Cars for cross country

So I am planning a road trip for the summer. Currently I am located in Minnesota and plan to head west to seattle Washington. Next I plan to drive down the coast to California. This is just a fun cross country road trip that I have been thinking up. However I don't know if I have the car for it. What kind of car would one of you take for a road trip like this? I am in college and don't have a lot of money plus I think I would resell it anyway when I am done.

What I have now is a
93 GS eclipse, this one is my daily driver right now but I think I am going to sell it.

90 GSX eclipse, this is my personal hotrod however not road trip worthy because it kind of sucks fuel

I don't really feel safe taking an eclipse, they aren't really known for their reliablility.

what I am thinking some of the quailities that I will want in this car are:
reliablity (I am pretty good mechanic wise)
Gas milage
this car has to be a convertible, I will consider T-roof or targa top

The cars that I have been thinking that would work

MX-5
Del Sol

what other cars would work? Just looking for ideas or other considerations that I haven't thought of. I wanted to take a motorcycle but the girlfriend didn't go for that idea.

Well I'm from Minnesoooooota as well. What about a Nissan Z convertable (idk what models came in a convertable, if at all besides of course the 350Z). Maybe an S2000 but those would be too pricey probs. Maybe a Mustang or Camaro conv. Even a Chrysler Sebring conv could work. Those are the only moderatly priced (bar the S2000) convertables I can think of. Being winter, people selling them might be reducing the prices so now is a good time to buy a convertable.

It depends how much money you want to spend.

I would personally be looking into a rental Ford Mustang Vert. Its hard for me to justify buying a car for one specific trip.

well i thought of the rental thing but unfortunatly I am too young to rent... and i am guessing it depends on where you are renting because don't they charge by mile? It would seem to me that it would be cost efficient to buy a used car and turn it around and sell it again. Fix it up even and make a profit if one finds the right buyer

I did think of a mustang with an I-4, the old Fox body style in a convertable form. However I don't know if it would make it. I have owned fords before.

I am kind of leaning to the MX-5 now because I would sell the GS eclipse and keep the miata for auto-X or something. Then keep the GSX for the winter.

And if I wanted to sell the MX-5 again, it would retain its value. People are looking for those because of spec miata class.

The price that I can afford isn't that much, maybe in the 5000 at most. I wish I could afford a honda 2000. That would be my choice if I wasn't so broke

those are pretty small cars. if you're gonna spend a lot of time in the car on the road, may as well shoot for more comfort. have you considered a larger convertible like perhaps a used toyota solara convertible or chrysler sebring? neither are all that sporty but i think they'd be good choices for ya.

Thats what I was thinking, I wouldn't take anything smaller than your Mustang/Camaro/Sebring/Solara. I think taking a 2 seater would be a mistake.

A 90s model convertible celica would prolly be pretty good. They're decently roomy, cheap, very reliable, get good gas mileage, and can be fun to throw around the corners if you want to.

Ill agree with the previos 2 posts though. A 2 seater for a long trip will get really cramped.

if you're planning on taking it long distance have you thought about an old Mercedes? Mid 80s SECs are pretty solid and not that expensive to buy these days and are more than capable and comfortable for long treks. When you sell aftewards, you will pretty much get what you paid for it.
Same is true for BMW 5s of the same period.
Find one in good ruuning order and you're sorted.

Infiniti M30 - Some websites claim only 5000 were produced, but Infiniti sales figures say about 17,000 were sold in the US. About half are convertibles, but all are autos :(

Nissan 240sx convertible - I believe they were produced from '91-94, the 94 model year was only offered as a 'vert. Fairly cheap, they are $2-5k.

Nissan 300zx convertible - Not a bad choice, most of the bad press about the 300zx was about the twin-turbo which is definitely more problematic. Many non-turbo owners have had good experience with the Z and it's a timeless body that still looks great. All verts are non-turbo

other cars that were offered as convertibles:
Mazda Rx7 FC3S - produced in the late 80s and early 90s, these cars can be had cheap and can be quite reliable if properly serviced.
Geo Metro- fwd and small as hell, but also very cheap (under $1k sometimes)
Mercury Capri - fwd and small as hell, but also pretty cheap
Toyota MR2 spyder - a little expensive and low on space, but still a good bet for reliability (it uses the celica gt engine)
Toyota Celica - older celicas (early and mid 90s were offered as a vert)
Chevy Cavalier / Pontiac Sunfire - quite cheap, but they do have reliability issues sometimes (I've owned a 98 non-vert...)
BMW 323/328 - good cars, but can be expensive for even minor repairs. They do look good though :)

other t-bars / targas:
Toyota Supra mkiii non-turbo targa
Toyota MR2 mki non-supercharged t-bar
Toyota MR2 mkii non-turbo t-bar

...and i completely forgot about the convertible part...

Thanks for all of the replies. I like some of the cars that were suggested so far. None still strikes me as being THE ONE for this road trip. However I am looking more at the BMWs because I think they would be fun on the twisty road. They are a bit pricey though and if a part brakes it would be kind of costly. I did also think of the VW Cabrio but i think I would run into reliability issues. It probably why no one suggested it.

