Customer Reviews

Michelin Road Atlas 2008: USA, Canada, Mexico

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been using the Michelin Road Atlas for about 4 years now. I buy a new one every 2 years because new roads appear about that often.

I travel frequently, and I used to find the map size and amount of detail very good for my needs. For 2008, Michelin has reduced the page width side-to-side by about an inch per page, with about a 10% reduction in scale. The print is starting to get a little small for easy reading. I wish they had kept the original size.

Having said that, I still find that the atlas fits nicely in the door pocket of my vehicle. The page-to-page organization is very logical and easy to follow, with good overlap from page to page. Michelin has done a good job on this atlas series.

The key feature of this atlas is the maps division principle. Michelin divides the whole US into equally-scaled rectangular pieces and puts each such piece on a page. This means that they don't put each state on a separate page. This way you get a more logical, uniform organization of maps with predictable transitions between them. The overlaps between the maps are large enough to make it easy to find where you were on the previous map. There are special large-scale maps for the East Coast region, also nicely arranged in an overlapping manner. And of course, many city maps. The atlas also contains a lot of useful information, such as mileages, scenic routes, etc. Be aware that the atlas is smaller than the RandMcNally's big one, I think it is about the size of the smaller RandMcNally atlas, the one which is supposed to fit into the gloves compartment (it does, actually, in my car). I give four stars to the atlas rather than five stars because it is a bit small so the fonts are not large enough to be easily read when driving. But in all other aspects the Michelin atlas is better than its competitors.

Ever lived in LA? The Thomas Guides are great because they block each section of the city into about 1 square mile grids and you can easily see approaches and streets. This Michelin guide does that for all of North America. Instead of Vermont being on one page the sections are all about 50 square miles. The back section is fairly good street guides of metropolitan areas on maybe a 5 square mile page. Even a town the size of Fort Wayne, IN gets one of these maps. Really helpful to get from point a to point b where you have directions to the final destination in a city.

My wife and I went on a long road trip - I have a navigation system in the car but it's nice to have a paper map handy so you can easily see what's a few hundred miles ahead.
My only complaint with this atlas, and any paper atlas for that matter, is going from page 96 to 52 to 46 to whatever; that's a lot of page turning and you'd better have someone in the passenger seat or you'll have to pull over to the side of the road.
But, overall this one is nicely laid out with more detailed maps of the larger cities.

This atlas is easy to use and very comprehensive. The pages are by sections rather than by state, which is quite good when you are traveling across state lines. I highly recommend it to anyone who travels by car.

I do like the map layout, even if you have to jump once a couple of pages during the trip. It's not very big, so it stays in the car door pocket. The maps are clear to read, but may lack in detail if you need to find your way through back roads.