By the time we got to Georgia our car was a lemon.
Why do you think the car was lemon?
It was like a bird had shit in the in-car computer.
If you have concerns about a car that you're buying you should try to make sure that you're buying from a reputable dealer first.  And if you already have a car, and you know that you're going to be heading on a long trip, you should think about taking your car to get it checked out first.
I don't have time to do that. The dealer said that the car was clean and gasoline green.
It's hard to find the time to do research before buying a car, or to get our own cars inspected and maintained, but it pays off big time.  Think of how much time you would lose if your car had broken down in the middle of nowhere.  A small investment of time now can save you a lot of trouble later.