QOTD: What Road Trip Car Are You Picking?

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

We have a story today about two of our contributors taking an epic road trip.


Before I got into this business, I always loved reading about trips like this in the buff books, and I'd love to do something like what Andy and Mercedes did someday.

But I don't know what car I'd pick.

What about you? If you had a big road trip planned, what vehicle would you pick?

You'll note that an EV was the ride of choice in the earlier story, and I initially thought about setting up this QOTD as which EV would you pick for a road trip. And if you want to, you can do that. Let's keep it broad, however.

Keep in mind that this doesn't have to be a trip as epic as the one Andy and Mercedes took -- it could be a relatively easy cross-country drive, or maybe just a few hours between cities.

Yes, we've done one like this before, but it's been a while and the criteria today are slightly different.

Sound off below.

[Image: ABCDStock/Shutterstock.com]

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Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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  • Tylanner Tylanner on Sep 23, 2024
    1996 Chevy Caprice Wagon
  • Nicolas Nicolas on Oct 01, 2024
    General answer: Something with good seats, enough ground clearance to drive dirt roads, soft suspension, good view out, an automatic gearbox, preferably with six cyclinder Diesel engine, enough space for stuff, but "socially compatible".More specific answer (not necessarily in line with my general answer): Eastern Europe - Dacia Duster with all wheel drive and Diesel engine. Southern Europe - had some wonderful trips with a BMW 2-series cabriolet. Western Europe - Mercedes SL. Rest of the World: Toyota Landcruiser.
  • Gray Here in Washington state they want to pass a law dictating what tires you can buy or not. They want to push economy tires in a northern state full of rain and snow. Everything in my driveway wears all terrains. I'm not giving that up for an up to 3 percent difference.
  • 1995 SC I remember when Elon could do no wrong. Then we learned his politics and he can now do no right. And we is SpaceX always left out of his list of companies?
  • Steve Biro I’ll try one of these Tesla driverless taxis after Elon takes one to and from work each and every day for five years. Either he’ll prove to me they are safe… or he’ll be dead. Think he’ll be willing to try it?
  • Theflyersfan After the first hard frost or freeze - if the 10 day forecast looks like winter is coming - that's when the winter tires go on. You can call me a convert to the summer performance tire and winter tire car owner. I like the feel of the tires that are meant to be used in that season, and winter tires make all of the difference in snowy conditions. Plus, how many crazy expensive Porsches and Land Rovers do we see crashed out after the first snow because there's a chance that the owner still kept their summer tires on. "But...but...but I have all wheel drive!!!" Yes, so all four tires that now have zero grip can move in unison together.
  • Theflyersfan One thing the human brain can do very well (at least hopefully in most drivers) is quickly react to sudden changes in situations around them. Our eyes and brains can quickly detect another driving dangerously, a construction zone that popped up while we were at work, dense fog out of nowhere, conflicting lines and signs on some highways, kids darting out between cars, etc. All of this self driving tech has shown us that it is maybe 80% of the way there, but it's that last 20% that still scares the crap out of us. Self driving computers can have multiple cameras feeding the system constant information, but can it react in time or can it work through conflicting data - think of construction zones with lines everywhere, orange signs with new exit information by the existing green exit sign, etc. Plus, and I think it's just GM's test mules, some systems require preexisting "knowledge" of the routes taken and that's putting a lot of faith in a system that needs to be updated in real time. I think in the next 15-20 years, we'll have a basic system that can self drive along interstates and highways, but city streets and neighborhoods - the "last mile" - will still be self drive. Right now, I'd be happy with a system that can safely navigate the slog of rush hour and not require human input (tapping the wheel for example) to keep the system active.
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