What's The Best Automaker-Exploited Loophole?

Sure, it's tough to build cars hewing to a mountain of regulations, whether safety or pollution control. But sometimes all it takes to create awesome is an eye for a loophole. What's the best automaker-exploited loophole?

In 1978, despite tightening emissions regulations, Dodge still managed to build something hot enough to give the goofy bastard in the ad above – the one grinning ear to ear – apparently a decent shot at a threesome. How? The secret was a loophole in the smog laws. Since it was a truck, the Express's big-rig style chrome, cat-free stacks could blurt out all the full-strength emissions it wanted from a modified version of the 360ci V8 police engine. It was a brilliant strategy on Hoover's part to package a pickup truck as a stealth muscle car. In a Car and Driver dragstrip test, the Express was pitted against a Porsche 928, Porsche 911SC, Ferrari 308GTS, Porsche Turbo, and whatever the fastest Corvette of the time was. Only the Porsche Turbo was quicker, just ask Don Sherman.

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