USA Boring Hire Cars

[stubbsy996]

Just returned from short visit to Florida
Hire car (I think) was a Chrysler? Boring or what??
Automatic, couldn't hear the engine, soft suspension, non sporty seats, plastic trim etc! Couldn't wait to get in the Porsche when I got back!
Ignored wife's comment "this is a lot more comfortable than your car"
So has anyone hired anything worth driving on their trip to Florida, or USA?
If so what would you recommend?

Edited by stubbsy996 on Saturday 10th May 17:50

[madala]

.....Mustang GT.....but still ain't gonna be like your Pork so any comparison is not worth a jot.

To be honest when I am in the States and doing a long tour on straight boring highways....all I want is a decent V6 with power steering and air-con.....can't say I have been on many twisty and exciting bits of raod on my Stateside travels....but there again I ain't really been looking....

[Benengo]

Last time i was in texas i was offered an upgrade... I asked the lad for something a bit cool and she said she had a dodge charger available.... OMG Duke of Hazard I thought... titanic in neutral i got...boo hoo

[stuttgartmetal]

Benengo said:

Last time i was in texas i was offered an upgrade... I asked the lad for something a bit cool and she said she had a dodge charger available.... OMG Duke of Hazard I thought... titanic in neutral i got...boo hoo

sorry to be picky Ben, but

" I asked the lad........... she said.....


"Duke of Hazard" what THE Duke ?

and

"titanic in neutral I got boo hoo "?


pass the bong





I had a 300c last year, perfect.

[anonymous-user]

madala said:

.....Mustang GT.....

sorry the mustang gt i had was the worst car i've ever driven and i've driven some real cr*p. utterly, utterly gutless. noisy. HEAVY. understeery, crashy ride. just woefull. oh and the auto makes tiptronic feel good. never ever again. even the wife said it was pathetic from the passenger seat. in contrast the toyota blandmobile saloon thing i had yesterday kicked its ar5e in every way apart from looks and name.

[anonymous-user]

oh sorry to answer the question. no. anything nicer than say a volvo v70 is classed as a "premium vee-hicle" which generally have low mileage limits. fvck all use in this country really. you can do more but you really pay up for them so its just not worth it.

[Quaint]

In terms of interesting roads, Route 1 down the California coast from San Francisco to Monterey to Santa Cruz is pretty damn fine. Shame I had to drive it in a Mercury Sable with a (gasp!) 3-litre V6 making an astonishing 130 bhp...

Going back in August, and Hertz are providing us with a 350Z roadster. An Auto, but at least it should handle well-ish and make a decent noise.

[Nano2nd]

just got back from florida yesterday, had a 300c... was abit dull but looked cool needed a big V8

there was a place on i-drive hiring more interesting cars, they had a couple of 430's and an SLR Mclaren... i bet they rate wasn't as good though!

[madala]

...have driven route one from SanFran all the way down to San Diego....very scenic but would not say that excitng to drive even in a Porsche....now some of the roads off it up into the mountains are a bit more fun.

As for the Mustang GT haven't driven it myself.....was just giving a option that I thought might be a bit more exciting in the hire car range....but let's face it most American metal is pretty damn boring at the best of times...anyone driven the Ford GT....I imagine that might be a bit more fun.

[Rick the Builder]

Quaint said:

In terms of interesting roads, Route 1 down the California coast from San Francisco to Monterey to Santa Cruz is pretty damn fine. Shame I had to drive it in a Mercury Sable with a (gasp!) 3-litre V6 making an astonishing 130 bhp...

Going back in August, and Hertz are providing us with a 350Z roadster. An Auto, but at least it should handle well-ish and make a decent noise.

I'm afraid I can beat that. Drove this with my wife and 3 kids on board, in a 8 seat Oldsmobile Minivan! At more than 30 mph in a bend (and there is a lot of them) it would lurch and understeer towards the cliff edge! And, the auto would constantly hunt up and down the 'thoroughly modern' 3 speed box. Can you get any worse?

[Gusdaq]

Mustang GT definately, convertable or coupe, both wonderful fun!

[rathur]

ford mustang hertz limited edition cabrio , black with gold stripes, LA to Las Vegas at night with roof off.....great fun , although got done for speeding at 130mph....200$ fine, as not to bad.

[Don]

Yeah. Best hire car was a Mustang GT. I got the convertible. It was great fun driving up the Icefields Parkway in Canada with the roof down. As a car it had enough power, a softer ride that suited the wide, perhaps less well kept roads but the auto-box was woeful unless you really worked it and used the "hold" gears to keep it in third for some immediate grunt.

[Pugsey]

Spend a fair bit of time over there and usually hire the biggest,most 'sod off' 4x4 to immerse ourselves in the 'American way'. They're also very comfy on the roads in the States. I can highly recommend a Chrysler Mountaineer - truly awfull and wonderful at the same time!

HOWEVER I'm suprised you found the choice boring in Florida. I spend a fair percentage of my time in the States there and in particular in Miami and the Keys and you can hire ANYTHING very easily there. ZO6s, Ferraris, Porches or fab old 50s classics. Your hotel will point you in the right direction and usually get you a discount or - try the web. Hired a Z06 last visit but sorted a 997Turbo Cab for a few weeks time - although that's in LA (again arranged through my hotel).

Edited by Pugsey on Tuesday 13th May 09:50

[Don]

There are probably specialist firms in most cities in the States and Canada that could get you a truly interesting car. The problem could be insurance...The only lot I tried to get a Porsche off would hire me one - but they required me to insure it myself and that was waaay too hard in the States for a Brit for it to be worth it.

[freshy]

Every time I go it has to be a big SUV for me, a Lincoln Navigator or Cadillac Escalade... I will not be driving these in the UK so I try them in the USA instead. Next time I might try the Hummer H2.

[anonymous-user]

http://www.gothamdreamcars.com/

[Pugsey]

Don said:

There are probably specialist firms in most cities in the States and Canada that could get you a truly interesting car. The problem could be insurance...The only lot I tried to get a Porsche off would hire me one - but they required me to insure it myself and that was waaay too hard in the States for a Brit for it to be worth it.

See my post above - they always come with insurance no probs. Might be that LA and Miami are more geared up for this market than other cities though.

[Porkmyride]

I've had a few interesting hire cars in the states,

Rented a BMW 330 convertible in Orlando for a drive down to Key west - it's funny driving a european car over there as they can blitz most of the under-engineered amercian tat.

Vegas is the best place I've found for fun cars though, I've been a few times and have rented:

Boxster
911 Cab
Merc SL500
BMW Z4

My favourite, unsuprisingly was the 911 - amazingly for an amercian hire car it was a manual and it was a great feeling flying down the strip, with the roof off day or night.

Hertz are pretty good I've found - I'm using them for my trip this year and I'm renting a Shelby Mustang (thought I'd try some american tat). We've also got a day trip to the Grand Canyon where we drive ourselves there in a Hummer H2 !

When pulling out of junctions in the states I often find myself saying "Stay to right, stay to the right..."

[clorenzen]

Used a prestige auto rental agency in Miami Beach. They had everything you need from Porsches, Navigators, DB9 Cab to the RR Sport (on bling wheels) that I rented. I am quite happy to post the contact details but afraid of the the publicity aspect so PM me for details.