01. Introduction: Cross country road trip in a 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
02: Day 1: San Diego, CA to Deming, NM
03: Day 2: Deming, NM to Amarillo, TX
04: Day 3: Amarillo, TX to Maumelle, AR
05: Day 4: Maumelle, AR to Knoxville, TN
06: Day 5 part A: Driving the Tail of the Dragon
07: Day 5 part B: Knoxville, TN to Salem, VA
08. Day 6: Salem, VA to Dulles, VA
09. Trip summary and final thoughts
10: Review: 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
If someone would have told me two days before this road trip started that I would be doing it in a brand new 2015 Corvette Stingray, I would have not believed it. The pessimistic part of me would have thought that sounded too good to be true, as stuff like that doesn’t normally jive with my kind of luck. But the automotive stars aligned above, and driving all across the USA in C7 Corvette ended up being one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Hey, it doesn’t take much to impress me!
If you haven’t read about my adventures in this car from San Diego all the way to Washington DC, I recommend starting with this post and following me along as I made my way across the country. Alternatively, I’ve put together a video of the drive which captures some of the highlights along the way:
I drove through deserts and mountains, wide open plains and lush farmland. I drove through dry 85 degree heat and cold heavy rain. I walked in on gay truckers doing their thing in the bathroom of a roadside New Mexico tourist stop, and I only nearly lost control of the car once. Most importantly, I managed to drive the entire way without a single speeding ticket.
That Corvette and I passed through eight states on our coast to coast journey: California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Virginia.
We traveled 2,841 miles together, along eleven different interstates and roads from west to east: I-8, I-10, US70, US60, I-27, I-40, US129, I-81, I-66, and US28.
I spent $201.91 in gas, filling up (mostly just topping off) 10 times along the way. There were six nights in hotels, and two flights to get me home back to San Diego from Washington DC.
The only complaint from the Corvette during the entire journey was a “Change oil soon” notification that popped up on the instrument cluster on day number 3 as I was making my way towards Little Rock. Other than that, it performed like a champ and seemed eager for each new day.
Living with the C7 Corvette
Living with the Vette for a week was interesting. Yes, I loved this car beyond words. But – it wasn’t easy to live with and near the end of the trip I actually found myself looking forward to giving it back. You see, this is a very flashy car, and for the entire week I had to deal with people gawking and trying to get a closer look.
I worried about it at night parked in the dark hotel parking lots, and the anxiety kicked in whenever I parked somewhere and was getting in and out of it. People were looking. Asking questions. That’s a lot for an introverted guy like me to handle.
That’s not to say that I wouldn’t like to have a C7 Corvette of my own. I’d love to have one! But mine would not be yellow, and it would not have chrome wheels. This particular Corvette was painted in the “loudest” color imaginable, and it stood out like crazy all the way across the country. It was easier to deal with in the larger cites I passed through, but the small towns were the most difficult.
What will happen to this car?
All along the drive I kept thinking about what would likely happen to this car after I give it back to Avis in DC. I assumed that since Washington DC is one of the largest cities in the US, this Corvette would have a life there – for a while at least, until some other road-tripper like me took her away off to somewhere else. But one of the guys at Avis said that would not be happening – they don’t rent vehicles like the Corvette there.
This car would not be staying in DC, but I have no idea where they were going take it. Florida perhaps? Most likely someplace southern I imagine, as Avis doesn’t need a car like that in a northern state. Or perhaps they were going to ship it back to California?
I’d actually be surprised if they did that, as it doesn’t seem like a very cost-effective option. Regardless, I took note of the VIN number of this car so that I can track it in a few years via CarFax or something. I built a pretty strong bond with it, so I’ll be curious to see what happens to it.
Conclusion
So that’s it. I can now say that I’ve driven a Corvette from coast to coast. The ultimate American road trip (in my mind, at least), and it’s going to be pretty hard to top that. But I’m in no rush. This trip was fun but incredibly exhausting at the same time, so I don’t think I’ll ever drive that far in this short amount of time ever again. But it did spark my interest to do more road trips, so who knows where I’ll be headed next?
Thanks for following along!
