Long-Term Road Tests

It's day one of our annual Oregon road trip. So far, the 2007 Cadillac SRX is proving to be a pleasant companion indeed. The V6 engine makes decent power and I'm liking the way it rides and drives: less trucky than a big SUV and less bloated than a minivan.

Route 66-like attractions still exist just off the beaten path. The trick is finding them. Thanks to "Eccentric California", a guidebook of roadside oddities, we found out about Aerodogs - a hot dog stand built from the hulk of a Convair T-29A trainer airplane.

Cadillac's easy-to-use navigation system allowed us to add a mid-route waypoint with a few simple keystrokes. Our only gripe is that we had to come to a dead stop to do it. My wife, riding shotgun, had two free hands, and the SRX, like every other modern car, has a passenger detection system connected to the airbags. It's a shame the driver distraction lobby doesn't see the logic of hooking one to the other so that passengers can make address inputs while underway.

The hot dogs were pretty good too. But I'm regretting the decision to get chili on my Polish dog right about now.

First tank fuel economy: 373.8 miles, 19.7 gallons added for 19.0 mpg.

Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing @ 21,312 miles