Wingnut

A friend and I have discovered that for some years we've both been tempted to hire a car and drive coast to coast. Now that we've discovered we both want to do this, it looks like it might happen.

The plan is really no more developed than that at this stage. I quite wanted to go NYC to LAX (figuring we'd get better sleep on the longer Eastbound flight). He wants to go LAX to NYC so you have the final arrival over the bridge into Manhattan. I think I probably agree with him.

We'd probably want to try and do it in two weeks, although might be prepared to stretch into a third.

Any and all advice is most welcome. Specifically:

What routing should we take? (In general terms, of course... should we stay south across to Texas and then go north? Just take what's left of Route 66 to Chicago then across to NY? Or head north earlier?)

What are the things to see / places to go along the way?

What time of year would be good? Obviously, this will depend in part on the route we take, but we want to avoid travelling in stupidly hot weather, and don't want to drive through endless snowstorms either. Late October / early November is currently looking good in terms of our schedules.

What kind of car should we get and from where? We'd quite like to get an old, classic, big convertible, but I imagine you can only get these from specialist companies and it would be impossible (or at least very expensive) to do this one-way. (If you can link to pictures of photos of cars that'd be great, as I'm not the most car knowledgeable person...) Also, I imagine that an older car might be more prone to breakdown, and I'm guessing we'll be driving for long stretches of nothing...

And anything else you care to mention. Recommendations of books / guides would be great.

And yes, I know we should fly transcon to get the miles, but that's not really the point of this trip.

[This message has been edited by Wingnut (edited Feb 15, 2004).]

moondog

I used to drive x-country 2-3 x per year during college. With regard to routes, IMO the 40 is boring and the 70/80/90 are boring until you get to the Rockies and then cool the rest of the way. The 10/20, meanwhile, is mildly interesting throughout.

All that having been said, the most important consideration is where you want to stop.

Here are a few comments on your other issues:
-Any time of the year is fine, but I prefer to travel in the summer.
-Don't stress out about the type of car. Personally, I would attempt buy a mid-90s Civic in NY and sell it in CA for enough of a premium to cover gas and a plane ticket.
-2 weeks seems a bit drawn out. I suggest you do the actual drive in 4-5 days so you have more time in California.
-I didn't understand your comment about the eastbound flight being longer.

Wingnut

Am I more likely to turn a profit buying in NY and selling in CA or vice versa or no difference?

Sorry, didn't mention that I'm UK based. Thus we'll be flying back to LHR, which I prefer to do overnight, and you get more sleep coming from CA than from NY!

Thanks for your advice. Any more for any more?

rkkwan

Fastest route from NYC-LA is I-80, 71, 70, 44, 40, 15. From St. Louis on, that's (more-or-less) the old Route 66. Really not much to see, but flatest & fastest. You can also make a detour to the Grand Canyon from Flagstaff, Arizona.

Much more scenic is to stay on 70 after St. Louis all the way to I-15 in Utah, then south through Vegas to LA. Don't do it in an old car or if pulling a trailer, as you'll climb to over 11,000ft at the Eisenhower Tunnel in Colorado. There's a long stretch of I-70 in Utah with no service, but extremely beautiful.

There shouldn't be snow in late Oct/early November, but occassionally you may see some on I-70 in Colorado.

Both of those routes bypass Chicago. Traffic is bad there, unless you want to visit the city.

And if you also want to see San Francisco, then you'll want to take I-80 across Wyoming, Utah and Nevada. Pretty interesting route, with wide-open space in Wyoming, crossing the Great Salt Lake, Donner Pass in Califronia, etc. But that's a much longer route to get to LA.

I-10/20 is way too far south. Not enough there to see to make it worthwhile.

[This message has been edited by rkkwan (edited Feb 15, 2004).]

Blumie

A seach of the term "road trip" on google turned up www.roadtripusa.com and www.roadtripamerica.com. You might try other searches too.

