Road Tripping in the USA!
- Thread starter [TW]Fox
- Start date
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
The pictures are meaningless. There are no 300's in the LCAR class with Alamo/National.
Though to be honest the new 300 is a fairly excellent car - it's a PCAR though not an LCAR. You can even pick up V8's in Premium from time to time.
Don't pick a car based on the 'Or Similar' picture on comparison sites!
Though to be honest the new 300 is a fairly excellent car - it's a PCAR though not an LCAR. You can even pick up V8's in Premium from time to time.
Don't pick a car based on the 'Or Similar' picture on comparison sites!
This is with Hertz, not sure if that makes any difference. They seem to be quite a bit fairer with one way charges than Alamo too. I'm not overly hung up about what I get as long as it eats miles with minimal fuss and isn't totally rubbish, I don't share your high standards 
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Seems like you can get a Cadillac ATS on XSAR, not seen it come up on any quotes I've done so far. Found this list, not sure how current/accurate it is.
Premium (G, PCAR)
Buick Regal G PCAR
Buick Lucerne G PCAR (2011 final model year)
Ford Crown Victoria G PCAR (2011 final model year)
Ford Taurus G PCAR
Mercury Grand Marquis G PCAR (2011 final model year)
Volkswagen CC G PCAR
Buick Lacrosse G, H, YH PCAR, LCAR (27 mpg)
Nissan Maxima G, H, YH PCAR (CVT, prem. fuel req'd., 24 mpg)
Hyundai Genesis G, I PCAR
Volvo S60 G, YH, YI PCAR (Formerly in Prestige Collection)
Premier Premium (H)/Luxury (I, LCAR)
BMW 328i (or other 3 Series) YH
BMW 528i (or other 5 Series) YH
Cadillac DTS H, I, YI LCAR (2011 final model year)
Cadillac STS H LCAR (2011 final model year)
Lincoln MKZ H LCAR
Buick LaCrosse H, YH, G LCAR, PCAR (Formerly PCAR class label)
Lincoln Town Car H, YH LCAR (2011 final model year; 24 mpg)
Chrysler 300 H, I LCAR (24 mpg)
Toyota Avalon H, YI LCAR
Cadillac CTS (sedan and coupe) YH, I, YI LCAR (Formerly listed in Prestige Collection as LSAR)
Lincoln MKS LCAR
Premium (G, PCAR)
Buick Regal G PCAR
Buick Lucerne G PCAR (2011 final model year)
Ford Crown Victoria G PCAR (2011 final model year)
Ford Taurus G PCAR
Mercury Grand Marquis G PCAR (2011 final model year)
Volkswagen CC G PCAR
Buick Lacrosse G, H, YH PCAR, LCAR (27 mpg)
Nissan Maxima G, H, YH PCAR (CVT, prem. fuel req'd., 24 mpg)
Hyundai Genesis G, I PCAR
Volvo S60 G, YH, YI PCAR (Formerly in Prestige Collection)
Premier Premium (H)/Luxury (I, LCAR)
BMW 328i (or other 3 Series) YH
BMW 528i (or other 5 Series) YH
Cadillac DTS H, I, YI LCAR (2011 final model year)
Cadillac STS H LCAR (2011 final model year)
Lincoln MKZ H LCAR
Buick LaCrosse H, YH, G LCAR, PCAR (Formerly PCAR class label)
Lincoln Town Car H, YH LCAR (2011 final model year; 24 mpg)
Chrysler 300 H, I LCAR (24 mpg)
Toyota Avalon H, YI LCAR
Cadillac CTS (sedan and coupe) YH, I, YI LCAR (Formerly listed in Prestige Collection as LSAR)
Lincoln MKS LCAR
Soldato
[TW]Fox;25498740 said:
You have done a lot there that is next on my list. I have been eyeing up the Going to the Sun road ever since I started doing USA road trips. I would love to get there, it's more difficult now with a 20 month old.
Soldato
Great write up, now this is another trip on the to do list!
Associate
Road to the sun, a few for fox
Did glacier 2 years ago 3 days camping after nine days in yellowstone and 3 days in the tetons. We did not have a problem hiring a car in winnipeg for the three weeks, it must have been cheaper than vancouver. We did the pacific north west 17 years ago and did almost the same route as Fox
west entrance to glacier
The road
not a relaxing drive with trucks coming the other way,we drove it 3 times in the 3 days.
near the top
We were there 16th of august and it had only been open 5 weeks by then.
going down heading east.
last view of mountains before a 2 day drive back to winnipeg.
California next year.
Did glacier 2 years ago 3 days camping after nine days in yellowstone and 3 days in the tetons. We did not have a problem hiring a car in winnipeg for the three weeks, it must have been cheaper than vancouver. We did the pacific north west 17 years ago and did almost the same route as Fox
west entrance to glacier
The road
not a relaxing drive with trucks coming the other way,we drove it 3 times in the 3 days.
near the top
We were there 16th of august and it had only been open 5 weeks by then.
going down heading east.
last view of mountains before a 2 day drive back to winnipeg.
California next year.
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Associate
The trucks were the ones repairing the road, not huge ones but big enough when there is a shear drop one side and a rock wall on the other.
Soldato
You said about not knowing of Columbia River Gorges scenic road status, when I have done my trips I have used this site http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/byways/ It lists all of the scenic byways in the US, Would have missed some gems without it.
This is one of the best I have driven http://www.scenicbyway12.com/
They have been rebuilding the Going to the Sun road over the last few years, repairing a lot of stone walls I think.
This is one of the best I have driven http://www.scenicbyway12.com/
They have been rebuilding the Going to the Sun road over the last few years, repairing a lot of stone walls I think.
