Sea-to-Shining-Sea

This epic drive was documented in great detail by Brock Yates in a book titled 'Cannonball! World's Greatest Outlaw Road Race'. I first read the book over a decade-and-a-half ago, when I was studying in the US, and it's an idea that's captivated me since.

Yates and Gurney were inspired by American racer, Erwin G. 'Cannonball' Baker, who set several point-to-point records in the first half of the 20th century. In 1933, Baker drove coast-to-coast in 53 hours and 30 minutes - a record that stood till it was decimated by Yates and Gurney in 1971. Yates wanted to both, celebrate the US Interstate system and also protest against the 55mph nationwide speed limit that had been imposed at the time. Needless to say, their record turned to legend and lead to the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash - an unofficial race from coast-to-coast. It even lead to a Hollywood film in 1981, titled Cannonball Run - the screenplay for which was written by Brock Yates, and which starred the likes of Burt Reynolds, Roger Moore, and Farrah Fawcett.

Now, we won't be setting any records when we drive the made-in-India Mercedes-Benz GLA from the Atlantic coast in New York to San Francisco on the Pacific coast in the middle of October, but it'll be an epic drive nonetheless. Of course, we'll try and make pit stops at some Meccas of speed in the process - places like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Bonneville Salt Flats. The US is nothing if not one big car culture from coast-to-coast - the V8 engine is still celebrated, the muscle car is still revered, and the automobile is still an important part of the family. We'll bask in all that and more when we undertake our own sea-to-shining-sea voyage later this year.