Nissan Canada has organized a journey along iconic Route 66 for a group of Canadian automotive journalists. This is the second time that the company has provided journalists with an opportunity for an extended test drive in three of the automaker’s newest models on the most famous highway in America. The tour will include stops at historic sites as well as provide an opportunity to meet with key people associated with the highway’s renaissance and interview Nissan technology specialists.
To develop the tour author Jim Hinckley, creator of Jim Hinckley’s America travel network, was retained as a consultant. Hinckley adjusted the proposed schedule to ensure that participants experienced the essence of Route 66 that has fueled an international obsession with this highway. This included facilitating arrangements for speakers such as Rhys Martin of the Oklahoma Route 66 Association and Cloudless Lens Photography, photographer Jim Livingston of the I Am Route 66 project, and Scott Piotrowski of the California Historic Route 66 Association to join the group for dinner in select cities.
In addition to the Jim Hinckley’s America network and the publication of nineteen books, Hinckley works as a consultant for the development of media tours. He also develops promotional initiatives for the City of Cuba in Missouri, tourism centered community education programs for Mohave Community College, and marketing for Grand Canyon Caverns. His services were also retained by Bratislava Slovakia based Touch media, developer of the critically acclaimed Route 66 Navigation app and the Mother Road Route 66 Passport.
Dave Clark was retained as the Nissan Canada Route 66 Road Trip guide. Clark is an historian, author and internationally acclaimed tour guide that specializes in the Chicago area as well as the Route 66 corridor in Illinois. He has traveled Route 66 several times and has been a featured speaker at the Miles of Possibility Conference as well as at other prestigious venues. Arrangements were facilitated for the group to drive across the Mississippi River on the historic Chain of Rocks Bridge. Additionally the group experienced the iconic Wagon Wheel Motel in Cuba, Missouri, and is tentatively scheduled to visit Ed Galloway’s Totem Pole Park, the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum, Big Texan Steak Ranch, ghost town of Glenrio, Grand Canyon Caverns, the historic Dunton Motors Dream Machines and Powerhouse Visitor Center in Kingman, Arizona, and Elmer’s Bottle Tree Ranch
