[url]http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=573&ncid=757&e=10&u=/nm/20020422/od_nm/security_dc_1[/url]
Bush Spins Camaro in Secret Service Demonstration
Mon Apr 22, 6:43 AM ET
By Adam Entous

BELTSVILLE, Md. (Reuters) - President Bush (news - web sites) wrenched a silver Chevrolet Camaro into a high-speed evasive turn on Friday as the Secret Service (news - web sites) showed off its many techniques -- from underwater rescues to sniffer dogs -- to protect him.

 
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.

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.

"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 miles (64 km) per hour in a new model Camaro.

In a "J" turn, typically used to avoid a forward threat, a driver throws a car into reverse, accelerates, 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.

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."

"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."

'HE NAILED IT'

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.

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."

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

"It was very realistic," an unperturbed White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card told reporters afterward.

So president Bush was smoking J's in a Camaro.

[):)]

I would LOVE to see a pic of Dubya firing at the range!!

Thats awsome....  good article.....  It would be neat to see some pics of GWB at the range as well as sparking up the treads on a Camaro[8D]

That "J-turn" sounds an awful lot like a "Rockford" to me.

What a f@ckin' kick-ASS President!!

Dammit - W is [b]THE MAN![/b]




BTW... this I'm sure this newswriter just COULDN'T let this story go without injecting a not-so-subtle comment about Bush:

[i]"In one elaborate demonstration, the president looked on as Secret Service agents plunged into an indoor pool to liberate [red]dummies[/red] trapped under water -- an exercise designed to simulate his helicopter crashing in water."[/i]

Rockford.. [b]J[/b]im Rockford.

also known as a Bootleggers Reverse.

I wonder if my truck can survive a 40 mph slam it into reverse and go like hell back from where you came manuver... would someone like to report back and tell us which vehicals this works on???

RAM tuff???  [whacko]

That would make any American Proud.

Ben

J turn works on all cars if you practice enough..... Ive done it in my bimmer, and my dodge caravan. Of course, its much easier to do with sports cars due to their low center of gravity. Just put it into reverse, floor, and then turn the wheel sharply, throw into first and then take off.

On a side note, i wanna see Bush shooting some guns. That'll be my new poster. =D

Probably , but it wasn't designed for that. Maybe you can equip your truck like they do the Interceptor's that the police use.

it might be a bad deal.  i would try it with a rent car.
If you want ot do it save up about $2000.00 for a new transmission.

Mr.? Bush. George W.Bush That would be awsome to get a picture of him shooting. Even better an autographed picture.Bet the last pres. would wet his pants doing that stuff. But I bet al bore will come on tv and say I invented the handgun that Bush used.

For a J turn you lock up the wheels and come to a stop, then put it in reverse and accelerate to an estimated 40mph, let off the accelerator and turn the wheel, the car will fling around 180 degrees and bleed off speed. Slam it into gear and hammer it.  Very little shock to the transmission if you do it correctly.  I've done it in a bazillion different (USAF owned) [whacko]vehicles.  

       " W "


[IMG]http://www.gopfun.com/images/superw.gif[/IMG]

That's not a J-turn.  You don't slam it in reverse when you're going forward.  You start out going backwards.  Once up to 40 mph in reverse, whip the wheel the opposite of the way you want to turn.  As the car is spinning, hopefully 180 drgrees, you put it in drive & gas it.  Now you're going in the same direction you started out, but facing that way.



I'll bet Clinton wouldn't have even shown up for the demo, much less tried it.

Nah... he'd be too busy teaching Monica HIS version of the "J-turn".

But doesn't this only work for manual trans?? If you put a automatic into reverse while its moving forward still it'll either stall the engine or probably have its guts fried.

If my thinking is correct, once you hit about 40mph, you let off the gas, crank the wheel and it turns the car 180 degrees around, but do you have to come to a stop after you've spun around and then put it in drive or 1st ??

If some of you guys can help me understand this that would be great!

You don't do this while you're moving forward.  You see the bad guys in front, stop your car, put it in reverse & get up to 40 or so in reverse.  Then you do the turn, putting it in forward while in the half-spin.

W is the man.  Those new Camaros are a lot of fun too [:D].  

I wouldn't recommend trying this at home. It may look cool on TV, but there are all kinds of things that can go ka-boom on your personal vehicle....trust me.[:D] Stunt driving can wreak havoc on your everyday driver.

why in the world would you try such a insane trick with a soccermom-mobile? the poor thing should explode showering autoparts all over  a 3 state area.

ok.. now thats more than a little disturbing.

V8 Sports cars are fun (Camaro/Firebird and Mustang) lotta power, and lotta ticket room to!

Meanwhile presidential LOSER Al Gore spent the day hugging a tree, kissing PETA members and wiping his ass with a new environmentally friendly biodegradeable toilet paper that HE invented!

