car wafts into its own.
Given the size and weight of the car, and the huge antique engine (4.6L V8, largely unchanged since around 1992), it gets very reasonable economy on the highway (~25 mpg).
RF,
I did go cross-country in my Boxster S. It was a fantastic car for the journey! I went from Oklahoma to New Mexico to the Grand Canyon, to Las Vegas, to LA, to Yosemite, to Utah, to Colorado, and back.
I highly recommend it.
As far as a fun car with no time limits for breakdowns and unlimited funds, I would get a 1969 or ‘70 Olds 442 convertible. The ‘69 had the 400, the ‘70 a 455.
My father drove a brown with white pinstriped ‘69 442 convertible from 1972-79. Although it COULD be a fun musclecar when it all worked right – in reality it was a piece of shit. The convertible top cracked, leaked when it rained, and seemed to be a magnet for vandals to cut up with pocket knives. He burned out a set of points at least every 6 months, the TH400 3 speed auto tranny slipped (the TH400 had a propensity for having the transmission fluid pump go bad), the dual exhaust had to be replaced once a year from rust from the short city driving trips (and the chrome rocket exhaust tips were a bitch to find and replace), and many mornings it would arbitrarily decide not to start. And after premium leaded fuel became harder to find, the drivability suffered after the ignition timing was retarded to reduce spark knock.
In that case, the nostalgia over old musclecars outweighs the experiences and practicality of that ‘69 442.
I think that something more responsive and firmer will allow you to stay alert longer. It’s surprisingly tiring to try to keep a big boat floating exactly where you want it.
I had fond memories of going cross country in my CRX. For a tall man in a little car, it had a lot of legroom (I guess the lack of a back seat would do that to you). The only thing I wouldn’t do is take Interstate 10 through Texas ever again. A day and a half in just one state alone is more than what any man should have to endure.
Porsche 911 Carrera 4. I get intoxicated just thinking about it!
My Aztek.
Plenty of room, 29 mpg highway, nice ride.Nothing else built in the last decade appeals to me more.
If I had the money, I’d like a ’60s Lincoln or Caddy.
Aston Martin DBS..hands down.
I’d go with what will cost me the least amount of money. 98-08 Corolla. Over 40 mpg on the highway, reasonably comfortable, and it won’t break.
I enjoyed traveling from Florida to Michigan and back in my 1987 Cutlass Supreme Brougham, a fabulous car for cross country traveling! To date, no other car I have traveled in has pampered me as well as that Olds did!!!
Mike Solowiow :
RF,
I did go cross-country in my Boxster S. It was a fantastic car for the journey! I went from Oklahoma to New Mexico to the Grand Canyon, to Las Vegas, to LA, to Yosemite, to Utah, to Colorado, and back.
My S has got 19’s, sport tires and no PASM. It’s built for speed, not comfort. And I’m 48.
For me, it’s eternal struggle between wafting and carving. The E39 M5 was soooooooo close to my ideal car– ruined by numb steering. And then ruined by BMW.
Probably a 599 GTB Fiorano if I were to go across the southern half of the U.S. A GT-R if I were to go across the northern half.
RF, We almost think alike. This Bentley Continental would be my choice. This is one of my all-time lust objects:
http://image.automobilemag.com/f/features/news/25_most_beautiful_cars/6701207/0610_z+1953_bentley_continental_type_r+25_most_beautiful_cars.jpg
They were reputed to be wonderful cruisers at the ton.
I’d also like to point out that while I can find happiness even with modest wheels, my 300E was about as good as it got in the mid eighties.
A Ford Model A Roadster. How cool would that be?
tony-e30: “A Ford Model A Roadster. How cool would that be?”
Bingo! My second choice. All back roads. The perfect antidote to being in a modern isolation cacoon.
I did this two years ago. I’d always wanted to, and suddenly had a few weeks to spare, so I did it.
I’ve owned a lot of cars, but I never even hesitated to do this while I was driving my Acura RSX Type-S. It was reliable, economical, comfortable, and manuverable – which saved my life one night when a deer suddenly appeared in my lane.
All that way, only to get into an accident on the way back when a delivery driver in Boulder went down an ice-covered back street at 30mph and speared me.
But even after that, the car stayed together and got me back to Seattle so I could get her repaired right.
A 1967 Stingray.
