10 days, coast to coast, $50,000.

[Payman]

$50,000 budget. 10 day road trip NY to Cali and back. Money must cover the following:

The car. What's your ride for this road trip?

Hotels, motels, camping, etc.

Meals, snacks, beverages.

Gas.

Also, you can pick any famous person to go with you... just remember there'll be no sex. 

Now... GO!

[Cookie Monster]

Honda S2000.

Make it a used AP1. The rest of the money can go towards the hotels and food and whatnot.

I don't know who I'd take. Maybe a car guy like Jay Leno.

[Payman]

I'll pick a 2006 Boxster ($35,000), $2000 for hotels, $2000 for food and drink, $1000 for gas, and some $10K left for a stopover in Vegas. I would choose someone of similar age and coolness... maybe Kiefer Sutherland.

[Onslaught]

Mazda RX-8. Less than 30K for sure and the rest of the money would have to be in gas and oil. 

If I can't have sex with the person then it should be some guy. Don't want to be around some hot girl I can never bone.
Larry Bird or perhaps Patrick Stewart.

[NomisR]

No sex, then forget it.. i'm going at it alone.  Used Elise

[93JC]

Doesn't count as sex in any way, right?

[Rupert]

Dang, that's an unpleasantly short time to spend $50k. It would take a solid 5 days of just driving, which only leaves 5 days for recreating. If I only had 10 days and $50k, I'd fly somewhere else.

Make it a month, and I'll be in a Porsche 911 SC (that I will be keeping, thanks) with a good female friend. I would have $35k left over after the car, but we would probably camp a lot. I expect there would be some fancy dinners, some big motel rooms... I dunno if I could spend that much in a month while on the road in anything close to my typical mode of travel.

[Vinsanity]

Would I be the only one who would get tired of driving a sports car on the interstate for days on end? My choice would be a used 2007+ Escalade or DTS.

Right now, I'd pick Adam Corolla as my road trip buddy. I'm having a case of the brain farts with regards to my celebrities, so I might change that later on.

[MrH]

Used E92 325i.  And if I can't knock boots with the passengers, I'd just take one of my best friends.  Most celebrities are boring people.

[CALL_911]

993 Turbo.

I think Hammond or Clarkson would be my road trip buddy.

EDIT: I didn't completely read the post. If $50k covers everything, and you need to carry shit, I guess I'd take an E46 M3. The 911's trunk isn't exactly big.

EDIT #2: Maybe a 2006 Cayman S or 2005 911 C2S? Goddammit, I can't make up my mind. Excellent thread, Payman.

[Rupert]

Heh, maybe this could be done differently.

Take a passenger who is a good co-driver, and spend the bulk of the money on speeding tickets and bail and lawyers. Drive really fast for 4 hours each per day, and spend the rest of each day doing something interesting. Or, take back roads the whole way and drive 5-6 hours each per day.

[Rupert]

993 Turbo.

I think Hammond or Clarkson would be my road trip buddy.

You would take Clarkson? Holy hell, no. Hammond or Mays.

[CALL_911]

You would take Clarkson? Holy hell, no. Hammond or Mays.

Clarkson might get on my nerves, but I like him enough to think I'd get along with him.

Hammond, then.

[Raza]

Would I be the only one who would get tired of driving a sports car on the interstate for days on end? My choice would be a used 2007+ Escalade or DTS.

Right now, I'd pick Adam Corolla as my road trip buddy. I'm having a case of the brain farts with regards to my celebrities, so I might change that later on.

Yes, you are.  I'm between something sensible, like an MR-2 Spyder, something very sensible, like an S197 Mustang GT convertible, or something not so sensible like an Elise.

[Cookie Monster]

Hmm, another option for me would be an Impreza WRX STI. Plenty of room in the hatchback and still gives me $15k to spend. That's still $1500 per day which is PLENTY.

Plus I could hit all the dirt roads I could find.

[the Teuton]

I'm down between an E46 330iC and an E46 M3 cabrio for the car.  This is tough.

[Payman]

Actually, a big ol' boat would be fun too... like a '59 Cadillac convertible, or '62 Lincoln.

[Vinsanity]

Yes, you are.  I'm between something sensible, like an MR-2 Spyder, something very sensible, like an S197 Mustang GT convertible, or something not so sensible like an Elise.

Don't get me wrong, if the entire road trip were on PCH from SD to SF, then i would probably choose a used SL500, but spending hours on the road in a street-legal go-kart with a little 4-banger droning away behind your ears at 80 mph isn't my ideal way to travel.

Come to think of it, though, provided that one leg of my journey was PCH from SD to SF, I'd probably step up to a Mercedes W220 just so I'd avoid plowing into the ocean in an Escalade.

[Raza]

Don't get me wrong, if the entire road trip were on PCH from SD to SF, then i would probably choose a used SL500, but spending hours on the road in a street-legal go-kart with a little 4-banger droning away behind your ears at 80 mph isn't my ideal way to travel.

Come to think of it, though, provided that one leg of my journey was PCH from SD to SF, I'd probably step up to a Mercedes W220 just so I'd avoid plowing into the ocean in an Escalade.

If I had the choice of anything for a long trip, I'd probably get a four place convertible.  The Mustang GT convertible makes more sense than something incredibly impractical like an MR2 or Elise.

[2o6]

An Acura TL.

THIS generation of TL, mind you. Preferably a 6-speed, Type-S.




I'm really not going to drive farther than NY. 5 days isn't very long.

[Cookie Monster]

An E90 M3 would also be great but since that's too much I'll go for an E39 M5.

Fun when it needs to be, but also a big, luxurious highway cruiser.

[Eye of the Tiger]

10 days? Fuck that, I can do it in 3. I'll steal a CTS-V and spend the rest of the money on hookers and blow.

[565]

I agree that 10 days isn't a good amount of time for a road trip like that.

I once took a road trip from CT to the west coast and back, saw as many sights as I could.  Started from CT, Chicago, Badlands, Mt Rushmore, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, salt lake city, san francisco, sequoia national park, yosemite, LA, death valley, las vegas, hoover dam, grand canyon, Indianapolis (for friends), Cleveland (for friends), and Niagara falls.

It took 17 days, and we and a cot on the car and basically drove nonstop throughout the night whenever possible without stopping.  I think we did some calculations and it took about 5-6 hours of driving a day to make sure you'd make it.  For 10 days you'd be looking at 9 hours a day.

[S204STi]

Since I'm kinda bored with the car thing right now, $15k on a loaded Buell Ulysses XT, with my wife since everyone else bores me, with a few grand in camping gear and a motel midway for a good shower.  And I'll take a more or less southern route to avoid the windy midwest.

[Lebowski]

Honestly I'd just take my current car, C6 coupe.  I'd take any number of my friends over a celebrity.

[dazzleman]

Honestly I'd just take my current car, C6 coupe.  I'd take any number of my friends over a celebrity.

I'd take my current car, and spend the money on fancy hotels, resorts and dinners, as well as fun recreational activities.

[Sigma Projects]

10 days? Fuck that, I can do it in 3. I'll steal a CTS-V and spend the rest of the money on hookers and blow.

sounds like a true American

[Vinsanity]

I'd take my current car, and spend the money on fancy hotels, resorts and dinners, as well as fun recreational activities.

+2 for me if I had that option

[68_427]

1996 Buick Skylark with quad cam 2.4.      In bright red.

[hotrodalex]

Two brand new Ducati 848s ($25,000)

Hit up Embassy Suites every night, or something similar. ($3,000)

When I get hungry, I eat. ($???)

Gummy bears ($200 )

Couple thousand for gas.

I'll take Travis Pastrana with me.