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The Nation's Pulse
Speed Shift
Getting to Seattle in a hurry — for the best of reasons.
I came to in Wyoming as the car slowed up the off ramp to a complete stop. “What’s going on?”
I asked my friend Tim, somewhat groggily, from the passenger seat of his diesel driven blue Jetta. Tim had been lead footing it again. He didn’t nail down how fast, exactly. I’m guessing 90. He thought he saw what might have been a cop in his rear view mirror, doing a U-turn into the westbound lanes of I-90. Best to be on the safe side, Tim figured. So we idled the car for a bit at that predawn hour.
We waited but didn’t see anything. It was probably a false alarm, a bit of caffeine and five-hour energy drink fueled paranoia near the end of a long journey. After a few minutes, we got back on the freeway and continued on our crazy, breakneck, cross-continent journey from D.C. to Seattle.
That was the closest that we got to a particularly unpleasant run-in with the law. In West Virginia, I figured out how to set the cruise control just in time to blow by a speed trap at an acceptable 7 miles over. Near the University of Chicago, an officer in a police car told us to pull out around a cab that had stopped right in the middle of the road, gave the cabbie hell, and then turned off behind us just in time to miss us running a stop sign.
But mostly the police were simply absent for long stretches. At one point, I drove 500 miles in six hours and didn’t pass a single cop car.
There were no real rude awakenings on the trip — for me. When you are driving through the night, it’s best to sleep lightly. I learned a while back that you should occasionally rouse and glance at the guy behind the wheel to see if he’s nodding off and it’s time for you to take over, if you want to get where you’re going in one piece. Another lesson: You can probably stretch out your time as navigator if you put in a Led Zeppelin CD early in the morning, provided that the car has a decent sound system.
Tim didn’t have it so quite so easy, because he was driving with the next worst thing to a madman: a student driver. I had driven a stick before, a long-time ago, but VWs handle differently and the car had turbo. It took awhile to get used to shifting up and down the gears and to regulate my speed. Then there was that time in South Dakota when I swerved to avoid hitting a pheasant that ran into the road. Tim told after that he only thought he was going to die a couple of times.
Road conditions didn’t help. We drove through heavy rain, sleet, snow, thick fog, and rubbernecking Wisconsin drivers. Thanks to last year’s stimulus bill, we had to keep slowing down for phantom road workers. Most of the work sites turned out to be unmanned, once we got to them. Perhaps it was because we drove through on the weekend or perhaps it was simply more economical to set up what seemed like half of I-90 as a future construction zone, and slowly rotate crews from one site to the next.
This was not a sightseeing trip. We didn’t stop to smell the roses, we blew by them. And we had no intention of tracking down the world’s largest ball of twine, wherever that might be located. The point was speed and delivery. We wanted to get from A to B as fast as we could reasonably manage, with only a few stops to keep our sanity and catch up with old friends and familiars.
Still, there were moments. When we came up over a hill and crossed the Missouri river, say, or when we were driving into a particularly striking sunset or under Montana’s starlit sky, I couldn’t help but be moved by it. And that look on Debbie Lott’s face, when we made it from one coast to the other in just under three days and had lunch with her on Mother’s Day? Impossible to forget.
About the Author
Jeremy Lott is editor of RealClearPolicy.com, RealClearBooks.com and RealClearReligion.org and associate editor of RealClearScience.com.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (32) | Leave a comment
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ggoblue| 5.17.10 @ 7:17AM
good job...keep exercising that freedom thingie
the auto gave mankind more freedom than he had ever known before, maybe thats why the libs hate cars so much?
169 days til the exorcism
loulou| 5.17.10 @ 10:53AM
Exorcism. I like that.
Maddox| 5.17.10 @ 11:29AM
Yes! "Exorcism" is the perfect word to describe the purge of evil coming to government.
Bob K.| 5.17.10 @ 8:03AM
Why didn't you fly first class on American like Ben Stein does? See his essay here today, or click on this link:
http://spectator.org/archives/.....erican-fir
Jeremy Lott | 5.17.10 @ 8:13AM
Because air travel is awful.
Bob K.| 5.17.10 @ 9:36AM
Why didn't you take your time and see how the rest of us live? You might have gotten some material for your blog? Why take "fly over" mentality on a drive across America when you can do the same thing by driving to the airport and arrive at your destination better rested, if not in a better mood?
Over the years I've traveled across the country to Seattle by plane (1st class and coach), car and bus and I can say that the worst trip of all was a hurried one by car.
Jeremy Lott | 5.17.10 @ 9:48AM
Because I wanted to make it to Seattle for Mother's Day.
Matt Morehouse| 5.17.10 @ 10:28AM
...so why didn't you leave a few days earlier?
Just had friends from Wisconsin visit us in California. They took mostly "Blue Highways" and many days going both ways. Both of them have crossed the continent many times at 30,000+ feet and said the drive was much better.
I agree as I have done it both ways.
Jeremy Lott | 5.17.10 @ 3:37PM
Because I have a job.
SC Mike| 5.17.10 @ 8:18AM
Nice trip. Did you happen to track your fuel consumption on the various legs of your journey?
Every week or two I spend seven to eight hours on a 500-mile jaunt along the eastern seaboard during daylight hours and am continually amazed at the safety, comfort, reliability, and efficiency of today’s autos: they’ve reached a level of performance unimaginable to the Luddites of the anti-destination league, the “drive 55” crowd.
I’m surprised too that the bodycount on the nation’s highways is so low, given some of the stupidity exhibited by fellow drivers. Just keep right except to pass, use that turn signal, and use a speakerphone or Bluetooth if you have to talk over the phone.
