Thumbing our noses at danger during the 24th-Annual Toys for Tots Run at Rawhide Harley Davidson

Bikers and hot-rodders have always had a bit of a rough reputation. Poster children for dangerous miscreants, their presence in your neighborhood is likely to result in someone getting beat to death with a chain, or maybe an out of control jalopy mowing down a toddler's birthday party.

And yet, when they're not burning a swath of terror fueled by the blood of the innocent, events like the 24th-Annual Toys for Tots Run prove that they might not be that bad after all.

2011 Chevrolet Caprice PPV history and test drive review

This week, I had the opportunity to drive Chevrolet’s newest and hottest performance sedan on public streets. Yes, it is cool. No, it is not available in stores. What is this forbidden vehicle that is setting the GM message boards ablaze? I’ll give you a hint--it’s a name you know.

After a 15-year hiatus, Chevrolet is finally bringing the Caprice back to the U.S. lineup. Right now, the plan is to make it available as a police fleet vehicle only for 2011-2012, but there is a decent chance that we could see it in civilian hands eventually. Let’s take a look at the Caprice in a little more depth.

20th Annual National Police Car Convention raids Kansas City.

The Smokeys were thick as bugs on a bumper when the Police Car Owners of America hosted their 20th Anniversary Convention in Kansas City over the Independence Day weekend. Police cars, both real and replica, came from all over the country to tour local landmarks, drive on scenic roads, and show off their public safety sedans.

I've always had a soft spot for police cars. For one thing, I don't believe in movies that don't involve at least one car chase where a minimum of 18 Gran Furys get trashed. But also, my dad had lots of Caprices and Impalas around when I was growing up, and my current car is a '96 Impala SS, all of which have a connection to the police cars that were derived from them.

Here, speeder, speeder. A look at police vehicles, past and present

Police cars have the distinction of being among the most important vehicles on the road, as well as some of the least respected.

Behind the scenes, the men and women behind the wheels of these rolling billboards of law and order are putting their lives on the line everyday to keep the world safe from killers, thieves, and other miscreants. We’d live in a pretty rough world without their service.

More visible, at least to the public, is the police car during traffic enforcement duty. The last thing we need are drivers thinking they can recklessly bomb thorough residential neighborhoods with no regards for the safety of others, and to that end, this is also an important function of the police car. Of course, that noble service can get muddled a bit when you see one of these cars hiding at the bottom of a hill on a lightly traveled roadway, nabbing people that venture five-miles-per-hour over the posted speed limit.

Big Car Show at the Great Mall of the Great Plains was an excellent way to begin the summer finale countdown

Nobody in their right mind could have spent Saturday anywhere but outdoors, and for the folks that love cars, The Great Mall of the Great Plains in Olathe, Kan., was a nice part of outdoors to spend it. This was what they called the "Big Car Show," and there were quite a few cool cars and trucks on hand to back up this claim.

This was a benefit for the Olathe Police Foundation, so there were some Olathe Police vehicles on hand, including a pretty official-looking ATV, a mobile command center, a motorcycle, and some police cars. There were even a couple of privately owned police cars on display.