Imagine it. You're in a cherry red Ferrari Testarossa, screaming down the coastal highway, palm trees whizzing past you, the warm sun baking the white sandy beach and making the ocean water sparkle like a sea of diamonds. You can practically hear Jan Hammer's Miami Vice theme pounding in the background. OK, so maybe that's not how every person's Florida Experience is, but in a just and exciting world, it would be.
It may not be in a Ferrari, but if you live in Florida there's a good chance you spend a lot of time driving. There are more than 14 million registered vehicles in the state, with the average driver putting nearly 14,000 miles on their vehicle annually. There are more than 8,000 dealers with cars for sale, leading to just over $42 billion in new car sales last year alone and 269,334 auto-related jobs across the state.
Some of those jobs come from construction. A study by the United States Department of Transportation concluded that for every $1 billion of federal spending on highway construction nationwide, 47,500 jobs are created annually. That study also concluded that every dollar invested in construction and improvements to the highway system generates about $5.70 in savings due to reduced delays, improved safety and more.
One of the best things to do in your car in Florida, though, is to head out to The Swap Shop Drive-In. It's an old-fashioned drive-in movie theater, the perfect chance for you to roll down your windows or drop the top on your car, munch on a corn dog and enjoy a great movie under the stars.
Just be sure not to parachute on Sundays if you're a married woman. That's against the law.
