Monday, August 27, 2012

Never Underestimate the Power of a Woman

From our friends at FMG Publications comes this story of a not-very-successful young criminal here in New Jersey.  Age 27 and armed with a knife, he slipped into an unlocked car outside a store and crouched in the back seat, waiting for the unsuspecting driver to return.

When the driver and a passenger entered the car and settled into the front seats, Our Hero made his move.  Unfortunately for him, the driver immediately turned around and began pummeling the the guy with both fists, while the passenger jumped out and began screaming for help.  The would-be thief was able to escape, but was apprehended shortly thereafter.

His intended victim?  A 94-year-old woman!  The passenger who ran for help?  Her 93-year-old sister.  Neither was injured.

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

There's No Car Like a MoPar

Another neat old photo from our friends at Hemmings Motor News, this one of a 1957 Dodge Coronet D-501 two-door sedan as used by the Ohio Turnpike Patrol.


This was arguably the fastest car in the MoPar family at the time, powered by a 354-cu.in. Hemi V8 with dual Carter WCFB four-barrels, 11.0:1 compression and a claimed 340-hp that was probably a very conservative estimate.

Highway authorities such as the Ohio Turnpike Commission were, at the time, still trying to get a handle on safety issues along the then-new high-speed roads. The overpowered but poor-handling cars of the late 1950s were a great temptation to drivers in post-World War II America, and one obvious answer was hotter police cars.

Here in New Jersey, for example, state troopers assigned to the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway were issued big, Hemi-powered Chryslers.

But the Ohio Turnpike Patrol’s cars were distinctive. Only 56 of the D-501s were built.

By the way, the Ohio Highway Patrol at that time had a separate district headquarters for the turnpike and a specific number of "patrolmen," not "troopers," who were assigned to that district.