Best New Vehicle For Road Trip?

On July 20th Car Domain asked a question -

What New Vehicle Would You Pick For a Cross-Country Road Trip?

Criteria was simple:

• Car is yours to use for free, but you must pay for gas.
• Must cost under $50,000

The blog writer took my first choice: the new Challenger. Dang. So I had to think, what else? Charger would be good, but not too original. As I looked through the comments from people, it was clear that many of them were posted merely to show each other how much they knew about cars. It's not my goal to impress someone with my car; I know what I like and, beyond that, I'm not interested in showing off. I wanted to think of a vehicle that fit me and how I travel.

It all came back to a truck.

As much as I like driving cars, I'm really a truck guy. The pickup I've owned for the last eight years felt like an old friend the first time I drove it. It has served me well, even after accruing miles into the six digits and spending time on the garage rack. I like the feel of rear wheel drive, powered by a V8, in a chassis that will take suburban abuse over several decades. These days, the only reasonably-priced way to get that is to buy a pickup.

So for my selection in the Car Domain survey, I chose the current version of my 1994 Chevy 1/2 ton:

• 2010 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
• Short bed / standard cab
• "Imperial Blue Metallic" paint
  
• LT Preferred Equipment Group (many options)
• 5.3 liter V8/6-speed automatic
• 20" Chrome-plated wheels
  

I chose a 3.08:1 ratio for the differential for freeway-friendly engine speeds, and a tonneau cover the for bed to protect those things that wouldn't fit in the cab. I would make two updates to what you see below. First, I would have the rig lowered and second, I would install dual-tip exhaust with some rumble. Estimated cost for all of that? About $35,000 - well within the $50k limit.


It's funny to think that my 'dream truck' so to speak is 35-grand. To be honest, I had to stretch it to even reach that amount. I added stuff to get the final price as close to $50k as I could, without turning it into a pimp-mobile. I also stayed away from four-wheel drive, a personal choice that understandably would get some disagreement. Balancing the added cost, added drive train weight, and complexity of 4WD in general, I simply couldn't justify it on a vehicle driven mostly on the open road. Maybe there would be some value in mountain passes during inclement weather, but that's inconsequential since a trip across the USA - for me at least - would occur during the summer.

What's your choice?