100 Years of Route 66, and the Top 5 Cars to Drive It In

Alex and Randy, fresh off our recent gathering and film screening of  the forthcoming documentary series Route 66: The Main Street of America in Flagstaff, Arizona, discuss Randy's father-daughter trip from Riverside to Flagstaff in his red Chrysler 300B; learning the Chuck Berry version of Get Your Kicks on Route 66 backward and forward; swimming against the stream on the notoriously east-to-west road; the first post-prohibition liquor license in Chicago; the captivating documentary and the great, historic Orpheum Theater in which we got to see it; giving cars a reason to live; the temptation of the vintage motel and gas station business; love for the desert Googie diner; a brief "stroad" explainer; teaching kids patience and flexibility on the road; and that most elusive and necessary part of any good road trip: time.

They move on to a game of picking their top five ideal cars to do the whole route in, along the way discussing aesthetic over speed; candidates from a stakebed farm truck to a Duesenberg; if one could make the drive appropriately in a non-American car; whether a convertible is really a good idea; a Swiss tourist who had Randy pegged within seconds; and specific instances in which roll-up windows prove important.

What are your top five rides for the Mother Road?

Follow along! Links for the listings discussed in this episode:

12:55 Route 66 BaT Gathering at the Orpheum Theater in Flagstaff, Arizona

35:05  347-Powered 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302 4-Speed

35:42  Lot 1: 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 302

38:25 Ford F-Series 1953-1956 model page

41:26  1926 Duesenberg Model A Opera Coupe

45:53  Volkswagen Beetle (1958-1979) model page

47:53  1957 Chevrolet Nomads on BaT

48:46  1957 Chevrolet 150 2-Door Sedan Fuelie 3-Speed

50:29  1950 Buick Super Estate Wagon

53:32  Supercharged 1956 Ford Country Squire Wagon

54:18 239 Flathead-Powered ’31 Ford 5-Window Coupe 4-Speed

1:00:06  54-Years-Owned 1939 Ford Deluxe Coupe

1:01:31  1963.5 Ford Galaxie 500XL Hardtop Fastback R-Code 4-Speed

1:05:58  1961 Chrysler New Yorkers on BaT