--saw this note and thought you might be interested...........FYI...The
secret service maintains a fleet of Z28s that are used to teach Secret
Service Agents the art of high speed driving....and the techniques needed
to protect our President. The Z28s are used so that the agents may master
the basics...they are then switched over to "retired" limousines to further
perfect their driving skills. Once again, the Camaro Z28 was the vehicle
of choice when the fleets were switched over.....a group of 2002 Z28s were
recently delivered......and, as you will see, President Bush demonstrated
his skills in a Sebring Silver Z28.....
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| Bush Spins Camaro in Secret Service | |
| Demonstration | |
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| BELTSVILLE, Md. - (Reuters) - President Bush | |
| wrenched a silver Chevrolet Camaro into a | |
| high-speed evasive turn Friday as the Secret | |
| Service showed off its many techniques -- | |
| from underwater rescues to sniffer dogs -- to | |
| protect him. | |
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| With his security at an all-time high after | |
| the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush got a first-hand | |
| look at what his Secret Service agents would | |
| do if his motorcade were hit by explosives, | |
| his helicopter sank into the sea or an | |
| assailant broke through a rope line. | |
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| The four-hour tour at the 493-acre Secret | |
| Service training center outside Washington | |
| included being driven through explosions that | |
| rocked him in the backseat of his armored | |
| limousine and a hands-on lesson in evasive | |
| driving. | |
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| "They took a fellow who hadn't been driving | |
| much and taught me the 'J' turn. It was a | |
| pretty exciting feeling," Bush told reporters | |
| after executing the 180-degree turn at 40 mph | |
| in a new model Camaro. | |
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| In a "J" turn, typically used to avoid a | |
| forward threat, a driver throws a car into | |
| reverse, accelerates to 40 mph, spins the car | |
| into a 180-degree turn and then speeds off in | |
| the opposite direction, a Secret Service | |
| agent at the center told reporters. | |
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| For Bush, whose driving in the past 15 months | |
| has been limited to ambling around his Texas | |
| ranch in a pickup truck, it was his chance to | |
| play Steve McQueen in the famous car-chase | |
| movie "Bullitt" or Burt Reynolds in "Smokey | |
| and the Bandit." | |
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| "You ever done a 'J' turn before?" Bush asked | |
| reporters at the training center. "I have. | |
| This is the first time I'll ever admit to | |
| doing a 'J' turn." | |
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| 'HE NAILED IT' | |
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| After a few demonstrations, Bush got behind | |
| the wheel of the 2002 Chevy Camaro to try a | |
| "J" turn himself. "On the first try, he | |
| nailed it," one aide said. | |
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| Asked if he would try the high-speed maneuver | |
| in his pickup truck at his Crawford, Texas | |
| ranch, where he will host Saudi Crown Prince | |
| Abdullah next week, Bush said: "There will be | |
| no 'J' turns in Crawford." | |
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| During his visit to the sprawling training | |
| facility, Bush fired weapons at an indoor | |
| firing range and watched as bomb-sniffing dog | |
| searched suitcases for explosives. | |
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| In one elaborate demonstration, the president | |
| looked on as Secret Service agents plunged | |
| into an indoor pool to liberate dummies | |
| trapped under water -- an exercise designed | |
| to simulate his helicopter crashing in water. | |
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| The tours have been a staple for presidents | |
| in recent years, allowing presidents to get a | |
| better understanding of the lengths to which | |
| the Secret Service goes in order to protect | |
| them and their families. | |
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| "It gives (Bush) unique insight into how | |
| we're trained and what he can expect to see | |
| if anything goes wrong," said Secret Service | |
| special agent Brian Marr. | |
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| Reporters were not allowed to see most of the | |
| demonstrations, but they heard the explosions | |
| as Bush was driven through a mock attack, | |
| with an explosives expert setting off blasts | |
| that aides said shook Bush in the backseat of | |
| his limousine. | |
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| "It was very realistic," an unperturbed White | |
| House Chief of Staff Andrew Card told | |
| reporters afterward. |