It's summer time, and that means everyone, (including me) is traveling the country, taking in the sights and visiting new (or maybe old, familiar) places. I'm personally spending today flying to New York City to enjoy the sites and sounds of that singular metropolis. Even more exciting, I'm picking up a new, 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T as my ride around the Big Apple.
As you may have guessed, this is a press vehicle. However, according to the window sticker (it was faxed to me last week) this Challenger is equipped almost exactly as I would equip one for myself -- right down to the Deep Water Blue color. On one hand I'm thrilled to be driving a performance car I'm personally drawn to, but on the other I don't really think of New York as a car town. It's crowded with narrow streets, lots of stop lights and no where to park. Heck, you can't even drive through Time Square anymore.
That got me thinking. If I had access to this Deep Blue Challenger R/T and could go to any city to enjoy it, where would I go?
I should note that a co-worker and former New York resident has assured me of the city's automotive pulse. He says the Challenger will be fully recognized and appreciated by the local residents, but I remain skeptical.
Yet if New York isn't America's #1 Car Town, what is?
I've been through several of the country's major cities, and I have a sense of how they measure up in terms Car Town claims. Here's a quick run-through:
San Francisco (pictured above): One of the country's most beautiful cities seems like the ideal location for the automotive lifestyle. However, the hills of San Francisco make driving (and parking) a manual-shift vehicle an excersice in clutch smell. Also, like New York, its tight roads and limited (and pricey!) parking options make it a tough place to own a four-wheeled vehicle -- unless you're filming a legendary car chase. It's an undeniably great motorcycle town, BTW.
Los Angeles: They call it the Car Capital of the World, but if you've ever driven the 405 during...well, daylight, you start to question that title. The year-round climate and plethora of nearby canyon roads do offer the potential for automotive nirvana, but crossing the L.A. metroplex has gone from annoying to rage-inducing. My advice: stay out of L.A. proper and L.A. is a capable car town.
Las Vegas: I used to love cruising to and through Las Vegas. The Strip was the best people- and car-watching scene on the planet. All those bright lights and reflective surfaces. Not to mention the nearby world-class race facility and available high-speed run potential through Nevada desert. But it gets desert hot there, and the strip has turned into a full-time parking lot (don't even think about making a run on The Strip if your cooling system isn't up to par).
Denver: My hometown, and like L.A., located at the base of a mountain range with endless twisting roads and breathtaking scenery. I wasted much of my youth cruising West Colfax in the 1980s. But like Sunset Boulevard this car culture activity has been largely closed down through police efforts. Also, it snows in those Rocky Mountains for much of the year, and the high altitude nukes performance on normally-aspirated machines.
Detroit: How can a place called "Motown" not be America's official Car Town? It's the focal point of the domestic auto industry, and until recently even some European automakers (VW/Audi) also called Detroit home (though they have since abandoned Motown...). If you can get to Detroit outside autoshow (read: winter) season you quickly recognize the oil in Detroit's bloodstream. Two words; Woodward Avenue. But it is a long winter there, the actual driving-oriented roads are pretty slim, and some might suggest just a bit of domestic bias in the automotive energy surrounding the city.
Miami: I've only been through Miami a couple times, but the car culture was clear almost before I got off the plane. The level of flash required to even get noticed in Miami rivals the best carefully organized auto shows I've attended, and this is on the public streets 365 days a year. When it comes to cruising fun with a capital "F" Miami's got it going on. But Florida isn't known for curvy roads, so unless you visit a race facility (of which there are several throughout South Florida) it's not easy to experience a car's mechanical (versus visual) potential on public roads.
New York: Well, back to where this column began. I'll be starting my first non-working visit to New York City as you read this, and I'm anxious to see if a city of eight-million people (and nearly as many intersections) can provide more than just an opportunity to wear out the six-speed in a Dodge Challenger R/T.
Clearly I've left a lot of major, and minor, cities and towns off my list. And I still haven't made a final decision on America's #1 Car Town. I'd put Los Angeles and Detroit, despite their issues, at the head of the pack, but I'm happy to hear other thoughts on which town deserves the title.
So, what is America's Car Town?
By dougtheeng
on June 30, 2009
06:19 AM
I'm not sure how I'd define a car town. To me, any place where you're faced with traffic lights, bumper-to-bumper highways, a grid pattern, etc is not a CAR PLACE. Then again, my definition of a car town would be more to do with the availability of unique driving experiences. - think Tail of the Dragon, or something along those lines.
