THE WEEK THAT WAS

As a medium-strength summer flu struck me down, I reminisced about the happenings in automobiledom over the second full week of June 2007. What will it be remembered for?

Hyundai's second-generation Santa Fe has been placed on the list of 'Top Safety Picks' by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The tests performed on the Santa Fe by the IIHS are different from NHTSA, with front and side impacts as well a test which measures whiplash protection. Electronic Stability Control is a must in the sight of this institute, which is funded by insurance companies themselves.....


The completely revived company known as Aston Martin - formerly a decades-long money loser - is becoming a mainstay in endurance and sports car racing. Work to change the DB9 into the DBR9 was contracted out to Prodrive; a company that since found itself as part of Aston Martin's ownership group. Bigger news has been heard emanating from Gaydon this week, however. The V8 Vantage racer known as 'N24' will be offered to British car consumers. At a cost. Of almost $200K. The racing version of one of the world's most beautiful automobiles has a 30 extra horsepower, adjustable suspension, a roll cage to clearly mark the car out as, hmm, slightly different. The diet foisted upon the smallest Aston has dropped its weight to just 2,930 pounds. Britian's SVA system makes the sale of this car possible, thru the addition to the race car of a hand brake, license plate lights, revised exhaust, and a steering column lock. This car is basically the equivalent of a roadgoing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, a car which does not exist.....

Hopefully this news won't crush your dreams: if you're still contemplating over your Bentley Brooklands vs. house conundrum, stick with the house. Deliveries of Bentley's biggest and boldest won't begin until next year but the first year's production of the hand-built; 530bhp; 184mph; 774 lb ft torque monster is sold out. Sorry to break it to you - you just didn't put your name on that waiting list soon enough.....

By the end of this decade Hyundai hopes to sell a hybrid version of the Avante/Elantra in Korea. Gasoline will not fuel this hybrid though. Aiding the electric motor will be liquefied petroleum gas....

The Japanese giant has declared that a system known as Valvematic, developed by Toyota itself, will improve efficiency by 5-10 percent while reducing CO2 emissions and adding a dose of horsepower. And get this - Toyota did not connect this news with the h-word. They used phrases like, 'the gasoline engine', and 'while conventional engines', and even dared to talk about 'dynamic performance'. Basically, Toyota said, the system 'adjusts the volume of air taken in by continuously controlling the intake valve lift volume and timing of valve opening and closing'. Many an automotive engineer has proclaimed that there is plenty of life left in the internal combustion gasoline engine. Toyota plans to overhaul its whole gasoline and transmission lineup within the next few years. Meanwhile, the introduction of the next Prius has been pushed back to the spring of 2009. Matsushita Electric, a working partner with Toyota, is attempting to forge ahead with a lithium-ion battery rather than the nickel-metal-hydride, but safety concerns induced a holdup......

Finally, will Lewis Hamilton make you think about watching Formula 1 racing this year? Perhaps Indianapolis tomorrow? The rookie has been on the podium for the first six races of his career. He won his first ever race in Montreal last Sunday. However, he is just 22 years old, and I ask myself why my driving skill did not develop as quickly Mr. Hamilton's?

SURVEY SAYS....

Harbour Consulting may not strike you as familiar right from the off, but J.D. Power may well carry some sway in your books. Research completed by Harbour shows that - surprise - Toyota was the most efficient automaker, circa 2006, in North America. Ford's performance was not so stellar, but did show improvement compared with 2005.

J.D. Power's Initial Quality Survey should never play a large role in car-buying decisions, but when used as a tool to compare Ford with Ford, or BMW with BMW, or Land Rover with Land Rover year over year, Initial Quality stats carry meaning. People, especially automotive sales consultants, are tempted to ignore the 'Initial' part of the title, and hang their coats on this survey rather than long-term reliability and dependability.

Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler all proved themselves to be improved in the year 2006. In North America; Toyota can build a vehicle in 29.93 labour hours. General Motors needs just 32.26, while DaimlerChrysler required 32.9 hours. Nissan fared almost as well as Toyota; better than Japanese headquartered Honda; at just 29.97. Honda's automobiles are paragons of efficiency, and the manufacturing of said vehicles would not need much improvement to rank at the top. 31.63 labour hours is not too shabby.

