When did police departments start ordering their cars with A/C?
- Thread starter atikovi
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Broken AC for me
I bought a non AC car 95 Civic EX coupe new without AC. The dealer did a special in 2000/95k miles for me trying to get rid of Del Sol kit and installed it for $550.
I drove it till 240k miles with nice AC.
I bought a non AC car 95 Civic EX coupe new without AC. The dealer did a special in 2000/95k miles for me trying to get rid of Del Sol kit and installed it for $550.
I drove it till 240k miles with nice AC.
What police departments used Rabbits and Golfs outside of Germany?
With all of the electronic equipment police cars have these days, it's probably important to keep it in a somewhat temperature controlled environment.
That was an interesting police order model!
A 1968 Pontiac GTO that I owned in the mid 1970's had a transplanted 428 Catalina engine adapted to the manual trans. Not one of the famed Royal Oak dealer transplants. No A/C on mine or any vehicle I owned prior to the early 90's. That GTO had neither power steering nor power brakes.
The dealer added A/C used to be a thing for a long time. I think that most of all of them were aftermarket systems. At least some were referred to as "knee knockers."
Oh yeah. In the winter I almost don't use the heater as the in-car camera hard drive, CAD monitor, lap-top and on-board wi-fi hardware, radar counter box, siren/light controller, and 2 radio boxes, keeps things nice and toasty inside.
Wow, I didn’t realize all of the equipment puts out so much heat.
That's what it was on my Subaru Forester from new. Never worked from the dealer lot. So I just had windows down.
AZjeff
$50 Site Donor 2023
Used to the heat. Hard to imagine for visitors but residents get used to it. The construction guys you see laying asphalt in the summer wearing dark long sleeves and dark pants don't need no stinking AC.
This is it exactly. Your body adapts to hot weather. And it doesn't take long. And it's much easier when the humidity isn't close to the temperature.
I've been in both Houston, Texas and Orlando, Florida in July with "90/90" weather. (Temperature and similar humidity). And it's miserable. You're dripping with sweat 5 minutes after you step out the door. The air feels like you could cut it with scissors.
Here when it's 115 F with 4% humidity it's almost comfortable. You barely perspire because it's evaporating the instant it leaves your pores. You have to be careful not to dehydrate. Keeping your fluid intake up is a must. But I could never go back to living in a temperate climate again. Midwest Winters were horrible.
This is it exactly. Your body adapts to hot weather. And it doesn't take long. And it's much easier when the humidity isn't close to the temperature.
I've been in both Houston, Texas and Orlando, Florida in July with "90/90" weather. (Temperature and similar humidity). And it's miserable. You're dripping with sweat 5 minutes after you step out the door. The air feels like you could cut it with scissors.
Here when it's 115 F with 4% humidity it's almost comfortable. You barely perspire because it's evaporating the instant it leaves your pores. You have to be careful not to dehydrate. Keeping your fluid intake up is a must. But I could never go back to living in a temperate climate again. Midwest Winters were horrible.
my experience too, after living in SFLA since 84. Grew up in the Great Lakes state. talk about 2 different climates..
terms like Heat Index, Dewpoint and Wet Bulb temperature take on new meaning . yesterday it barely hit 90 but the Wet Bulb Temperature was 81.
it sucks. Basically once the dewpoint goes above 70, most people are uncomfortable, even though they might get used to it..
that wet bulb temp explains the maximum amount of cooling a person can get from evaporation..
so you walk out the door of the house and your eyeglasses fog up.
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yeah, there reaches a point where you cover up to keep cool .
I started in 1975 with a Dodge Monaco 440 that had A/C. Although in summer, with all the radio equipment, it got pretty hot. If A/C broke, town council would balk at fixing it because it was a luxury! Back in those days, we use to leave the hood open if you got stuck at an accident scene for a prolonged period of time. They overheated frequently. Now a days, with body armor, laptops and an assortment of accessories on the bat belt, it's a must. It became standard on police cars in the early to mid 70's, depending on brand. It became a "Police Package" and always included A/C but not FM radio. Now that was torture. I don't know how they lasted for 250,000 miles. Multiple drivers who didn't care, Extended idling, code 3 most of the time and bad N.J. roads. Oil used was "low bid". But was changed religiously at 7,000 miles. No additives or fillers added. All natural, dead dinosaurs.
Winters in Simpsonville, SC aren't that cold. Average winter low temp is not below freezing.
That picture looks like exactly what happens in Virginia when they get a lot of snow. Nobody knows how to drive in it and nobody operating a snow plow has a clue how to move it.
The Monaco weighed 4500 lbs so it would have really felt fast to get to 60 in under 10 seconds. I believe the 440 was the RB police only engine, hence it had a “ cop motor”. With its 2.76 rear end it had a top speed of 126 mph. Top speed was “ unlimited”. Enjoy.
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When I was growing up in the late '60's and '70's, our family had a 1969 Ford Galaxie 500 with the 302 V8 engine. It had no A/C and no power brakes. It did have heat and power steering, though. I suspect most of the police vehicles in our part of Ohio at the time were similarly equipped (although certainly with more powerful engines, LOL).
I read an article about this once.
They didn't until 1971 or 1972 when they went with the AMC Matador.
The Matadors had AC included in the bid price. The Chrysler bid did not include it.
I doubt that it was the only factor that led to selection; however, it led to the push for the purchase.
How do you manage to drive a vehicle with no heat in freezing temperatures? Even if you bundle up, the windshield still frosts over.
I worked for the Federal Government in Winnipeg, Canada from 1993 to 1999. It gets and stays pretty hot there in the summer. We were buying a new vehicle so I prepared a justification for buying that new vehicle with AC - arriving at our destination ready for work, etc.
Not to worry said my boss, all the vehicles under consideration came with AC and they didn't have to do an AC delete. So we got our first vehicle with AC (the only one of 3 or 4), a small Chevrolet sedan.
I expect it would have been the same thing with the police. Justify it or do without.
Not to worry said my boss, all the vehicles under consideration came with AC and they didn't have to do an AC delete. So we got our first vehicle with AC (the only one of 3 or 4), a small Chevrolet sedan.
I expect it would have been the same thing with the police. Justify it or do without.
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