Bob| 5.17.10 @ 9:28AM
My kinda' road trip!!!
tdiinva| 5.17.10 @ 9:32AM
Mr. Lott:
Unless your friend had a 2009 or later TDI the car is hardly a rocketship. While the ALH and PD engined models with 90-100 hp have more zip then a comparable horsepower gasoline engine it's not going to run away from you.
Tim| 5.17.10 @ 1:55PM
Re: My TDI
I have a 2001 Jetta TDI ALH.
-VNT 17/22 Turbo running 26PSI boost
-PP 520 nozzles
-VR6 Clutch and G60 Flywheel
-Jeff @ Rocket chip tuned (RC 4)
-2.5 inch TT exhaust downpipe with magnaflow diesel muffler
- 2 inch drop on the car and switched out the suspension to an Eibach Pro Dampener setup (springs and matching shocks)
I haven't had it on a dyno yet, but several mechanics I've had work on it who are far more knowledgeable than I about these things put it around 175HP /w gobs of torque.
tdiinva| 5.17.10 @ 2:24PM
Tim:
Pretty cool but it's not a stock motor. I suspect that Mr. Lott's partner was driving a stock TDI.
BTW what's your 0-60 time and Do you know about Fred's TDI page, tdiclub.com?
Jeremy Lott | 5.17.10 @ 3:25PM
Pretty sure this is the actual Tim mentioned in the article above.
tdiinva| 5.17.10 @ 3:53PM
Oh, wasn't clear. That was one hell of ride then. He was only going 90? My 100hp TDI can do that!
tdiinva| 5.17.10 @ 3:53PM
Oh, wasn't clear. That was one hell of ride then. He was only going 90? My 100hp TDI can do that!
Tim| 5.17.10 @ 7:18PM
Yeah, it's a nice car :)
I'm looking for a 2 Door Golf with an ALH in it to mess around with and get above 200HP.
GreyLion| 5.17.10 @ 10:28AM
Mr. Lott,
"At one point, I drove 500 miles in six hours and didn't pass a single cop car. "
I don't know if you are praising or complaining here, but why do you find that significant? If you feel the need for protection or help when on the road your going to have to see to your own out here.
I am glad you enjoyed the wide and starry Montana skies, they are beautiful. I90 through eastern Montana is a road for rockets.
Why don't you take a slower trip through flyover country next time? You might learn something.
Ken Roberts| 5.17.10 @ 10:30AM
no money in speeding tickets and they become messy over time. The real money is in cameras that take a picture of your license plate if you run a red light no witness to the event and you pay online only. in Middle town Ohio. I have written my representative in Ohio and complained it was a trap and not fair to the safety of the occupants in the car. also if the camera malfunctions then you are ticketed any way. If you loan your car it could also be a family disrupting thing to figure out who was driving the car at that time and date. the one who owns the car gets the ticket. no police or humans involved,.
Pete| 5.17.10 @ 11:00AM
Cops are about revenue generation, not safety. I recall many years ago getting pulled over some 30 miles outside of Jackpot, NV doing 90-95 or so...hadn't seen another car for many miles. The cop asked, "what makes you think you can go that fast around here." I said, "Look around, if not here, where?" (That area is high plains sagebrush and almost completely unpopulated) He didn't like that answer, but that fact is that I was no danger to anyone at all and he was just out essentially fundraising for his city/county.
moron| 5.17.10 @ 1:20PM
Next speeding ticket I get I will give this article to the municipal judge, watch his facial reaction, then ask for deferred. The judge drives a car too. They get their money and are happy. Keep trucking.
philhoey| 5.17.10 @ 3:11PM
anyone beside me remember the Car & Driver Cannonball Runs in the '70s. There were four of them. Follow this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.....rophy_Dash
MikeN| 5.17.10 @ 4:14PM
Maybe you didn't pas a single cop car because they were behind you, or in front of you traveling the same speed.
Neo| 5.17.10 @ 4:37PM
Those long trips are fine, so long as you open your eyes soon enough to avoid that bridge embankment.
Cabermon| 5.17.10 @ 5:18PM
Tim and Jeremy,
Nice car, nice trip, nice chronical.
Big exhaust and lowered chassis help breathing and reduce drag, respectively. I'll bet that you got between 35 and 45 mpg on this trip with your highly efficient turbo-diesel .
Tim| 5.17.10 @ 7:22PM
@Cabermon
We did indeed, I think 47 was the average. If I put the 15 inch 'snow tires' and the factory plastic covers on, as well as drive around 65 instead of 85 it bumps the mileage up to around 56 MPG.
The 17 inch alloys I have on it right now aren't the best for the gas mileage, but they make it handle amazingly well.
DukeD| 5.17.10 @ 7:38PM
I know why you were always looking for the fuzz. Cause you're from DC. Me too and I've never seen so many cops on the road as in Maryland/DC/Va.
Capt G| 5.19.10 @ 12:14AM
Pay no mind to the "smell the flowers" crowd; there's something cathartic about exercising a car and a driver on roads meant to be utilized at speed. And this just in; interstates are rarely scenic as compared to the roads they replaced.
And the best time for a high speed transit is at night, when the commuters and constables are at a minimum, and right lane etiquette is observed more rigorously. I've nothing against the VW, other than lack of power, and that only because it doesn't allow for ditching the ubiquitous Cobalt driver using you as his front door.
Essentials for fast transit are good 'H'-rated or higher rubber, 100 watt high beams, a quart-sized Uno-Vac thermos, and road music that withstands cruising at 80-100 with the windows down. Jethro Tull, Jeff Beck, Genesis, and Springsteen all work for the latter.
No red-blooded American would fly when he could conceivably justify driving. Besides, flying is dangerous.
Driving is an American Graffiti moment trying to keep up with a gorgeous blond in a chocolate colored TR-7 crossing Iowa. Flying is five hours with her grandmother. Come to think of it; that's why I dumped the old VW.
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