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I have a cunning plan. It involves flying to the US, buying a classic muscle car and cruising what’s left of Route 66 and then shipping it home for those sunny Sunday afternoon drives. Yeah, 50% of the male population’s dream too.

But here’s the thing; mine is actually on the cards. Okay maybe not this year or the year after, but it is in the stages of being talked about at home. There’s another problem though; it may be my cunning plan, but my wife’s plan involves doing Route 66 in a rental. Kill me now.

The best part of this plan was when we started talking about what car we would buy. That means (in my head at least) that I’ve won her over.

And that’s where it gets tricky; our garage could just squeeze in an early 80s Corvette (my choice, teenage dream and all that). Her dream involves a ‘67 Chevy Impala because it’s the car used in the TV series, Supernatural (that’s the logic I’m dealing with people!).

My dream cruiser
My dream cruiser
My wife's dream cruiser (yawn)
My wife’s dream cruiser (yawn)

The garage won’t fit an Impala, so perhaps we could compromise. But with what car?

Then I stumbled across a Jay Leno’s Garage clip of the Oldsmobile 442. We both like it. It’s quite short and stumpy (but not as much as a Corvette), and good looking (but not as much as a Corvette). Prices? Quite reasonable on Craigslist, but finding a good one doesn’t look easy.

oldsmobile-442

Check out this clip – I love the sound, love the look and love the story behind this modified 442. Perhaps I could force myself to do Route 66 in one after all.

On the other hand – what’s your suggestion for a smallish, attractive V8 American cruiser?

Disclaimer: the reality of my dream and the actual outcome may be completely different.

 

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Fred Alvrez
How on earth to start this? I've been car/bike/truck crazy since I was a teen. Like John, I had the obligatory Countach poster on the wall. I guess I'm more officially into classic and muscle cars than anything else - I currently have a '65 Sunbeam Tiger that left the factory the same day as I left the hospital as a newborn with my mother. How could I not buy that car? In 2016 my wife and I drove across the USA in a brand-new Dodge Challenger, and then shipped it home. We did this again in 2019 in a 1990 Chev Corvette - you can read about that trip on DriveLife, and again in 2023 buying a C5 Corvette and shipping it home. I'm a driving instructor and an Observer for the Institute of Advanced Motorists - trying to do my bit to make our roads safer.

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