The toyota solara is still out of my price range and doesn't strike me as something that would be fun to drive on the roads
chrysler sebring just doesn't sound fun on the twisty roads honestly, however plenty of room.

I am still wondering about how much room I would actually need on this trip. I usually pack pretty light when going on trips. I don't know. I should make a list.

I am kind of thinking of taking a motorcycle if the girlfriend isn't interested in going with me. Call some other people up and seeing if a motorcycle road trip is possible.

What I am surprised at is when I look at most cars in the parking lot today, there are a lot of SUVs, closed in cars, most of them don't even have a sun roof. When I think of taking a trip in a car (even if it is a short trip) having the windows open, sun roof removed, wind blowing everywhere would be the way to travel.

I always thought a sunroof was so great...now that my car has a sunroof/moonroof I realize why some people don't buy them. They are nice to have, but I mostly like to use it in "tilt mode" when it's raining so I can have the windows shut and still not have the whole car fog up or get too humid. It actually gets used maybe once every two weeks or even once a month sometimes...seems like kinda a useless feature...t-tops seem like they would be more open and actually serve a better purpose.

As for riding a motorcycle cross country, definitely make sure your skills are up to par. You will be traveling into places that have different intersection layouts and different road conditions. Make sure your bike is also up to the task too. You should have a tire patch kit at the least...if possible I'd try to get people to travel with you that have the same tires front and rear...and then one of the riders carries an extra front and another carries an extra rear tire - obviously without the rim lol. You could always just carry a patch kit and a can of fix-a-flat, but remember that depending on how traveled the roads and areas that you're visiting; there may not be any tires that fit your bike's rims...and that could be very bad.

Make sure your bike is also comfortable enough for long hours...

You might want to make a stop to deal's gap, it's on the border of north carolina and tennesse rt 112 or 118 or something. That's where I want to visit this summer...318 turns in 11 miles, most of them switchbacks (180 degree corners...aka hairpins)

http://www.dealsgap.com/images/arielDragonT.jpg

LT1 Corvette...you can find them pretty cheap and they come in vert and targas. Plus they're damn fun to drive!

klohiq- Thanks for the info, great advice!

Also thanks for the road info. The main reason that I want to take this road trip is to see sites and to drive on "not so straight" roads. Minnesota is kind of boring to drive, everything seems too flat. I like the info about the 11 mile twisty path. Is that what the dragon is or is that another road?


Corvette is an option... but a two seater with not much room again...bigger trunk though

the dragon is only like 20 miles from where i live, ive never been on it though.

klohiq- Thanks for the info, great advice!

Also thanks for the road info. The main reason that I want to take this road trip is to see sites and to drive on "not so straight" roads. Minnesota is kind of boring to drive, everything seems too flat. I like the info about the 11 mile twisty path. Is that what the dragon is or is that another road?


Corvette is an option... but a two seater with not much room again...bigger trunk though

I was reading more about it when I got that pic to show you, from the little I read the Dragon is that exact 11 mile stretch on RT129. Deal's Gap is the area surrounding the Dragon.

Should be a cool place to visit :) get a patch while you're at it to brag to any riding buddies you know :lol:

the dragon is only like 20 miles from where i live, ive never been on it though.

WTF are you waiting for?

Too bad it doesn't snow down there like it does up here, I'd buy an old Subaru AWD and rally race up and down that road all day long :evillol:

I think the best bet would be a camaro/firebird t-top/convertible. Probably one of the longest running models out there with open air options. I dunno about reliability, but you said you had good mechanic skills and i'm sure they're not that bad to work on. Gas mileage probably isn't that great either, but its hard to pick a vehicle with the options you want and it's what i would do in your shoes. good luck!

240sx convertible gets great gas mileage :) with an s13 front end they look pretty ace

http://www.terra2imports.ca/ab-larger/112699592859771.jpg

I think import tuner or modified had an article with a black convertible that had an s13 front end...one of the cheapest convertibles that actually look really nice, but there are mustangs and f-bodies that are easier to come by and not much more...a bit more expensive to insure though and they get a lot worse gas mpg usually

I have had 2 buick park avenues and a lincoln ls i have had sports cars and trucks as well the Buicks are by far way better when driveng long distances the comfort the ride and the eco rock

I have had 2 buick park avenues and a lincoln ls i have had sports cars and trucks as well the Buicks are by far way better when driveng long distances the comfort the ride and the eco rock

if this guy visits the dragon he would gladly crash a buick lol...I doubt the car is that enjoyable in the corners. I don't think I've ever driven a buick, but I've driven plenty of other boats and they are no fun when the road is twisty.

If you get a big car, at least get one with good suspension like an SC300 or Q45...

I was reading more about it when I got that pic to show you, from the little I read the Dragon is that exact 11 mile stretch on RT129. Deal's Gap is the area surrounding the Dragon.

Should be a cool place to visit :) get a patch while you're at it to brag to any riding buddies you know :lol:



WTF are you waiting for?

Too bad it doesn't snow down there like it does up here, I'd buy an old Subaru AWD and rally race up and down that road all day long :evillol:

i dont have a car right now. i wrecked my celica about 6 months ago and i am in college so i dont have the money to buy another car. i live on campus though so i dont need one terribly bad. but damn i sure want another one.