No red-blooded American teenage male who watched as John Belushi threw the cigarette lighter out of the window in that scene hasn't thought at some point in his life that it would be cool to own a cop car.

So it was good to hear Lt. Brad Bernhardt, fleet manager for the Kansas Highway Patrol, say you can still buy your own version of the Bluesmobile — a stripped-down, long-retired and, in general, cosmetically challenged cruiser that still has some muscle under the hood and life left in the chassis. The majority of the vehicles sold by the patrol aren't like that. They're relatively new with fewer than 50,000 miles on the odometer, and they're offered first to other governmental agencies as part of a scheduled replacement program.

But a couple of times per year, Bernhardt said, the patrol sends off about 20 higher-mileage cars to a public auction where individual buyers can have the first crack.

Those cars start out as patrol cruisers but are reassigned after hitting the 50,000-mile mark to KHP personnel who occasionally have to travel but don't need a newer car, such as vehicle inspectors. The retained cars are generally flawed in some way — hail damage is a biggie — and wouldn't draw an optimal price if sold with relatively low mileage.

So they stay in the fleet and rack up miles before being shipped to Purple Wave Auction, a private company that contracts with the state of Kansas for auction services.

There, they are sold for an average price of $4,000 to $7,000, Bernhardt said.

What buyers get for that low price might not have a pretty wrapper, but what's underneath is a brute of a machine that has been serviced every 3,000 miles. It comes with a beefed-up transmission; heavy-duty suspension; and an amped-up electrical system to run the lights, sirens and radio equipment — all the Bluesmobile stuff.

"It's a substantially different car than the Crown Victoria you or I would buy off the lot," Bernhardt said.

Can it jump over a drawbridge? Will it do midair flips? Will it stand up to the rigors of crashing into mall kiosks and display windows?

Maybe not. But for cheap, reliable transportation, it's a hip option.

Assuming, of course, that you can rig up a functional cigarette lighter.