“Low mileage,” the auction listing for this 1998 Plymouth Grand Voyager boasts. Then, more interestingly: “This vehicle was a drug seizure that was converted to a surveillance van several years ago.” Any way you slice it, this van has seen some shit.
This popped up on my feed from Ed Niedermeyer, via @itsvantime, via @L_Chupacabra, and eventually, GovDeals.com. GovDeals is a surplus auction site where you can bid on all kinds of random stuff owned by municipalities and agencies. Seriously, you can find anything from dot-matrix printer paper to private aeroplanes on GovDeals depending on the day.
Buying this for the express purpose of leaving it parked outside the home of everyone who still thinks it’s clever to name their WiFi SSID “FBI Surveillance Van” https://t.co/QL46tVEtfl
— E.W. Niedermeyer (@Tweetermeyer) June 15, 2020
It’s hard to imagine any actual practical application for this that wouldn’t be creepy as hell, other than bringing out to Radwood shows for people who want to cosplay NYPD Blue. And of course, since abhorrent reports of police brutality seem to be a hallmark of the era we’re living in now, there might not be too many people interested in adding this monument to Big Brother as executed in the ’90s to their personal car collection.
Damn, I bummed myself out too much thinking about reality to come up with funny ideas for pranks you could pull with a periscope-equipped Plymouth Grand Voyager.
What is up with that periscope, by the way? Has anyone ever seen a minivan with an orange warning light on its roof like this? I feel like I’d be pretty sceptical if I saw this vehicle lurking in my neighbourhood for any length of time. But I suppose it could be owned by an electrician. Or maybe most people wouldn’t bother noticing.
Looks like it’s in pretty good shape, at any rate. Just get those rusty shock towers fixed and you can start spying on your neighbours in no time. Of course, if you’re the type of person who’s into that kind of thing, your HOA will probably tow this van to the crusher by the time you tuck into your first stakeout.