QOTD: Which Car Would You Drive Cross-Country?
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?
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If it was during the warmer months, I'd take an S2000 cross-country, for sure. That would be tons of fun. If it was in the colder months, I'd take a Mazdaspeed 6.
I've taken my BMW Z4 on tons of long distance road trips - it has a (compared to the rest of the roadsters out there) huge trunk, and even with the sport package rides extremely comfortable at high veolocity with plenty of power in reserve, yet returns 30+ mpg on the highway (my record is 32 mpg on a DC --> NYC trip, top down) - plus putting the top down lets me work on my tan before I get to the beach.
@tigeraid 67 Impala SS 427? Man, you hit the nail on the head there! I saw one exactly as you described in Sarasota a couple years ago. Red with white interior. I drooled enough that it ran into the storm drain! However, I have developed a great appreciation for the capability, reliability, and streetability of today's muscle engines. Give me a Mustang GT ragtop with the 5-speed, cranking out "Ventura Highway" on the radio, and that would be cross-country nirvana!
1930 V-16 Cadillac Pininfarina Roadster. Nuf said. A picture of it can be found midway down this page: