Driving in the US
Discussion
Just got back from the US where I have been doing the lions share of the driving about. Rental company gave us a Toyota Sienna, which is basically a big white box with 7 seats. Despite the steering having zero feedback and the power assistance being so light that it was actually a challenge to keep the damn thing in a straight line on the freeway, I loved it. Big comfy seats, big lazy V6, sloppy automatic and XM satellite radio. Couldn't ask for more, it was so relaxing (though it didn't half shift if you manually controlled the gears and wasn't full of people).
Driving in florida was just such a breeze. Loads of space, cheap fuel, no one rushing about and apart from most people pretending like you don't exist (indicating to switch lanes will do nothing stop a local slowly trundling past you while the next two lanes to them are free, or even if you have to merge because your lane ends, they still wont bother moving for you) its all very very easy. Can do U-turns pretty much anywhere, drive-thru ATM's, Turning right on a red, lovely burbling V8's everywhere, petrol forecourts you could drive a 747 through, car park spaces that actually give you space to open your doors etc etc.
Contrasting this with driving back from the airport yesterday morning and I thought I'd been dropped in hell. The usual german fare driving so close behind you're practically sat in the guys lap, a slight bit of cold causing many people to do the indecent thing and have big crashes on the main roads (the A50 from stoke side was completely blocked, and there were similar sounding accidents on the M1 and near the M18.... sort it out! its only a bit of cold!), traffic jams every where, dawdling knobbers doing 35-40 in a NSL, HGV's elephant racing up the motorways, my crummy honda with its nasty sounding 4 pot engine, not so comfy seats and horrible ride. All very depressing. Plus there aren't any cool/dumb things to look at such as this:
PC010555 by Alex_Mason, on Flickr
or this!
PC010594 by Alex_Mason, on Flickr
Driving in Florida, while probably not representative of all places in the US, was just so easy, so laid back. I liked it. I always thought I'd want a manual gearbox, like a proper petrol head, but really for the 5% of the time where you really can enjoy a good drive down a country road, stirring a box of cogs, it is more often than not ruined by dawdlers and self righteous types who make progress a pain. For the other 95% of the time you really just want a comfy chair, a good stereo and someone else to do the driving. A car with an automatic and cruise control is about as close as most of us can get (forgetting the Powerfully built types and their chauffeurs).
I am 26 years old, male and a massive car nut....I should be wanting a manual box, a powerful engine and a hard "sporty" ride. Instead I am about to trawl the classifieds for something slow, with an armchair and a slush box. A big flobbery Volvo perhaps.
Driving in florida was just such a breeze. Loads of space, cheap fuel, no one rushing about and apart from most people pretending like you don't exist (indicating to switch lanes will do nothing stop a local slowly trundling past you while the next two lanes to them are free, or even if you have to merge because your lane ends, they still wont bother moving for you) its all very very easy. Can do U-turns pretty much anywhere, drive-thru ATM's, Turning right on a red, lovely burbling V8's everywhere, petrol forecourts you could drive a 747 through, car park spaces that actually give you space to open your doors etc etc.
Contrasting this with driving back from the airport yesterday morning and I thought I'd been dropped in hell. The usual german fare driving so close behind you're practically sat in the guys lap, a slight bit of cold causing many people to do the indecent thing and have big crashes on the main roads (the A50 from stoke side was completely blocked, and there were similar sounding accidents on the M1 and near the M18.... sort it out! its only a bit of cold!), traffic jams every where, dawdling knobbers doing 35-40 in a NSL, HGV's elephant racing up the motorways, my crummy honda with its nasty sounding 4 pot engine, not so comfy seats and horrible ride. All very depressing. Plus there aren't any cool/dumb things to look at such as this:
PC010555 by Alex_Mason, on Flickr
or this!
PC010594 by Alex_Mason, on Flickr
Driving in Florida, while probably not representative of all places in the US, was just so easy, so laid back. I liked it. I always thought I'd want a manual gearbox, like a proper petrol head, but really for the 5% of the time where you really can enjoy a good drive down a country road, stirring a box of cogs, it is more often than not ruined by dawdlers and self righteous types who make progress a pain. For the other 95% of the time you really just want a comfy chair, a good stereo and someone else to do the driving. A car with an automatic and cruise control is about as close as most of us can get (forgetting the Powerfully built types and their chauffeurs).
I am 26 years old, male and a massive car nut....I should be wanting a manual box, a powerful engine and a hard "sporty" ride. Instead I am about to trawl the classifieds for something slow, with an armchair and a slush box. A big flobbery Volvo perhaps.
Otispunkmeyer said:
I am 26 years old, male and a massive car nut....I should be wanting a manual box, a powerful engine and a hard "sporty" ride. Instead I am about to trawl the classifieds for something slow, with an armchair and a slush box. A big flobbery Volvo perhaps.
The key is having both! Nothing wrong with wanting a barge for waftery during the hours when a hoon isn't practical.Love driving in the US (CA,MI&AZ). Very easy and relaxed when I've been. Very few people on your tail, cutting you up etc. Hardly any racing off the lights either.
The huge Peterbuilt big rigs "undertaking" everybody at 75 up the steep hills with clouds of diesel pouring out of them is pretty cool too.
Just wish they'd get some cats eyes. Never got on well at night, but that's usually because I've stepped off a long haul flight into a left hook hire car.
The huge Peterbuilt big rigs "undertaking" everybody at 75 up the steep hills with clouds of diesel pouring out of them is pretty cool too.
Just wish they'd get some cats eyes. Never got on well at night, but that's usually because I've stepped off a long haul flight into a left hook hire car.
Krikkit hit it on the head, you were doing something different to your 'norm', so it was fun.
I spent the earlier part of my life hooning around the 'Trossachs' in the PH 'norm' progression of cars.
These days (living in the flat and straight roaded midwest of the USA) my daily is an automatic Passat. However I still have a weekend toy which provides driving excitement (or at least as much as the roads allow).
Driving standards here, appear very poor to what I remember 15 years ago when I lived in the UK, but having said that, when I was back last year for Christmas, the drive from London to Glasgow was littered with MLM's.
Nothing wrong with buying a 'Barge', in fact, I will be doing just that shortly. 'Waftyness' is just as great a Petrol Head trait as a tight manual with a good power/weight ratio.
I spent the earlier part of my life hooning around the 'Trossachs' in the PH 'norm' progression of cars.
These days (living in the flat and straight roaded midwest of the USA) my daily is an automatic Passat. However I still have a weekend toy which provides driving excitement (or at least as much as the roads allow).
Driving standards here, appear very poor to what I remember 15 years ago when I lived in the UK, but having said that, when I was back last year for Christmas, the drive from London to Glasgow was littered with MLM's.
Nothing wrong with buying a 'Barge', in fact, I will be doing just that shortly. 'Waftyness' is just as great a Petrol Head trait as a tight manual with a good power/weight ratio.
matthias73 said:
Currently in Canada. Petrol is about 80 ppl. Can't pick up cheap, good used cars though.
Same here.Always had manual sporty cars, but my commute is a bit longer, and sometimes stop/start highway traffic. So just picked up a used BMW 535i yesterday, absolutely adore it!! Wafty when you want to waft, and a gorgeous sounding twin turbo engine when you want to press on.
So happy with it!
Will get a manual toy car for weekends.
I have lived in Canada for 4yrs now, and still love seeing the different cars here, especially the V8's. I also love the much wider car park spaces, in the UK I could never open the doors properly. Here you can open the doors fully and still not be anywhere near the car next to you.
Otispunkmeyer said:
Driving in florida was just such a breeze. Loads of space, cheap fuel, no one rushing about and apart from most people pretending like you don't exist (indicating to switch lanes will do nothing stop a local slowly trundling past you while the next two lanes to them are free, or even if you have to merge because your lane ends, they still wont bother moving for you) its all very very easy. Can do U-turns pretty much anywhere, drive-thru ATM's, Turning right on a red, lovely burbling V8's everywhere, petrol forecourts you could drive a 747 through, car park spaces that actually give you space to open your doors etc etc.
I go to Florida most years and have never witnessd any aggression on the road, but I agree, it is amazing the way people don't give you space to change lane or merge. However if you just do it, they don't try and run off the road as would happen in the UK.Bigger parking spaces are probably my favourite thing, and why on earth aren't angled, herrringbone spaces used here?
I like the way the lights have long cycles - see a green light ahead of you and you'll probably get through, unlike the UK, where it will almost cetainly change.
I had a Cadillac Escalde last time I was there and it was just awesome.
Spent end of October / early November driving through Canada and new York state, only in a camry instead of the charger ordered and found it so much easier driving there, could easily cover hundreds of miles, one thing I did find is that the turn offs on the interstate seem to come up on you quite fast compared to the uk, also notice that nobody really speeds over there, just a nice fast flow of traffic. Bit strange at first having trucks steaming past at 75mph too, then as soon as i got back in the uk they are going along at 50mph and then get onto an A road and they're doing bloody 40, holding up all the traffic! Would happily drive over there again, loved it!
After living in the US for 2 years I have become so accustomed to my car pampering me that no matter how expensive petrol becomes I don't think I will ever buy a horrid little euro box.
I like my space, I like my shoulder room, I big comfy seats, I like chilling with my mates on a road trip.
There's nothing enjoyable about being crammed into a little penalty box to save a few quid.
Sports cars are for the weekend
I like my space, I like my shoulder room, I big comfy seats, I like chilling with my mates on a road trip.
There's nothing enjoyable about being crammed into a little penalty box to save a few quid.
Sports cars are for the weekend
Supernova190188 said:
... one thing I did find is that the turn offs on the interstate seem to come up on you quite fast compared to the uk,
In the US, if any distances are stated, they're in feet so junctions do come up 3 times quicker than in the UK if you haven't factored that in!I drove from Toronto airport a few years and was amazed to see speed signs saying 100 - I hadn't twigged they use kms there!
I only had a day or so of driving in the states - down from San Francisco to Santa Cruz, then back again the following day but found it to be a pretty pleasurable experience. Also had the pleasure of driving a Challenger IDENTICAL to the one in your picture, OP... (it was brilliant).
People stuck to the speed limits, there seemed to be no real aggressive behaviour (people tailgating then steaming past you), and lots of people enthusiastically came to ask me about the Challenger in Santa Cruz - but I had to admit that it wasn't mine and was just a hire car so couldn't tell them much about it!
It's made me enthusiastic about going back and doing a fair bit more driving over there.. seems like it'll be less stress than it is over here (as long as I stay out of the big cities).
People stuck to the speed limits, there seemed to be no real aggressive behaviour (people tailgating then steaming past you), and lots of people enthusiastically came to ask me about the Challenger in Santa Cruz - but I had to admit that it wasn't mine and was just a hire car so couldn't tell them much about it!
It's made me enthusiastic about going back and doing a fair bit more driving over there.. seems like it'll be less stress than it is over here (as long as I stay out of the big cities).
Deva Link said:
Supernova190188 said:
... one thing I did find is that the turn offs on the interstate seem to come up on you quite fast compared to the uk,
In the US, if any distances are stated, they're in feet so junctions do come up 3 times quicker than in the UK if you haven't factored that in!I drove from Toronto airport a few years and was amazed to see speed signs saying 100 - I hadn't twigged they use kms there!
Just returned from a week in Dallas, where I rented a Ford F-150 pickup truck. Why? Because I could. I loved it - wafty ride, hilariously large, v8 burble and much more interesting than the normal 4 seater saloon hire car. 16mpg doesn't seem so bad when petrol is about $3 a gallon. I liked the truck so much I was speccing one up on the Ford US website. The 'Raptor' looks amazing & would make a perfect tow-car for the caterham.
Lane discipline was actually good IMHO - you can under or overtake at will. Most people use cruise control and many more seem to use their indicators than over here in the UK. Turning right on red is just sooooo sensible. Common sense motoring law? we'll never have that.
Lane discipline was actually good IMHO - you can under or overtake at will. Most people use cruise control and many more seem to use their indicators than over here in the UK. Turning right on red is just sooooo sensible. Common sense motoring law? we'll never have that.
fistenburger said:
Turning right on red is just sooooo sensible. Common sense motoring law? we'll never have that.
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