QOTD: Cross Country Cruiser?

Matthew Guy
by Matthew Guy

There are some Q-Ships which are designed to simply eat up the miles. Despite the proliferation of cheap(er) airline tickets, there is definitely a group of people who would rather drive to their cross-country destination than get in a metal sky tube with a hundred other humans. Fair enough.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it: select a machine for our fictional friend so they can drive themselves from New York to L.A. in comfort. It can be a brand new vehicle, but that stipulation is not a necessity. You’ll see why after the jump.

It’s well known that Jonathan Ward and the team at ICON have crafted some of the finest 4×4 rigs ever to turn a wheel on the face of this planet. In addition to all that awesomeness, they also take on the occasional off-beat build, applying the same level of fastidiousness to it as they do their $222k FJ creations.

Which is why I select this ICON Chevrolet Caprice for our fictional friend, just in case you’ve forgotten the question of the day (it’s okay if you did; today is Monday, after all). Powered by 430 horsepower LS engine, the team left no stone unturned when fitting this car for a life on the highway.

Anyone with even a passing knowledge of 90s GM tat knows the acres of plastic used in the construction of these things, all of which was binned by the ICON team and replaced with finely crafted metals. Even those wheels, which look like stock cop steelies, are actually aluminium and upsized to clear the aftermarket brakes. And that interior? Fantastic. Be sure to click the link below and walk yourself though the picture gallery.

So what’s your unlimited budget pick for a blast across America?

[Images: ICON Reformer]

Matthew Guy
Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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  • Nedmundo Nedmundo on Apr 30, 2019

    I want a nice blend of comfort, performance, range, relative anonymity, and ease of repair if necessary, so I'll go Mustang Ecoboost Premium, 6MT. In the summer, make it a convertible. I want something that can be fixed in just about any town in the good ol' US of A or Canada, and this fits the bill. I learned about this the hard way when my old SAAB broke down in rural Southern Illinois. No bueno. Second choice would be Accord Sport 2.0T with 6MT. Similar virtues as the Mustang, but more practical. Unfortunately, also less fun. If it must be used, a 2G Acura TSX is a good choice, especially with the Tech Package for the good stereo. I have a 2010, and it's the best long-distance road trip car I've ever owned. It doesn't dominate the highway like the old SAAB, but it's bulletproof, efficient, and comfortable. It has 118k miles, and I wouldn't hesitate to drive it cross country tomorrow.

  • Illan Illan on Apr 30, 2019

    ill take my 2013 Chrysler 300c SRT8 . this handsome beast was built just that and have fun

  • Jalop1991 Way to bury the lead. "Toyota to offer two EVs in the states"!
  • Jalop1991 I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.
  • Jalop1991 We need a game of track/lease/used/new.
  • Ravenuer This....by far, my most favorite Cadillac, ever.
  • Jkross22 Their bet to just buy an existing platform from GM rather than build it from the ground up seems like a smart move. Building an infrastructure for EVs at this point doesn't seem like a wise choice. Perhaps they'll slow walk the development hoping that the tides change over the next 5 years. They'll probably need a longer time horizon than that.
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