US Rental car

[scillyisles]

The Camaro SS handles like a boat which most American cars seem to handle like.
I always try to hire a European car in the US for this very reason.
Hertz is normally pretty good for European cars but is appreciably more expensive than the other car rental companies.
Recent rentals have been Mercedes E350 Cabriolets from Hertz which have had every extra on them. Nice cars to drive but rear visibility is an issue if the top is not down.

 

[Markjames]

Last time I was there I had a v6 mustang convertable, it was fine for just cruising around with the roof down but it didn't have much get up and go and drank so much fuel. Did about 1000 miles in 2 weeks.

 

[HotJambalaya]

I'm flying out to LA on Thursday and am renting that same car - Camaro SS!!

We're driving to San Francisco then back down to Palm Springs in week one, followed by a second week in Hawaii where we're renting a Dodge Challenger R/T. I totally don't need a car in Hawaii but it's just rude not to - and I love the fact Hertz have their Adrenalin range to rent some of this muscle from

Thats a hell of a lot of driving in a week!

-I'd ditch the Camaro, and the dodge in Hawaii and get a convertible, route 1 along the coast is great with the lid off, and a cheap yank tank is never going to feel like fun after a C63 or sls, so get the fun from another angle....


Make sure you visit Hearst Castle just off route 1 on the way up, I'm still kicking myself that I didnt know what it was and ignored the signs!

Always makes me think of this when people want to rent yank tanks in the states...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJsX0d_FIqk

I've been through everything interesting hertz has to offer in vegas and LA, from the shelby mustang (convertible and hard top), to vettes, to Hummers and Navigators, and after a day or 2, putting your foot down and hearing a loud noise followed by nothing looses its appeal...

-I noticed you're renting from hertz, who pre assign cars, but as a tip for anyone renting from anyone else, they direct you to areas based on your car category, ie, midsize, compact etc, if they're empty you can get one from the next category up, ALWAYS ignore the upsell from the desk, and instead, find someone working in the lot, tip $20 and ask for whatever you want.... I went from a midsize car, to a fullsize SUV for 2 weeks doing that.

 

[b1g1an]

Make sure you visit Hearst Castle just off route 1 on the way up, I'm still kicking myself that I didnt know what it was and ignored the signs!

Definitely, one of the highlights of our trip.

Was in two minds as it's quite expensive but you only need the basic tour to get a good appreciation of the place and its history, you keep having to remind yourself of the time he was doing all this. The pool is something else, built it to show off the ancient columns he bought in Greece, but there is so much more.

 

[Sp!ke]

I also hired a Camaro SS convertible whilst in Florida last year.

Within half an hour of renting the car I discovered two important things.

1. My suitcase wouldn't fit in the boot so I had to take the roof off and put it on the back seat.

2. It was too hot to drive with the roof off.

I was surprised that this turbo charged 400HP 6.2L car felt slower than my 12 year old normally aspirated SL500. It felt like the gearbox was robbing a whole chunk of power. On the positive side, I thought it looked drop dead gorgeous and the exhaust note was wonderous. When you consider you can buy one of these in the US for less than we pay for a Ford Focus here in the UK, this car is an absolute belter of a deal despite its shortcomings.

Unfortunately the US pricing isn't shared here or I'd likely have bought one by now.

 

[Palmball]

Just done my first week in California and landed in Hawaii yesterday.

Firstly, that was some drive in 8 days, especially the LA to San Francisco via the Pacific Coast Hwy in one day and then, three days later, doing SF to Palm Springs in one day again! However, the Camaro was just fine although not worth nearly the cost of a Corvette to rent...the small premium to get the 'vette is well worth it going by my experience of renting one a couple of years ago.

Whilst no European, it definitely doesn't handle like a boat. OK, it gets a bit out of shape when you combine high speed with bumps and corners, but I've driven some sh!t out here and this isn't one of them. The interior is hard plastic and built to a price but, and this is a biggie for me...no rattles whatsoever. Why can't European cars be like this? Even with one of the bassiest car stereos pumping out my finest JayZ, it was solid (I love audio systems in American cars...they just seem designed for someone with one dimensional hearing like me ).

However, it surprised me just how, well, slow it was Is this right as it had 400hp and 410lb/ft (apparently) but I swear our E350CDi is quicker? It was also really low revving - at 2500rpm, it sounded busy and it hit the limiter at short of 6000rpm! But it wasn't a particularly nice noise getting there either which leads me into the sound and how QUIET it was. Heck, I even popped to 'hood' to check it was a V8 and I hadn't been ripped off as it sounded lame...European manufacturers, especially AMG, make better sounding American muscle cars

Also, the transmission was not very good, not sure what GM use but if its a ZF 6-speeder, it was a very poor application of one as it was so jerky in manual mode...minimal throttle blipping meant down-changes were clumsy every single bloody time!

So, all in all I thought it handled OK, was well built if done so out of cheap materials, it was much slower and quieter than it should be (or it disguised its speed too will, but unlikely as it just didn't seem to accelerate like a 409hp car should). But it looked good and if put into the perspective that it costs the same as a mid-priced Golf diesel in the UK, what more can you expect?

