Nissan Canada is taking a group of journalists from that country on a trip across the entire length of Route 66.
The reporters are traveling in three Nissan models — a 2020 Altima, a 2020 Murano and a 2019 Kicks — over a seven-day period. Doing all 2,400 miles of Route 66 in that timeframe is a bit ambitious, in my opinion.
The crew was scheduled to meet with Chicago Route 66 expert Dave Clark, Oklahoma artist and researcher Jerry McClanahan, author Jim Hinckley and artist Jim Livingston.
One of the reporters was filing near-daily accounts of their adventures (we’ll add links when we get them):
- Chicago to Cuba, Missouri
- Cuba to Tulsa
- Tulsa to Amarillo
- Amarillo to Albuquerque
- Albuquerque to Flagstaff, Arizona
- Flagstaff to Needles, California
- Needles to Santa Monica
A short history of Route 66 also was published.
More may be found on the Auto123 page on Facebook.
(Screen-capture image from Auto123 video of a Nissan in Oatman, Arizona)
At 343 miles a day, depending on the lengths of top speed limit road and the number of towns they drive through, with one driver per car, that should not be difficult; with two quite easy. I imagine Nissan are seeing it as a bit of an endurance test, for cars and drivers. Eight hours’ driving each day would give just over 46 mph average overall. How many CDs will they get through in that time?
That’s moving along pretty good, and will leave little or no time for enjoying the things 66 has to offer, other than a quick “Hey, look at that…”. Much more about the Nissan driving experience I guess, than enjoying 66. A missed opportunity really.
As for CDs, I wouldn’t be surprised if the answer is zero, as most manufacturers here have removed CD players from the infotainment systems of their newer designs. My new Jeep has none.
You are correct about the lack of CD players in new cars, Dave. That’s what happened when my wife recently purchased a new Chevy. However, she loves her satellite radio, and I admit it has quite a few terrific stations. She loves her Beatles station, and I enjoyed the Tom Petty station on a recent long drive.
Dynodave and Ron – do Americans really like being told they should only listen to someone else’s choice of music when driving? Along with all the adverts! As long ago as 1956 – when I bought my first tape recorder (a Grundig TK5 reel-to-reel, for those who know about such things) – I was compiling my own easy-to-listen-to tapes. I would tape records from a record player, or tape music from radio stations as a piece I liked was being broadcast. I have those tapes still. My current VW Fox has a radio/CD player; but also an auxiliary socket – to plug in a lead from a battery-powered cassette player or a solid state audio recorder. Thus I can enjoy commercial CDs and my own recordings “as I drive along in my old Vee-dub”.
When I drove vans and lorries for work, most of them had radios that would take audio cassettes. I would set a timer to record radio programmes at home, and listen to them the next day when driving.
Sirius doesn’t have any ads that I’ve heard. And I’ve always enjoyed the surprises and delights of good radio programming. I always dialed into WXRT in Chicago when I got close enough to its signal because of those very reasons. And the Navajo-language radio station in Arizona always is fascinating to hear. Both can be streamed over the internet.
Hey Eric. Ron is right…no ads on Sirius XM, except FOR Sirius XM. Listen by genre, and discover tunes you had forgotten, or never knew, along with many old favorites. I was just listening to Sir Paul while in the Jeep, in a brief clip from an interview between songs on the Beatles channel.
We did not expect to like it so much, Ron, but my wife and I both subscribed to Sirius XM. It spoils you.
And I’m not completely at their mercy Eric. Most folks here have their music as MP3 on their phones, or on dedicated players. I have over 600 of my favorites on my phone, So anytime I want just “my” music, it’s right there. From the phone by blue tooth wireless connection, round jack, or USB. All of those are available.
I also use the bluetooth and unlimited data in our phones to stream the KSHE Morning Rock Show at home and in the Jeep. Good stuff!
Oh, and I still have boxes of those cassettes I made as a kid, along with the albums they came from. LOL
The first report I looked at is in French:):):)
Thanks, Dave – for all the extra information. You’re right about MP3 being the method of the moment, along with Bluetooth. Last week I was looking at my shelf of LPs (!!!) and I copied one onto my digital audio recorder which I then plugged into the auxiliary input socket on my VW Fox. I’m glad to hear that you too taped LPs – all very daring, what with copyright. Cheers.
Had it been organised by Nissan USA, I would have expected Spanish!