10 Reasons Why You Should Road Trip Across America

Route 66 sign

Like religion, movies or cakes, the cult of cars manifests itself in gearheads in many ways.

Some are obsessed by speed. The faster a car is, the better. Others see them as pieces of rolling art - they might not get much of a kick from driving them, but restoring an old classic to concours condition and winning a rosette for its beauty is all that matters.

For others, it's all about the road trip. It matters not what car you're driving, nor how fast you're going, or even whether you have a destination in mind. But getting out on the road, spending hours behind the wheel and seeing the scenery change is the essence of freedom and exploration.

Nowhere is that freedom easier to find than in America. Here are five reasons why you must do an American road trip before you die.

1. The endless scenery

If you see this out the window, you're winning

What's better than a road trip? A longer road trip. Pick the right starting point in the U.S, and you can travel 3,000 miles or more without having to stop and turn around again. And in such a big country, the surroundings change hugely as you go. Desert, plains, coastal routes, mountains, canyons, forests, lakes and more will whizz past your windows. Every so often, you'll swear you're on the set of a movie - before realising you probably are, given how much of the U.S. has appeared on the silver screen before.

2. The empty roads

Think I'm safe to overtake...

Road tripping in the UK is fun, but can be frustrating. Just as you've found a great country road, you'll happen across a tractor, or an old lady in a Honda Jazz. Europe is emptier, and therefore better, but the U.S. tops the lot. Sometimes, you can go for tens of miles without coming across another car. Even if you do get stuck behind something slow-moving, chances are there'll be plenty of space to pass.

3. The cheap fuel

A gas station of yesteryear, yesterday

At the moment, fuel in the U.S. costs about half what it does in the UK. Or, put another way, you can go twice as far for the same price. Do a long enough trip and you could pay for fuel and your flights to the U.S. for less than the cost of a similar distance in Europe.

4. The big engines & big cars

Better than a Corsa, right?

Road trips can be great in anything, but over big distances a bit of comfort is welcome. Your average rental car in the U.S. will be pretty substantial, and even something fairly humble will have a bit of performance - expectations of what a car should do are different over there. There's a lot to be said for loping along all day in a big V6 or V8-powered barge.

5. The culture of cars

This is why the terrorists hate us.

A frustrating element of living in the UK is feeling like someone is always pissed off at you for driving a car. It's either the government taxing you through the arse, or Average Joe on the pavement sneering and hurling abuse at you if you own anything nicer than his smokey old Vectra. The good ol' US of A couldn't be more different - a nice car over there is appreciated as such. Tell someone you're driving coast to coast and they'd say "I wish I could do that", rather than saying "I bet that'll cost a lot in fuel, I'd rather go to Bognor Regis". And you'll meet dozens of people along the way who simply love cars.

And here are five epic trips you really should try out...

1. Route 66 (2,200 miles)

Possibly the most famous American road trip, immortalised in a song by Chuck Berry. Chicago to Los Angeles (or vice versa, but East to West is the traditional route), via plains, mountains and deserts. Good opportunities to swing by the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas, which naturally add a few hundred miles to the route. Some of the original route is still driveable too - even the concrete 1930s sections.

2. Pacific Coast Highway (600 miles)

Pacific Coast Highway (Image copyright: Google)

Tour the best parts of California on the Pacific Coast Highway - also known as PCH, or Highway One. Whether South to North or North to South, you'll pass through Laguna Beach, Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Big Sur and Monterrey, while the trip is bookended by San Francisco and San Diego.

3. Appalachian Trail (920 miles)

Appalachian Trail (Image copyright: Google)

A famous route in the eastern U.S, following the Appalachian mountains. Scenery central this one, and there's plenty of history to enjoy on this side of the country too. You could extend it by driving all the way down to New Orleans for a hit of southern culture.

4. Border to border (1,800 miles)

Border to Border (Image copyright: Google)

Our border to border route shows an abridged version - do the full route, as seen on Road Trip USA, and you'll start in Jasper, Canada, hitting the Rio Grande on the Mexican border in the South. You'll pass some stunning scenery though and the route cuts through Vegas if you fancy a bit of fun.

5. Oregon Trail (2,500 miles)

Oregon Trail (Image copyright: Google)

Another epic East to West route (or vice versa), the Oregon trail cuts right across the country from Cape Cod to Oregon's coast. Again, we've shown an abridged version, at 2,500 miles - you can add another thousand for the full route. Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone Park pass on the way, as will miles of farmland in the Midwest. The full route enjoys plenty of the U.S. Northeast too.