Comments on: AutoRoute: Driving the USA

By: Bavarian Missile (.)(.)

Bavarian Missile (.)(.) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:46:25 +0000

Drove the Hertz Shelby Stang down the Coast from San Fran and LA in 2007,compared to the BA GT we had at that time it made the Stang feel old . Good looking car but the underside we build it much better here in Australia.

By: Old CarAdvice Reader

Old CarAdvice Reader — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 00:29:19 +0000

I’ve been around California last year and the place was excellent. I read this in envy of how you drove a f***ing Mustang! Now I can’t wait to go back there and this time be in a Mustang.

But I liked it over there, it was my first overseas holiday and I was incredibly surprised with how much the same it feels over there as it is here. Some people didn’t get me as to how I would like it over there, before I went I was told as if I didn’t know that people get mugged in LA and it’s really dangerous in America etc. Load of BS… I mean I’m not saying it’s safe over there but some people I know who haven’t even been to the U.S. kind of overstate the dangers over there. The trip in general was very close to being fantastic except the Hertz branch we picked the car up from didn’t have Mustangs. I was wanting a Mustang not caring if it will be a coupe or convertible but some how the car we specified was convertible and the only convertibles they had there were the most ugliest cars of all… The Toyota Camry Solara – It seriously defeated the whole reason why I wanted to travel by car. But oh well, hopefully better luck next time….

By: zegot

zegot — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 03:30:56 +0000

You can’t blame the build quality entirely on the people who assemble the car. I think Ford workers in America try to build well assembled vehicles, but the pressure is enormous by Ford to their suppliers to keep cutting cost. It has to show somewhere. It’s like a badly made model car kit, there’s only so much you can do if the parts are only designed to be “snap fitted” or poorly molded in the first place.

By: Zorro

Zorro — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 02:55:46 +0000

What about the pricing! 20K gets you a large/medium size convertable with V6 to cruise and enjoy with the top down. What can you buy here for that money? Nothing to compare with that. Might have been a few quality issues, but then so has every hire car I’ve ever driven. God bless the U S of A!

By: MPS Carl

MPS Carl — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:51:41 +0000

I drove the hardtop version of that same car from Palm Springs via the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Death Valley back to LA. Yes I agree, the car is underwhelming and I never quite felt “at home” or comfortable in it. On the way back home, stopped off in Tahiti and hired a Citroen C3 manual to drive around in. I felt SO much better to drive than the Mustang…

By: Constable Care

Constable Care — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 13:23:30 +0000

my favourite is the 70′s mustang, awesome engineering.

By: Robin Graves

Robin Graves — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:55:20 +0000

Did a weekender in December around Texas, but in a hardtop Mustang. No quality gripes, felt solid except for the live axle squirming around a bit, but the motor was asthmatic. It had leather seats which were nice and comfortable. I couldnt believe how closely spaced first and second gears were in the auto?

By: Cupid Stunt

Cupid Stunt — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 11:13:58 +0000

I to have done part of that run from the Yosemite to San Fran some part are fantastic particularly the winding decent as stated giving the brakes a work over. Other parts are deadly boring. Highway 1 was the nice part for me.

Nice article pity about the crap car. Should have done the Pontiac thing.

By: Gibbo

Gibbo — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:25:40 +0000

Nice article, I have always wanted to do a road trip accross America in a muscle car. Dont think I could settle for the V6 ‘stang tho… gotta have some thing with a V8 so theres something to listen to

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 08:31:25 +0000

Hi Biggles,

The trip and subsequent story were completed by our AutoRoute correspondent Josh McKenzie.

Josh funds the trips himself and contributes his stories to the site on a semi-regular basis (also brought us the NZ South Island story).

Many thanks for your comments.

Cheers Matt.