Passenger Cars
The Last Cannonball – Tricking the Authorities – Car and Driver
By the time Brennan and I got into New Jersey, we were averaging 70 mph, but we were still keeping the car under rein. Our plan was to run straight across Interstate 80, going slowly through New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, and then race the Fire-Am across the plains at 130 mph to Salt Lake City, hang a left on I-15, and coast through the desert to L.A.
We flew across the Garden State as if it weren’t there. Unfortunately, Rick Kopec and Bob Key did not. When the Jersey troopers stopped their Shelby Mustang, Kopec pulled out a New York State police badge and tried the I’m-an-off-duty-cop routine. He was on his way in no time-in handcuffs, to jail. Kopec made Cannonball history by becoming the first driver arrested for a felony: impersonating an officer. After two hours of trying to explain that it was all a mistake, Kopec finally confessed to being in the Cannonball. "I suspect the troopers all privately approved," he ventured, "because they turned me loose with nothing more than a speeding ticket."
Other Cannonballers had better luck in tricking the authorities. Jim Sencenbaugh and his crew made the run in a Chevrolet Suburban. They wore yellow hard hats and coveralls. Their truck bristled with antennas and complicated-looking electronic gear. On the sides and back were signs reading:
All that meant was the van had a CB onboard. The deception proved particularly effective in Pennsylvania, where Three Mile Island had just begun to boil over. Every time Sencenbaugh and his men stopped at a gas station, they’d scan the attendants with Geiger counters just to watch them freak.
One of the cleverest covers was that of Lou Sellyei and Gary Arentz, both physicians from Reno. Packed into their Jaguar XJ-S was a medical cooler containing a pair of pig’s eyes. "We’re rushing to save a child’s sight, officer." Their story must have worked: They made it in 39 hours, 10 minutes.
There was no point in our wasting time on tricks-one look at the Fire-Am and any cop would know we were up to no good. We just had to count on the car’s power and put our faith in the radar detector.
By the time we crossed the Delaware River into Pennsylvania, my eyes were aching. We pulled over. Brennan took a hit of banana-pineapple-apricot nectar ("I’m sure I put the Benzedrine in this one," he said, "because it sounds so disgusting") and took the wheel.
Brennan was intimidated by the Fire-Am, just as I had been at first. In a youth misspent on professional drag racing, and an adulthood spent writing about fast cars, I had never seen the Fire-Am’s equal. Being strapped into a racing harness with a five-pound buckle on your belly and a fire extinguisher dangling in your face didn’t do anything to lessen the tension.
Brennan strapped himself in, lit a cigarette, and pulled onto the highway cautiously. "I’m gonna take it real easy," he said, "real slow."
The sun was just coming up as we cruised through the morning mist in the Pennsylvania valleys. Brennan was adjusting to the car, concentrating, eyes moving, gearing his mind and body to the machine. "I think I’ll bump it up a little," he informed.
"Look at the speedometer," I said. We were already going 110.
"Shit," he said, easing off. "I thought we were doing 65."
We were moving fast and loose. Our average was inching up with every mile. Screw the game plan of going slow through the East-we decided to open this mother up and go.
Article source: http://www.caranddriver.com/features/02q4/the_last_cannonball-feature/tricking_the_authorities_page_5
Iran president sells his banger for big bucks
Would you buy a 1977 Peugeot 504 saloon for f1.5m? Probably not, but then you might reconsider if you have Iran president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad breathing down your neck, as that is exactly what an anonymous buyer has done.
The car was not just any old battered classic though, as it belonged to the Iranian leader and had once been used as his official car. Still, the final price is far in excess of the f1,000 value of such a vehicle.
In defence of Ahmadinejad and the winning bidder, this was no ordinary used-car transaction, as the 504 was being auctioned off to raise money for a housing project for low-income families.
There were bidders from as many as eight countries aiming to secure the car, and more importantly no doubt, the kudos of being the biggest donator to the housing project. There was a $1m (f612,820) bid lodged as early as the second day of the auction.
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