I saw a TX State Tropper in an unmarked GREEN DODGE INTREPID!!! I saw it only because all the lights in the darkly tinted windows were flashing and they had someone pulled over...

Seeing an unmarked bluegray Dodge Intrepid pull someone over right in front of me was one of the scariest moments I've had, short of actually getting a ticket. I had no idea they were running Intrepids up until that day.

The worst part is, this one didn't even have the flashing lights in the windows. This one had its factory blinkers and corner-trim lights programmed to flash in a pattern. The only light inside the cabin was the red light mounted behind the rear-view mirror. This car was completely stealth.

It was witnessing that incident which made me start checking license plate tags. Because with that car, the license plate tags are the only way I would have been able to detect it until he hit the light switch.

Everyone in CA probably knows about the white Camaros with the LED lightbars by now, because they were publicized. But there aren't very many of those out there. Cars like the Intrepids are what really scare me.

Currently, some of the criteria that I use to rule out cars at a distance are:

• Japanese/German? CA Highway patrol is always US models.
• Sedan? Apart from the occasional Ford Bronco, CA Highway patrol is always a sedan.
• More than one human silhouette in the cabin? CA Highway patrol is always one driver.

All they'd have to do to nail me is pace me in an unmarked Japanese minivan. I'd be toast.