Since I lived in a rather remote area of Ca, the CHP used to send their new acquisitions out there for testing. Patrol Cars, sidearms, Rookies :rolleyes: . They got a bunch of the Mercury full size models in '73 I think, had the "pursuit" package, the Chippies were very impressed. Don't recall if it was 429 or 460, but the officers I knew wanted them to stay and not get sent to big stations.