Nah... he would be rollin a "J" with Monica...  not that he inhales or anything[;D]

[b]

Gotta' love this line!

medcop

I'm guessing the 40mph deal is because after the spin, you need about 35mph to bumpstart an automatic, and I'm assuming the engine stalled after the turn. Just a guess.

The 40mph deal is to get you away from the roadblock (that's why you're pulling this maneuver) and to give the vehicle enough momentum to break the front tires loose so it will spin.  If the J-Turn is done properly it will not stall the vehicle.

It is nice to have a real man as President for a change!

GunLvr

Anybody want to try a J-turn?

Find a gravel road.  Gravel is far more forgiving than pavement, and you don't need to go quite as fast.  I have done them at 15 mph in a Jeep Cherokee.

[img]http://www.obscurasite.com/images/posters/wtc/Turbanator.jpg[/img]

Shok

I can't beleive some of you guys don't know how to do this. Just from watching the Discovery Channel you can pick this stuff up and learn how to defuse a bomb too![:)]

Counter Ambush Driving 101:

To avoid an ambush going forward in the 40-50 mph range one first pulls the emergency brake causing the rear tires to break traction. At the same time cut the wheel hard towards the center line of the road. The ass end of the vehicle swings around, pointing you in the opposite direction. Release the emergency brake and mash accelerator to make the getaway. At no point is the the brake pedal depressed and auto or man trans makes no difference.

The J turn is when an the driver is first stopped (say after spotting an ambush up the road)and wants to make a quick getaway. Put car in reverse (again man trans or auto does not matter). Mash accelerator up to around 30-40 mph. Without ever using the brake cut the wheel (I use counter clockwise) and the car flips around pointing forward. Just before the car comes back in line with the road, put into drive and mash accerator again making a clean get away.

Just good clean fun that one day might just save your life.

QuikSilver:
" But doesn't this only work for manual trans?? If you put a automatic into reverse while its moving forward still it'll either stall the engine or probably have its guts fried.

If my thinking is correct, once you hit about 40mph, you let off the gas, crank the wheel and it turns the car 180 degrees around, but do you have to come to a stop after you've spun around and then put it in drive or 1st ??"

Actually , this works much better with an automatic than it does with a stick.  The enggine won't stall & it's possible to shift from reverse to forward while still in motion.  No clutchwork to cause additional hassle.  The bootlegger reverse is slightly more difficult because most full size vehicles have a pedal emergency brake.  I used to do gravel road bootleggers in a Vega (auto, wheezy 4cyl) easily because it had a lever e-brake.  Just cut the wheel, jerk the emergency brake & spin the rear around, release brake & step on the gas.

There is a reason I won't buy new cars - I don't want ABS (gets in the way of good E&E) and I am at risk from airbags (6'+ and 200#+.)

There are two "quick turn-around" maneuvers that can be performed with nearly any vehicle - which one you use depends upon how much room you have available.  Both require practise...

The one I call the "snap turn" (sorry, don't remember the real mane of this one) is a sort of reversed "bootlegger's turn."  With ample warning, you grab the handbrake and snap the wheel hard to the side.  You will usually go to the right as the rear end slues around behind you to your left.  It is not necessary to shift ranges, but you will want to retain control of the handbrake to release when you are pointed the way you came.  Works best with a true handbrake, as you can hold the release button with your thumb to prevent keeping the brake locked up longer than needed.

The "J-turn" - more proplerly the "bootlegger's reverse," "bootlegger's turn," or "police turn" is executed from a stopped start.  You are either at a stop already or have minimal reaction distance.  Bring the car to a "panic stop," shift IMMEDIATELY into reverse, and accelerate backward in a straight line.  Cut the wheel hard to the left or right, STAND on the brake (to lock up the front wheels) and start shifting toward a forward range (either D or 1st gear.)  Straighten the wheel as you are facing the way you came and GET ON IT.  

Either turn will reverse the vehicle without the hassle of actually turning around, and you simple require a space whose width is equal to the length of your vehicle's wheelbase (my Jeep Cherokee can be spun about on a road 105" wide - right about NINE FEET!  Most lanes are about eight feet wide, plue 4" to each side for lines.)

I have actually spun my Cherokee around WITHOUT crossing into another lane, as witnessed by an off-duty CHP officer.  The trick to minimising the room required is to actually lock up your rear wheels JUST AFTER reefing into the turn.  You actually end up describing the turn around the centreline of your rear differential!

There are quite a few driving techniques that highlight the superiority of the RWD/4WD Solid Live Axle drivetrain...  It also enjoys FAR greater durability and tolerance for raw abuse than the FWD setup - mostly because the average driveshaft (both front-to-back slipjoints AND axle halfshafts) are about twice the size of the average FWD halfshaft...  SLA halfshafts are also SOLID, while many FWD halfshafts are almost entirely tubular...

FFZ

As a kid, I remember seeing Magnum P.I. doing this in his Ferrari.  I always wanted to try it.  So when I got my first car (1981 Honda Civic hatchback), of course I tried it.  With amazement, I was able to pull it off.  Fun move.

USPC40

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