Speaking of renting a car, I know it's possible to do that on the cheap, but a ten day rental of a luxury SUV was $1450 on a quote I got from Hertz today. To me, a road trip is the time you want the best set of wheels possible -- especially if you're driving a great car at home. $4500 a year for those trips is a significant number for most of us.
Wow, I wouldn't do that either. If the only way they can do these trips is in a luxury SUV (!). . . . Hmm.
On the other side of the coin, everyone is thrilled that the car has no problems with commuting range. Some have 125 mile a day round-trip commutes and understand the savings, not to mention not stopping for gas twice a week.