Just Got Back From A Little Road Trip

superjim · April 13, 2009

Just got back yesterday from a little 3000 mile road trip from Fort Worth TX to Charleston South Carolina and back.

Very happy to report that the DtS ran flawlessly with no problems.

Average speed from TX to S. Carolina was 86.6 even with pit stops every couple of hours.

Several stretches were in the triple digit range.

I was kind of in a little bit of a hurry.

Average speed on the way back was only 70.4.

We drove most of the way back in tandem with my brother-in-law and his wife.

He has a 2008 Hyundai Sonata. It is a fairly nice car...but it ain't no Cadillac.

We just took our time and just piddled around on the way back.

We gassed up in Charleston before we started back, and then we would gas up at the same time when we got down to about 1/4 tank as we stopped for whatever reason.

I thought it was kinda funny that when we gassed up...the DTS "NEVER" took more than 1.2 gallons more than his much smaller, V6 Hyundai.

On one tank thru the Appalachian Mountains and thru the Smoky Mountains, the Cadillac only used .6 gallons more than the Hyundai.

For that tiny saving in gas...I will keep my big ol' comfortable Cadillac.

Friday, on the way back, coming thru Tennessee, we were in some TERRIBLE thunderstorms..

Thunder, lightning, small hail, high winds.

You couldn't see but just a couple of car lengths past the hood, but there was no safe place to pull off the road and stop for a while.

A little bit later, when the storm had let up a little, I found a local radio station and found out that at about the same time we were in the worst of the storm...a tornado hit about 20 miles south of where we were. The tornado was at Murfreeboro TN. Thats too close for comfort.

Well...there was one issue with the car that was kinda puzzling.

Two different times, when driving in VERY HEAVY rain, I got a message to service the tire pressure monitoring system. Upon checking the pressures, the left front tire pressure was not displaying any pressure on the Information Center. The other three were displaying correctly.

A little while later, after we got out of the rain...I checked them again, and all pressures were indicating normal.

Probably no point in taking it to the dealer now...it is not displaying any codes now.

Saturday morning, we and brother-in-law split up.

They were wanting to go straight home, and Darling Wife and I wanted to stay out an extra day.

I should have went straight home.

Got busted by a local cop down in Mississippi for speeding.

I was only going about 62 in a 55. He said I was doing 70 in a 55. He did not stop the pickup that was right in front of me.

In the short conversation I had with the cop...he basically said that he looked for out of state cars because they would just pay the fine and not contest the ticket in court.

Another statement he made was that he basically stopped me because I had a Radar Detector.

Then he flat out STATED...that "ANY CAR" he sees that has a Radar Detector...he will give a ticket to because he believes that if you have a radar detector...you have been speeding at one time or another and got away with it because of the radar detector.

Oh well...on the side of the road in Boondocks MS was not the time or place to argue with him.

Thats a quick summary of the trip.

Any questions ...ask away.

Z71Adrenaline · April 13, 2009

Sounds like a good time, man! I bet those cars are very comfortable to travel in. Heck, even my aunt's 1995 DeVille is a comfortable ride! Sounds like you had a great time!

svensk · April 13, 2009

That's when you try to out-run the cop before he gets your plate info.

Did you ask him if his squad can do 150?

Stevens03 · April 13, 2009

We've had 2 caddy sevilles and they are sweet road cars. I know the DTS would even be more comfortable. Sounds like a nice trip other than the little road stop along the way.

superjim · April 13, 2009

That's when you try to out-run the cop before he gets your plate info.

Did you ask him if his squad can do 150?

The thought briefly crossed my mind. Just for a second, as he was meeting me and would have to turn around, and as I saw that he was a local town cop and I was already out of town. He was in a Crown Vic.

I doubt that it will do 120...and after he passes 100 it is going to take it a long time to gain more speed.

I wondered if I beat him to the county line..if he would have to give up the chase.

But like a good boy..I stopped, got a ticket, (for something I didn't do) and got lectured on the EVILS of RADAR DETECTORS.

Oh well...Tomorrow Is Another Day.

omegafiler · April 13, 2009

Sounds like a pretty cool trip in the caddy! Sucks about the ticket, but at least the cop was honest about the whole radar detector thing. Of course if he was really honest he would have said he hasn't calibrated his radar gun in 10 years and he goes out of his way to catch shiny fast/expensive looking cars.

BuckFeverZ · April 13, 2009

Sounds like a good time. Minus the t-storms and po-po that is

rvsahs · April 13, 2009

That's when you try to out-run the cop before he gets your plate info.

Did you ask him if his squad can do 150?

The thought briefly crossed my mind. Just for a second, as he was meeting me and would have to turn around, and as I saw that he was a local town cop and I was already out of town. He was in a Crown Vic.

I doubt that it will do 120...and after he passes 100 it is going to take it a long time to gain more speed.

I wondered if I beat him to the county line..if he would have to give up the chase.

But like a good boy..I stopped, got a ticket, (for something I didn't do) and got lectured on the EVILS of RADAR DETECTORS.

Oh well...Tomorrow Is Another Day.

Ha, reminds me back in 1991 when I was driving thro Wichita KS when I had my '86 Buick Park Avenue...was ticketed for doing 67 in a 60 zone and I had a fuzzbuster also....The city cop gave me the same lecture...and said my eyes seemed a bit glazed (I was headed back to OK after a kegger for a friends birthday in NEB and I was a bit hungover). I wanted to say, "No more than those doughnuts you've been eating...".

mattgob86 · April 13, 2009

Yup, Wichita will get ya.

rvsahs · April 13, 2009

Yup, Wichita will get ya.

And that was the last speeding ticket I've had...

superjim · April 13, 2009

Ha, reminds me back in 1991 when I was driving thro Wichita KS when I had my '86 Buick Park Avenue...was ticketed for doing 67 in a 60 zone and I had a fuzzbuster also....The city cop gave me the same lecture...and said my eyes seemed a bit glazed (I was headed back to OK after a kegger for a friends birthday in NEB and I was a bit hungover). I wanted to say, "No more than those doughnuts you've been eating...".

Yeah..know what you mean.

I can usually think of a dozen things that I would LIKE TO SAY...but usually refrain.

It will only cause me more trouble in the long run.

But when they go into the lecture/preaching mode ... I would like to tell them to just STFU and give me the ticket. I am in a hurry and now I will have to drive even FASTER to make up the time I am spending here on the side of the road listening to YOU spout off at the mouth.

I have only done that one time. It was a long time ago.