No way on the Boxster, I love mine, but it would be exhausting to deal with on those long boring roads through the Midwest. I say Infiniti M35 or something in that class. Not too big, reasonably sporty, not going to catch lots of police, quiet. Maybe a Volvo or Saab for the seats though…
I’m about to make such a trip in my Jag XK8 convertible, I think the only car I would choose over the Jag is the Bentley GTC.
I would take a 1970 Datsun 240Z. Absolutely beautiful and I imagine a road trip in one would be quite amazing. Now to find one…
The new CL ( or S if kids come along ). For sitting on freeways, massage seats are nice. And so is distronic (radar cruise), which in its latest incarnation actually works.
-RF
Understand completely (I always choose the carvers… but I fly jets, and I’m only 27). I have the 18’s, and no PASM either, with sticky sticky Bridgestone Pole Position 050 (140AA Treadwear rating). Mine is set up for SCCA and High Speed Touring, but when I got back from the Middle East, I said hell with it, stuffed both trunks so full that a my clothes were always toasty warm, and headed off into the sunset.
By the way, a Starbucks Mocha fits inbetween the passenger seatback and the firewall really well, and it stays warm from the engine heat… beat that Dodge Caliber….
I wouldn’t trade that trip for anything.
I’ve also gone cross-country more than 1000 miles (I LOVE Roadtrips) in:
-1978 Cadillac Brougham Sedan (with leather roof)
-1981 Pontiac Le Mans Safari Wagon
-1981 Mercedes-Benz 240D (75mph top speed!)
-1982 Mercedes-Benz 300D TurboDiesel
-1984 SAAB 900S
-1984 Audi 4000 Quattro (Toronto to Oklahoma, in the winter, two weeks ago)
-1985 Audi 4000S (Hurricane Dennis/Ivan/Francis/Katrina evacuation)
-1986 Dodge Lancer ES Turbo
-1986 Chrysler New Yorker Turbo (with electronic voice nanny)
-1986 Audi GT
-1989 Plymouth Grand Voyager LE
-1996 Buick Riviera
-1997 Dodge Grand Caravan ES
-1998 Saturn SC1
-1998 Audi A4 2.8 Quattro
-2003 Nissan Murano SL
-2003 Mazda 6S
-2004 Chevrolet Silverado
-2004 Jeep Wrangler X
-2005 Ford F-150 XLT 5.4L (20mpg!)
-2006 Chevrolet Cobalt LT (flaming orange)
-2006 VW Jetta TDI (47mpg!)
-2006 Cadillac CTS
-2006 Subaru Impreza
-2007 Audi Q7 3.6 (only 600 miles though, short trip)
and the worst car EVER to take on a Roadtrip…..
a maroon 1981 Datsun B210…. OH THE HORROR!
Each one comes with a story…..
I’m with Jolo.
I drove my ‘88 Saab 900s from LA to Boston, and back when I was in college.
I look forward to driving my ‘99 Saab 9-3 to Seattle in Sept.
Saabs have extremely comfortable seats and you can adjust the height to shift your weight to a different part of your legs.
Also, with the hatch and the folding rear seats, it makes it easy to cram a bunch of your prized possessions (in my case guitars) in the back.
I`ve driven from Maryland to Miami and back about 5 times over the years and hated every minute.
30 days ago I made the drive again but this time I took with me the knowledge that race drivers made 1000 mile runs wide open on treacherous 2 lane roads with 50’s era sports cars back in the day.
This time it was a breeze!
RF: I think they hurt the Bentley’s lines with the GTC. I’ve said it before on this forum that if I were single, I would have to have access to a GT . Wait! Do you think I’m too old for a CLK63 AMG BLACK?
whatever car had satellite radio….
Mercedes E320 CDI Bluetec
A Bentley Continental, but with a chauffeur.
Spectacular scenery usually comes with mountains and twisty roads – and the poor sap who has to drive is quite unable to pay attention to the view. The REAL way to enjoy this is to ride in the back seat while James carefully pilots the old girl around the switchbacks.
Of course, one can always take the wheel on occasion – it is just nice to have backup for those times when there are other pleasures to be had.
My first choice would be some like a 68 Fury III, but I’ve found through personal experience, that a 1998 Honda Civic coupe is actually quite comfortable on long roadtrips, just lean the seat back a bit, set the cruise, and you’re good to go.