Day 63 2. July 2000, Marquette to Bay City Today
we drive through the state of Michigan from Marquette to Bay City. Michigan
modestly calls itself the automotive capital of the world with almost
all of the big American car companies and its suppliers located somewhere
around the state. It is no surprise then, that most of the cars we see
on the street here are in fact American. Unlike California where there
are many, foreign,especially German cars on the street, in Michigan it
has to be GM, Ford, Chrysler, etc. or at least a VW New Beetle which is
produced in North America. People seem to have a special interest in cars
though and many pass us by on the highway giving us a thumbs-up. Tomorrow
we will drive past Detroit ("Motown" - motor-town I believe
it is referred to) but not see it as we avoid any heavy traffic. Seeing
anything has been a problem recently as the planned rally route always
seems to run on some gravel forest roads. The original idea was to have
tests on that route but when that idea was given up, noone did bother
to change the route, instead forcing us to drive on it by implementing
new passage checks. We end up seeing nothing but trees and expose our
cars to washboard vibrations without any competitive relevance. Driving
all day through woods, we feel like we are still in Alaska. It is a pity
really, because much of the American life is actually going on on the
highways and when we do get the chance of driving on them, we realize
what we are missing out on. For example there are traffic signs that read
"Prison area - do not pick up hitchhikers" which, being European,
we have to find amusing. There are signs advertising a "Mystery Spot"
without any explanation or a "bottlecap museum" or the "largest
in the world" this or that. Or you end up just watching the vehicles
and people on the highway - far more interesting than watching trees all
day (with the odd deer jumping around). It is not that we do not like
forests - it is just that we have seen too much recently.
Overall 1 hour 47 minutes penalty The official results can be looked up on this website
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