What’s the ultimate road trip car?

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Road trips are good.
Car doesn't matter so much, it sort of guides the type of enjoyment.

1975 Vega. Me road-tripping with my student engineer friends. "Hey, how fast will this thing go?" Held it wide-open for 10 minutes, enough to know the absolute top speed on the flat was 106 mph. Engine didn't have enough power to hurt itself, couldn't spin over 5000 rpm.

In High School I use to return cars for Budjet Rent A Car from the Airport into Downtown Pittsburgh for a few extra bucks on the weekends. I remember that Granada's were the worst when it came to power and aerodynamics. Coming down Greentree Hill towards the Fort Pitt Tunnel heading towards the city, I could never get one of those Granada's to go over 83 mph down that hill.

My Prius if your driving the speed limit 55 mph and at the top of the hill, if you put the car in neural, the Prius will hit triple digits coasting down that same hill.
 
In High School I use to return cars for Budjet Rent A Car from the Airport into Downtown Pittsburgh for a few extra bucks on the weekends. I remember that Granada's were the worst when it came to power and aerodynamics. Coming down Greentree Hill towards the Fort Pitt Tunnel heading towards the city, I could never get one of those Granada's to go over 83 mph down that hill.

My Prius if your driving the speed limit 55 mph and at the top of the hill, if you put the car in neural, the Prius will hit triple digits coasting down that same hill.
I agree, those Granadas were pos's.
 
I rented a Mercury GM for a trip to Jersey and we had little bizz bombs for work commuting.

It was great! stiff rear, front end flop, 30 MPG at 75-80mph. Like a Sea Ray up on plane !


mercGM.jpg
 
The ultimate road trip vehicle is the Chevrolet Suburban. Plenty of power and SAFE when your out on the highway surrounded by tractor trailers. Plus decent highway mileage on plain old 87 octane.
Yeah … after a week in my Wrangler … a 3 hour trip in the Tahoe was heaven 😷
 
My vote goes to a 1999 Cadillac STS. Northstar V8, w/different cam from factory, slightly lower gear ratio for the final drive which oddly enough, did not impact fuel economy.
That Northstar would rev like crazy when passing on the interstate. 70 to 100 seemed to take about 2 seconds, which is exactly what you want on the highway.
I added a front strut tower brace from an Eldoardo ETC and the steering/front suspension firmed up nicely. This model had the shocks/struts with adjustable valving so very stable on the road.
The only car that my wife would immediately fall asleep in the passenger seat as soon as we hit the interstate.
 
I just did about 2,000 miles from Kingman to Carlsbad Caverns and back in my 2005 Jetta TDI wagon. 800 miles per tank, 50 mpg with AC on at 65 to 70 mph and comfortable seats. Room for everything. Other cars might go faster (mine will too) and have better seats, but the overall combination works great.
It's too bad that VW diesels got such a bad reputation from Dieselgate. You're using that car for what it was designed to do. Jetta TDI with a 5-speed stick is on my list of cars to have before I die.
 
I've had a couple real nice highway riders.

Late 90's Buick Park Ave with the 3.8L V6 3800 Engine.

Mid 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis with the 4.6L V8

Both of these car have enough power for merging and passing, while getting close to 30 MPG, and floating down the road in plush leather with fake wood grain.

How times have changed LOL.
 
Ultimate road trip car??? A mint condition 1972 Lincoln Town Car.
I was thinking along those lines. Wouldn’t necessarily do that much worse than OP’s 20 mpg either.

My personal choice would be a w126 Mercedes diesel.
 
My pick for long highway drives, fast, smooth and quiet. ;)
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There was a 2L tubo awd one of these German Buick GS for sale near me pretty cheap. I went and sat in it around the time my Jetta lease was about to expire. I wasn't comfortable for some reason in the seats. Didn't get a good vibe from it. Then I sat in a new Camaro LT-1 base. Those seats were awesome! But the shifter was bad, so I didnt buy that. The salesman was trying to talk me out of the Camaro, " I don't want you to come back in a week, unhappy". Then I asked him if he was "secretly saving that car for someone :)
 
There was a 2L tubo awd one of these German Buick GS for sale near me pretty cheap. I went and sat in it around the time my Jetta lease was about to expire. I wasn't comfortable for some reason in the seats. Didn't get a good vibe from it. Then I sat in a new Camaro LT-1 base. Those seats were awesome! But the shifter was bad, so I didnt buy that. The salesman was trying to talk me out of the Camaro, " I don't want you to come back in a week, unhappy". Then I asked him if he was "secretly saving that car for someone :)
Love the seats in mine, feel like they hug the body. ;)
 
I've had a couple real nice highway riders.

Late 90's Buick Park Ave with the 3.8L V6 3800 Engine.

Mid 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis with the 4.6L V8

Both of these car have enough power for merging and passing, while getting close to 30 MPG, and floating down the road in plush leather with fake wood grain.

How times have changed LOL.
My sister bought an MGM right before they shut down production … burgundy metallic with tan leather … sharp … highway star in its day …
 
I really love my 1984 300sd Mercedes for a good long road trip. It is made for the road! Of coarse, my 123 (240d) ever since the rear end was replaced with an 1985 2.88 rear end from the 3.69 that it came with has transformed the 240d to a real road car!! It is more quite, better fuel mileage, less oil consumption. But, then again, my 1995 e300d with the 606 rides really well along with excellent mpg's. A very difficult choice!!
 
Years ago I had a '76 Continental Mark IV. It was as comfortable as sitting at home on the sofa. It was also the ultimate gas hog.
 
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