hi, want to add to this thread--thanks to laurajoyce for her help with finding a rental car; i ended up renting from chailease which was about $15 a day cheaper than iws (iws no longer has an english language website to speak of, chailease is http://www.rentalcar.com.tw/). car was in immaculate condition and came with an english language gps, without which we'd have been dreadfully lost. i'd rent from them again in a heartbeat.

delightful email contact can be had at [email protected]

driving from taipei to taroko was just fine, although i wouldn't want to drive in taipei more than necessary. as far as driving in taiwan goes, once you give up your western ideas about the lane being 'yours,' it's just fine. start thinking of the road as a whole space, having nothing to do with lanes per se, and it's all good.