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Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Unmarked Police Cars Are Designed to Fool You but These Clues Give Them Away
Being pulled over is not a fun experience! Sitting on the side of the highway while waiting for the police officer to come knocking on your window, wondering if you can talk your way out of the situation. Luckily, there are some ways drivers can attempt to identify unmarked police cars to avoid getting pulled over. An unmarked police cruiser is simply a police car without any of the badging, labels, and colors. It can look almost like a civilian car, blending in with everyday traffic. While it's probably not recommended to try to point out unmarked cars instead of, you know, just driving safely and within the law, there are some things to keep in mind. We developed this guide by analyzing multiple online sources, including reputable publications such as LifeHacker and Car Throttle, and community-driven discussions on platforms like Reddit. These sources offer expert insights and firsthand experiences from drivers encountering unmarked police vehicles. The information was carefully selected to align with commonly reported indicators of unmarked police cars. I'm no expert at evading the law — the most I've gotten are a few disputed tickets. So to find the most useful signs for spotting unmarked police cars, I checked out publications like LifeHack as well as the r/driving subreddit and other forums where drivers clearly are scared of getting pulled over for whatever reason. From here, I looked up how valid these telltale signs really were and then chose the ones that seemed the most obvious for drivers to identify themselves. Just don't use this guide for evil — and if you do, don't mention me. The easiest way to spot an unmarked police car is to keep an eye out for specific car models. American brands often have a specific model that was created with the police department in mind, meeting performance and feature requirements. This includes cars like the Ford Police Interceptor Utility with a manual pursuit mode and the Dodge Charger Pursuit with its HEMI V8 engine. We're not saying all Fords and Dodges are police cars, but maybe don't challenge them at a stoplight just in case. LifeHacker states you should look for the following models: 2021 Chevrolet Tahoe PPV (RWD and 4WD) 2021 Dodge Charger Pursuit (AWD and RWD) 2021 Dodge Durango Pursuit 2020 Ford Police Interceptor Utility (based on the 2020 Ford Explorer) 2021 Ford F-150 Police Responder According to Quora, while some unmarked police cars have license plates that look no different from yours or mine, there may be a few giveaways that could give you a better indicator. Some unmarked police cars may sport municipal or exempt tags, and others don't have registration stickers. Basically, cops are above the law. Who knew? Unmarked police cars are still police cars, so they'll often have a lot of the same features. One dead giveaway is the cage that's used to separate cops from whoever is sitting in the back seat. Also called a "prisoner partition," a cage is used to keep cops and their equipment safe. According to Detective Sgt. Gordon Eatley on Quora, not all undercover police vehicles will have this feature, depending on what they're used for. However, if you see a car or truck driving around with this, it's safe to assume it's a cop vehicle, and you should slow down before you end up in the backseat yourself. You may not even have to squint into the car's backseat to notice some questionable police-related memorabilia. Unmarked police cars will often have the same gear that's found on regular police cars, like dark-tinted windows and a bullbar over the front grille. According to Car Throttle, a super common equipment that even unmarked cop cars can't resist is spotlights. There will often be at least one, which can be found on the driver's side door near the mirror. If you see one of those behind you, it's a bad day to have expired plates. Patrol cars and other police vehicles are kept very clean, according to a site dedicated to police news and equipment. Why? Most cars are shared between officers, and it's just common courtesy to keep the vehicle tidy and safe. If the car behind you looks extra shiny and free of blemishes, it could be a cop car. That's not always the case, of course — there's plenty of anal people out there that are scrubbing their cars down if even a speck of dirt is noticeable. But it's better to be safe than sorry, pulled over on the side of the road by a disinfected cop car. It's not only the car's appearance that may give away its true identity — it could be how the vehicle is driven. However, according to Blu-Eye, a company developing automotive technology, that's not a fool-proof way to identify an unmarked car, as depending on the situation, they may drive cautiously or more aggressively. If a car seems to be tailgating you, that's also sketchy behavior. If you feel as if the car is watching you or following you, it could be a nosy cop, so it's best to make sure you're obeying all traffic laws just to be on the safe side. While police cars are decked out with extra safety features like the aforementioned cage and bullbar, police departments aren't going to splurge on frivolous add-ons. Deputy Sheriff Paul Harding writes on Quora that most police cars are base models, meaning they didn't pay extra for a higher trim. For this reason, you'll often see black trim instead of chrome, including on the wheels. In case you're planning your next Fast & Furious-style bank heist, keep these tips in mind for spotting unmarked police cars. While unmarked cars can sometimes blend into daily traffic, there are some dead giveaways, like police gadgets on the outside and missing registration on the license plate. And remember, check your state's individual rules regarding unmarked police cars — some states don't allow unmarked cops to pull you over for speeding and other offenses.
