As part of a US Army convoy, Ike experienced what it was like to drive across the US in 1919. The trip lasted more than two months, due to the total absence of roads in many areas of The West, and this experience left a lasting impression on Ike.
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That story would make for a good book, if there isn’t one already. Other non-fiction road-trip across USA books I’ve liked, (1)Mark Twain’s Roughing It, (2) forget title, something like Horatio’s trip (Ken Burns made a film about this trip too), (3) a book recommended here about Harry Truman’s post-POTUS road trip from his home in Missouri to Washington DC and back. Twain’s book takes place in the late 1800’s & is the better of the three imo.
Probably lots of the posters here recall when they were kids and no freeways. It would take all day just to drive 60 miles and back b/c of all the in -own 25- 35 mph speed limits stop lights along the way, every major highway went right through the center of every town.
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I was the one who recommended Harry Truman’s Excellent Adventure. While it certainly can’t qualify as great literature, this account of the road trip (in the pre-Interstate Era) in their '53 Chrysler New Yorker is well-written and entertaining. Bess frequently chided Harry about “driving too fast”, but he was probably not a speed demon–despite having one of the most powerful cars on the road in those days.
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Too bad we have to run interstate thru low income neighborhood next to city core. You DO want road to go downtown?