Plot

Homer must travel to New York to get his car back, which is illegally parked at World Trade Center Plaza.

After Barney has mysteriously driven the Simpsons' car to New York and abandoned it there the family set out to retrieve it. However it has accrued many parking tickets and a clamp and,whilst Homer is waiting for a parking officer to remove the clamp,he gets caught short and needs the toilet, thereby missing meeting the officer. He decides to take drastic action to remove the clamp,which leads to the family driving home in a severely damaged vehicle.—don @ minifie-1

At Moe's one evening, Barney is chosen as the designated driver for the night. Suffering from beer withdrawal, things get more exasperating for Barney when Duffman (the commercial-spokesperson for the Duff Brewing Company) shows up with a huge beer for Barney winning a contest...only for Barney having to turn it down.

Barney drives everyone home using Homer's car, but then both Barney and the car disappear.

A few months later, Barney returns to Springfield, but has no knowledge of where the car is. The mystery is solved when the Simpsons get a letter from the city of New York, claiming the car is illegally parked, and must be claimed in three days.

Upon hearing this news, Homer is adamant that he is not going to New York, remembering a bad experience he had there when he was younger. Marge tries to assure Homer things will be okay, and an ad for cheap bus tickets soon sends the family on their way (though Homer is still against the whole trip).

Once the family arrives in New York, Marge and the kids go sightseeing, while Homer tracks down the car. He finds it parked between the twin towers of the World Trade Center, with numerous parking tickets and a boot on it. Calling the number on the boot to get it off, a phone message says someone will meet him by the car between the hours of 9am and 5pm.

Meanwhile, the rest of the family is enjoying the sights and sounds of New York. From Bart finding the headquarters for MAD Magazine to the group partaking in a Broadway show, the city seems to hold delights for them all.

After some time, Homer soon grows bored and hungry. He ends up partaking in some disgusting-yet-edible street food and crab juice...only to soon have to go to the restroom!

This sends Homer into the World Trade Center and to the top floor where the restrooms are...only to look out the window and see he missed the officer!

Returning to the car and finding a ticket for $250, Homer is further enraged. However, noting the sun going down, he attempts to get out of New York City. Attempting to drive with the boot still on, Homer realizes he isn't going to get far. Taking a jackhammer from a construction site, he manages to remove the boot, while causing significant damage to the car.

Homer eventually finds the family in Central Park having a carriage ride, and quickly gets them into the car and out of the city before nightfall. While the rest of the family is thinking happy thoughts about their trip, Homer himself seems reluctant to ever come back to the Big Apple.