Blast From the Past

Beware of American drivers!

Everybody's heard my opinion of American drivers. Whether swigging coffee or chatting on their mobile phones, they're always threatening to cut across your bows or come crashing into the back of your car.

That's why I drive a rugged old '86 Town Car. Nobody wants to drive into 4400lbs of Detroit steel. But the Town Car actually acquits itself by being more than a luxurious tank on wheels. The damn thing can move!

Just the other day, while avoiding blithely oncoming traffic, I put the pedal-to-the-metal and out-accelerated a late nineties Ford Mustang. The driver watched me tear off, astonished.

I shouldn't be surprised. With a five litre V8 under the bonnet, the Town Car follows the Bentley and Rolls Royce philosophy - of providing 'adequate' power that can propel you out of trouble at a hefty rate of knots.

Further evidence of the Town Car's virility was provided last night, when one of my favourite movies was showing on cable.

Out for Justice was the breakthrough 1990 hit that launched the career of Steven Seagal. Playing a tough cop out to nail his old neighbourhood pal, Seagal's never looked better and the film is miles above the standard cops and robbers fare of the time.

One of the best scenes is a blistering car chase through the streets of Brooklyn - and damned if the bad guys aren't behind the wheel of a first generation Lincoln Town Car, just like mine.

Even with six Italian hoodlums crammed inside, the Town Car easily evades Seagal's hot pursuit - something that's NEVER meant to happen in this sort of movie.

I watched with a certain measure of pride. That's MY car, I smiled.

Of course, it was the bad guy's car. Lincoln Town Cars are always driven by mafia hoods or corrupt CEO's. But that's the beauty of being a bad guy. You might get your comeuppance in the end - but right up until that time, you get to be bad in style.