Thoughts on the Dodge Challenger are similar but I've only driven it 10 miles or so. Ill have a proper drive of it in a couple of days when I whip it up over the mountains. It's similarly quiet and slowish feeling, although this one has less power...I mean, how does it move with its 375hp and 400 lb/ft?? It is physically a lot bigger and towers over things like 3 series BMW's etc.

Here's a few pics, will pop some up of my orange (!) Challenger when I take some of it:

Camaro on the Mulholland Hwy atop the Hollywood Hills...

'Look at those people...they're actually walking!!!' My other mode of transport on Venice beach and so much fun at 12mph...

The Pacific Coast Highway...it was a solid 10 hour drive getting from LA to San Francisco by this route! Bloody brilliant though

Atop Twin Peaks looking over San Fransisco....some great roads driving up there if a lot shorter than the view (and various films) would have you believe!

Oh, here's a couplle more that I'm looking at right now from my hotel room - Waikiki beach below with Diamond Head in the distance .

 

[Davidkn]

never been a massive fan of the camaro, but i absolutely love the new challenger, just haven't had a chance to drive one yet.

 

[akeithj]

It looks like you are having a great time. In Miami last year we had a Mustang convertible, a Camaro convertible and also the Camaro SS convertible. I thought the standard Camaro convertible a much better drive than the Mustang and really enjoyed the SS, but like you did not feel it had 400 bhp, however the interior was a big improvement over the Corvette C6 Z06 that I used to have.

 

[flango]

I just had Ford Expedition 4x4 for two weeks In Arizona still missing the V8 growl

 

[acej]

In Florida at the mo and booked a 4x4 end they gave me an x5 of all things! Was hoping fora big yank but there had been a rush in those :-(. At least I can find it in the car park

 

[gaz_l]

Great photos, we went to Hawaii on our honeymoon and stayed just up the road from there. Recommendation - if you haven't been there yet, try a trip to the Yard House - 100 draft beers and great food!

Hawaii is wonderful, but it's just too far away. The return flight - 19 hours with 17 in the air - was a killer. I don't normally suffer from jet lag, but that screwed me up for 3 days. Ouch.

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[Simon_M]

Benidorm?

 

[m1br]

I am SO Jealous.

We got married there a few years ago last Thursday as it happens

Took a few friends and did a little gig on the beach near the golf club at Waialae (Kahala hotel)

In fact we stayed in the Hilton Hawaiian Villages just along from you - the one with the rainbow tower.
From your photo I'm guessing you are in the Royal Hawaiian?

Never rented but did have a nose. To be honest we were so chilled out I couldn't be bothered.
Vegas after was a comedown, hated the damned place.

If you like Naval things, its worth a trip to Pearl Harbour. Climb up to the obs tower on Diamond Head for a nice view,
and I hear the gliding is fantastic all year round up on the north of the island.

Im not keen on the things, but our pals took a helicopter ride to Big Island and went down in a submarine!
My best man had fun in the gun range, rattling off a few hundred rounds on AK74s, Uzis and M4A etc

Steve

 

[Palmball]

Great photos, we went to Hawaii on our honeymoon and stayed just up the road from there. Recommendation - if you haven't been there yet, try a trip to the Yard House - 100 draft beers and great food!

Hawaii is wonderful, but it's just too far away. The return flight - 19 hours with 17 in the air - was a killer. I don't normally suffer from jet lag, but that screwed me up for 3 days. Ouch.

Cheers,

Gaz

You must have done exactly the same return itinerary that I have to look forward to on Thursday .

Approximately:

1pm flight from Hawaii to LA
Arrive in LA at 8.10pm (5hrs plus 2hrs time difference)

10pm flight back to the UK
Arrive at Heathrow 6pm (12hrs plus 8hrs time difference)

So yep, thats pretty much exactly 17 hours flying plus 2hrs on the ground. Can't wait WHEN we do Hawaii again, I think we'll do it first, taking the double flight to get here, thereby splitting the return journey home.

The Yard House...we went there last night! Crazy crazy busy but then so is everywhere in Waikiki at present. Our hotel has 3600 rooms and is full!

In fact we stayed in the Hilton Hawaiian Villages just along from you - the one with the rainbow tower.
From your photo I'm guessing you are in the Royal Hawaiian?

Never rented but did have a nose. To be honest we were so chilled out I couldn't be bothered.
Vegas after was a comedown, hated the damned place.

If you like Naval things, its worth a trip to Pearl Harbour. Climb up to the obs tower on Diamond Head for a nice view

We're a bit closer to where you stayed than you think Steve In fact, the pictures are taken from our room in the Rainbow Tower (the only tower to say at, right?...it's the original famous one from Hawaii 5-0 isn't it?) at Hilton Hawaiian Village

I have to say, it's an amazing place - I think 'village' undersells the scale of it! The place is huge with such fantastic and varied grounds and so much to do. Some people would probably hate it and I guess if you want a personal pampering, you wouldn't want to be booking this place (it's funny...you look on Trip Advisor and there are some proper tools complaining at how busy the place is...utter numpties, if you want peace and quite, it's obvious you don't book a place like this!). But for us, it's entertaining, varied and fun....and accommodates my short attention span very well. You can't help but be impressed with the scale of the place, and yet how they keep it (almost) pristine and provide a good level of service has to be admired.

