Antique & Classic Cars Blog

A good friend now living abroad has long talked of touring the US in a 1950s Cadillac. While he owns a couple sports cars, he loves cruisers, the meaty, beaty, big and bouncy vehicles that sail the navigable roadways as much as drive them.

Perhaps the reason that style of vehicle never occurs to me is a difference in the fantasy. He is picturing the plains and desert thoroughfares across the Heartland and West, roads so long and straight they disappear from view, front and rear, due to the earth’s curvature and not bends or obstructions, natural or manmade. He’d have Elvis on and the top down, the needle hovering around 80 all day long.

My touring fantasy is more narrow roads and hilly to mountainous terrain. For this only the nimble car will do. I imagine the incremental rise in engine note downshifting into sweeping turns and blind switchbacks, the view ahead a surprise to be revealed after each stand of trees or hillside goes past.

Obviously, these two visions require different wheels. (Let’s pretend gas is cheap. Prius touring doesn’t cut it as a fantasy.) His choice feels about right for the long desert highway. Of course Vanishing Point and Gumball Rally air out some other choices, but they’re racing around, and we’re talking cruising. Would a Challenger be as fun as a Caddy for that?

For my mountain tour, I’m thinking an E-Jag with a tight suspension and good, modern tires. A coupe would look great and have a bit more rigidity, but the drop top has a trunk to hide some small luggage. Either would be just fine. The car was built for such work and nothing looks better parked on a scenic roadside than a Jaguar E-type.

Anybody got another car you’ve always dreamed of taking off in for an extended tour?

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 18th, 2008 at 7:20 am and is filed under Car stories. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.