Other car town definitions might be to do with the various car cultures - towns/cities near a famous track, towns/cities near a beach or cruising strip, etc.
Still though, I'd have trouble picking any major city as a 'car town'.
By ksm1
on June 30, 2009
07:44 AM
Karl’s starting point of ” That got me thinking. If I had access to this Deep Blue Challenger R/T and could go to any city to enjoy it, where would I go?” got me thinking as well.
If this is the true question then my answer would be no city. At least no big city. I would leave whatever city I was in and head outside of the city to enjoy the driving of the Challenger. Any large city will be too crowded. If I started in L.A. I would head up the 101 to the central coast. If I started in Denver, up into the mountains. If I started in S.F. up into wine country. If I started in NYC then I’d head upstate. In my mind I am always leaving “the city.”
If we scale the city back a bit to something the size of Salt Lake City or Sacramento now I can enjoy the Challenger a bit more everyday. In Salt Lake for example, while there is altitude, traffic is generally easy (compared to a big city) and I can be in the mountains in 30 minutes. If I want to take a longer drive, Las Vegas is 5 hours away on a route with legal 80 mph stretches.
In terms of overall car culture, that is another question. If that is the real question then my answer would be Southern California – L.A./Orange County combined. No other metro area has more of the “you are what you drive” than So Cal.
By blackadder5639
on June 30, 2009
09:07 AM
I think Austin, TX is a nice car town. It has (relatively) free-flowing traffic and some outskirts have hills with curvy roads (e.g., Bee Cave Road).
By actualsize
on June 30, 2009
09:23 AM
All of the above.
By jstandefer
on June 30, 2009
09:59 AM
I was disappointed to see that San Diego wasn't included in the list, so I'm here to offer up San Diego... in fact, all of San Diego County. We have awesome driving roads here in our numerous canyons and mountains, particularly in the north county and east county areas. In fact, I have heard that we have one of the best collections of driving roads in the nation. I've been out on dozens of San Diego Miata Club runs and we always encounter other car clubs enjoying the twisty back roads... Corvette, Mini, Lotus, Mustang, WRX, etc.
And many of the local towns still enjoy and encourage crusing on certain nights... in fact, we'll be heading to Escondido this Friday evening for their weekly Cruisin' Grand event where they shut down Grand Avenue for general traffic and people cruise all night.
Traffic is always a problem in a larger city, but San Diego's traffic is usually a problem only during rush hour... otherwise everything is free flowing. (But do avoid I-5 south on Saturday morning and I-5 north on Sunday afternoon... LA visitors coming and going.) A Sunday drive can still be enjoyed, and you'll see numerous classic cars out on Sundays. And certain areas of town car be just like LA or Miami... I see Lambos, Ferraris, Aston Martins, Bentleys, etc. every day. I don't even notice Porsches unless its a Carerra GT... 911s, Boxsters, and Caymans are such a common sight.
By estreka
on June 30, 2009
10:41 AM
I, of course, would recommend Austin as well. West Austin has some of the best cruising roads in the world with dramatic elevation changes, high-speed turns, smooth roads, and eye-catching scenery.
I'd take RR 2244 over the parking lot you call the LA Freeway System any day.
Seattle also has some sweet cruising roads to the east. The scenery there is pretty awesome.
I have to recommend Eureka/Crescent City simply because they're so close to the best stretch of HWY 1.
Charleston, WV has some pretty fun roads. The fun is compounded by the lack of people there.
I'd also recommend most areas in New England. I'm not that familiar with the area, but there are some great roads up that way.
By estreka
on June 30, 2009
10:47 AM
Almost forgot, Coeur d'Alene is pretty fantastic, too.
By flicmod
on June 30, 2009
11:10 AM
The only way I'd name a "car city" is if they closed every road in said city to daily traffic, gave me the Challenger R/T (or any car really), and said "Have at it!". Now that'd be fun!
Cities are over-rated. Give me US16 between Buffalo and Ten Sleep, Wyoming any day. I'd so much rather have a road like that than some congested, smog-filled metropolis street...
By verdi942
on June 30, 2009
04:15 PM
Karl, NYC has been publicly anti-car at least since the Lindsay administration - that would be 1965 - and the recent closing of Times Square to traffic is just the latest attempt to curb private automobiles. Those of us who know how to beat the traffic, and street park legally know that those days are numbered. I'd love to pilot that Dodge here!