The Booth Babe Chronicles: Outrun This
Happy Hangover Tuesday! I trust you’re all in good spirits despite possibly imbibing too many good spirits over the holiday weekend. Nothing a nice nap in the county lockup won’t cure.
Yup, chances are at least one or two of you were given an introduction to the ins and outs of traffic, DUI or public drunkenness laws this weekend. Hopefully you didn’t try to outrun the cops before they caught you.
There’s always lots of cool things to see besides the new model year vehicles at the auto show, and one display I always enjoy is the one showing off the latest and greatest police cars. I especially love the ones they’ve confiscated from drug busts and tricked out to take care of law enforcement business. Good luck outrunning those.
Believe it or not I’ve never been arrested (shocking, I know) and I hope you haven’t either. However, taking a trip in one of these sweet rides is almost worth it. Just make sure you have a friend willing to bail you out of jail so you can get back to celebrating your independence.
Here are my favorite hotrod cop cars, one or two of which I’ve actually seen on the streets during my various travels. I hope you get the thrill of seeing them one day too, without accessorizing your American Gladiator Fourth of July outfit with silver bracelets. You know the cops are hoping you’ll run so they can open these babies up.
Cop Lamborghini Murcielago
This beauty was on display at the 2008 Abu Dhabi International Motorshow. I keep hearing about this Lamborghini Diablo that the Iowa State Patrol has, but I can’t find any pictures of it. If anyone has a shot of it, could you share it with us?
Cop Porsche 911
This German police cruiser comes in handy when trying to pull over Michael Schumacher wheeling a taxi through Bavarian streets. Again …
Porsches have a long tradition on the (partially) no speed limit Autobahn. In 1966, the 100,000th Porsche, a 912 Targa outfitted for the police, was delivered to the Baden-Wurttemberg state police. A later press release noted ”40 police cars, mainly 912 Targas and some six-cylinder Coupés were delivered in 1967 alone.”
Cop Chevy Corvette C5
This one I have seen on the road, and luckily not bearing down on me from behind (that’s what she said). Not sure where they put the perps, though. In the trunk?
Cop Camaro
Multiple police departments across the US use Camaros as chase vehicles. Like the Corvette, the cops have to call another car to pick your sorry butt up and take you to jail because there’s no room for you in the back. After all that hassle you won’t even get to ride in it.
Cop Dodge Charger
There are entire fleets of this menacing-looking beast running the highways of the USA. I’ve heard that the 2011 police models will offer a 390 hp 5.7 liter HEMI. Hey, if the Charger is good enough for Leroy Jethro Gibbs, it’s good enough for me.
Just don’t come to me for that bail money.
The Booth Babe is an anonymous auto show model who dishes about what really goes on behind the scenes. Read her blog at http://doyoucomewiththecar.blogspot.com. And if you treat her nicely, read her each Sunday at Thetruthaboutcars.com
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In Hawaii, lots of cops get to use their own cars for police duty. They just clamp on a blue roof light and go. It makes for interesting cop cars, though i'm sure there must be a list of "approved" vehicles. I've seen Camrys, G35s, and 4Runners along with the chargers, camaros, and mustangs doing "double duty" for home and "office" use. btw, the use of their own vehicles makes it really hard to tell when a cop is behind you (esp in the dark), so i'd think more speeders get tagged by the unusual makes.
Wanted to add: This week I had a conversation with a cop whose squad car is a Crown Vic. I asked him if his gas tank had been retrofitted with a bladder and he didn't know. I told him to up his life insurance.