Ignore all extra costs related to extended build times bar employee wages; and one can easily see a big reason for Ford's dreary financial statements. Although 35.1 labour hours per vehicle in 2006 is better than their 2005 average, it ain't that much better. If all that mattered was worker cost, and if a worker cost just $20/hr, Ford would still pay out $103.40 more per vehicle than Toyota. There's hundreds of millions of $ being thrown around simply because of lax efficiency standards. In reality, says Harbour Consulting, the gap between the best (Toyota) and the worst (Ford) is 2.16 labour hours narrower than it was in 2005, but the actual cost per vehicle caught in that gap is around $300.00. Ouch.

Ford makes up for that dreadful news in the J.D. Power study. JDP depends on the reporting of manufacturing defects and design problems by automobile owners. Ford/Lincoln/Mercury owners are quite impressed with their vehicles in the first 90 days of ownership. The Mustang is the most problem free midsize sporty car. Mercury and Lincoln Fusionalikes, the Milan and MKZ, ranked as the best midsized car and best entry premium car. Lincoln's luxed-up F150 pickup, the Mark LT, was the top ranked SUV, and the oh-so-famous Mazda roadster, MX-5 Miata, came in at #1 in the compact sporty car category.

Jaguar was at one time infamous for electrical glitches and blown gaskets. Now, at least over the first 90 days of ownership, Jaguars are as trouble free as Toyotas. Porsche ranked at the top of the list for overall brands. Ford-owned SUV maker Land Rover was the most-improved brand, while still finishing a conspicuous l-a-s-t. Queen Elizabeth has never seemed to mind the fact that her fave sport-utes have 1.7 problems per vehicle. Granted, I've never seen a shot of Prince Philip helping his wife out of the back seat of a Porsche, a brand which suffers just 90 problems per 100 vehicles, or 0.9 per car. Perhaps then the Land Rover would not seem so dependable.

In individual categories winners included: Kia Rio, Honda Civic, Mazda MX-5, Porsche Boxster, Lincoln MKZ, Mercedes E-class, Audi A8/Benz S-class, M-B SL-class, Ford Mustang, Mercury Milan, Pontiac Grand Prix, Honda CR-V, Toyota 4Runner, Toyota Sequoia, Lexus RX, Lincoln Mark LT, Chevrolet Silverado Classic HD, Toyota Tacoma, and Chevrolet Express.

Translated, Kia Rios give owners less trouble in the first 90 days than would an Echo/Yaris from Toyota. Interesting.

REVERSE PSYCHOLOGY

Favouritism is not a healthy kind of thing. However, apart from and outside of my traditional, respectful, and unbiased journalism... I play favourites. And one of my favourites is Subaru. Subaru goes their own way, and I like that.

But this once; just this once, I need to pick on Subaru. Only as an example of a wider trend in the automotive world; only as a major caterer to consumer excess . This problem is not endemic to Subaru or its engineers. Nevertheless, their first SUV supplies fodder for my complaints as well as anything else on the road.

Subaru's B9 Tribeca, a shot of which you see above, has been superseded by the Subaru Tribeca. No B9; no aero-inspired nose; and no complete lack of power. In other words, you now have a more traditionally named vehicle with a more conservative nose and a touch more zip.

Incidentally, the touch more zip comes with no extra sip. Subaru has upped the size of its flat-six engine (horizontally opposed cylinders, 'boxer' style, like a Porsche) from 3.0L to 3.6L, thereby increasing horsepower by eleven and torque by 32 lb-ft. This all adds up to a trucklet which does not offend with its snout - while also not standing out - and happens to offer no increasing offense to the green crowd because it uses no more fuel than its smaller engined, less powerful predecessor. Phew, long explanation.

What's the problem? There's no problem, per se. A slight conundrum. If automotive engineers, at Subaru and every other car company, are capable of making bigger; more powerful engines with identical fuel economy to smaller; weaker engines - does that not mean that the reverse should also be true? Make similarly sized engines; equal in force, with better efficiency?

Seems possible. Fueleconomy.gov shows the '07 B9 Tribeca with the exact same city/highway ratings as the '08 Tribeca. 16 city/21 highway for a combined 18 US mpg. The 2008 is approximately 600cc bigger in the engine bay. Had Subaru kept the size down and applied the same technology and mechanical know-how, how would the '08 be rated at Fueleconomy.gov?

