I really like the grids for cities. Say what you want about traffic in Houston or Dallas but, though they move tons of people, driving their is way, way better than e.g. Boston.
I don't object to bespoke layouts out in the country so much as that the "through roads" in the northeast are extremely un-fun to drive on if you have distance to cover. Probably bias from how I grew up, but when I have hundreds of miles to go, I like hopping on a nice, wide FM and opening the throttle.
> the "through roads" in the northeast are extremely un-fun to drive on if you have distance to cover
It's not the roads themselves, it's the sheer number of people.
Also the definition of "through road" is much different. You can't just get on any random numbered route and once you're "out of town" you're good - because there is no "out of town". Traveling longer distances you focus on interstates plus a handful of controlled-access state/US routes. For example, don't get on (a non-interstate-part-of) US route 1 expecting a nice drive. They let the US route get built up with businesses and lights, with the expectation that trough traffic will be using I-95.
I don't object to bespoke layouts out in the country so much as that the "through roads" in the northeast are extremely un-fun to drive on if you have distance to cover. Probably bias from how I grew up, but when I have hundreds of miles to go, I like hopping on a nice, wide FM and opening the throttle.