TRACKING TRAVEL
More Travelers</br></br>Hitting the Road</br></br>AMERICANS ARE TAKING to the family car for vacation this summer, and road-trip specialists are in hot pursuit.</br></br>Eighty percent of vacationers will travel by car this year, up 4% from 1993, according to the American Automobile Association. By contrast, 16% will go by airplane, and 3% by bus and train. The price of an auto vacation has run well behind the pace of inflation over the past 10 years, says Graeme R. Clarke, an AAA vice president. "It continues to be a fantastic bargain."</br></br>Small businesses are hoping to take advantage of the boom. In Darien, Ill., 52-year-old Ken Reinhart has started a one-man company, called 48 States by Car, which creates a personalized itinerary for road trips -- with hotel reservations, restaurant recommendations and a list of radio stations along the way. The itinerary, which costs $70, takes about three weeks to develop and comes with travel brochures. "I'll give you recommendations for everything," says Mr. Reinhart, a retired physical education teacher. "I really try to make the vacation mine."