So I’m safe and sound in Maine, probably soon to be hitting the rack. Saw an oddity on the highway heading up. As I was driving in Southern Maine (Around Wells for those keeping score) I saw a black Mustang sideways in the opposite lane. As I passed I realized it wasn’t sideways but turning into the Law Enforcement turn-around gap.
Dad had been telling me that Maine Highway patrol had bought a bunch of Mustangs and were running them Unmarked in the speed traps.
Well not only did he pull into the turn-around, but he started heading my way at about 80. I slowed down and let him pass, and while he did I got a good look.
2011 Mustang GT 5.0L, all black with blacked out windows. Also the licence plate was the standard Chickadee civilian licence plate, and a fully uniformed highway patrol officer behind the wheel.
Really slick ride, and scary-camouflaged, He could have snuck up on me and speed-matched me without me even suspecting it was the Five-Oh in the 5.0.
Slick ride but: No back seat or security cage for apprehending criminals. No Push bars for a PIT maneuver, and while I’m sure that 412hp 302CI muscle car will do wonders running down perps in a high-speed chase, who does those things anymore when we have helicopters and spike strips?
Nope its all about speeding tickets which are about money-money-money. Sad really, because all I could think of was this:
Call it a V8 Interceptor, call it the Pursuit Special, certainly call it cool!
Out in Kansas, there’s an entirely blacked-out Magnum with mags, hood scoops…and a light bar up top. It just screams, “Run. I dare you.”
Great video find, BTW. š
The charger platform DOES cut a very striking cop car. There are a few towns in Mass that have traded the Crown Vics in for Chargers, and I know New Hampshire uses them for their highway patrol.
Yeah I had a few scenes from Mad Max, and the Road Warrior pop into my head when I saw that black Mustang, this video was damn near perfect for my uses.
Not a Charger…a MAGNUM. Yep, a hotrodded station wagon. And it still looked cool as hell. Definitely not your father’s Country Squire.
I get ya. Only difference between a Magnum and a charger is the ass….and well the fact that you can still buy Chargers.
FYI, Jay and I know a guy with a Magnum with the license plate “500 S&W”
How cool is that?
I saw that same car, I think (or one just like it), in a turnaround around Scarborough/Saco tonight… he’s been traveling, it seems.
Might have been the same car, they could have 3-4 of them for all we know.
Slick ride but: No back seat or security cage for apprehending criminals. No Push bars for a PIT maneuver
A PIT at highway speeds is a good way to a wrongful-death lawsuit, but a push bumper isn’t for a PIT. This clip is a textbook PIT – it actually uses the fender against the quarter panel and as soon as the target vehicle is losing the back end, you just drive straight through. Done right, there’s actually very little damage to to the car initiating the maneuver.
while Iām sure that 412hp 302CI muscle car will do wonders running down perps in a high-speed chase, who does those things anymore when we have helicopters and spike strips?
Hell with the helicopters – that’s a boondoggle. (Maryland runs AW139s at a per-bird cost of $21mil; a budget choice is the Bell 206 JetRanger for $700k but top speed of 140mph) Not saying helos don’t have a place in law enforcement, but they aren’t meant for traffic enforcement.
Old cop story: guy goes blowing by Barney at OMGWTFMPH, Barney pulls out but can’t catch up. Far side of town, there’s Barney blocking the road. Guy stops, says, “Damn man, how’d you get around here so fast?” Barney(2) smiles as Barney(1) pulls up behind him and says, “You really think you can outrun Motorola?”
NYSP had a few cars for the Thruway troop in a similar ilk – the last-gen Camaros, slicktop, LS1 package (corvette motor), but striped and marked like a standard CVPI. On the road from front or back it was just a dark blue Camaro – ’til all the flashies came on. Not sure if they’re still running them or not.
Is it revenooing? Yes, to a certain extent. At the same time, I’ve been to enough wrecks caused by someone going Just Too Fast to believe that speed enforcement is all about revenue.
Thanks for the info, dude!
As for if its safety vs revenue. I will point out that speed indeed kills, and “making time” on the highway or worse side streets can get your ass to write checks your body doesn’t want to cash.
That being said with the nature of various speed traps (ie abrupt speed changes where an officer hides out just on the slow side of the change) or the fact that the posted speed limit is hardly the enforced speed limit. Not to mention the various speeds that are safe to drive that are technically speeding, but in a lower penalty bracket, so the cops don’t enforce.
It COULD be about safety. But then they’d post a realistic speed limit, and detain EVERYBODY who is clocked more than a margin of error over that limit.
Instead they’re fishing for the most bang for the buck, or for people not willing to stomp on the breaks when Country Road #123 goes from 45 to 25 and Boomer the local cop is hiding behind a lilac bush with his radar gun.
I get the good intentions, I just fail to see them ever implemented.
Ok Weerd the 2 dollar question? What’s MFP stand for? š
In your vid it cuts after the scene where Max sees the interceptor for the first time. In the movie it cuts to Fifi and a police official listening in on a hidden wire in the garage or worn by Goose. The following dialogue takes place.
Fifi: He loves it. I think we’ve got him.
Official: I hope so.
Fifi: Yeah, we’ve got him.
Official: Your top pursuit man wants to quit the road…
…and we have to seduce him with candy?
Fifi: People don’t believe in heroes anymore.
I often wonder every time I see a “cool” police car, like the one you saw if something similar to this has taken place or if it happens often.
Why, Main Force Patrol of course. š
I know a few guys who have gotten to retirement age and been convinced to stay on a few more years with a cushy assignment… but a sweet car is not part of the package.
I have to admit… if that were ever my official vehicle, and it never would be, I would have to find some obscure corner to secret one of those stickers you were talking about over my way… š