As for your suggested activities, your post amused me.....

We did the submarine tour yesterday....was a fun and different way to spend an hour seeing some colourful fish and turtles milling around a (placed) shipwreck and plane crash site under the sea!

Today the weather wasn't so good (grey and raining ) and whilst we had snorkelling booked, I moved it to tomorrow as the weather is meant to be nice again. So instead, we did some of Pearl Harbour (US Missouri and USS Bowfin, saving the museum for next time were here!) followed by the walk up to the top of Diamond Head. We were hardly equipped for it, what with me in my boat shoes and my other half in her wedge flip flops lol...but we did it and having just returned to our hotel, very satisfying it was too. Some great pictures from up there too...I'll pop them up when I get home as they're on the camera.

 

[Palmball]

Benidorm?

I know, it's hard to tell the two places apart. Particularly for someone with your ageing eyesight

Both have copious amounts of sun so I understand the confusion .

Come Thursday, when I have that wonderful return journey to enjoy (all the better when you've in that lovely 'coming home' feeling ) I'm going to wish I was as close to home as Benidorm is!

 

[Simon_M]

LOL, both seem to have lots of high-rise hotels right on the beach too. You not travelling First Class Andrew? I am disappointed....

S

 

[Palmball]

So, I had a proper drive in the Dodge Challenger yesterday driving round the perimeter of Oahu

It's definitely more of a nautical experience than the Camaro (i.e. boat like!) but it's as much to do with the utterly crap driving position....the seats are way too high even on their lowest setting and they have no side support whatsoever. It's bloody massive too....it towers above and across what we'd deem normal sized cars which no doubt adds to the nautical experience!

Like the Camaro, it's far too quiet for an American V8 'muscle car' but the Challenger has the unique position of not even sounding like a V8 at all. In fact, it sounds much like my 335i did...yes, it sounds like a BMW straight 6! And yes, I checked...it's definitely a V8 Hemi!

Like the Camaro it's quite direct to steer at reasonable speeds and with no suitable places to push harder on Hawaii, I don't know what it's like at 6/10's or above. These Hawaiians stick to the speed limits like their life depends on it so I must have looked like a lunatic on the few occasions I overtook streams of traffic! On the whole, I much preferred the Camaro to the ginormous Challenger, and neither are worth 'nearly' the cost to rent a Corvette.

Last day today....with that 19+ hour journey to look forward to tomorrow

 

[isleaiw]

24 years since I was in Hawaii and despite the distance and flights, I'd really like to be going again!

When we flew out there had been some isues with flight delays that summer so we ended up with a different airline. We flew from Manchester, up over Lockerbie (nice for that to be mentioned - it was still a raw memory then) and then landed in the NW Territories of Canada - it was -40 outside and we couldnt get off as it wasnt a commercial airport. From there to Seattle for more fuel - where, as we were landing in the US, we had to get off and get our bags and go through immigration at 3.30am local time before getting back on the plane for the final leg. A total of 19 hours to get there and it shows in the photo taken with the unattractive locals (!) when we landed!!!

Thanks for the memories!

Ian

 

[b1g1an]

Resurrecting an old thread I know but it was this one that inspired me to seek out some muscle when we went to Florida for a couple of weeks last month.

Went for the Challenger R/T because it is the only sensible choice for more than two and in fact can take two adults in comfort in the back and would have no problem with three kids either.

Rather than dislike it's faults I actually embraced them as being all part of the experience, a proper slice of Americana. It can be a bit too quite inside but outside it is quite loud and gargles like a proper V8 and turns a lot of heads even creeping along. Performance wise it's no where near as quick as my AMG obviously but is plenty for a giggle with the family onboard and supremely comfortable for the 1,500 miles we did.

Interestingly we found the locals appreciated it as much as the tourists, several came over to check it out and offer compliments. They are quite rare it seems so stand out from the crowd of crappy V6 Mustangs though being bright orange and enormous probably helps to.

I paid just under £500 for a fortnight with full insurance and personally think that was a bargain and actually miss it despite being back in the CLS.

So...thanks guys, one of the highlights of the holiday...along with the shooting etc, etc.

 

[blue gnome123]

Just re-reading this thread. We stayed in the Waikiki beach Hilton Hawaiin Village last week (rainbow tower - exactly same view as on previous page). Then we've been out to Maui for a week (flying back to Oahu tomorrow). I hire so much with Hertz USA that I got on upgrade to a Mustang V6 convertible. Not much power (although 82 RON petrol! available here - topped up with premium 87 RON) and a bit of a boat but great for cruising down the highways.

Oahu/Honolulu I can take it or leave it but Maui is something else. Beautiful in so many ways.