2017 Rand Mcnally Road Atlas

[US 41]

The Routemaster Canada/USA atlas (which is similar to the RandMcNally atlas, but made by a Canadian map company) no longer includes Mexico in their atlas.

I don't think some of the Rand McNally speciality (ex: large scale, pocket edition) atlases include Mexico either. I'd be extremely disappointed however if Mexico was removed from the "regular" road atlas.

At the bare minimum here are the changes I'd like to see made on the Mexico page.

1) Go back to the older Mexico map (2014 and older) color scheme. The maps they have used the past 2 years are kind of hard to read because of all the color changes (from tan to green). An all yellow or all white background would be perfect.

2) MX 57 needs to be shown in orange from San Luis Potosi to Saltillo instead of red. MX 57 is a high quality 4 lane highway with at grades between those two cities.

3) The new autopista Durango - Mazatlan (40D) needs to be shown in green labeled as "2 Lane".

4) Show the autopista Mazatlan - Tepic. It is also 2 lane.

5) MX 54 is 4 lane for a long ways northeast of Cd. Zacatecas, so it should also be shown in orange.

6) In the Mexico City Inset map I think the Cto Exterior Mexiquense toll road needs to be shown. It's basically the northeastern bypass of Mexico City. Also the Anillo Periferico should probably be in blue rather than orange.

7) Last but not least having Mexico on 128 and 129 would be a lot nicer than having it on just 128. The 1 inch equals 145 miles could be reduced to 1 inch equaling closer to 75 miles. This would make more room so everything isn't so crammed in.

[kphoger]

Corrections to México in RMcN would be major and numerous.  That's why I'd settle for something actually accurate, even if the scope were reduced to the northern part of the country.  AFAIK, the state of Chihuahua is still shown in the wrong time zone, despite having changed in 1998.  Yes, eighteen years ago.  Highway lines do not match real life, not just in road type but also in routing.  Route numbers are incorrect.  Nonexistent roads are shown, while existent roads are missing.  It's pathetic and useless for travel.

When I see it in a store, I'll check it out, but chances are there aren't enough improvements to warrant a purchase.  OTOH, I wouldn't mind having a blank atlas with no highlighter marks...

[D-Dey65]

Did they update the interchanges on I-95 in North Carolina? Because the 2016 Large Size one still has I-74 listed as Exit 14, when it's actually Exit 13.

Actually, they show I-74 with no exit number and the former US 74's Exit 14 together.

[US 41]

Did they update the interchanges on I-95 in North Carolina? Because the 2016 Large Size one still has I-74 listed as Exit 14, when it's actually Exit 13.

Actually, they show I-74 with no exit number and the former US 74's Exit 14 together.

I don't think it's been released yet in any version yet. The book doesn't come out until another week (the 15th).

[Henry]

Four more days...

[SimMoonXP]

Three more days to go!

[shadyjay]

Pre-ordered mine last night, as I am sick of going to every Walmart in New England (or so it seemed) looking for the cheap one and the only thing I ever got out of it was getting really pissed off and trying to find where each particular Walmart keeps theirs.  Some are in a/v, some by the register, some in a separate book area.  Last year I discovered amazon.com for the atlas and that is my new route to obtain it. 

[US 41]

I'm going to wait a week or 2 after it comes out and then I will make the drive over to the Barnes and Noble in Plainfield to go get mine. It worked last year, so I guess I'll try it again this year. I guess I could try the one in Bloomington too since I usually drive there at least twice a month. 

[Jim]

I wasn't sure WalMart was even selling the discount versions anymore.  Last year, I checked a few locations and never found them.  And WalMart isn't the kind of place you can easily find someone willing and able to help find something specific like that.

[bandit957]

Walmart can poo its pants anyhow.

[Rothman]

Walmart can poo its pants anyhow.

I'm sure there are people that go in there with poo in their pants as well.

[oscar]

I wasn't sure WalMart was even selling the discount versions anymore.  Last year, I checked a few locations and never found them.  And WalMart isn't the kind of place you can easily find someone willing and able to help find something specific like that.

