Autoblog

Click image for photo gallery

The news that the Indiana state police are adding new, unmarked Mustang GTs to their patrol fleet sent this blogger over to SSPMustang.org for a little nostalgia. SSPMustang is a site dedicated to the 1982 - 1993 Special Service Package Mustangs and the enthusiasts who find them and keep them going. You don't have to think that far back to recall when the sight of an tinted-out, unmarked 5.0 LX notch on the side of the highway was something you'd immediately jump on the brakes for. Many states had marked ones, too, and in all cases, they were manned by troopers ready to give pursuit.

I clicked on the site's "For Sale" link out of curiosity, and lo and behold, there's a beauty up for grabs. The 1982 California Highway Patrol SSP 5.0L you see above belongs to SSPMustang.org webmaster Mike Riley, and he's letting it go. As you can see, it's been fully restored, right down to the period-correct radios and reproduction "E" plates, among other things. The listing has an extensively detailed rundown on the car, its history, and the work done on it as well as several more large photos. While you're on the site, visit the "Features" section, where you can see more cars, including Riley's interesting '86 SSP 'Stang that served as the Indian Rocks, FL fire chief's car. Neat stuff. As for the CHP ride, he's asking $11,500 for it. If you decide to make it yours, our only recommendation is that you refrain from driving it in Dearborn, MI.


[Source: SSP Mustang | Photos: Mike Riley]

Click above for high-res gallery of the FPV F6, more galleries after the jump

FPV's seemingly endless rollout of its new FG Falcon-based lineup has finally culminated in the actual launch of the cars (how novel), which we've already touched upon. To that end, we'll keep this brief and turn you loose on the multiple new photo galleries now available (check out the rest after the jump). The FPV range encompasses both Falcon sedan and Ute bodystyles, and power comes from either the turbocharged F6 inline-six or the 5.4L Boss 315 V8. The six delivers 415 horsepower and a tire-humbling 416 lb-ft of torque. The eight's no slouch either, pumping out 422 horses (315 kW, hence the engine's name) and 406 lb-ft. A Tremec TR6060 6-speed stick is available across the full range of cars.

Speaking of that, here's the rundown:

• FPV F6 Ute
• FPV Pursuit (V8 Ute)
• FPV Super Pursuit ( Top-of-the-line V8 Ute)
• FPV F6 Sedan
• FPV GT (V8 Sedan)
• FPV GT-P (Premium version of the GT)
• FPV GT E (Top-of-the-line V8 FPV sedan, more subtle styling than GT, GT-P)

You can see galleries of everything below and after the jump. We'll take an F6 sedan in the lime green. In fact, we need one of those approximately yesterday.


[Source: FPV]

Milwaukee police recruits have to learn how to pursue a speeding vehicle before they're allowed to keep the streets safe. On this particular training day, on the infield at the Milwaukee Mile, IRL driver Tony Kanaan would be the rabbit they had to chase. Tony had a standard issue Honda Civic Si. The boys and girls in blue had standard issue Fords. We would never recommend engaging in a high-speed chase with police. But it is fun to watch Tony throw the Honda around the cones and corners at un-Civic-like speeds. There are two versions of this video, here and here. The first one is filmed from the Honda, and it looks for all the world like the police can't catch Speedy T. The second one is filmed from the lead police vehicle and the officer talks like he's keeping Tony right where he wants him (to the detriment of a cone or two). Asking whether Tony Kanaan in a Honda could outrun police in Ford Crown Vics is like asking a Superfan if Mike Ditka could win the Indy 500 in da Bears team bus. Follow the links, watch the vids, and as John Facenda used to say in NFL films: you make the call.

Thanks for the tip, Aki!

[Source: WISN]

Click on the image for a gallery of high-res images of Ford and GM Holden Utes.

At the Brisbane Motor Show, which started on Friday, Ford and GM Holden, plus their tuning groups Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) and Holden Special Vehicles (HSV), had plenty of top Aussie utes on display, ranging from the workman Ford Falcon XR6 Cab Chassis, through the higher performance Ford Falcon XR8 and Holden SS Crewman and up into the fully-blown FPV Super Pursuit Ute and the HSV Thunder.

As a ute driver myself, it was great to see the totally Oz vehicles proudly flying the flag as fast, fun, rear-wheel drive sports cars with big boots.

On the side: our friends over at the Jalop uncovered a story in CarPoint that reports that the launch date for the new Holden Commodore Ute has been bumped forward and that a left-hand drive version is in the cards. Could this mean that GM is considering a El Camino comeback? An even better question is: would you buy one? - Ed.

