Car Trouble is a novel by Jeanne DuPrau published in 2005 about a man named Duff Pringle who travels across the country for a dream job.

Duff Pringle is heading across the country, aiming for his new job in technology in California's Silicon Valley.

Despite his appearance and behavior, Duff accepts, and they head to Saint Louis to deliver the car, a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air, to a woman named Rosalie Hopgood.

According to Kirkus Reviews, although "DuPrau is hardly the first" to write a novel about the "Great American Road Trip", "she produces a pleasingly zany caper peopled by amiably over-the-top characters".

[1] Publishers Weekly called DuPrau "a smooth writer", but critiqued aspects of the novel, writing, "Duff's story, like his car, has momentum problems [...] While this may be an authentic portrayal of a teen computer whiz, unfortunately it doesn't make for a very engaging point of view and the story's moral is 'listen to your parents.