They usually arrive a few weeks after the full-priced versions come out in other stores. Usually, they're in the books and magazines section (often right next to TVs and other entertainment items, but sometimes in a free-standing section in the front of the store within a gap in the cash registers). In larger stores with auto service facilities for oil changes, etc., you sometimes can find them there.

Since there are no Wal-Marts convenient to me, I just wait until my first summer road trip, by which time Wal-Marts are stocking their discount versions of the RMcN. Since nothing much changes from one year to the next, the wait is no big deal for me, and until then I just get by with the old version.

[Rothman]

Since nothing much changes from one year to the next, the wait is no big deal for me, and until then I just get by with the old version.

Heh.  I used to get excited about getting a new one to see how the Interstates were coming along when I was a kid, but you're right:  Now, finding what changes is like finding needles in a haystack.

[hbelkins]

I wonder if they'll push an update to the iOS book version and/or app like they did last year?

[Henry]

One more day...the suspense is killing me!

[kphoger]

Corrections to México in RMcN would be major and numerous.  That's why I'd settle for something actually accurate, even if the scope were reduced to the northern part of the country.  AFAIK, the state of Chihuahua is still shown in the wrong time zone, despite having changed in 1998.  Yes, eighteen years ago.  Highway lines do not match real life, not just in road type but also in routing.  Route numbers are incorrect.  Nonexistent roads are shown, while existent roads are missing.  It's pathetic and useless for travel.

When I see it in a store, I'll check it out, but chances are there aren't enough improvements to warrant a purchase.  OTOH, I wouldn't mind having a blank atlas with no highlighter marks...

Ah, I found this picture I made once to illustrate how ridiculous RMcN is when it comes to México.  This is not the most recent edition, but I highly doubt much has changed since I last bought a copy.

[CNGL-Leudimin]

Heck, the North America road atlas I have got everything right in that part of Mexico (except it doesn't put a shield on Nuevo León 3). Of course is not a Rand McNally atlas, but a Michelin one.

[US 41]

Corrections to México in RMcN would be major and numerous.  That's why I'd settle for something actually accurate, even if the scope were reduced to the northern part of the country.  AFAIK, the state of Chihuahua is still shown in the wrong time zone, despite having changed in 1998.  Yes, eighteen years ago.  Highway lines do not match real life, not just in road type but also in routing.  Route numbers are incorrect.  Nonexistent roads are shown, while existent roads are missing.  It's pathetic and useless for travel.

When I see it in a store, I'll check it out, but chances are there aren't enough improvements to warrant a purchase.  OTOH, I wouldn't mind having a blank atlas with no highlighter marks...

Ah, I found this picture I made once to illustrate how ridiculous RMcN is when it comes to México.  This is not the most recent edition, but I highly doubt much has changed since I last bought a copy.

They actually fixed all of these errors in either last years or 2 years ago atlas.

[freebrickproductions]

I do remember seeing an atlas or an Alabama state map (most likely the later) which had Carl T. Jones Drive drawn on the insert of Huntsville. However, it was drawn as a road with a sharp right, and not the winding road that it actually is.

[broadhurst04]

What do you all do with your old atlas(es) when you get a new one? Keep them, trash them, or recycle them?

[US 41]

What do you all do with your old atlas(es) when you get a new one? Keep them, trash them, or recycle them?

I keep all of mine in a box in my closet so I can go back and look at them years later.

[SSOWorld]

as of 2015's atlas details of each road were so fine tuned you could tell where the access is limited on a road by looking at the map's color.  Google Maps still beats it out.

[Henry]

What do you all do with your old atlas(es) when you get a new one? Keep them, trash them, or recycle them?

I keep all of mine in a box in my closet so I can go back and look at them years later.

DUH! I keep them just to have something to draw new roads on, though the older ones have been worn out by now.

[US 41]

To kphoger: Here's what the bottom of the Texas (east) page looks like now (2016 atlas) in Mexico. It is much more accurate. The older versions like what you showed were very bad. I don't even know how they came up with what they did back then.

[kphoger]

^^ Wow, decently accurate.  The only thing I notice offhand is small enough it's not really worth mentioning.  I guess I'll have to pick one up.