Washington

Revision as of 19:01, 20 September 2010 by gtw>Kaltag (→‎Trivia)
A Washington in GTA Vice City (Rear quarter view).

The Washington is a 4-door sedan found in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories and Grand Theft Auto IV. It can be found fairly widely throughout cities and in mostly the residental area in GTA Vice City and GTA San Andreas, and is available in many colors throughout the games such except black and white, which are reserved for the FBI Washington in GTA Vice City and GTA Vice City Stories.

The name is mostly always meant to be a parody of a full-size luxury Lincoln sedan (Abraham Lincoln and George Washington having both been Presidents of the United States).

Design

GTA Vice City — GTA Vice City Stories

Depictions of the Washington prior to GTA IV bear a similarity to a 1984-1987 Lincoln Continental, with the rear more alike a Lincoln Mark VII.

The Washington features a generally boxy but then contemporary design resulting in the car being one of the newest cars at the time of GTA Vice City's and GTA Vice City Stories's 1980s settings. The colors of the cars consist of various colors except white(In GTA Vice City Stories however washingtons can be fully white. For GTA San Andreas, the car remains largely similar, with the exception of wider headlight clusters, a modified front grille and rear light clusters that light up as a whole at night. While similar to the GTA Vice City rendition, the GTA Vice City Stories Washington sports additional side trims derived from the FBI Washington, implying the FBI Washington's vehicle model was used in place of GTA Vice City's original Washington model.

GTA IV

File:Washington-GTA4-front.jpg
A Washington in GTA IV (Rear quarter view).

In GTA IV, the Albany Washington is based on the 2003-present Lincoln Town Car while the headlights and grille have a slight resemblance to a 2008-2009 Ford Taurus. It features "Executive" badging, much like some Town Cars. The rear portion of the greenhouse has an unusually round shape, similar to an eleventh generation Chrysler New Yorker, the rest of the rear also bears a subtle resemblance to it.

Performance

GTA San Andreas — GTA Vice City Stories

Pre-GTA IV Washington's are generally regarded as having only moderate performance, being RWD, it is largely attributed to its bulky design.Its longer wheelbase and weight, offer results in understeer and poor cornering, while its size may also be a factor in its moderate acceleration, and its top speed is also estimated to be moderate. So getting it to top speed and good acceleration takes longer than sports cars. Nevertheless, its superior size and weight allows the Washington to ram aside other sedans more easily.

GTA IV

The Washington in GTA IV is powered by a V8, coupled to a 5 speed gearbox in a RWD layout. Acceleration is good, but due to the bulk of the vehicle it leaves much to be desired. Top speed is also good, but again due to the Washington's weight, is limited: 135 km/h (84 mph). Braking is very good, and ABS is standard across the line up. The suspension is very soft, designed to flatten out bumps in a road; not high speed cornering, leaving the Washington fishtailing and spinning out of control when cornering at speed. Accident deformation is superb, making the Washington ideal for ramming vehicles. The engine build quality is also above average, and will sustain multiple impacts before failing.

Variants

GTA Vice City

The FBI Washington is a specialized version of this vehicle (only appearing in GTA Vice City and GTA Vice City Stories), and is the only version of the Washington in GTA Vice City that sports a black paint job. Its acceleration is quite impressive, which becomes useful for catching up to distant criminals when on a vigilante mission. In Vice City Stories the car is much more harder to get however because stealing it from the FBI is more challenging rather then finding one. Also the FBI Washington can be the same color as a regular one as there are white regular Washingtons.

Similarly, two uniquely black Washingtons may be seen driven by the French in GTA Vice City during "All Hands On Deck" in GTA Vice City. While it is possible to reach the cars and enter them, it is impossible to drive them (as the mission immediately ends and the car is lost). It is also impossible to push the cars to a garage as an alternative, as the player is only given a brief window of time before Juan Cortez is killed, leading to mission failure which warps the player back to the nearby mission trigger with the cars vanished.

GTA IV

A special wagon version of the Washington is used for the game's rendition of the Romero hearse. A Washington is also requested as part of Stevie's Car Thefts; unlike most vehicles in the side mission, the Washington appears with a black body color that is not unique, as many black Washingtons can be seen around Algonquin.

Modifications (GTA San Andreas)

  • Color
  • Exhausts
  • Nitro (all)
  • Spoilers
  • Wheels
  • Car Stereo
  • Hydraulics

Trivia

  • The GTA IV rendition of the Washington will make an audible "door ajar" dinging noise if the player exits the vehicle but leaves the door open. It can be heard clearly in quiet areas with the volume turned up.
  • In its appearances in GTA San Andreas and GTA IV, the Washington plays the following radio stations by default when entered:
  • The GTA IV version of the Esperanto faintly resembles the original Washington.

Locations

GTA Vice City

GTA San Andreas

GTA Vice City Stories

GTA IV