LAST OF THE INTERCEPTORS
WITH the last of the Aussiemade Australian police vehicles now all but phased out, we shared the story SM wordsmith Glenn Torrens cooked up about the history of Aussie Highway Patrol machines on our Facebook page. Going by your comments, it appears many of you miss the days of the boys in blue burling around in Aussie metal as much as we do. Here’s what you had to say.
Michael Walmsley – I’ve got myself an FG-X ex-highway Patrol car – forever grateful. Steve Barbe – I went for a run in a Phase III Falcon HO Vic Police car – now that was fast! Fred Smith – I preferred them when they were slow.
George Ferraro – I bought one myself; what a great pocket rocket! Its job was to cruise the highway around Seymour. It’s a nice car to drive, real nice!
Dean Murphy – My mate had an XD Falcon Highway Patrol car. It was black with a 351 for power, and it would hold you back in the seat!
Dan Turley – I had a VS BT1 V8 for years. Beautiful car that went very well. Wish I still had it! Kyle Workman – Love that Aussie horsepower. They do get after it.
Chris Archer – It’s the same story over in New Zealand, as we are seeing the last of the Holdens starting to be replaced with Skoda wagons. The Skodas are doing the NZ Police a good service so far. My favourites were the Commodore wagons
and their specially built K9 police dog units – Commodore utes with the factory canopy made for the dogs. They will always be remembered, as there are some preserved Holden and Falcon police cars stored in police museums, along with the older motorcycles too. Christopher C Vella – There used to be a place in Alexandria or Rosebery in Sydney where all the VLS were sent to be dolled up to be Highway Patrol cars. It’s long gone now, but at the time it looked incredible.
Lyndsay Henderson – Who would have thought back then that we would see the cops in Hyundais and Kias? They will be worth nothing at the end of their police service life. Darcy Thomas – It was never Australian in the first instance! The P76 was much more Australian. Still is.
James Raumaewa – I have a 2005 VZ SS Commodore in Devil Yellow, an ex-highway Patrol pursuit car.
Beggsy Beggs – My old man bought a VT V6 ex-cop car, complete with breathalyser straws still in the console! It had FE2 suspension, calibrated speedo – the usual stuff. I don’t know what was done to it, but it went harder than any other 3.8 V6 Commodore I’ve ever driven. I’ve done a couple of hundred-thousand kilometres total in every 3.8 V6 from VP to VY. There was something about that car. It was stronger and a bit smoother and it seemed to work better with the 4L60E auto for some reason. Michael Camilleri – I know our cars were made from bits from all around the world, but I miss them.