VW's Amarok pickup is perhaps the best transportation bargain in El Salvador

We’ll be the first to admit that, like smoked beer or steak tartar, Alex Roy is an acquired taste. He may come across as arrogant, but only because he really has been there and done that, with the t-shirt to prove it. We’ll also admit to being a bit skeptical about his latest J.F Musial-inspired mission, but it didn’t take long for this video to suck us in.

When it comes to road trips, we prefer ours north of the border. We have too many friends with too many stories about road trips ending in Mexican jails, which just isn’t our idea of a good time. Head farther south, and the political climate gets even more heated; El Salvador, according to the U.S. State Department and the CIA Fact Book, isn’t really an ideal place for a vacation getaway.

If you can get past the fact that your rental car will likely be the biggest piece of crap you’ve ever driven, and if the sight of barbed wire and ever-present (heavily) armed guards doesn’t give you cause for concern, El Salvador has perhaps the most active car culture in Central America. It’s also a reminder of how good we have things in the United States, since a Volkswagen GTI sells for roughly $45,000 in El Salvador. Ouch.