OT: What hire car in The States?

bigmat

LA seems to be a love it or hate it kind of place. I had more fun though than most other US cities I have visited. Just stay around Hollywood, unless you are exactly where you want to be there's endless travelling to see anything, but from where we were in West Hollywood you could walk around, up and down Sunset, decent bars / restaurants etc.

cjcp

Yosemite is fantastic. I was there at the start of May, when it was a bit chilly: the Tioga road through the middle was still closed due to snow. If you have the time though, you can drive up to Hetch Hetchy, home to one of the reservoirs (or maybe *the* reservoir) which supplies SF with its water. The trails are stunning and, if you're lucky (depending on your view of things), you could see bears.

The Avenue of the Giants is mind-blowing, but that's a few hours north of SF.

mrc1

cjcp wrote:

Yosemite is fantastic. I was there at the start of May, when it was a bit chilly: the Tioga road through the middle was still closed due to snow.

Well jel 8)

Have you read the Joe Pickett books?

jonny_trousers

I'm going to go with the excellent, embrace-the-American-way, advice and I'm even now going back to thinking about a covertible Mustang. The only problem is, Avis charge a ridiculous amount and Budget, who do it at a good price state "or similar". I emailed to ask what the "similars" were and was told a Chrysler Sebring or PT Cruiser, Or a Beetle, all of which are complete and utter gash. Think I can guarantee a hard top Mustang so might go for that.

cjcp

mrc1 wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Yosemite is fantastic. I was there at the start of May, when it was a bit chilly: the Tioga road through the middle was still closed due to snow.

Well jel 8)

Have you read the Joe Pickett books?

Nope, but driven across Wyoming on route to the Grand Tetons. Lots of space...

rolf_f

I'd love to hire a Challenger. Irrc, Enterprise (I always stick with Enterprise - never have a problem with them - they even refunded the cost of a puncture repair to the pickup which hardly seemed their responsibility) had them at Portland Airport but I was picking up from Seattle and I was hoping I could get an upgrade to one (over the crappy Astra Coupe thing I had booked).

Sadly, there were no Challengers but there was a sinister black Charger sat by the entrance that had my name all over it. Only a V6 but it made a nice noise and wasn't hopeless like the Dodge Avenger I'd got on my previous trip.

Personally, I love Yank cars. Yes - they are a bit crap but at least they aren't smothered with fake alloy guff all over the inside so they vaguely like an upmarket stereo system if you squint a bit.

Then last time we got a Ford V8 Pickup. That was a bit mad - the fuel consumption was so atrocious that it ended up costing as much to run per mile as a 1.6 litre saloon does in the UK.

mrc1

Rolf where was each pic taken? Looks fantastic!

At the OP - try the Hertz link I posted. You can guarantee the rental with them.

jonny_trousers

mrc1 wrote:

Rolf where was each pic taken? Looks fantastic!

At the OP - try the Hertz link I posted. You can guarantee the rental with them.

I did mate, but the Mustang convertible is crazy expensive. The hard top is pretty reasonable, though, so I may go for that. I'm not sure how Mrs Trousers would feel about a real bruiser of a muscle car like the Challenger or the Camero, but I can certainly ask.

SimonAH

We once had a Buick Electra 225 convertible (friend's car) to fark around in SoCal in for a week when we stayed in Newport Beach in August 2000.

Now that, my friend, is an American Car.

cjcp

mrc1 wrote:

Rolf where was each pic taken? Looks fantastic!

At the OP - try the Hertz link I posted. You can guarantee the rental with them.

Ooo, this could be a good game.

Pic 1: I'm guessing the Rockies (the truck has a Colorado plate).

Pic 2: Going to the Sun Road

Pic 3: Black Hills (long way inland, though, so could be waaaaaaaaay out)

rolf_f

cjcp wrote:

mrc1 wrote:

Rolf where was each pic taken? Looks fantastic!

At the OP - try the Hertz link I posted. You can guarantee the rental with them.

Ooo, this could be a good game.

Pic 1: I'm guessing the Rockies (the truck has a Colorado plate).

