ChipAZ

They have never seen a Cayenne before in Capitan NM. I've been in Billy the Kid country for as couple of days and this caris the hit of the whole town.

That's a Porcshe?? What the hell is that? The city cop awakens every time I pass him and the park rangers are very confused when I pass them on the forest service roads.

Budget M3

As an escapee from the Land of Entrapment ...errr...Enchantment, I must compliment you on your choice of vacation locale (assuming it's vacation, right?). NM is beautiful this time of year, especially BTK country, and the autumn smell of green chili roasting over an open flame cannot be beat.

Re: gendarmes being fascinated by the Pepper...reminds me of a ticket I got about 15 years ago in the Mogollon mountains of southern New Mexico in my 633CSi...the Sherriff was fascinated by my nice looking furrin' car... I think the exact quote was "Sir, this car LOOKS fast..." Beware the city cop...he's fascinated by the vehicle, but he's also just itchin' to nab you speedin' through his berg. The coffee bar story begins like this..."I nabbed a Porsche (he prounounces it "Porsh") TRUCK today/yesterday/last week/last month/12 years ago...." his legend only grows over time.

Enjoy!

ChipAZ

Actually I'm thinking of moving here and I am looking at houses. Running the AC full tilt all summer in Tucson is getting old. You can see all the stars and the woodsmoke in the air is very inviting. The nearest Porsche dealership is in Albuquerque a 150 miles to the north. I have not seen another cop except the local for the last few days so one can make good time if you know what I mean.

Budget M3

I lived in ABQ for ~5 years and loved it before moving to TUS...NM has the bluest skies you've ever seen, and is home to the annual international hot air balloon fiesta--what's not to like? How are real estate prices now?

Re: making good time when the city cop is not around...Beware, the trolls come out near the end of the month if they have not made their numbers (i.e. quotas). The sherriff's vehicle will likely have different markings than the city cop. I've even seen Chevy SUV's with NM law enforcement markings in that neck of the woods, so be careful...

ChipAZ

What's with 55 limit on a lot highways in NM? There doesn't seem to be no rime or reason in deciding the what the speed limit should be. It seems you could land a 737 on some of these roads in the flats. Do they enforce that?

Budget M3

Not sure why that is...perhaps a legacy from the days of the national 55 limit and they have not gotten around to changing (or paying for) new signs? With the exception of Santa Fe and Albuquerque, NM is a pretty poor state by national standards, and they have A LOT of space to cover.

My experience is that 65 is acceptable on open roads with little traffic (passed NM cops at that speed without a second look--your results may vary). You might be able to get away with 69 in a 55, but they WILL ticket at 70+...especially in a Poor-sha...

pranqster

Chip and Budget

Albuquerque is booming right now. Rio Rancho across the Rio Grande river is growing quite rapidly. My wife and I cashed out of Santa Fe in 2003 and now live amongst the cottonwoods near the Rio Grande. We have enjoyed it much more than Santa Fe. Homes should be much more reasonable than Tucson along with more af a chance of having an outdoor plant or tree. They call it the land of enchantment for good reason.

Most of the local enforcement in the Capitan area had K or Ka. Have not seen laser in that area, so if you have a Valentine you can move about quite rapidly. Only problem is if there is not much traffic, you always run the risk of getting caught by someone who is sitting and turns on the radar as you go by. Ordinarily they just leave the radar on and you can tell where they are to bring your speed down.

Budget M3

Thx for the insight, Pranq...I stopped bothering with radar detectors years ago when I started driving cars on the track. I found that with the detector, I just drove too fast on the street (because I could.) Without it, I still drive fast occasionally when the conditions warrant, but am now much more sedate (and safe) on public roads.

BTW, I bought a new home last year in ABQ with the intent of using it as a 2nd home for those 40-50 day stretches of 100F + in Tucson--the dog days of summer. Turns out the wifey ended up hating the place 'cause it took the builder so long to construct it (almost 15 months from signing the contract). At least I convinced her to follow through on the deal long enough to close. We sold it in June after only ~10 days and made a tidy 5-figure profit for our $500 earnest money. Too bad I didn't buy more of them...I could then afford a stable of P-cars to rival yours!

ChipAZ

I have a valentine and use it on trips. I run about 80-85 on the interstate, in AZ they don't seem to care about that except when they are running a speed trap with aircraft which I have only seen them do on well traveled secondary roads like from Phoenix to Vegas. The Indian Reservations are a whole other story.

I didn't see one trooper in Lincoln County and no one went 55 but NM uses instant on radar a lot more than AZ. So if you go over the wrong hill at the wrong time. In Ruidoso one better go the speed limit. In Capitian they fired the police chief for arresting the good old boys. Rumor has it that the chosen few can drink and drive and do other misdeeds there.