Related:

• Brisbane Motor Show: Aussie muscle
• Holden shows off Commodore SS "Morpheous" at Brisbane show
• Brisbane Auto Show images

Down here in Australia, Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) are pushing their new range with a catchy advertising campaign including billboard style posters at airports like the one I snapped above on my camera phone. The new FPV range is billed as being "Performance, Inc." and features from left to right, the F6 Typhoon, GT, Force and the Super Pursuit Ute. If you're a Ford fan stuck in North America and you'd like to feel a bit closer to all this muscle, check out the FPV's cool videos.

Related posts:

• VIDEO: More Ford Australia Fun
• Ford FPV brings more power, handling to the Aussies

[Source: Ford Performance Vehicles]

Think you could out-run a police cruiser? Think again. At least not in London.

London Metropolitan Police have apparently "acquired" two Renault F1 cars as pursuit vehicles. A police department spokesman enumerated a number of potential problems, including the noise, fuelling up, the overwhelming performance, no space for equipment, and the fact that none of their donut-engorged officers could possibly fit in the cockpit, let alone drive it.

Related posts:

• Italy's newest tourist attraction: get pulled over by a Lambo
• Texas law enforcement issued 700 HP Hummer

[Source: Pistonheads]

Pontiac dealers have been complaining to General Motors about the void created when the Sunfire small car was cancelled. With no small car to offer, these dealers have had a hard time attracting fuel- and price-conscious buyers into their showrooms. Apparently GM has been happy to oblige by bringing down the Canadian-market Pontiac Pursuit coupe, which itself is a Chevy Cobalt coupe and perhaps the most blatant case of rebadging we've seen in... at least a couple of months. It was no big deal when the twins were separated by the world's longest unprotected border, but now they'll be forced to share the same lane on the streets of America.

Renamed the G5 to fit with Pontiac's current nomenclature, the base model will be offered with a 148-hp 2.2-liter four-cylinder and the GT with a 173-hp 2.4-liter four-cylinder. The GT comes nicely loaded with 4-wheel disc brakes and ABS, 17-inch aluminum wheels, foglamps and more, though we'll have to wait until this fall to find out if there's anything about the G5's pricing structure that will set it apart from its Cobalt twin. What we'd like to know is if anyone thinks the G5 has a better beak than the Cobalt. We actually think Pontiac's flared nostrils don't look that bad on the Cobalt's beak.

[Source: Inside Line]

We at Autoblog love our eagle-eyed readers. From pointing out any spelling/grammar gaffes in our posts, to sending in cameraphone spyshots unsolicited, our site wouldn't be as good a product as it is without your help. But sometimes, your attention to detail and command of minutia can even scare surprise a jaded bunch like us.

So it is with tipster Neal M, who clearly has way too much free time lives and breathes cars as much as we do. How else to explain the fact that he's pointed out a possible snafu and/or future product teaser in General Motors' new Pontiac G5 microsite on the basis of an extra couple of switches?

Scan the photo above. See anything unusual? Neither did we, at least upon first glance. But as Neal M correctly points out, there's a set of rear window toggles– odd, considering the G5 is only slated to be available as a coupe when it arrives this August.

So what gives? Did GM's people just Photoshop a Pontiac badge on a Chevrolet Cobalt sedan's interior photograph? Or (more likely), did they just use a stock shot of the Canadian-market G5 Pursuit, where the re-schnozzed Cobalt can be had in two or four door configuration? Either way, should anything be divined from this apparent slip-up?

Okay... so it's probably nothing. But we're suckers for a good conspiracy theory.

Click on the photo above for a higher-resolution image, or check out the company's site to see for yourself by following the link below.

[Source: Pontiac]

(Tip-top, Neal M!)

 

The Tribune-Chronicle reports that sales for the Chevrolet Cobalt through the first quarter of 2006 were nearly double that of the same period last year. The increase was seen on a month-to-month comparison as well. So far, over 52,000 Cobalts have been delivered this year.

The Impala still remains the General’s best-selling vehicle, delivering slightly over 24,000 vehicles last month. But unlike the Cobalt, the figure represented a 4-percent drop compared to March 2005.

Sales for the GMC Yukon, the Cadillac Escalade, and the Pontiac Pursuit (sold only in Canada) can be found in the Tribune-Chronicle’s report. Overall, GM saw deliveries down from last year as reported earlier on Autoblog.

[Source: Tribune-Chronicle]