[This message has been edited by Blumie (edited Feb 15, 2004).]

Comicwoman

Roads I have driven that are worth the view (and I admit that there are many more roads that I have not driven):
I-70 From Denver to I-15. I will admit that after a few hours the it can get a bit old, but it is wonderful.
The obvious Hwy 1 from SFO to LA

I have only done a partial trascon, from ORD to LA, twice. Never drove the return.

Places worth seeing along the way: Sedona AZ (think all those red rocks from the Jeep commmericals)
The Grand Canyon. Nearly as worthwhile, Bryce Canyon Utah, northeast of Las Vegas

Things I'd avoid: Amarillo (though I did have a great steak there and got idine miles) and Lubbock (sorry techgirl). I've done the Lubbock TX to Roswell NM at least twice for work. DON'T DO IT unless seeing miles of Texas ranch fence is one of your dreams. If you are a UFO fan, I'd still say avoid Roswell.

I am sure others can post many other "don't miss" places. But what type of things do you want to see? Biggest tire? Graceland? Bridges? Museums? Boeing factory? Theme parks?

------------------
In Minnesota, a walk in freezer is also called a backyard.

rkkwan

Amarillo = Big Texan Restaurant = Free 72oz Steak (if eaten in an hour)

You'll see billboards on I-44 in Missouri, 2 states away, so you can prepare your stomach for it.

www.bigtexan.com

[This message has been edited by rkkwan (edited Feb 15, 2004).]

monahos

It may be too much trouble buying and selling an used vehicle, with registration/insurance/resale issues, for a visitor to the US on a schedule, especially if you are not familiar with the procedures.


Renting something like a larger Buick or Pontiac strikes me as ideal for such a roadtrip. After doing it in a Japanese compact and a German sports car, I finally understood the virtues of the American sedan: soft suspension, overboosted steering, cruise control, quiet torquey engine, cupholders galore, and above all the ability to sit in nonstandard positions on that flat front bench. Plus, those cars attract the least attention from state troopers and locals, and usually run on the cheapest unleaded gas.

Common rental cars to avoid for cross-country roadtrip, from an European point of view:
- generally any 4 cylinder car, especially US-made (most sound awful). Rentals up to midsize always have the base 4 cylinder engine. Trust me, being stuck in a 3-speed automatic Neon or an OHV Cavalier/Grand Am for two weeks will ruin your trip!
- Ford Taurus: a truly lousy car with terrible brakes, powertrain, and handling.
- Chevrolet Impala and Malibu: mediocre at best; you will be mistaken for travelling salesperson. The 2004 Malibu (a cousin of the Vauxhall Vectra) is a vastly better car, though.
- Ford Mustang: unsuitable for long trips.


Marginal:
- Chrysler Concorde: 5.30m long FWD car with a wheezy 2.7 V6 and terrible rear vision
- Dodge Intrepid: shorter version of the above, better handling, same engine. Unflattering interior.
- Ford Crown Victoria: large, thirsty V8, handles like a boat. Bonus: can pass off for a police cruiser

Good (relatively speaking...):
- Chrysler 300M
- Pontiac Grand Prix (to be replaced by G6)Bonneville
- Buick LeSabre, Park Avenue

You might be offered a Mazda 6, Nissan Altima, or Toyota Camry as full-size, all of which are good cars but equipped with (adequate) 4 cylinder engines in rental form. The nicer Nissan Maxima is a rare occurence. Honda does not sell to rental fleets.


The only commonly available affordable rental convertibles seem to be the Ford Mustang and the Chrysler Sebring. The second, while less charismatic, may be a better long-distance vehicle. The Ford Thunderbird, if available, would be the closest modern equivalent of what you are looking for. Trading your sedan for a convertible once in California may be a more sensible option.

As for the routing, I'll put in a word for a northern one going through MN, SD, WY, and down to CO, UT. Midwesterners are nice people, but their fields are flat and endless!

JeremyZ

This is an excellent suggestion.