Pic 2: Going to the Sun Road

Pic 3: Black Hills (long way inland, though, so could be waaaaaaaaay out)

Could be a good game so I'll not give it away so easily!

Pic 1: Yes! It's the Cinnamon Pass in the San Juans. And I reckon we were the first vehicle over last year as we watched them bulldoze the last of the snow blocking the pass the afternoon before. To be fair - there was a lot of snow!


Pic 2: A much, much longer road than Going to the Sun. This one goes on for round about 200 miles like this - and in much the same scenery all the way!

Pic 3: Actually, not that far from the first pic by US standards. It's not guessable so I'll give it - the Rio Grande not far from Creede. That's a truly stunning area. A bit further along -

EKE_38BPM

When I hired a car in Yankland, I needed something big and ended up getting a Pontiac Aztec (which Walt drives in Breaking Bad).


V6 automatic big enough to carry five six footers and two week's worth of luggage each for over a thousand miles in comfort. It was a rubbish piece of automobile Americana and I loved it. It was perfect for that trip, but not for the OP's needs.

OT: Has anyone considered driving from Southern Florida to Southern California? I'm thinking about doing it next year, but even though there is no rush, the drive may be just too long to be fun, so I may fly half way then hire a car.

phy2sll2

EKE_38BPM wrote:

OT: Has anyone considered driving from Southern Florida to Southern California? I'm thinking about doing it next year, but even though there is no rush, the drive may be just too long to be fun, so I may fly half way then hire a car.

I did that one about three years ago. Took six weeks doing it, so the driving wasn't so bad. Was on a pretty tight budget (last of the money I'd saved working in Australia).

Started at Miami, finished in LA.

Highlights were:
The more interesting / fun cities e.g. New Orleans, Vegas and San Fran.
The parks: Bryce Canyon, Zion, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Yosemite.
Bits of Texas nice too, e.g. Big Bend, Austin.
Santa Fe - bit of a weird place, but you can go and see the pueblos.
PCH, but weather wasn't great when we were there.
People asking "You ain't from round here, are ya now?"

Lowlights:
LA. Not my thing, but I wasn't expecting it to be. Venice was only redeeming feature (comedy value only).
Driving on park roads in heavy snow.
Food - truly awful (except the Stinking Rose which I approve!) Ended up living on microwave burritos.

Stayed in motels everywhere, but not as cheap as we'd hoped. Campsites are rare and hostels don't exist.

Strange experience and I still don't know what to make of it, but definitely worth doing given I was at the end of an 18 month sabbatical anyway!

captain_chaos

I hired a Nissan Altima this summer. Big comfy saloon but pretty well European in style and driving manner. V6 but never felt like it. Went reasonably well if you tried (and you had to try) - OK on the juice. Didn't want an SUV as even at US Gas prices would have cost a fortune.

UndercoverElephant

If you're picking up from San Francisco Airport, a top-tip would be to not go with Hertz, Alamo or National - for some reason they always have HUGE queues (work always books through Hertz, so we have to wait - well over an hour at times after a very long flight). The other counters have much smaller queues and friendlier staff (probably as a result).

Travelsupermarket.com usually gives some very good deals, I've used Thrifty before and they were excellent. Also, take a GPS with you. I have an excellent sense of direction in the UK, but get lost if I turn round twice in the US.

el_presidente

Here's my hired Mustang on honeymoon duty:


The desert was too hot to drive with the roof down but I had it down loads all through the trip. Recommended.

A few more ideas that haven't been mentioned:

San Francisco - head over the Bay to Berkeley (get the BART train, pointless to drive) and have a nose around, interesting place with the university campus and general countercultural history. Amoeba records is great. the Jupiter bar http://www.jupiterbeer.com/right outside the BART station is great. when you've finished head down to the Oakland waterfront, check out Jack London's old localhttp://firstandlastchance.com/ which is amazing then get the ferry back to SF.

I love LA and would happily just cruise the freeways & up and down the canyons all day with the top down and KROQ blasting out. When you get bored of the city, drive up PCH past Malibu to Neptune's Net http://neptunesnet.com/ which is a roadside shack seafood restaurant, great food, great atmosphere and brilliant for people watching (surfers, bikers etc) then go for a nice walk on the beach.