Yahoo
01-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Nissan Finally Kills The GT-R As Orders Close After 18 Years
After almost 20 years on sale, Nissan finally closed the order books on its flagship GT-R sports car this week. The R35 GT-R first premiered back in 2007, but Nissan gradually began ending sales for the flagship sports car in various global markets over the past four years. Now, the final nail is in the GT-R's coffin as the automaker stopped sales at home in Japan. Nissan first premiered the R35 GT-R at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show, where it stunned car fans around the world with its rapid performance and forward-thinking technology. As such, it stayed on sale way longer than most other cars would, but the writing has been on the wall for Nissan's flagship for several years now. After sales ceased in Australia in 2021 as a result of new crash test rules, deliveries of the GT-R then stopped in markets like the U.K. and Europe a year later, and U.S. sales finally came to an end in 2024. Production of the GT-R will now end in Japan, after Nissan stopped sales at home for good, reports CarThrottle. Read more: Ram Will Still Sell You A Brand-New, 16-Year-Old Truck Slowly but surely, the GT-R has faced new safety and emissions rules that came into force across the various global markets, and which the 18-year-old design no longer meets. Now, as Nissan prepares to develop an all-new R36 flagship, the automaker released a statement confirming its demise: "We have received many orders for the Nissan GT-R and have now finished accepting orders for the planned production quantity. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all our customers for their support since its release in 2007." The GT-R's death in Japan follows an end of the road for the car in America last year. To bring U.S. sales to an end, Nissan premiered two final limited-edition offerings, which it called the T-Spec Takumi and Skyline trims. The end of orders in Japan brings together a majestic 18 year run for the Nissan GT-R. The car first launched in 2007, which was the same year Apple unveiled the first iPhone: while the GT-R has remained on sale, Apple came out with more than 15 other phone models. Of course, a car is engineered with more longevity than a phone, and the GT-R was lauded for its advanced tech when it first went on sale. This included its 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6, which remains largely unchanged since 2007, a rapid six-speed dual-clutch gearbox, and an advanced four-wheel-drive system that helped the GT-R become one of the fastest production cars around the famed Nürburgring. The Nissan GT-R also had a handful of facelifts over its time on sale, including in 2010, 2016, and 2023. Each of those updates refined the styling, interiors, and added some truly lush color options to the GT-R. Production of the GT-R will end in Japan later this year and--provided Nissan doesn't go bust before then--will pave the way for a new flagship at the brand. The replacement for the GT-R is rumored to be a new R36 sports car, according to CarScoops. It could be based on Nissan's wild Hyper Force Concept that it showcased in 2023, which teased a move away from gasoline power in favor of a battery pack and electric motor. For that to happen, Nissan would need to refine the high-tech solid-state batteries that it's been working on to push forward its electric vehicles. The current trend for delaying electric performance models from the likes of Aston Martin could be a spanner in the works for this time frame, but if Japan gets its way and Tesla invests in saving Nissan, it may have no other option. Read the original article on Jalopnik.
