A road trip is as close to a spiritual journey as many people exact from the harried modern world. Some stretches of highway beg to be eclipsed, distances swallowed in great gulps of combustion. Other routes encourage dawdling, if by comely vistas or avid speed enforcement. All require a worthy chariot.
There is a skill set required for road tripping that falls outside the normal criteria used to rate cars. Twenty thousand satisfying and comfortable miles commuting in a Nissan 350Z, for example, did not intimate that halfway across the United States yours truly would be lying flat at a rest stop, back in full spasm after 14 hours in seats as free of lumbar support as an ironing board. Otherwise forgettable cars such as the Buick Lucerne, however, are damn fine choices for going straight.
Other caveats apply. The thrum of tires, which you might not notice around town, can quash your happiness on the open road like a nine-year-old going through Adderall withdrawal behind you on a transcontinental flight. When you leave the cushion of public radio behind and the only available stations either twang at you or provide frequent assurance that you’re going to hell, amenities such as satellite radio and built-in hard drives are mighty attractive. Kids in the back? A DVD entertainment system is an indispensable ally.
You worry less about lumbar, comfort, and ride when you’re road trippin’ on a whole galaxy of multicolored uppers, downers, screamers, and laughers, but we’re not all gonzo, and we need vehicles that fill the bill—comfortable, smooth, and sometimes fast. We offer you five vehicles, all uniquely equipped to offer hauling happiness based on your cash, accouterment, and load requirements.
Article source: http://www.caranddriver.com/features/08q2/road-trippers_-feature
