Mini-road trip in the Buick

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For the day after Thanksgiving, we wanted to get out of town for a bit. There is a small town called Ponchatoula, yes, of the world-renowned Strawberry Festival, about 75 minutes' drive by Interstate. We hadn't been there for a couple of years, and I really haven't given the Buick LaCrosse a good run in a while (hot weather plus the Severe Cold hysteria). So I made sure the tires were properly aired, and off we went.

The Buick performed superbly. Not all the interstate surfaces are good -- there are smooth stretches, oddly enough, in town; but when we turned north onto I-55, the elevated portion, it's not smooth, and there was road noise. But I set the cruise control (a very intuitive-to-use unit, the same used on my Regal, and the same control layout as my BMW had) for 72, and off we went, windows shut and A/C working comfortably. (It hit a humid 82 degrees yesterday -- in almost December. Gah.)

I stuck to the right lane, as I was in no hurry, and everybody and his brother zoomed past me as if they were going to get free gas or food at their destinations. Occasionally I had to zip around someone who was going well under 70, the speed limit, and back into the right lane, and the Buick shot up to nearly 80 with the sensation of controlled flight.

Not much was open. We had lunch at a cafe there; Linda bought some duck pellets to distribute to the ducks in the parks here; and we flew back home averaging 70. The average fuel mileage was a hair over 26 . . . which includes commuting and short runs since I gassed up on 11/16, and is respectable for a big car with two people in it and running the A/C as we went.

Perhaps the Gulf Coast would be a good destination after Christmas!
 
Sounds like you got some serious relaxation during that trip. That is very good for a couple to do that on a regular basis. We did that on a trip to treasure island,fl in the 1st and second week in November. Great step back from everything at home.
 
Sounds like you got some serious relaxation during that trip. That is very good for a couple to do that on a regular basis. We did that on a trip to treasure island,fl in the 1st and second week in November. Great step back from everything at home.
If I've had the transmission, brake, and coolant fluids done, and bought my new tires by then -- or even if I haven't -- a run to southern MS would be a good deal between Xmas and New Year's. The I-10 east to MS is nicely paved, so is the highway in that state, and even Hwy. 90 along the water was in good shape the last time I was there.

State highways in LA are a horror. But I recall driving on a stretch of MS state highway heading toward the Gulf in the Park Avenue in late '13. For an instant I thought something was wrong with the car -- because the road was truly paved, there was nothing for the tires and suspension to fight!

I'd really love to get the big car out and onto some TX roads, too.
 
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State highways in LA are a horror. But I recall driving on a stretch of MS state highway heading toward the Gulf in the Park Avenue in late '13. For an instant I thought something was wrong with the car -- because the road was truly paved, there was nothing for the tires and suspension to fight!
Out of curiosity what is the favorite vehicle of law enforcement in vehicle LA?
 
Out of curiosity what is the favorite vehicle of law enforcement in vehicle LA?
SUVs -- either a Chevy, the Suburban I think, or the Ford Explorer. You'll still see some of the old Crown Vics in service. They have some Ford Tauruses and NIssan Cubes parked as photo enforcement vehicles. And when I was in the French Quarter on Thanksgiving night, I saw a rank of patrol vehicles parked outside the precinct on Royal Street . . . a bunch of specially blacked-out Smarts!
 
SUVs -- either a Chevy, the Suburban I think, or the Ford Explorer. You'll still see some of the old Crown Vics in service. They have some Ford Tauruses and NIssan Cubes parked as photo enforcement vehicles. And when I was in the French Quarter on Thanksgiving night, I saw a rank of patrol vehicles parked outside the precinct on Royal Street . . . a bunch of specially blacked-out Smarts!

Thank you.
 
nice road trip report in a comfortable cruiser, cheers!

benzadmiral, how is the buick lacrosse on surburban, around town, duty? now that buick is sadly out of the sedan business i imagine that cpo buick sedans would be excellent values. your thoughts?
 
nice road trip report in a comfortable cruiser, cheers!

benzadmiral, how is the buick lacrosse on surburban, around town, duty? now that buick is sadly out of the sedan business i imagine that cpo buick sedans would be excellent values. your thoughts?
The LaCrosse is my only vehicle and functions as my commute car, errand runner, you name it. It rides well on the terrible streets, is nimble for its size, runs on regular (only about 22 mpg overall, but then I'm doing 80% city driving), and, I've discovered, folds the rear seat backs down so that you can load large objects like a flat-screen TV into it. Good A/C and heat. The only repairs I've done in 15 months are the battery, which was 4 years old when it died, and patching of 3 tires, plus oil changes and tire rotations. I've added floor mats and sport pedals (for some reason Buick goes cheap on gas pedals). Coolant, brake fluid, and transmission fluid will be changed before January, and I need to shop for tires, as the Goodyears are evincing some dry rot.

CPO or late model Buicks are excellent values. Instead everybody seems to want the whale-sized SUV the Enclave, the athletic shoe on wheels Encore, or other SUVs from Chevy or Cadillac.
 
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Nice report on your road trip! A friend of ours wants to go to St. Augustine for her Christmas present, about 2.5 hrs from here. I think it will be a good trip for the E300. Lord knows it hasn't gotten much use since the pandemic started.
I think I'll run the center lane on I95, which puts the speed limit about 77. Left lane is 80+, and right lane is for the speed limit (70), and trucks.
Not exactly sure what she wants to see there....shopping I suppose.
 
Nice report on your road trip! A friend of ours wants to go to St. Augustine for her Christmas present, about 2.5 hrs from here. I think it will be a good trip for the E300. Lord knows it hasn't gotten much use since the pandemic started.
I think I'll run the center lane on I95, which puts the speed limit about 77. Left lane is 80+, and right lane is for the speed limit (70), and trucks.
Not exactly sure what she wants to see there....shopping I suppose.
Two and a half hours would take me almost to Alexandria, or to Mobile, AL. I once ran the Park Avenue up to Alex to see a cat show, but there really isn't much up there, and I-10 near Lafayette and I-49 are pretty lousy in road surface. Out to Mobile would be cool . . . perhaps drive up and visit Harper Lee's home town . . .?
 
Two and a half hours would take me almost to Alexandria, or to Mobile, AL. I once ran the Park Avenue up to Alex to see a cat show, but there really isn't much up there, and I-10 near Lafayette and I-49 are pretty lousy in road surface.
Yeah, I was thinking of Macllenny FL. St Augustine is only an hour and a half one way. Still a nice ride.
 
We ran out to the Gulf Coast yesterday! 175 miles round trip, 31.2 mpg on E0 (and this in a big sedan w/ 300 hp and carrying one lightweight passenger as well). At speeds between 60 and 70 on the Interstate, 35 psi in the tires, the Buick was utterly smooth on good roads, composed on poorer ones -- and southern MS has vastly better roads than Da Swamp State. I swear, as we crossed back into LA from MS, the car looked back over its shoulder like a horse at his cowboy and whimpered, "Do we have to go back, Boss?"

The oil life is down to 31% from the 33% it was when we started out. I'm having the winter OC done next week, and new tires, probably Continentals, put on. Transmission fluid and coolant are done. The big beast will be set for some time.
 
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