Yeah, I remember the 100 miles of bumper-to-bumper stop and go rush hour(s) traffic. And that was on one road heading out of town. . . L.A. are to Ventura. Traffic the whole way. Oofs.

Oddly enough, when I had my Miata down in L.A. that was the only time I'd A) put the top up on a sunny day and B) turn on the A/C. :ack: Made me understand reading about guys on the miata.net forums from AZ really wanting the A/C for summer. They'd put the top up and blast the A/C to keep cool. Tops would apparently be dropped in the evenings occasionally and during spring / fall. L.A. was like that for me.

Nothing like a night drive on a cool/cold evening with the top down and the heat blasting the floorboards :thumbup:

Where in Orange County will you be visiting? If you'll be primarily near the beach (Huntington/Newport/Laguna/Dana Point/San Clemente), the Mustang convertible is a perfect choice - actually, any convertible is a great choice. There are no good "driving roads" near the beach. The stretch of PCH in Orange County, however, is great for cruising - although since you are likely visiting on the weekend, you'll be stuck in beach traffic.

If you feel like heading out to the canyons, you might want to consider renting something substantially more fun from one of the exotic car rental places in Newport (http://www.luxuryrentacar.com/ or http://www.bhrentacar.com/).

If you need any suggestions on what to do and see and where to eat while out here, let me know.

When I was living in San Diego, a friend from the Bay area came down for a visit once by train. For some reason, I had to pick him up at Union Station in LA, though (and I really can't remember why). I took my brother's (but now my) Miata and we drove back with the top down and heat on...leaving LA about 10:30 pm. In January. I think it was about 45 degrees out. And he bitched from about Downey all the way to San Diego.

Good times... :D

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Good advice folks.. I'll be near Newport Beach and I thought as much, will not have any time for *driving*. Plus, I'm cheap and the idea of spending mucho $$$ on a rental is unappealing. Also, as I own a cayman and a 330 as it is, the mustang 'vert will be more interesting to me.

I thought Hertz rented corvettes?

If you don't have any time for driving then renting a fun gofast car would be a waste. But if you can squeeze in a half day it might be worth renting one of the funner cars for a day. An over lap with your "normal" car renter, perhaps, but it could be fun and worth it if you can make it up to the canyon roads.