@Novaload: The Logan got 3 stars in crash testing- better than an an Aveo. It is actually a new car, built on the same platform as the Renault Clio (and the Juke) and developed from 1999 to 2004 to be as cheap as a Lada. There's also a Logan-amino:

@stephdumas: Also from the UK, a Mondeo ST220 traffic car. 3-litre V6, 150 mph and 0-60 in 6.8 seconds. Some forces use the wagon version for hauling dogs...

@Tenacious_ADG: You'd need to figure out a way to stop drivers using the phones, but still let the passengers use them.

@macshome: This guy hits 108 in a (rented) Prius according to the speedometer. I think that's an electronically-limited top speed.

@stevecmh: In the UK, only some police officers are authorised to exceed speed limits or use the blue lights and sirens. The Smarts are 'beat cars', driven on patrol by officers who don't have the advanced driver training needed for a pursuit.

@skraelingshortbus: I have been in a Prius (not behind the wheel) at 100. Although I wasn't driving (never driven one), it felt more stable than some other cars I've been in at lower speeds, and was incredibly quiet- it sounded just like it does at 60 or 70, except for slightly increased wind noise.

@Nitrous Oxide: I just thought they used different numbers because I occasionally see cars with Dubai plates, and the numbers on those look like the ones I linked to not the ones we use in the non-Arab world.

@Nitrous Oxide: Yes, but the numbers used in Arab countries, although they have the same system as us, look very different:

Enough said- and no, I don't mean the "different spirit" range- although the DS6, when it eventually appears, might be all right...

Hallberg-Rassy 53' ketch, mint Citroen DS23 Pallas (daily driver), Olds 4-4-2, Lancia Delta Integrale HF, XK120 convertible

@m2m: Brabus built a prototype version with a V6 that was 2 of the three-cylinder engines mated together, putting out 215 horsepower. They had to change the suspension and move the fuel tank to the front. I think they claimed 140 mph and 0-60 in under 5 seconds- but there was never a road legal version.

Odd that the brake is a nubbin sticking out of the floor- I'd have thought it would be the gas. The French equivalent of "to put your foot down" or "to put the pedal to the metal" is "appuyer sur le champignon", which literally means "to stomp on the mushroom".

@Rust-MyEnemy: Due to dividing my time between Vermont (learner's permit age 15) and the UK (provisional license age 17), I could drive (our automatic FJ62 Land Cruiser) before I started learning in the UK. I learnt to drive a stick with an instructor, on London back streets, in a Ford Focus.

@oddfish: I won't allow my hypothetical kids to take their test until they can drive a stick-shift car with no electronic aids, and parallel-park without power steering.

@87CapriceEstate: Hybrid cop cars are useful for sneaking up on the bad guys in all-electric mode. On the other hand, you need pursuit cars as well...

@79pinto: In the UK, pretty much everyone can drive a manual car. The reason is that if you take your test in an automatic, your license will only allow you to drive an automatic. Given that the vast majority of cars here are manual-transmission, due both to different attitudes and to high gas prices, that can be a…

Does this count?

I think it's built on a D3 platform, not with a D3 (3-cylinder diesel ?!) engine...

@bmoreDLJ: Not only did they used to make rounded cars- the 444/544 (I drive one) is allegedly a 5/8ths-scale version of what would have been the 1942 Ford.

@AlexG55: As for the metalhead ride, the NWOBHM (British) version is the V8 version of the Freight Rover Sherpa. Originally built for the Metropolitan Police (with a Rover V8), then became popular both as an ambulance and as an ordinary delivery van. Plenty of space for band equipment or more headbangers...