But we consumers would have none of that. While we all suggest that car makers and oil producers are kissing cousins, we also request more power. More power is one very good way to consume more fuel. Try it with your electricity company - turn on all your lights 24/7 for one month and watch your bill rise. Subaru has given us what we want - more horses under the hood with better efficiency. Yes, better efficiency. Think about it.

Run ten work horses around your farm for one hour. At the end your horses will want to drink. Let's guess sixteen gallons of water. If you found another group of horses, thirteen strong, which could run around your farm in just 3/4 of an hour, finishing all the work your previous batch of horses completed, drinking the same sixteen gallons of water the previous batch did, would you prefer them? Of course. They're more efficient. They drink the same amount, but do everything faster. Likewise the new Tribeca.

You thought I would condemn Subaru. Nah, they're just supplying North America with the vehicle North Americans want. Is it time for more fuel efficient cars and trucks? Yes. But we still want our power; society's willingness to sacrifice has not hit the automotive mainstream yet. We can't blame Subaru for giving car buyers exactly what they requested, even if Fueleconomy.gov had little to update on their Subie page.

GETAWAY IN THE PT CRUISER

Apart from our first day's drive through Shenandoah, and even during that drive, we'd been constricted by varying degrees of heavy traffic. It was time to breakaway.

The PT Cruiser was serving us well, and we could already see that the gas gauge (skewed though they all may be) was behaving friendly. On Wednesday, May the 23rd we checked out of our hotel in Chantilly and made a beeline for Leesburg, Virginia. Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets was a must see - and must buy - during our 12-day vacation. We resisted the urge to spend like crazy, and during a long trot back to the PT we were grateful we hadn't. Unseasonably warm temperatures made lugging a dehydrating experience, and so we were once again appreciative of the Chrysler's good air-con system.

PT Cruiser's MSRP's begin at a notch over $15,000 in the States, a speck over $20K in Canada. The engine room holds a 150bhp 4-cylinder that really should make more power, considering its size, but it does punch out healthy torque. 165 lb-ft right in the midrange at 4000rpm. At the bare-bones pricing you ought to expect a bare-bones vehicle, because a bare-bones vehicle is what you'll be getting. Considering you're at the price of a fully-equipped Honda Fit, power windows and AM/FM/CD aren't overwhelmingly convincing pieces of equipment. Cruiser's have never been considered luxury vehicles, though. Spacious style statements, yes, luxury cars, no. Most switches and knobs for such practical things like folding seats and door handles are where you'd expect them to be located, and regardless of your perch; you will have space.

All of this is noted because from Leesburg we had a bit of a drive. After passing through Maryland we were soon in Gettysburg, home to the most momentous Civil War battle of them all. From Gettysburg we traveled to Pittsburgh on a mixture of fun, impressive roads and turnpike. Uck, turnpike.

We were welcomed onto the Penn Turnpike by wailing sirens. Siren sound derived from a bunch of emergency vehicles heading for the site of six tractor trailers piled up. I don't mean to sound insensitive or cold, but truck drivers on the pike drive with high levels of aggression, impatience, and disregard for dangerous situations. Bumper-to-bumper when traffic is light, bumper-to-bumper when traffic is heavy. They're frequently cruising at higher speeds than the rest of the car traffic. In retrospect, the six trucks piled up was not surprising whatsoever.

Highway '30' from Gettysburg leading to the turnpike station in Breezewood was epic. Spiraling downward hundreds of metres, little-to-no-traffic, and quaint homes everywhere we looked. The town of Chambersburg fit the all-American image to a T. We had a few short minutes in the Fort Loudon forest, which did not fail to impress us with the thickness of its trees and eye-opening surroundings. (I had a Benadryl in me, it takes something to fully open one's eyes when Benadryled up.)

Chambersburg Road, Lincoln Highway, Highway 30... whatever name you use for that road, I suggest you travel it when given the opportunity. Chrysler PT Cruiser not required, and maybe not even suggested. Perhaps the use of a turbo would help, as in the GT. The convertible Cruiser would do fine, too. Some aspects of the road truly inspired roof-down moments.

Top right - most roads surrounding main battlefields in Gettysburg
will lead to Highway 30. Above, wish there was more time for the PT Cruiser to be
parked in front of La Bella Italia, the must-eat location in Gettysburg.

