Rental car of choice?

Hi All,

There's been some discussion here about which camera's you've used on
the road, and where you've gone. There's one element that's just as
important as where you are, and which apparatus you're using.

When you're out doing your highway photography and/or videography, which
rental car best suits your out-of-state/country needs?

I nominate the Chevy Cobalt. In situations where one must capture
inside the vehicle, it:

(1) Maintains a smooth ride, which is excellent for in-car captures.
If you're concerned w/ your camera "jerking" during the actual capture,
configuring a precise shutter-speed setting is not considerably
important here.
(2) Has a steering-wheel which provides the least vibration on
straightaway carriageways. Thus, placing your camera on top of the
steering wheel during video-capture becomes a suitable option.
(3) The dashboard has a flat surface, so should you seat your camera on
it (w/o using tape or other restraint mechanisms), your camera doesn't
slide around during steering-wheel movements.
(4) Gives you 20 + MPG and can be had for $12/day.

That said, which make and model do you prefer?

Cheers,

Carl Rogers
"Adding human experience to highway enthusiasm"
********
Calrog.com, http://www.calrog.com :
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An integrated media arm in Turn-of-the-Century PC Development,
international Highway Research, and Interpersonal Psychology. Has
served your home country and ninety-four of its worldwide neighbours
since 2000, through Internet downstream and published works.
********

Carl Rogers wrote:

> I nominate the Chevy Cobalt. In situations where one must capture
> inside the vehicle, it:

When I tear out an interior component during a test run, then it's a
car I know I do not want to drive. The interior quality on the Cobalt
is pathethic, IMO. I do a "fit and finish" test on a vehicle, pulling
on various parts and seeing if they come apart on a simple grab. Never
happened on my Toyota RAV4 or on any other vehicle I've drove, except
for the Cobalt.

As for rentals, I've driven a new Nissan Altima which I enjoyed very
much. It was the top-of-the-line model, spacious and was very quick to
accel. It also received decent gas mileage. Somehow, Enterprise was
willing to give me a brand new vehicle to drive for a few weeks over a
standard Plymouth Neon...

Carl Rogers > wrote:
>
> There's been some discussion here about which camera's you've used on
> the road, and where you've gone. There's one element that's just as
> important as where you are, and which apparatus you're using.
>
> When you're out doing your highway photography and/or videography, which
> rental car best suits your out-of-state/country needs?

My website article "Road Trip to California and Los Angeles" has 24
photos that I took from the highway.

They were taken from a Ford F-150 pickup truck that I had rented while
visiting friends in Ventura County. The truck was very comfortable and
smooth riding, and having plenty of height above the roadway made for
considerably better photos than from just about any sedan. (The rental
store had run out of small sedans, so I got the pickup truck for the
same price as a small sedan).

> That said, which make and model do you prefer?

I can't speak for very many, but the height above roadway factor is a
major advantage, so any large pickup truck or SUV that is smooth riding,
is what I would prefer.

--
Scott M. Kozel Highway and Transportation History Websites
Virginia/Maryland/Washington, D.C. http://www.roadstothefuture.com
Philadelphia and Delaware Valley http://www.pennways.com

One thing is for certain: Never get an SUV.

--

Buy my book about school bullying he

http://www.lulu.com/content/112781 (recommended)
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/boo...sbn=1411626559
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1411626559

Random Waftings Of Bunker Blasts wrote:

>One thing is for certain: Never get an SUV.

Why is that certain?

--
================================================== ======================
Michael Kesti | "And like, one and one don't make
| two, one and one make one."
mrkesti at hotmail dot com | - The Who, Bargain

