If you grew up in the Delaware Valley, one of the greatest shared memories has got to be the seasonal mass migration to the shore from South Jersey, Philly and its suburbs. We all remember piling into Dad’s big sedan, Mom’s wagon, your first $200 beater or your buddy’s 10-year old boogie van—with the floor to ceiling orange shag carpeting—in the race to that shining ribbon of white sand beach!
And that “down the shore” stretch of Atlantic coast, from Long Beach Island’s northern most Barnegat Light to Cape May at the southern tip of the state, is made up of a string of communities with varied personalities where certain vehicles just seem to fit in perfectly. So here are a few hot rides for rolling to your favorite South Jersey beach town for the summer of 2018!
Rolls Royce Ghost (pictured above)
The BMW masters of the exciting modern era of Rolls Royce have succeeded in eliminating the best joke about the elitism of this vaunted brand. Back in the day if you saw a guy driving a Rolls Royce, he was probably a chauffeur. So when Rolls Royce was hard on the comeback trail with its grandiose Phantom being driven around by diminutive status seekers, we had to wonder “What, you can’t afford a chauffeur?”
But the new Rolls Royce Ghost, which you would surely be driving to the glitz capital of NJ… Atlantic City… is a whole different animal. Following the pattern set by the Rolls Royce Wraith two-door coupe, the Ghost is tailored as a personal driver.
And what a driver it is! The bi-turbo 6.6-liter 563 horsepower V12 makes the Ghost a posh rocket, unstoppable on the long straight shot of the AC Expressway. This Roller makes quite an appearance with a $44K Henley Inspiration styling package of a subtly superb two-tone white over silver paint job, with playful orange pinstripe accents.
The vast expanse of hood is imposing on this sedan which is 4 inches longer than a standard F150 pickup. The 21-inch five-spoke alloy wheels are a touch sporty but just to show that the Ghost is serious… watching it as the car moves, you’ll note the RR logos in the center wheels don’t move. They are mounted on ball bearing based floating rims which were popularized by the spinner wheels of hip-hop rides.
Inside the Ghost is a magical place of silky soft leather seating, luxurious lambswool carpeting and highly-polished, rich wood grains. The leather and wood-styled dash board is accented in bright Mandarin Orange leather. These small touches highlight the nexus of the Rolls Royce tradition and the newest 21st century ride of celebrity, sports, business and tech geek royalty.
The only thing even a little scary about this Ghost is, of course, the sticker, which gets pretty close to $400K with a nice load of must-have options. But if your luck is good, that could be just a night’s work in the gambling palaces lining the beaches and bays.
Infiniti QX80
Big Luxury SUV
While big American SUVs are going with the government-issue look of a Presidential security motorcade, the Infiniti QX80 takes full advantage of the new sheet metal sculpting, folding and wave making techniques that have made the entire Nissan upmarket division line-up so widely acclaimed for styling. The top of the line $89,000 QX80 Limited AWD edition rolls on 22-inch custom dark, machine finished wheels, big enough to be swapped out with a 19th century Conestoga Wagon.
The Infiniti QX80 shares the platform of the highly acclaimed new Nissan Titan pickup truck, with the addition of handling features like Hydraulic Body Motion Control and neat technology like the Smart Rearview mirror, which uses an LCD camera view alternative to the regular mirror to see around passengers and payload behind the driver. So roomy and opulently appointed, the Infiniti QX80 could be a premium Airbnb unit out in front of your shore home in clubby Stone Harbor or Avalon.
2019 Alfa Romeo 4-C Sports Car
This new mid-engine Italian import is a relatively modest exotic two-seater for around $65K. At that price point, don’t expect too much pampering. The Alfa Romeo 4C Spider is a snug fit for anyone over 6 ft. The sport seating, and racing inspired instrument cluster, steering wheel and tech gear of the 4C come together in a nice package. And once out on the road, what a wild and raucous ride it is, powered by a throaty 237 horsepower 1.75 liter inline 4-cylinder turbo.
In addition to a mid-engine 50/50 balance handling advantage, the Alfa Romeo 4C carbon fiber monocoque chassis is stronger and lighter than steel and enhances the vehicle’s power-to-weight ratio for amazing agility and responsive performance.
This Alfa Romeo 4C is pure Italian sexy fun, which may help fill your passenger seat when summer clubbing in Atlantic City.
Raging Chevrolet Colorado
ZR2 Mid-Sized Pickup
Sporting your fave jams, with your board waxed and your best buds and babes ready for some gnarly wave action, the new Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 turns heads rolling through Surf City on Long Beach Island. With its brawny athletic profile, exceptional interior comfort, premium tech and amenities, and over the road and off-the-grid dual identity, the Colorado mid-sized pickup will have your crew howling like moon doggies on those long summer surfing safaris!
The stock $42,000 Crew Cab Chevy ZR2—a close cousin of a competition spec off-road racing Colorado—does a rousing dune buggy romp juiced by a 308 horsepower 3.6-liter V6 engine and some of the most sophisticated suspension technology ever designed for mid-sized truck.
Ford Mustang Bullitt
Special Edition 2019
With Molly McQueen—granddaughter of Steve—introducing the new 2019 Ford Mustang BULLITT special edition at the Detroit Auto show earlier this year, the narrative veered to a fantastic story of the discovery of an intact and still drivable 1968 GT390 Mustang that Steve McQueen himself essentially authenticated as one he drove in the movie. When the bidding war is over, the original BULLITT could fetch $25 million.
Meanwhile for just $46K the new 2019 Mustang BULLITT devours the old back roads to Wildwood with a 475 horsepower 5.0L V8 and a top speed of 163 mph.
The Dark Highland Green paint job and distinctive front grill with light chrome accessory touches are a nod to the McQueen original, while being totally cool and contemporary. The BULLITT rolls with standard GT Premium Content and the full GT Performance Package, including the 12-inch digital instrument cluster and an active valve performance exhaust with a unique Black NitroPlate™ finish.
New 2019 Subaru Ascent SUV
The largest model ever offered by the indomitable left-field star player of the auto industry, the new 7 – 8 passenger $31K to $44K Ascent will carry Subaru to a new summit in the US market, and worldwide as the monster profit-maker of the auto industry.
The new Ascent looks the part of the big daddy Subaru, with a smooth muscular exterior, the familiar functional roof rails, contemporary front grille and backswept headlight design.
The Ascent carries on the Subaru legacy of safety with the truly impressive industry leading Eye-Sight emergency self-braking system, and the brand benchmark of reliability is underlined by the use of the new variable global platform architecture which underpins the whole Subaru line.
Inside the Ascent, Subaru LOVE is bundled with updated Wi-Fi and popular device interface options, and count ‘em, 19 cup holders for all the cups, juice-boxes, gaming devices and other kid cargo that it takes for a shore trip to Ocean City.