Get up on Mulholland Drive on clear night - the views across the city are amazing, basically 30 miles of pure grid streetlights, feels like you're in Bladerunner. I went to a very classy Japanese restaurant up there one night when the Santa Ana had been blowing all day, the smog had all been blown out to sea and the air was crystal clear, it was stunning. http://www.yamashirorestaurant.com/ This was 10 years ago so I wouldn't like to recommend the food but the view and the setting were superb.

The Getty museum is pretty cool if you like that sort of thing - again up on a hill, very secluded and they bus you up there from the car park so it never feels too crowded.

el_presidente

Also in San Francisco if you are so inclined head down to Valencia St which is hipster central but has some great bars, restaurants and shops, very good for mooching about. Dave Eggers' Pirate Supplies Store is hilarious http://826valencia.org/ and a worthy cause.

el_presidente

Jonny_Trousers wrote:

mrc1 wrote:

Rolf where was each pic taken? Looks fantastic!

At the OP - try the Hertz link I posted. You can guarantee the rental with them.

I did mate, but the Mustang convertible is crazy expensive. The hard top is pretty reasonable, though, so I may go for that. I'm not sure how Mrs Trousers would feel about a real bruiser of a muscle car like the Challenger or the Camero, but I can certainly ask.

Have a word at the desk when you get there and you might get an upgrade, especially if you mention the Honeymoon word. In Detroit once it was Labor Day and they were doing a quiz, I answered correctly "What is the national anthem" and they gave me the biggest SUV on the lot. Mind you in Michigan I think you get a free car with every tank of petrol anyway.

estampida

lostboysaint wrote:

estampida wrote:

1st option would be a chevolet montecarlo... a 22ft long car with only 2 doors... rocking (just checked and they have stopped making them 2009, the replacement is a camero but there could still be on rental plots.... )

or any oldsmobile or the toyota gt86 would be good choices

dont go for the standard types you dont want to look like a tourist now.......

Quite a bit of misinformation in that post.

The Montecarlo was never that long, it was discontinued in 07 and the Camaro was and is a completely different heritage.

Oldsmobile haven't existed for quite some time now so there won't be any of them on any hire car fleet.


The only bit that's right is that the Toyota is a nice car, but hardly going to hit the US spot as it's been designed alongside Subaru with the worldwide market in mind, NOT the US and will have the same ride issues that most non-domestic (US) cars have around their road network.

well i'm not going to dwell on it but:

quick check of wiki

While it was speculated that General Motors was considering a rear-wheel-drive replacement for the Monte Carlo,[18] GM product development chief Bob Lutz later confirmed that the North American Zeta program was not being expanded.[19]
The Chevrolet Camaro filled the coupe position in Chevrolet's lineup, beginning in the 2010 model year.

not even my words......

The Rookie

Been to America thre times on hols, each time 4 people, live by the 'when in Rome' adage......
Trip 1, Mustang, room for 2 full size suitcases in boot (hardtop, not a convertable), third went between the rear seat passengers, handled fairly well.
Trip 2, Mercury Grand Marquis, 17'6" long, same basic car as the Ford Crown Vic that most the cops use, HUGE inside, massive 'trunk' and really great wafting at 70 (ish) on the freeways - note average buyer age is 72!
Trip 3 , Lincoln navigator (Yee Haa), OK, bigger than my mates flat, a little thirsty, not much fun to drive, but very conveniant!

jds_1981

Drove from Dallas to Santa Fe yesterday in a toyota avalon. Less than $50 a tank which will do about 330 miles. 3.5 litre engine. Good for accelerating past dodgily driven lorrys on the freeway - plenty of oomph from 75 mph..
Probably not a honeyoon car though. Current weather in this area would be perfect for a convertible.

lostboysaint

estampida wrote:

lostboysaint wrote:

estampida wrote:

1st option would be a chevolet montecarlo... a 22ft long car with only 2 doors... rocking (just checked and they have stopped making them 2009, the replacement is a camero but there could still be on rental plots.... )

or any oldsmobile or the toyota gt86 would be good choices

dont go for the standard types you dont want to look like a tourist now.......