And you'll pass by Vail (basically on I-70), which is kind of a cool town.

Nebraska and Pennsylvania on I-80 are awful. They take forever and are completely uninteresting. When you realize that you've been looking forward to passing Grand Island or Dubois for two hours, that's how you know you've been beaten.

Those who have will understand.

lili

Excellent advice monahos

But with 3 weeks you guys could drive NY-SF on the northern route, then return through Texas/Louisiana/Virginia. Migod would you be bored. Assuming you are good company for each other, have watched "Thelma and Louise" and understand you want to travel the distance to cover it inch by inch to have done it, you have good advice here.

lili, a frequent flyer after being abused as a child by being driven coast-to-coast way too many times. Australia scares me.

Comicwoman

I said I had a steak, not the entire cow. I dined elsewhere. The name escapes me. If the name becomes critical, I will do my best to find it.


------------------
In Minnesota, a walk in freezer is also called a backyard.

[This message has been edited by Comicwoman (edited Feb 15, 2004).]

moondog

IME, small Japanese cars command considerably more value in CA than NY. Furthermore, the SoCal car market doesn't take winters into account so you should have no trouble moving your war torn Civic onto someone who's never seen snow/salt/etc.

On the flipside, also IME people in NY pay big bucks for big, old, American cars in good condition, of which there are lots in California.

epi231

I did San Francisco to Boston this past June, essentially all on I-80 to NYC and then up 84 and 90 from there. Indeed, I-80 gets extremely boring East of Denver: the plains and fields just never end. PA is arguably more interesting with some rolling hills and forests. So definitely spend more time in CA, NV, UT, and CO if you can, though a prolonged stop in Chicago, I think, is very well justified.

Alex

rkkwan

lili is correct. Three weeks is enough to do a r/t. That'd be so so so much cheaper, as long as you get a car rental with unlimited mileage.

And it'd be cheaper to rent in LA. NYC has one of the highest rental rates of the country, and you don't get much car choice. Much better to rent from LA, but you do need to fly further.

I was a trucker for several years, and have also driven x-country several other times in a car. It's possible to drive solo coast-to-coast in about 4 days, including real sleep in hotels. You can do it even faster with two people, so 2-3 weeks is more than enough for a circle trip around the country, with no overlap.

If you want to rent exotics (like a big 50's Cadillac convertible, or a Ferrari Spyder), you basically have to rent in LA, Las Vegas or Miami. However, these types of rental always have limited mileage, so that option is out for long trips.

Here's the route I'd take if you have time for a circle trip, say from LA.

I-15 N to I-40, all the way across, with detours to Vegas & Grand Canyon; and with longer stops at Memphis (Graceland) and Nashville (Grand Ole Opry). Then take I-81 North through Virginia, and E on I-66 to see DC. I-95 to Philly and then New York. Go up to Boston if you have extra time.

On way back, I-80 to Ohio. If you want to see Chicago, stay on I-80, if not I-71 and I-70 to St. Louis (Gateway Arch). Continue West through Kansas City (eat ribs), pass Denver, cross the Rockies on I-70 to Utah. If you run out of time, or want to see the National Parks in Utah, take I-15 back to L.A. If you have time left, take US 50 ("Loniest Highway") across Nevada to Carlson City, Lake Tahoe, then drop down to San Francisco. Highway 101 along the coast back down to LA if you have time, or I-5 if you don't.

Or reverse the sequence.

[This message has been edited by rkkwan (edited Feb 15, 2004).]

WHBM

Wingnut:

Shame we didn't discuss this at the London Do yesterday.

I've done this myself, and also across Canada (which was a better trip). Instead of renting or purchase (which must be difficult) I have used

http://www.autodriveaway.com/

Which has cars that need moving around the country. Basically they give you a car for free that needs taking to XXX, you put the fuel in. It's all quite sensibly managed and has gone on for years. One holiday I took a Ford Capri (remember those?) right across Canada for them.