D.C. RUSH HOUR - VIA PT CRUISER

Leaving the District of Columbia, it seems to take quite some time to rid yourself of 'city', regardless of what direction you're traveling. Driving in to Washington offers up the reverse scenario - you may be far from the capital, but you're in 'city' and will not lack that surrounding until you arrive at your destination.

In our case the destination was the Smithsonian Metrorail station, although we used the Metro Center station (just two stops prior) the next trip into Washington. The thought of negotiating National Capital Region traffic all the way from Chantilly, Virginia to the downtown core of the nation's capital does not frighten me. It sickens me.

Sitting in a car for an extended period of time is what I make a career of - but I believe the car should be moving. There were periods of the drive where traffic seemed to disappear. During mass exodus to the off-ramp number one I thought we were home free to the Vienna/Fairfax Metrorail station.

I was wrong.

There was a mass exodus to the off-ramp, but there was also a mass in-gathering at the on-ramp, which was frequently a 3/4 mile appendage. Sitting still resumed. The PT Cruiser was both an utter disaster and complete joy during this stagnant activity. The former; due to its poor radio reception. Each radio station lasted about 1/4 mile, before I resumed the search for another station. The search usually lasted about 1/2 mile. Complete joy; the air-con was a powerful thing and the seats never caused an ache. It's a pain to achieve zero miles per gallon guzzled, but the overall figure of 30mpg (US) over the duration of the trip made up for those six trips to the station and back.

I eventually discovered that we were eligible for the left-most lane on the major highways. The left-most is not there for vehicles passing (ha!) but is actually designated as the HOV lane. In my line of work, HOV stands for high-output vehicles. But I did not see a single Corvette Zo6, Dodge Ram SRT-10 or any other American muscle cruise the HOV lane.

I realized that the vehicles I was looking for weren't really high-output by specific definition. Corvettes actually have a very low specific output - plenty of power, but its all derived from a massive powerplant. A BMW M3 or Honda S2000 would be more fitting in the HOV lane.

I saw neither.

So it made then made sense to me that HOV applies to Huge Obedient Virginians, of which there are many. Realizing that this classification would be difficult for police to patrol since I myself could not always tell which lane occupier was obedient, I devalued this possible explanation.

Just joking. HOV lanes are for high occupancy vehicles. Hybrids are also permitted access. Unfortunately, cheaters abound. Nothing can stop you from signaling, or just cutting someone off. Lone drivers were frequent abusers. In most areas the lane was faster moving, but it was not an uncommon site to see HOV users struggle in their quest for the right-most lane to the off-ramps.

The hybrid glorification is, and always has been, a bit odd. Your dentist's Lexus GS450h is listed as a 23mpg vehicle by www.fueleconomy.gov, but your friend's Mazda3 hatchback is a 25mpg vehicle. They're equally efficient in the city, but the Lexus uses premium fuel. The Lexus puts out 0.7 tons of extra greenhouses gases every year compared with the Mazda, would be wasting more interior space when inhabited by only one person, and is only two notches better on one Air Pollution Score; worse on another.

Yet the Lexus roams freely in the high-occupancy vehicles lane while the Mazda3 and many like it are restricted. Common sense, anyone? Can I sell you some logic? Could I offer you, Gov. Tim Kaine and Mayor Fenty, a complimentary dose of rationale?

Two Chantilly departure times, separated by only 25 minutes, resulted in a doubling of our travel time to the Vienna/Fairfax station. Much of the extra 20 minutes was sitting on the off-ramp leading to the station's parking garage. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority trains are ugly on the outside and move like a large boat on high seas. The advantage, of course, is precise timing. There were no HOV lanes underground, no aggressive dump truck drivers. If my memory serves us correct, we sat in two traffic jams near Foggy Bottom with a total-time-wasted of about 28 seconds. Not bad. Traveling the trains wasn't cheap, $30 for two of us for just four individual trips. Parking was priced nicely, at just $3.75 a day. Better than that was the simple availability of parking. Don't try parking in D.C. at this time of year. Discouragement ensues after discovering the constant blockading of streets at sundry times; expense; and general frustration.

Leading to the station, multitudes of Porsches made me take notice. The 911 has lost its exclusivity. Once in Washington, Grand Marquis, large Cadillacs, and Suburbans take centre stage. As expected.