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Soldato
Love reading this thread. After me and the wife go backpacking in Vietnam/cambodia/malaysia + others next year, we want to do 3 or so weeks in USA on a road trip in 2015. Would to try somewhere a little different from the usual LA > LV > SF but not looked into it much.
Are Corvettes crazy money to hire? Can't seem to get a quote on some of the obvious companies for hiring a car.
Are Corvettes crazy money to hire? Can't seem to get a quote on some of the obvious companies for hiring a car.
Soldato
My favourite out of the ones I have done was a figure of 8 loop out of Las Vegas.
Flew to Chicago, on to LV > Zion > Bryce Canyon > Scenic Route 12 > Salt Lake City > Bonneville Salt flats > West Yellowstone > Yellowstone NP > Grand Teton NP > Jackson Hole > Salt Lake City > Arches NP > Canyonlands NP > Moab > Monument Valley > Page > Lake Powell > Glen Canyon Dam > Horseshoe Bend > Grand Canyon > Flagstaff > Hoover Dam > Las Vegas > Flight back to Chicago and 2 nights there.
Flew to Chicago, on to LV > Zion > Bryce Canyon > Scenic Route 12 > Salt Lake City > Bonneville Salt flats > West Yellowstone > Yellowstone NP > Grand Teton NP > Jackson Hole > Salt Lake City > Arches NP > Canyonlands NP > Moab > Monument Valley > Page > Lake Powell > Glen Canyon Dam > Horseshoe Bend > Grand Canyon > Flagstaff > Hoover Dam > Las Vegas > Flight back to Chicago and 2 nights there.
Soldato
[TW]Fox;25501094 said:
Makes sense. Just managed to get a quote from Hertz for £1000 for 14 days whereas Luxury from Alamo is under £600.
I did the LA > LV > SF thing but broke it up in smaller sections. This is a mini write-up of my trip, only 4 years overdue.
LA - Stayed in Santa Monica which was lovely but LA itself is a dump, Hollywood is only good for a quick walk around and you want to get out as soon as you've seen what you wanted to. LA Zoo was good, apart from Churro stalls every 5 yards.
San Bernardino - Really lovely, the drive up the Rim of the World Highway gives great views and Lake Arrowhead/Big Bear Lake was a nice place to relax for a couple of days.
Las Vegas - Drove to LV via the Mojave National Preserve, it was stunning and a total contrast to the weather up in the San San Bernardino mountains. Worth the slight detour, very surreal. LV itself was okay, a trip to the Hoover Dam is very worthwhile, a real impressive piece of engineering when seen up close. The only thing I regret not doing was a chopper trim over the Grand Canyon.
Death Valley - Wouldn't spend an awful lot of time there, but the heat was tolerable as it was late may/early June. Watching the thermometer rise as you get closer to sea level was amusing, mainly drove though and got out the car at points of interest. Well worth seeing though.
This is where things went a bit awry, I was betting on the Tioga Pass to be open in time for us to use it after passing Death Valley. Checked online and it wasn't. Instead of staying in a pleasant sleepy town called Lone Pine, we had to take the long way around and ended up in Bakersfield. What a hell hole, I am so glad it was an overnight stop, I was expecting it to be dull but it was like stepping back in a time machine to the 80s, horrible bland place. Going in late June/July will help increase the likelihood of you not ending up there.
Yosemite - The drive up to Yosemite was dull, due to the detour but once you hit the national park you soon forgot, did all the typical tourist things like stay in a log cabin, got eaten to death by insects, Bridalveil Fall, took trips to Glacier Point and the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir which were both beautiful places to visit. A couple of days before I was drinking my bodyweight in water, now I'm getting out the car and stepping into snow.
San Francisco - The drive from Yosemite to SF was stunning, plenty of twists and turns and would have been a lot of fun in something more engaging. I don't remember specifics on route and didn't stop to take pics, mainly because the autobox drone sent me off into a deep sleeep. I'll try and piece it together on google maps from memory. San Francisco was by far my favourite stop on the trip, such a great city with plenty to do, again I ticked all the usual tourist boxes, Alcatraz, Coit Tower, Lombard Street (the wiggly bit), Pier 39, Golden Gate Bridge etc. Doing the same trip again I would schedule in a couple more days there.
Alcatraz Island by Bryan Janes, on Flickr
Next bit was the start of the Pacific Coast Highway Trip, first stop was Monterey which was lovely but a bit boring, the Aquarium was great. Then down to Santa Barbara and then a plane home.
The PCH is what you expect really, it's a road with beautiful views, probably over-hyped and I'm sure there's better drives in America, but it's well worth doing.
The final bit will have fox in stitches, I am sure of it. Both under 25 and on a budget... I present to you, the 2010 Toyota Camry. Pretty much the automotive equivalent of a brown paper bag. The gearbox sounded rough after two weeks of abuse through deserts and mountains, was pretty happy to see the back of it, but it did the job.
There's plenty that I've missed and I haven't done the trip much justice, but that's a brief outline.
I'll keep a better record of my next trip, for my own record keeping if anything.
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£600 is expensive, for 14 days you should be nearer £400.s
Scenic Byway 12 is utterly fantastic. Being snowed on in a redrock desert it one of the oddest things I've experienced!
In May I drove across the states with a mate, NYC to LA, over 22 days and cost us £600 for a Chevy Tahoe V8 from Hertz. Booked on the Irish Hertz website in euros which was interesting, over £200 cheaper than the same booking on the UK website. Put over 6000 miles on it, ripped a third of the front bumper off and got rear ended by a Porsche in LA on the way to LAX to catch our flights home.
Epic.
Epic.