I graduated from Appalachian State University last spring and have been working in the family business ever since. This coming Saturday, I am leaving for a trip around the country in my Crossfire to visit companies to try and find a job within my field of study (Industrial Design/Product Design). Some of you may remember my senior studio project that I designed and built from the styling of the Crossfire. https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...o-project.html

I am starting from Boone, NC (2.5 hours north of the Dragon and letter O on the map) and going to Jacksonville Florida first to the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. Then pretty much the perimeter of the US. The New England part of the trip is still up in the air.

Anyway, I hope my Crossfire will not have any problems and that the trip will go smoothly. I know it will put a lot of miles on my car, but this is one of the main reasons I bought a new car over the 1961 Mercedes 220SE coupe. Hopefully I will have time to update this thread as I travel around the country.

 

Good luck with the road trip and the job hunt.

Reminds me of a book I'm currently reading called 'America Unchained' by Dave Gorman. Its about a guy who drove West Coast to East Coast without using any chains, i.e. Holiday Inn, Starbucks, Shell, McDonalds etc..

Dave Gorman: America Unchained

I'm reading it for inspiration as I hope to do a similar trip sometime in my lifetime but I'll stick to the Chains.

 

Many people, not me though, find that the biggest chain as they get older is (in PC speak) their significant other.
Getting rid of that chain is so expensive they can hardly afford a bus ticket to the city limits.

 

Be sure to take the "Red Cross" list with you.

RED CROSS

 

I remember your senior project. Good looking cabinet.

That's going to be some trip. How long to you expect the trip to take?

 

When you are in Indy, please give me and doc a call. We would be happy to meet with you.

 

Thanks. I have never been one to plan exactly how long or what I am going to do on a trip. I am expecting 3 weeks to a month. Since I am not married, tied to a job, etc. I thought now would be a good time to do a trip like this.

Indy will be one of my longer stops since my sister lives there and I have not seen her in a while. I will let you know when I get in town and maybe we could work something out.

 

Let me know when you are in the NY area. I am about 30min from NYC in NJ and would love to grab a drink or dinner or whatever... Always good meeting fellow owners.

Good luck with your trip, looks like it will be a fantastic trip.

 

I sent you a PM
I'm 30 miles west to Chicago and there are several of us that would probably like to meet you when you are in town.
Travel Safely.


Gary (Aurora,Ill)

 

When you make it to Minneapolis, make sure you shoot me a PM. There's a few guys up here that are always game for meeting another member.

Be safe on your journey and take care.

 

Please let Jane and I know, we will meet up with you, and have a good time....happy motoring, be safe...and good luck with your pursuit...

 

Take your time and don't just spend your time driving...this trip is the trip of a lifetime so take the time to do some sight seeing along the way. Most people can't take the time to take a long journey like that until they of retirement age. I can see a trip like this taking at least 2-3 months.

After I graduated from college I spent two months touring parts of Europe on a Eurail Pass. It was an experience of a lifetime. My only regrets were I didn't have the money to stay longer.

Do your homework and find creative places to eat and stay. Heck, I bet you'll find many members here that will give you a bed to sleep in and a free meal or two.

 

I am planning on staying with my cousin in Manhattan for a day or two (if I can find safe parking). I can let you know when I will be leaving Manhattan and possibly work something out.

Sounds good.

I will have to make myself slow down on the trip. Like my dad, I usually drive until I get to a destination. I will be taking a camera and can hopefully find a video camera to put on my dash and record as I go through some interesting places.


My Crossfire luggage is going to come in handy on this trip.

 

I would HATE a cross country road trip in my crossfire. I love her very much but not the greatest car for driving around the country. My back would give up on me.

 

The furthest I have driven the Crossfire in one sitting so far was about a 9 hour trip and I was completely fine when I got there. Granted 9 hours is a drop in the bucket for the amount of driving I will be doing but when the seat is adjusted properly, I have no problems at all. It is interesting that I am more comfortable driving my Crossfire than I am while driving my dad's Cadillac. The seats are too wide and squishy in the Caddy. I guess it all depends on what you get used to.

 

Guess you don't love your car as much as I do. It's actually not too bad if you take a good break every time you stop for gas. Get out and stretch or walk around a bit and you'll be fine. I've done a 3500 mile and a 2800 mile and a bunch of 600 mile trips last year in the SRT and a few 1400 mile trips two years ago when I had my coupe. Big thing is taking your time and not being rushed to hop back in the car immediately after you fuel up. Your body will be thanking you for that 30 minute break during next 5 and a half hours of driving.

Then again, maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment and live too far away from all the fun.

 

I'd say either your a tall guy, or your seating position isn't ideal.

I've driven three hours non-stop in mine and arrived as fresh as a daisy.

 

When i drove her back from IA (4,5 hours) my back was in a lot of pain. The car rides awesome and the seat is comfortable but i think i am just too tall for a long trip. (6'3"). Maybe adjusting seat might help..

 

==


You may try adjusting the steering wheel, that can make a different, did for me Danny

 

Well, I went to the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance and it was amazing. If anyone gets the chance, I would highly recommend it. There were new Spykers, Rolls Royce, Bugatti Veyron convertible, SL65 Black, 5 or 6 vintage 300SL gullwings and 2 new SLS gullwings. What an amazing car in person. A 1937 Mercedes 540K Special roadster won best in show and was one of those cars I have always wanted to see up close.

I left Jacksonville, FL Monday morning, got to New Orleans for a late lunch and on to Houston, TX. The Crossfire did great and likes gasoline without Ethanol. Without ethanol, I averaged right at 30 MPG. With ethanol, I averaged 26 MPG. Both still very good for a car like this and loaded down with the Crossfire luggage. I was not the slightest bit uncomfortable.

Tomorrow morning, I will be leaving Houston around 4:00am and driving straight through to Phoenix, AZ, which is an 18 hour drive. It might be a long day since the scenery between the two is not what I would call spectacular.