Thin Blue Line: Cop Car Games

Thursday 20 December 2012

Cop Car Games

In 1983, I bought a Thunderbird Turbo-Coupe. The dramatic new “Aero Bird” boasted the first fully electronic-controlled (EECIV) turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine, a five-speed manual, a “Traction-Lok” limited-slip differential, a sporty leather interior and those big alloys with the odd-sized Michelin TRX tires.The next time I visited the folks, I borrowed Dad’s Zephyr for an errand. As soon as I sat down in the driver’s seat and closed the door, genetics’ painful reality crashed in on me. I was sitting in essentially the same car as my Turbo Coupe.It was like that OMG moment when you first say something or make a gesture that totally channels one of your parents. The seat, steering wheel, pedals, dash and stick were all exactly in the same place. Even the Zephyr’s feeble 88hp Pinto engine was scarily familiar. Not only was it the same basic engine, but it rather felt and sounded like it too until my T-Bird’s turbo finally spooled up.You can run, but you can’t hide from a Ford Fox-body, the most versatile, evergreen and successful platform ever conceived in Detroit.