Quite a bit of misinformation in that post.

The Montecarlo was never that long, it was discontinued in 07 and the Camaro was and is a completely different heritage.

Oldsmobile haven't existed for quite some time now so there won't be any of them on any hire car fleet.


The only bit that's right is that the Toyota is a nice car, but hardly going to hit the US spot as it's been designed alongside Subaru with the worldwide market in mind, NOT the US and will have the same ride issues that most non-domestic (US) cars have around their road network.

well i'm not going to dwell on it but:

quick check of wiki

While it was speculated that General Motors was considering a rear-wheel-drive replacement for the Monte Carlo,[18] GM product development chief Bob Lutz later confirmed that the North American Zeta program was not being expanded.[19]
The Chevrolet Camaro filled the coupe position in Chevrolet's lineup, beginning in the 2010 model year.

not even my words......

Ah Wiki, the choice of the ill-informed. So all the Camaro's built between '67 and '02 alongside the Monte Carlos of the era were not the ones that influenced the model that ran from 08 to the present day then?!

DJFish

Hello!
Long time lurker, first time poster, love the site!
I did a vegas-LA-SF trip with the wife a few years back.
We had a basic hire booked which we upgraded for a Mustang when we picked it up. There was no way I was doing "a flat-out high speed burn through Baker, and Barstow, and Berdoo" without a fast car with no roof!
It was only a V6 but it was plenty fast enough and we fitted 1 large & 2 medium suitcases plus suit carrier and hand luggage in with ease. It wasn't too hot with the roof down, but when it was we just put it up again (plus when driving around LA) and after driving down Lombard St. in SF we gave it back as the public transport system in SF is fine for getting around.
Driving around in the US is a doddle, the hardest bit is figuring out how the fuel pumps work. Someone has already mentioned the Hertz specials you can hire, a Corvette Z06 convertable would be my choice next time...

Have a look here: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/gsearch.asp?q=vegas for numerous Cali road trip accounts

rolf_f

lostboysaint wrote:

Ah Wiki, the choice of the ill-informed. So all the Camaro's built between '67 and '02 alongside the Monte Carlos of the era were not the ones that influenced the model that ran from 08 to the present day then?!

How different models relate to each other now may be different to the past but the Monte Carlo was never really an equivalent to the Camaro (or Firebird which was based on the same platform as the Camaro).

The Camaro was a pretty small car (relatively) and designed from the outset as GMs equivalent of the Mustang. Then there were larger sporting coupes like the Chevrolet Malibu (plus Oldsmobile 442, Pontiac GTO etc) which were proper coupes in the literal sense (cut down mid size (in American terms!) saloons). The Monte Carlo was based on a cut down full size saloon so, in effect, is two sizes up from the Camaro. The UK equivalent would be Tigra to Calibra

The current Camaro is a bastardised 1969 example. Here they both are in the vile gambling town of Black Hawk, Colorado. I know which I'd rather have..... Johnny Z is a cool guy who owns a casino

The real thing

The pretender!

lostboysaint

I know that. I was trying to explain that to the dumbass that said that the current Camaro replaced the Montecarlo!

jonny_trousers

Thanks for all your thoughts on this! I've booked a convertible Mustang now. The agreement does say 'or similar', but I'll phone as soon as we reach San Fran and beg them if necessary to make sure it's a Mustang we pick up 3 days later.

Thanks also for all the tips on what to see and do. I'll go through the thread again when we make up our itinerary.

UndercoverElephant

A choice you will not regret.

JamesB5446

Did you make sure it was a V8 and not a V6?

I would have suggested sodding the idea of hiring a car and finding a rusty old muscle car on ebay to buy then flog on your way home.

BigLights wrote:

Controversially, I absolutely love American motors...The Cadillac Sedans (make sure it's a Hemi engine) are awesome too.

You might love them, but you don't know much about them. the Hemi is a Chrysler/Dodge engine, not a GM engine.