This week is National Drowsy Driving Prevention Week. We’ve all felt the agony of driving when your eyelids suddenly turn into lead. Maybe it’s because you’re trying to make it to an event after pulling an all-nighter wrenching on the car you’re supposed to show or race. Perhaps you’re just going home after working the late shift. Or it’s just a warm day and you’ve had a heavy meal. Caffeine is the obvious choice (like that Nissan latte in the photo above), but too much can cause problems on the other end, if you know what I’m saying. Gnawing on beef jerky is a technique that some long-haul truckers claim. And of course there’s the classic pulling over and napping strategy.
How do you stay awake on long drives?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What’s the most basic car you’re willing to accept?”
Without naming a specific model, here are the features from most basic to fanciest. We start with Jonathan P.‘s criteria of manual transmission, crank windows, FM radio, and A/C. Kyuusha Corner adds the requirement of being easy to repair. Canadian dankan needs heated seats and a back seat for a dog. TheJWT adds Bluetooth to the equation. Meanwhile, BlitzPig lamented that there were no more basic cars for sale in the US anymore.
Getting into specific models, Hondas seemed to hit the right balance. We have Jeff singing the praises of the Honda City Turbo, ra21benj choosing an EF Civic, and Joe Musashi picking several golden age Hondas like the Del Sol, EG, or EK. For non-Hondas, @ye going with the tried and true Miata, エーイダン opting for a 1993 Camry, and Negishi no Keibajo nominating the Scion iQ.
However, we’re selecting an answer with a surprisingly new vehicle, mostly because the answer is hilarious. This week’s winner was Klaus Kopernikus for the Toyota Probox:
The Toyota Probox would be the most basic car for me. I need a vehicle that looks like it delivers office supplies but drives like someone’s getting fired if the package arrives late. No fancy screens, no unnecessary buttons, just pure Japanese engineering and a driver who has 47 deliveries left before 5 PM.
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
