It started in the ancient days (for many of you) when one of my friends purchased a BMW 1600, which led to 2002 and 2002tii. They were upright small plain two door sedans, not well known, and not very visible compared to the muscle cars and sports cars available then. No funny stripes, phony scoops, or loud decals. I remembered getting stopped in my friends tii by the DPS (I was the only one on the road) one time at night and being asked if it was a Renault. These cars were sneaky fast for their day, and could run around and away from many other performance cars, especially on a two lane blacktop. The Bavaria (later 2800 and 3.0 sedan) was another one also. Anyone remember the Alfa Romeo 2000 Berlina sedan? Didn't think so.

My 1990 Legend is one too, as it closely resembles the Accord on which it is based. But it is capable of a whole lot more. I always feel sorry for the 'Vettes I pass on the highway because their profile forces them to stay no more than 1 mph over the posted limit. They know they will be the weak one chosen for predation if there are any hungry bears out.

I've only driven my Q45s for less than a year. Yet, I think they are regarded in the same manner - older luxury sedan probably driven sedately by a geezer. Probably not going fast. Doh!

I think all these cars, for their day (and for the Q45, today) had competent handling, adequate brakes and decent enough power to acheive rapid cruise and cornering without the dramatic attitudes seen in cars not as capable.

Am I delusional, or has anyone else noticed this phenomena?

Is the 1990-1996 Q45 the ultimate stealth car?

I do occasionally notice donut-eating Camry (insert name of other transportation appliances here) drivers honking while I blow by them to avoid their bad driving habits. But just briefly.

I've been driving Qs for almost 13 years and have owned sports cars for over 30 years also and I must say that I've noticed no difference in the attention the law enforcement folks give to anything I've driven. I've gotten more tickets in rental sedans than I have in my red Porsche. I only obey the speed limit when it's convenient, so my driving is not the reason. I can only conclude that perhaps the bears have better things to do than profile sports car drivers. I think we have some cops on the forum, maybe they can share some secrets?

Ahh, but you are in a not so developed area of car loving California. I drive in WA, Seattle specifically, where cars are viewed as abominable evils (by our public servants) to be abandoned in favor of dirty, ill-scheduled, and inefficient public transportation.

In the old (late 60's early 70s) days in TX, muscle cars and sports cars were definitely higher on the radar scope. Now with the new affluence, flash (of wealth vs. earlier chicken decals) is not so rare.

On the other hand, I have had only 5 or 6 tickets over the last 35 years, and have beaten 3 of them. To me, it is a traumatic, if not totally unexpected, event. I try never to be anything better than second fastest, unless I am the only one on the road.

I lived all over the country, but not major urban areas for the most part. Maybe city vs country is the hook.

few yrs back some car mags did a feature on stealth cars .Q was called king of stealth and Ford SHO was # 2.Q45 was famous for sneeking up on porsches and vettes.

Yeah, country vs. city is a real difference.

And the first SHO was a real stealth performer, although I never thought the suspension and brakes were upgraded that much. But they did run. Someone on this board uses one for a daily driver. It would be interesting to hear his comments.

I was wondering why we haven't heard from Fred, then I remembered his Q ain't so stealth (see thepictures ). I think he finds urban streets somewhat.....ah I think the word is....challenging.:xfingers

Smiley for Fred.

Actually, I do remember the Alfa 2000 Berlina. I had a 1973, Rosso Amaranto (that's maroon to you) with Inezione and Aria Conditionata.I didn't fool the cops. I got a ticket for doing 110 in a 65 zone. Just as the engine was pulling merrily through the redline in 5th. Until the Q, this was the only other car I had that anyone could get in and drive fast. It just inspired confidence.I've been a four door sedan guy ever since, though.

Yeah, I have a 1972 GTV 2000 in that color I am "restoring" when ever I find the time. They were good to about 125 because of the lower frontal area.

I remember driving from Austin to Dallas with a friend who worked for the dealer to trade a TR6 for a Berlina. The TR6 is the nastiest ride I have ever had. Too firm damping, loud, uncomfortable, and we couldn't fit inside without leaving our outside arms out the window. It wasn't that fast either. Had a tractor OHV engine, balky 4 speed, typical British build quality.

The Berlina was a dream going back and my friend slept all the way, exhausted from driving the TR6 to Dallas that night. I did not know they used that color on the Berlina though. Almost changed mine, and I am very glad now I did not.

