My business takes me to Togliatti in Russia four times a year. I fly into Samara, someone from Lada picks me up, and we drive the 80 kilometers to Tog.
As often as not, the cars are fitted with radar detectors and it is not unusual to pass four or five speed cameras, or cops with speed guns, along the way. Usually, these are Asian detectors as the trade embargo prevents anyone from importing quality products like Valentine.
As a V1 user, I was bemused to see the pathetic performance of their detectors. You could see the cop or camera before an alert, so a couple of trips ago I brought my V1 to show them what real detection performance was all about. To say the drivers were stunned was an understatement! My usual driver immediately bought my trusty V1 for $500 U.S., a good price for a two-year old V1 and enough for me to buy a new one back home.
When I was there in September, I was picked up by my usual driver and saw he had his old Korean detector back on duty. I asked “Where is the Valentine?”
“Ah”, he sadly reported, “the General Manager heard about it and knowing what it was, confiscated it for use in his own car.” That’s the way things go in the new Russia.
James Clarke
NSW 2774, Australia