AMERICAN SENSIBILITIES - THRU PT'S WINDOW

Genuine confusion reigned. During the week leading up to Saturday, May 19th, CNN was all over the rising gas prices; the alleged price gouging; and the awful timing of soon-coming Memorial Day weekend.

As you might guess, I'm a frequent reader of American automotive media. I follow the sales statistics and talk to some Americans as well. So why are Suburbans, Escalades, GX470's, Expeditions, Durangos, 4Runner's, Pathfinders, and Navigators all cruising by our PT Cruiser 15 mph over the speed limit? And don't you answer, "Because if they can afford those vehicles they can afford the fuel." The driver of a 7-year old black Expedition is not so rich that he can perpetually cruise at 130kmh all day, every day.



A more serious questions I asked The Good Car Girl was, "Why do the people with the fuel efficient vehicles, such as hybrids and maxi city cars, follow the same practice?" Shouldn't they know better? Perhaps the issue is just that: they do not know better. Perhaps Americans are unaware that their complaints do not match up with their behaviour. Realizing that there is a fuel 'crisis' and that you have a 15mpg truck does not mean you must turn that 15mpg truck into a 12mpg truck. For every 10kmh over 100, you use about 10% more fuel.

During the Democrats debate last night, most candidates were asked what they would do now to lower fuel prices. Lower? Lower? Americans do not grasp the magnitude of their comfortable situation. Our driving through Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania cost us $92.00 in the United States, but would have cost $142.00 here in my hometown. At current exchange rates, the figure would still reflect the price disparity in fuel. That $142 CDN is about $135 USD.

So why are they complaining so viciously? Complaints at least as viciously as our's, and likely a bit more whiny. I was under the impression that US consumers were beginning to 'buy small'. Through those facts we must also remember the vehicles already on the road. Leading up to Hurricane Katrina, and even after, car buyers were purchasing/leasing record numbers of large SUV's and trucks. Those vehicles don't suddenly disappear during a fuel 'crisis' when some buyers begin trading in for smaller vehicles.

The step-down approach to Canadian car buying has always intrigued me. Whereas Camry and Accord dominate sales in the USA - Civic, Corolla, and Mazda3 do so here. So when American consumers wish to make a conscious conservation effort, they step down a level to the Civic or Corolla at the same time as Canadian buyers cry out for more cars like the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris.

It actually took us by surprise on Shadyside Avenue in Pittsburgh. 'It' being a Honda Fit. Was everybody in Virginia and Washington keeping them in their garages? I could understand why the Yaris' were missing. Yaris buyers would be quite prone to purchasing a Scion xB, and buy them they do.

The American fascination with the SUV has not been lost on me; I've lived there. Canadians have a connection with the sport-ute as well, but clearly aren't so passionate. What awed me was the speed at which the SUV's travel, the number of large SUV's with only one human aboard, and the number of SUV's still dominating the landscape. As of May 2007 Americans did not have mainstream access to smart fortwo's, but I still expected to see a larger contingent of small vehicles. Yet small cars failed to appear before my eyes. Canadians love their CR-V's; Rav4's; Tuscon's; and Escapes. Americans love their Pilots, Highlanders, Veracruz's, and Edges.
I deem nobody as stupid, but I'm not against accusing people of being annoying. Analyze this for a second.

You know those people who walk to the fridge; open the door; see tons of food; and say, "I'm hungry. But there isn't really anything I want." Those people are complaining about a situation that is actually catering to them. All you have to do is take the bread, meat, mustard, and pickles and make a sandwich. Kind of like people who could simply slow down a notch, trade-in to something smaller, and walk to the convenience store but instead say, "Gas is way too expensive, they're gouging me; and this shouldn't be a free market. At least not when it comes to gas."

It's starting to bother me. You're willing to pay for it - you keep paying for it - you will not stop paying for it - why should they lower the price for people who continue to buy gas even as they raise the price? And if you can't - since you can't; do anything about the prices, why not change your behaviour?

I believe that east-coast Canadians are beginning to change their behaviour. However, many people in the mid-Atlantic states, especially Virginia, are not changing a thing. And before you ask how we drive, consider this: Fueleconomy.gov says a Chrysler PT Cruiser like the one we drove will achieve 19 mpg in the city, 24 on the highway. After 950 miles, we used a gallon every 30 miles.

