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The getaway driver of yore, connokseur of fine m ,i s no more

By #78904
W b f r Note: The vJd-time getaway
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dux~ ' b a c k i n l ~ b y d r s v~ -y c ~ m d d r i H o f f a i t b ~ a r t a d .ing getaway on a Minneapolis saloon m the running board$. This Wlgy hptkb
holdnp.Theve$icl~.~hcrrulledit.w~p o l i c e h o m d o i q s n y ~ ~ . I t
.o18%StinwaSh.y.hsllcaediagycm, hs g d u a d to a Prkrd. a Brush ad,i n 1916, m a LaambkgoabDUmdnsr. By the time Prohibition blew its add
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w s cornuing problem. No one worried much rbout &at, mougb, rina it wasn't nearly saditX& to oumm colmnmlcrtionr

intll0Sed.y~. solidrcptatioaasadrivcr.BefaelaDghe Areb*bhdPaoagflingsrboutw .. .H.~cbcaaaa h a d a j o b w i m t h c ~ ~ mmnulictmnmwmm d custody of a 1924 Lowmabile taginB car pgaolul dfhmt & adwmdy rsfuvd lo tha~bastcdwclloverLSOhp. H c i e g d g d t h e w l d o f m y a ~ & ( B I d l d a ' t WiUlLoeomobileslmtilhehdmeRdisla h r v e a f l m s M l t . ' m ~ ~ shoroutofoocinl%henhepvdcldfy dn'tn&nd,"&msd*~Wlpe.~Aem . switched to an air-cooled Fkdlin. should b v e a #tick .hi& Ute dBbd IO. 1 .-b Even in his dotage. Archie had few k d d . " Imvw qdbbld with bim owr h equals when it came to driving. But he pdm. kn E m adlmr (iid I ghrc h b & i I nntxdmmeqnaintmtionaabwtun.Fa ~ m * I a y ~ r 1 9 3 6 T ~ inatana, he never c d to lament the din- k'd lrept may f w 30 p n . I1 Like any o(ha itpto-dme w W m m f ~ l u n h e d r r m r . k w . a ~ ; d ~ i e d u p t i t l l c pppcaraocc of the mnning b o d , o n a a vcry useful .ppurtcnme. An early tsb- drmp riapof8Mbw.glaymd
MAY 9 . 1988
I

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35

Radar detectors: Who's telling the truth? (and wh8s not)

These days every m a k e r s the~r radar detector is best Who's telling the truth? Ira Ilk.ma mk. You've seen how movie ads use a short pnrase from a review to "prore" me moues "THE YEAR'S BESTI"Well. some radar detector makers d a y the same game" But WB don't . olav names. are ,". ~ Below . . . -~ ~ the ranklngs, first to last, from the most recent Independent tests. (If you'd lhke c o m p l e t e , ~ c o p i e s othe f tests.just call toll free.) For ten years we've been designing and bulldlng the world's best radar detectors and backlng them with the best swvIce. in fact. In 1987 Car and Driverealled US "The leader of the radar detector in. dustry:' But don't take the11 word for it. nyck.bwtamdr YOU can try Escort or Paasport at no risk. Just call US toll free. If you call by 5PM eastern time we'll ship the same day, and UPS shlpplng is free. Overnight Federal Express delivery is only SM extra. If w ' r e not comdetebwhWwrthtn 30dw,mtumywrpurchase. We'll refund @your money, Includingyour postage. If you truly want the best call us today.

The experts were unanimous: Escort and Passport are clear wlnners. As for the other detector makers, you can find the ones who make the biggest claims at the bonom of the ranklngs

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Take advantage of AutoWeeKs special collection advertising opportunities. Mao* b s w m Spddmclm

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July 1 July 29

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Hobby&Mod.lColbcnon H o l W C d c l l Colkctlon ~

tn maffic and would get me at least a few blocks away in a huny so Icould swttch to one lhal wasn't hot. I've used just h t everything in that category' Co~aira.Fireb~rds.Musmgs. Camaros and the rest. I t might interest autornakcrs, incidentally, to know W many popie tn my llne show a marked preference for m-engtne can: the theory being that the motor might k a p you from beinn shot in the seat. The id& getaway car would probsbly be something l i a Porsche-fast, plenty of pickup and easy lo handle in Wffic. A cinch lo ouhun anything lhe law has. Unfcatunately. a Pmsche is MI the ideal getaway car. I used one once on a savings and loan job. and if you have never tried making it through thc door of a &he at a dead IUII wilh a sawedoff shoigun and a sack of money clulchd to your bomm, you just don't know lhe muning of limited hcsdroom. Still, the prospect o f making a getaway in a spons car holds a certain fascination. I knew some guys in San Quentin who figured a Jaguar was the only git car on thc road. The fust time they put it to a test, h t c of them Died to jam through the door all at the same time. When thc dud finally settled. two were sprawled on the curb-one in such a high dudgeon that he emptied his gun at the rapidly diiapparhg Jag. This can make for very hard falings within a gang. In the long run, though, it all boils down to the driver. The good ones aw specialists, capable o f coaxing total performance out of middling machines. Often whik being shot et in heavy traffic. Some we retired race drivers w Hdlywood stuntmen. Many ore somewhat f l a k y offbeat a collection of characters as YOU could ever h o p lo get arrested with. There was a whalman in Miami 4 who twitched. 1 nuan all thc time. He had nerve spasms in his fwgcrs and his left eyelid fluttered like the shutter of a 16mm Bell & Howell. It didn't seem to hang him up on his driving. but he had had to get out of the s w t driving business when it began to interfere with othcr shmt drivers who developed sympathetic tics. Others are outright paranoid, which can be an asset. I h e best wheelman in St. Louis right now is a guy who quit racing when he became convinced that lhe rest of the drivers on the cirruit were conspiring to mn him lhmugh a fence. On a heist. he i s always d n that every stop slgn and wffic 1ight.a there just to trap hun He ~maguws squad cars l&ng in each alley, and h i has his nutty idea that all women drivers are police molls. Working with this guy is harder on che m e s than a three-month stretch in solitary. But. man, is he ever cnrcful. It's a sorry thing, but thc business today is becoming overrun wilh amateurs who

!IL
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AUTOWEEK MAY 9 . 1988

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$@nd mm time dmmscIvs ioto st lhe wheel. He w m good. I checked him Thia ompmkabie clod had wefally -i#1unai&ll~ltbeItstblathsgspend a n i a b e ~ v y ~ , m d e x c q t f m h i r r i d e ~ ~ m ~ i o t a a p a c k i n g 16*rhrgihsba&of$WyingadofpiWI1. b m a c m d r t a D d c r r y t o . t a k l i k c H ~ ~.Haanm"tevtabshiadihswboal,h