CROSS COUNTRY, QUICKLY
I CONSIDER MYSELF TO BE A DRIVING PROFESSIONAL, and as such, I take pride in being prepared before I hit the road. I’ve crisscrossed this country more than a dozen times in everything from classic muscle cars, to moving vans, to high-end Euro-missiles and luxury barges. Each journey has been a lesson in how to do it right.
Step one is to figure out what type of trip you’re embarking on. In my experience, there are a few different types of on-road excursions. The first is the sightseeing drive. This is where you pack up the family, their luggage, entertainment, and snacks, and hit the road for a week or so to take in the splendor. These sorts of trips are fun for about 48 minutes — that’s around the time you realize you’ve made a terrible mistake and instead should’ve splurged for the airfare and resort fees.
The second type of trip is that of the high-speed, point-to-point burn. I’d use the term “Cannonball,” but in my experience, the image brings out the safety weenies. There is one goal here: Get from Point A to Point B in the shortest time possible. If done right, these runs can be brilliant, but just know that there are risks involved (we’ll get to those later).
Finally, we get to the hybrid — that combination of seeing a few sights in conjunction with covering a fair amount of ground at a rapid pace. These are my favorite, the types I live for, and the kind I recently embarked on in a 2021 Dodge Durango SRT
