I got the new issue today and the first thing I read was the story about the 356. It got me doing one of my daydreaming exercises. I regularly think that extensive road trips would be fun and these types of stories reinforce that foolish notion (I'm 30 days short of 73), but it got me thinking. I find patina in a car appealing, but a 356 isn't my idea of budget friendly. Also, I don't need the adventure of changing a starter or axle on the side of the road at my age. So, if one were to do something similar, but with a somewhat newer car, what would it be? I have an ND-RF, and an R53 MINI. The MINI is a decent touring car, but it's 22 years old and if it breaks down out in the boonies I'm screwed. The Miata just doesn't have the same ambiance as an older car. So what else? A nice Datsun Z-car? I saw an MGA coupe for sale a few days ago? Something much newer and much blander? What am I looking for? What will the next half-million mile story be about 15 years from now?
Acura - be this old guy.
What about a 914. Not as pricey as the 356 and like a bigger Volkswagen.
I'd say that the easy-but-not-so-fun button would be a Japanese economy car from the '90s. You'd have to try pretty hard to kill most of them, and we've seen a handful reach a million–no reason it couldn't do it four more times.
I like the idea of Datsun Z. Simple and still fun to drive.
A Beetle might not be a bad option, either, though it could be a pretty similar experience to the 356. 
How about a Citroën 2CV? If it can be disassembled and turned into a motorcycle to cross the African desert, it should be able to handle a few cross-country trips–just not very quickly.
I'd also consider parts availability, though. Being able to walk into an auto parts store and leave with whatever part I need the same day would be a big plus.
If you want to enjoy touring and not wrenching... the Miata
Just uncomfortable enough on a long drive to say it was an effort, but dependable enough to enjoy cocktails at the destination.
In reply to Purple Frog :
Good point–it kind of needs to be uncomfortable/impractical to get the full experience.
In reply to Colin Wood :
In 1982 I was working remotely at a copper mine in the British Columbia interior, working out of Kamloops. Weekends were my own time so I would go exploring in whatever rental car i had, often a four cylinder Mustang. One weekend I hit some dirt roads up in the mountains and just kept going, expecting to run out of road at some point. What seemed like miles from nowhere in cattle ranch country, I pull over to eat the lunch I had brought. Next thing I know , along comes a Deux-Cheveaux ! The guy stopped and he had his lunch with him,too, and we had a nice conversation about the car. We were headed in opposite directions and I eventually ended up in Kelowna without having gone on paved roads.
In reply to Purple Frog :
An NA/NB Miata would be OK, but I'd prefer a closed car, so maybe include a hardtop.
Find a RWD Celica or Corolla? Foxbody?
So the 22 year old MINI is out because it's too old, the ND Miata is out because it's too new. Which gives us a window of cars that range from 2003-2015. NC Miata falls into that range, bonus points for a PRHT which can be both a hardtop or a closed car.
You can't go very wrong with the ND, though. It'll just work and then the adventure will be about where you go and not what you used to get there. I like my road trip cars to be reliable.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
What would your BGT be like as a tourer? It has the sort of vibe I'm imagining.
In reply to DeadSkunk (Warren) :
I actually pictured it as such when building it. I think it would do pretty well. Implementing cruise control would be nice, but of course you're going to want to avoid those sorts of roads if possible anyhow.
Might even be reasonably reliable, as there's very little MG left below the skin.
We have somebody on the forums doing almost exactly what the porsche owner has done, but with a 1987 Honda CRX.
Great guy-had a beer with him when he came up though CO this fall.
Here is his thread: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/1987-honda-crx-si-annual-road-trips-since-2009-counting-no-rebuild-restoration-modification/195565/page1/
I had a 55,000 mile 1991 VW GTI 16V that I sold before Covid hit. I probably should have hung onto that one. It was in great shape from a rust perspective. Still basically an analog car.
What if you go with something sporting more than four or even six cylinders and go with an American cruiser? I loved our ’75 Pontiac wagon: auto on the column, comfy bench seat, turned all the heads. Konis and fresh tires made a big difference. It didn’t have the gear to comfortably cruise at 80, but I enjoyed it on the back roads.
In reply to David S. Wallens :
You know, I didn't consider that angle. A comfy land yacht would be a pretty fun way to travel the country.
A Chrysler as big as a whale, perhaps? 
Jeep LJ.
Not a sports car, but it might give you the experience you're looking for. Jeeps suck on the highway, but LJs are a little better. Old enough to break occasionally, but parts are cheap and plentiful, and it's simple enough that you can fix just about anything on the side of the road with a hammer.
And the LJ is just rare and weird enough that people will want to talk to you when you stop for gas (often).
I've driven to Vegas across the desert a couple of times in a '66 Caddy - that's a thousand mile round trip. Great cruiser. It'll do 75, but it feels like you're going fast. Sure, she sucks down a bit of gas (I think I averaged 12 mpg) but that's the price you pay for luxury. Only fix I had to do was tighten some exhaust manifold bolts.
Of course, that was about 20 years ago so the car was "only" 40 years old but I doubt it's any more challenging now. One nice thing about old GM sleds like this is that a lot of parts were shared in the giant parts bin for 20+ years. Need a voltage regulator? It'll be on the shelf at any NAPA because it was used until 1988 in a Monte Carlo or something.
Picked up my friend Doc for his 30th birthday in Vegas.
(Different caddy, only a couple of years ago)
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