Carl Rogers wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> There's been some discussion here about which camera's you've used on
> the road, and where you've gone. There's one element that's just as
> important as where you are, and which apparatus you're using.
>
> When you're out doing your highway photography and/or videography, which
> rental car best suits your out-of-state/country needs?
>
> I nominate the Chevy Cobalt. In situations where one must capture
> inside the vehicle, it:
>
> (1) Maintains a smooth ride, which is excellent for in-car captures.
> If you're concerned w/ your camera "jerking" during the actual capture,
> configuring a precise shutter-speed setting is not considerably
> important here.
> (2) Has a steering-wheel which provides the least vibration on
> straightaway carriageways. Thus, placing your camera on top of the
> steering wheel during video-capture becomes a suitable option.
> (3) The dashboard has a flat surface, so should you seat your camera on
> it (w/o using tape or other restraint mechanisms), your camera doesn't
> slide around during steering-wheel movements.
> (4) Gives you 20 + MPG and can be had for $12/day.
>
> That said, which make and model do you prefer?
>
> Cheers,
>
> Carl Rogers
> "Adding human experience to highway enthusiasm"
> ********
> Calrog.com, http://www.calrog.com :
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> An integrated media arm in Turn-of-the-Century PC Development,
> international Highway Research, and Interpersonal Psychology. Has
> served your home country and ninety-four of its worldwide neighbours
> since 2000, through Internet downstream and published works.
> ********

My main transportation is via Jeep Wrangler, thus my road shots are
either inside it or a few feet outside it. The biggest advantage is
the off-road footage like in my recent trip to Texas:
http://www.mylandofmisery.com/end06tx/tx4.htm

A comment you will likely hear only from a Jeep owner: the mud pattern
tends to vary.

I don't rent that often these days, but the keys for me are price and
availability. I've been stuck with minivans due to rental vehicle
storage; they are not exactly a prime vehicle choice for a one-man show.

On Sat, 13 Jan 2007 10:02:10 -0800, "Michael R. Kesti" >
said:

>Why is that certain?

Because it bips.

--

Buy my book about school bullying he

http://www.lulu.com/content/112781 (recommended)
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/boo...sbn=1411626559
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1411626559

My Land of Misery wrote:

> My main transportation is via Jeep Wrangler, thus my road shots are
> either inside it or a few feet outside it. The biggest advantage is
> the off-road footage like in my recent trip to Texas:
> http://www.mylandofmisery.com/end06tx/tx4.htm

G.R.,

*Wow*, neat trip! Hope you had an awesome time in Matamoros.

Gosh, it's been years since I've last off-roaded. It was in Pyramid
Lake, NV during springtime:
http://www.calrog.com/var/pics/tamaracks.html :-P

Keep those photos coming,

Carl Rogers
"Adding human experience to highway enthusiasm"
********
Calrog.com, http://www.calrog.com :
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An integrated media arm in Turn-of-the-Century PC Development,
International Highway Research, and Interpersonal Psychology. Has
served your home country and ninety-four of its worldwide neighbours
since 2000, through Internet downstream and published works.
********

Carl Rogers wrote:
> My Land of Misery wrote:
>
> > My main transportation is via Jeep Wrangler, thus my road shots are
> > either inside it or a few feet outside it. The biggest advantage is
> > the off-road footage like in my recent trip to Texas:
> > http://www.mylandofmisery.com/end06tx/tx4.htm
>
> G.R.,
>
> *Wow*, neat trip! Hope you had an awesome time in Matamoros.
>
> Gosh, it's been years since I've last off-roaded. It was in Pyramid
> Lake, NV during springtime:
> http://www.calrog.com/var/pics/tamaracks.html :-P
>
> Keep those photos coming,
>
> Carl Rogers
> "Adding human experience to highway enthusiasm"
> ********
> Calrog.com, http://www.calrog.com :
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> An integrated media arm in Turn-of-the-Century PC Development,
> International Highway Research, and Interpersonal Psychology. Has
> served your home country and ninety-four of its worldwide neighbours
> since 2000, through Internet downstream and published works.
> ********

Thanks Carl. Speaking of Matamoros, I left roadgeek mode momentarily
to pick up this guitar at Garcia's (about 3 blocks south of the border
crossing) for about 40 bucks. It's one of the few places in Mexico
that deals primarily in dollars rather than pesos. The guitar is the
3rd one down on the page.
http://mylandofmisery.com/music/guitars.htm

Nice off-road shot, but I have you beaten on the water-proximity
factor.

Carl Rogers wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> There's been some discussion here about which camera's you've used on
> the road, and where you've gone. There's one element that's just as
> important as where you are, and which apparatus you're using.
>
> When you're out doing your highway photography and/or videography,
> which rental car best suits your out-of-state/country needs?

Plymouth Satellite.