SHENANDOAH -BY PT CRUISER

If you leave Chantilly, Virginia and head west towards Front Royal, consider yourself very close to Shenandoah National Park. The Skyline Drive heads south from Front Royal until the park ends and you enter the George Washington National Forest. You can soon consider yourself on the Blue Ridge Parkway, which will take you around Roanoke and into North Carolina. Skyline Drive , from the north at Front Royal to the south at Rockfish Gap, runs 105 miles (170km). However, you are not driving the typical highway speed of a mile-a-minute, nor do you wish to.

We were definitely enjoying the space of a Chrysler PT Cruiser. There are a few quirks I could do without in the tall retro hatch, such as window controls above the stereo; underneath the clock. Didn't I adjust? Not quickly, and even after 12 days the adjustment seems ridiculous. Besides, once home, there was no adjustment required for the normal position of window controls. Overhead lighting was under the sole jurisdiction of the driver at all times; and placed far in toward the wheel on the left control stalk. Awkward.

Radio reception was abysmal. When I say abysmal.... I mean... abysmal. One drive in another automobile, seven years the PT's senior, made clear that the radio difficulties were not peculiar to the mid-Atlantic states. Relative to the four passenger doors, either I was stupid (along with The Good Car Girl and brother) or the door design was poor. For instance, leading up from the side mirror to the highest point of the door edge was a terrible curl. My head is not prepared for that. We predict straight edges or something somewhat akin to straight. Thud, crack, bang, ouch. At least twice a day.

Cupholders were way to low for easy access. While driving, one's right arm would need a dose of Go-Go-Gadget to reach the drink and still have a head that was anything close to watching the road.

Whine whine whine, complain complain complain. There are specific circumstances in which these complaints surface. Impossible to read map on a busy and dark Virginia highway trying to find our hotel? Blame the overhead lighting. Driving the Skyline and wishing the camera could extend out the window just a bit? Try finding those window switches... grr. Want some hoppin' music for such a beautiful drive? Not gonna happen. I mean, not gonna happen. Out and in and out and back in the car taking pictures on the 3500 ft high overlooks in Shenandoah? You'll soon be concussed. Want your drink? Be sure not to drive off the side of Signal Knob while reaching.

But always the optimist, I discover these things. The Chevron at Elkwallow only charged $2.97 a gallon for regular gas, cheapest we saw all trip. The PT Cruiser was only gently sipping, which, in spite of the low speed, seemed impressive considering the mountain climbing. We were sitting in remarkably comfortable seats. Must've been inspired by the former Benz dominance in the company. The Chrysler had no trouble pulling up to overlooks at Gooney Run, Jenkins Gap, Hogwallow Flats, Gravel Springs Gap and Little Hogback. From the very high point near Little Hogback, we began to descend back to the 2304 feet at the Thornton Gap Entrance Station.

Exiting the park we headed for the caverns at Luray, west of Skyline Drive. 500,000 people do a 2 km walking tour underground each year. Of those 500,000 visitors and their many tour guides, some throw substantial amounts of money into one specific underground pool. Over the last fiftyish years, $623,000 has been collected from that pool and given to charity.

That pool is not the best reason to travel to the Luray Caverns. Clearly, it will inspire you to drain your pockets after already paying the $19 entrance fee. T'would be far better to pay attention to the stalagmite and stalactite formations; breathe in the cool, moist 14ºC air; listen to the stories of the discoverers; and check out the small car museum next door. Home to one Hispano-Suiza; one Bugatti; a couple Model T's; and at least one ancient Rolls-Royce. The PT Cruiser's fenders fit in quite well.

Before we left the D.C. area we considered driving back to the hotel by way of the main highway. Having already done over 30 miles on the Skyline Drive, we were positive in our resolve to experience the reverse drive with different lighting and angles and the low speed limit. There would be something sweet about a 10/10ths drive on the Skyline, but not your first or second or even fifth time through. We'd have missed so much.

Cyclists, hikers, and bikers abounded. The adjoining picture shows that some people had muscle cars which would have savoured an aggressive drive. The collective enjoyment of everyone we saw was an impressive thing to behold in itself. Plenty of oohs and aahs at the overlooks. Many impressive automobiles being used solely as seating and air conditioning units to effectively transport humans to the next overlook.

The PT Cruiser fulfilled its role on the only exclusive Virginian day of our trip. The slow and easy Skyline Drive would be met - within hours - by metropolitan Washington's rush hour. Hold on tight.