In looking at all of the photos and info we’ve been running from the 2012 Hot Rod Power Tour this week it is clear that every possible type of vehicle has been on the tour at some point. It also got me thinking about some of the cars I have taken on long road trips. The first was the 1988 IROC Camaro with a factory tuned port 350 engine. My buddy Brian and I drove that car from our town in Massachusetts to St. Louis, Missouri on mostly back roads. We recreated the trip of a National Geographic reporter on the Lincoln highway and on several other scenic and historic roads. It was one hell of a trip for a couple of kids who recently graduated high school and I am super thankful m parents let me take it back then. The car was a great cruiser, knocking down about 20mpg and it even ripped off a couple of low 14-second passes at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Illinois one night.
I have taken long trips in pickup trucks which isn’t ideal, especially with a standard cab. Of course there was the nearly 600-mile sojourn in Brutus the tow truck, which was by far the least sensible road trip vehicle but probably the most fun. With a 60mph top speed and less power than your garden tractor, it was an adventure of a lifetime. I recently made the banzai trip to Bristol, Tennessee with Peter Farber to help on his Pro Mod crew. That ride was made in my daily driver, a Ford Escape. While the car got great mileage and ran like a swiss watch, it was not nearly as fun as it would have been in an oldie.
There’s a few of my experiences, how about yours?
What’s the best road trip car you have ever owned? Was it something small and nimble or a big old barge that floated down the road like your living room couch?
(I think the American Powertrain guys have the right idea!)
My 1994 WB4 Roadmaster Wagon. LT1, 3.23s, all the luxury stuff, big cushy leather seats for 8… Cruised the highway like nobody’s business, and carry enough luggage for a vacation with tons of room to spare. AND haul the camper trailer if I wanted to. I miss it. 🙁
Had an ’89 Chrysler LeBaron Turbo that could cruise all day at over 30 mpg and had the most comfy seats of any car I’ve ever owned. Only its lack of A/C made it a less than perfect road trip car once I had the bugs sorted out.
The seats and mileage don’t quite measure up to the LeBaron, but with a top that goes down, working A/C, and a better stereo, the BMW 328i I currently have is my best road trip car. Somehow it manages to combine a soft ride that’s almost like driving a sofa on the freeway with small and nimble at the same time.
2003 Mercury Marauder,4 trips from TX-Ca and back,2 to Indy.
Just ate the miles. They raised the speed limit in west Tx to 80 and it only cost 1mpg!
I sold it in ’06 with 86k miles.
The car should have been a Ford Galaxy,and $4000 less MSRP,maybe we would still have a great Ford mileage eater with room.
My current daily driver 2001 Ram 1500 3.9 .
Went from San Diego to Bremerton,WA., then from San Diego to St.Louis.
Lots of room in the truck, great gas mileage.
1984 monte carlo SS
My 92 Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeo, great road trip car! That model was way ahead of it’s time in the comfort & convenience group, I still have the car.
http://www.philcooper.com/gallery/DragRace/Trofeo
With the subtle glass pack rumble making a Buick 455 sound like a marine boat engine, cruising my ’72 Centurion from Fontana, CA to Myrtle Beach, SC and back was quite the road trip and car. The seats are super comfortable, the car floats softly over bumps and it makes a great place to sleep in (I was going to say crash in! ha!) when taking a break at a rest stop or on the side of the road. Definitely a road sofa!
My 1977 AMC Pacer Wagon. Black with 4sp manual trans. Lots of room in the back with the back seat folded down. We went two weeks camping out west from Chicago to Yellowstone and on to Glacier National Park and day trip into Canada. Only had to stop for repairs once to repair loose front sway bar.
I thought my 87 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z was great for road trips. On the highway it cruise and get 35 mpg all day long, yet had ample power when i tromped on it courtesy of the turbo. With the hatchback it could swallow nearly everything I owned or ever thought to put in it.
1995 Impala Super Sport. What a great car that was.
1955 chevy sedan delivery, 409 2bbl, 4speed. took it for a trip around lake Michigan after high school graduation in 1974. EPIC!!!
My 73 coupe de ville. With leather seats, ac cold enough to store meat, super quiet, and floating down the road like it was on a clear lake. Only the 8 mpg it got was the only detractor. It also had a 500 ci engine and big class 3 hitch that would a 24 ft trailer like it wasnt there. Too bad my sister destroyed it when she got it air borne.
Of late, it was my 73 Monte Carlo. I drove it 5000 miles in four months. Those big swivel buckets wre so comfy, no annoying rattles or rumbling, and it floated just like any GM boat of tbe 70’s. Handled great too.
My 1966 Rambler Ambassador Convertible. I miss that car, It drove down the highway nice a smooth, the 327 never missed a beat. I lived in Fresno, it would take me to the coast and back on a tank of gas. Always turned some heads. Had a huge trunk for beach stuff and a cooler.
Denver to Mesa Verde-Grand Canyon-Las Vegas-San Diego-L.A.-San Fransisco-Redding, CA-Portland, OR- Seattle, WA- Bonneville UT,-and back to Denver, CO in 1965 in a 1959 Cadillac (Gigantic tail fins) 4-door sedan, 392 cu. in V-8. Much of the trip was at or slightly over 100-MPH! Wife, brother in law , sister in law and me….We were all in our twenties!. Some nights in the cheapest motel room we could find..a few nights in the Cad. Great FUN!
82 Buick lesabre, rolling couch., the worst is my 73 challenger, loud, uncomfortable, and shitty mpg.
2001 Mercedes CL500 w/sport package. Active suspension, big engine, seats that heated, cooled and massaged. The car cornered like it was on rails and you never lacked for power. FAB-YOU-LOUS!
My ’72 Suburban, a bit like a floating couch. Handeling non-existent and Mpg sucked but lots of room and being 4X4 I didnt need to stick to the roads. My wife’s ’93 Sidekick is prety awsome for long jaunts when fuel prices are high and we take the bicycles. Worst, my ’93 Dodge 1 ton with the cummins. Like driving a meat tenderisor. Second worse is my ’47 Reo, super small cab but got great looks and decent milage for a 2 ton, 13mpg at 50!
My Suburban is a pretty cool roadtrip mean of transportation, rental also make great roadtrip cars but the best was a mix: a rented Ford Crown Victoria.
Police were renegotiating and they were on ticket strike 😀 I was with a few high cars on the highway all at high speed with over 300miles to do, it usually take a bit under 6 hours, we did it in a lot less time. 90/100mph are great highway speed 😉 and that car was SUPER comfy with all leather interior it was like coasting on a cloud (a fast cloud).