These past couple of days I've been participating in an Emergency Vehicle Operations course. At our disposal are Ford Crown Victorias, Police Interceptor editions. Going into it, I figured the driving itself would be awesome, though was skeptical of just how good a Crown Vic could actually handle and accelerate. Having spent a few days behind the wheel, I can honestly say that I have a new found appreciation for this last of breed car. The Crown Victoria will likely be the last car ever built in North America with a body on frame construction, and it seems likely that the cars days are numbered.
Day one, we had a clapped out 2000 model that had seen better days. That being said, it still handled damn well as you tossed all 4,000+ lbs into a curve at a good rate of speed. It was obvious that not only the suspension was showing it's age, but the engine as well, just didn't have the pep it should have. Day two, we actually started getting tested on our driving skills, and everybody used newer models. Our group was blessed with a 2005 model.
The 2005 showed off all of it's 250 hp from the get go, and took the curves much more nimble that our previous car, steering was nice and tight. This model also was equipped with standard ABS brakes, a feature that was also void on our first car, which made things interesting for our braking procedures yesterday while on slush/ice.
As for the driving itself, I grew up out in the country, where roads surrounded by nothing but fields, few intersections, and seldom policed by local law enforcement were the norm. This offered the opportunity to "test and tune" your car, as well as perfect many of your driving skills that you weren't taught in drivers education. Even so, it had been many years since I had pushed a car to the edge, and never had I been able to do so to the extremes we have during this course.
The training took place upon airport runways, courtesy of a suburban police academy, with the only obstacles you could take out being cones. A spin out at 50 mph, even into the grass as some did, was of little concern. Even though many of the objectives came easy to me, there were a few in which I'd never attempted. Perhaps the most fun being the high speed lane change. There is just something about kickin' the ass end of your car out at 50+ mph and adding a little counter steer to stabilize the car that put a smile on my face every time.
Though the cars weren't on par with my nearly 20 year old driver, in neither power or handling, it was still a fun time. Made me want to build a car specifically for road course racing. Not that I didn't before hand anyways, but now I've had just a taste of what actually racing would be like. Can't say I really would want to race around a track with other cars with my 69 Camaro, so perhaps my 89 Formula will be the sacrificial lamb, since it appears a newer 1995 Formula will be in my possession in the very near future. :)
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