Date:         Mon, 2 Jul 2001 23:13:06 -0500
Reply-To:     Joel Walker <jwalker17@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <jwalker17@EARTHLINK.NET>
Organization: not likely
Subject:      nice idea - seems appropriate to our bunch :)
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On the Road
by Thos L. Bryant, Editor-in-Chief,
Road & Track,  August, 2001 issue

Every Mile a Memory

I've spent the better part of the past month driving in various places
in a small selection of cars.  My wife, Patty, and I went down to the
Carribean to the island of St. Lucia for the wedding of our niece,
Kristi Carlin.  While we were there for a week, we rented a Suzuki
Vitara with right-hand drive so we could make some excursions around
this island paradise.  The Vitara, a small sport-utility vehicle that
we probably wouldn't spend a lot of time in around Southern
California, was ideal for St. Lucia.  It was the proper size, had
plenty of performance, handled and rode decently and, best of all, had
a fabulous air conditioner.

A week to the day after that wedding, we found ourselves on the road
from Newport Beach to Lake Havasu at the California-Arizona border.
This time our nephew, Greg Laher, was getting married on the shore of
the lake.  We had a new Lexus LS430 for the 4.5 hour (each way) trek.
We couldn't stay the night there, so we knew we were in for a long day
on the road and at the lake.  Actually, it turned out to be a lovely
wedding ceremony, and then virtually everyone jumped into the lake to
find relief from the 105-degree temperature.

The Lexus LS430 now must rank as one of the two or three best cars in
the world for a long road trip.  It is as quiet as a sanctuary, making
conversation easy.  The ride quality is superb, as the Lexus glides
along Interstate highways and cambered two-lane blackstop desert roads
with a sure-footedness that is remarkable.  And it gives you such a
sense of security while it goes about its work.  The seats were
comfortable throughout the round trip, which began a little before 5
a.m. and concluded at 8 p.m.  Throughout the day, the air conditioning
system pumped cool refreshing air onto us even as the exterior
thermometer reading constantly hung near or above the century mark.

Four days after our Lexus Luxury Tour, Patty and I loaded Daisy and
Lucy, our golden retrievers, into a Mercedes-Benz E320 4Matic station
wagon and headed north on I-5, from Southern California to the Puget
Sound area of Washington, approximately 1200 miles north.  This is a
trip we make a couple of times a year and all four of us bask in the
serenity of two days on the road.

The scenery drifts by at a pace that allows us to take it in,
thoroughly and unhurriedly.  The rest area stops are always an
adventure for the dogs, and the Red Lion Inn in Redding, California,
provides an intermediate stopping place that is just fine, thank you.

I though a lot about SUVs as we drove along, surrounded by them as we
were.  And I read in the Seattle Times that our government was
apparently not going to do much to enforce new fuel-economy
regulations on these trucks that have become the family vehicle of so
many Americans.  What a shame.  The technology is there, of course,
but the cost would go up and thus adversely affect the profit made on
each of these trucks.  On the other hand, getting SUVs up to the fuel
economy level that cars must meet could save us billions of gallons of
oil.

Perhaps the market economy will change some minds.  We paid anywhere
from $1.75 to $2.25 per gallon for premium fuel on our trip.  Odds
are, the prices will go even higher before the summer is over.  But
Americans have always loved the open road, as we do.  And the joy of
being in a smooth-riding, good-handling car for the 2400 miles was
absolutely delicious.  As a matter of fact, Patty seems to think that
this Mercedes wagon would be a wonderful new car for her in the near
future.   And I think she's right, as we were able to carry a wide
assortment of boxes and bags and suitcases and loose junk on our trip
to Washington.  We try to blame it on the dogs, but the truth is they
are perfectly happy to set out for any destination with a water jug
and a bag of dog food.

The good part is, though, that getting into your car and driving for
days on end is still one of the great freedoms and joys of our lives.
You can go where you want, when you want and at the pace you care to
travel.  Our nation is geared to provide whatever the road traveler
needs, from fast food to fueling stations with mini-markets in them,
from campgrounds to luxury inns and motels.  If you've been spending
too much time on airplanes and in airports, like some of us, let me
suggest on short phrase to you:

Road Trip!!!