I've heard it recommended that you practice on a rental car....

Rent a car, try it, then steal a car and try it! Thanks, tommyrot!

And props to Nutty for use of the word élan. That was the name of our high school literary magazine, and the reason I very quickly learned the ASCII code for é.

YOU PEOPLE are to blame for every rental car I've ever driven handling like Jethro's truck from The Beverly Hillbillies!

So, the bootlegger's reverse is the car version of the Crazy Ivan?

(You know, bringing it all back on-topic.)

Only with the emergency brake.

Sweet. I need to talk some crazy hotheaded hot guy into trying it now.

So, the bootlegger's reverse is the car version of the Crazy Ivan?

Pretty much, yeah.

You all know where the term 'Crazy Ivan' came from, right? Soviet submarines would pull that maneuver when they suspected that an American sub was tailing them. (In a submarine, the prop noise makes it impossible to tell if something's directly behind you.)

Sweet. I need to talk some crazy hotheaded hot guy into trying it now.

It might be best to practice in a large, empty parking lot.

So, the bootlegger's reverse is the car version of the Crazy Ivan?

Well, of course, Crazy Ivan is a US Navy term for a Soviet submarine maneuver, characterized by any number of sudden and sharp turns, used by submarine crews to "look behind" them. (This verbiage stolen heavy handedly from The Wiki.) Was that what they called the stunt in Serenity? I could have sworn there was another (similar) name for it.

What, you think we're some kind of cultural illiterates? I'll have you know I saw The Hunt for Red October several times! I would have liked to have seen Montana.

What, you think we're some kind of cultural illiterates? I'll have you know I saw The Hunt for Red October several times! I would have liked to have seen Montana.

Well, you know, just in case one or two folks haven't seen it....

Soy'ooz neroosh'imi resp'ooblik svob'odnikh
Splot'ila nav'eki vel'ikaia Rus!