Oh, by the way, these 2L all alloy engines had mechanical injection with individual throttle bodies, sodium cooled exhaust valves in hemispherical heads exhausting into siamesed high flow cast iron headers, held 7.1 quarts of oil in its beautifully finned cast sump, and four wheel disc brakes with proportioning valve. All in 1972.

I have found the Q is invisible to cops up to about 75mph. Almost as good as a Volvo wagon. You can drive one of those things naked and no one will notice.

If you really want a stealth machine, get a Buick T-Type with a landau roof and leave it stock with no tinted windows. I am referring to the turbo model of course that shares an identical drivetrain with the Buick Grand National.

I smoked a Q45 on SR 37 in my dad's '87 Buick. Race started at 75mph and I hammered him. With a landau roof, cops won't look twice at a car that looks like Grammas and runs 12's with minor mods and some traction.

Stealth cars require Stealth paint. Evades radar!!!

(1 ticket in 2 1/2 years ain't bad...)

naw i like the RX7 , its a literal steath car , talked to a cop the other day and they have a hard time nailing the thing on radar , that tiny little 13b rattling around in there with a raditaor layed back on a 45 degree angle does wonders for radar cross sections as long as you dont put a front liscense plate on it your good to go

ive heard thats the reason behind front plates by the way , gives the cop a chunk of nice reflective metal to aim at. oh and do try to hide around the big rigs , the radar goes for the biggest chunk of metal in the area ive also heard that from the constable...

they make speical steath bras for 911 porsches too!!

after the 105mph ticket i kinda slowed down , i was the only one on the road at the time ...see infiniti speeeding storys

I agree, the front plates are (in part) so that it is easier to tag with radar. If you look at California plates they are extremely bright and reflective. It's not because it looks pretty, it's to make things easier for cops.

I don't know how well it works, but I've seen people bend license plates slightly upward so as to deflect radar away from the radar gun. You still have the plate and you're not violating any regs, but you might be harder to pin down. Also, there are license plate brackets you can buy that use wind resistance to fold the plate up under the bumper at freeway speeds. It reduces the wind resistance of the car and hides your plate so radar can't hit it.

Move to AZ!! No stupid front plates, and less than one DPS officer per 1,000 cars on the road at any given time!!!!

but your out there hitman , i think ill pass , then again if a az cop was gonna write me a ticket , probably be beatter off you dude ,hey ill be rolling thru there may,june i think going to see my uncle in wachuka city on my way back from alaska, so if ya see a turbo G20 with florida plates harassing hondas , try to go easy on it

Stoney - I'm not a cop. But if I was, you'd get the "Jerry Reed escort" all the way through AZ.

If you're going to Huachuca next year let me know - We'll have to go have a beer on your way through Phoenix. I'll buy!

hey werent you the dude that drove the crownvic intercpetor as a work car ?

ill keep ya posted , beer rules ...

I agree 100%. I have a Mercedes roadster which attracts police unbelievably. My '93 J-30 (85k)is a good ride and doesn't attract too much attention on my daily 130 mile commute. But my best option is my '89 Volvo 740 GL wagon (215K.) It has a Converse conversion Mustang 5.0 V-8 engine. I think Volvo wagons are unvisible to police. Once I got stopped going 90 on a straight stretch of Northern Minnesota 2 lane and the cop didn't even give me a ticket. He said he was curious, and spent most of my time talking about cars etc.

I think a Volvo Wagon with a 5.0L Ford V8 would be a very stealth ride, especially since the brakes on Volvos are better than they have to be, and upgrading the suspension (at least in the old days) is fairly easy with the plethora of parts available.

With a five speed, you should embarass some fairly fast cars.

Stoney - As an agent of the Supreme Court, I spend a great deal of time doing oversight and investigations of some of our peace officer functions here in AZ. The unmarked police-issue vehicles we use are tacked onto the regular fleet orders annually. We get undercover plates for privacy and safety (lots of militia wackos in northern and rural AZ).

Incidentally, in light of the Crown Vic = Pinto conflagration fiascoes, I no longer have the Interceptor. Swapped it out for a 2002 police package Tahoe 4x4.

ive heard about that situation on the crownvicikies blowing up , guess its a similar deal to pinto and mustang ? grandfater was killed in a 84 mustang when it was rearended by a van and exploleded , ford needs to realize the diffrence between the gas tank and the rear bumper , it appears to me they spend more time on protecting there asses ,hanging firestone and deflateing tires on SUVs than makeing vehicles fit to drive ...hopefully all the problems get corrected when they roll out the "interceptor " concept