American police cars -- why so big?
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By me in the south hills of Pittsburgh the Crown Vics are plentiful with the city of Pittsburgh going to FWD Impalas a few years ago. Four suburban departments by me are using Crown Vics, Impala's, Intrepid R/T's, and Explorers.
Where? Where?
ive wondered why the police wouldnt use awd cars, not to mention ones that use less gas. something like a subaru legacy, better mpg and better all weather handling. they're not as big, but im sure they could find a way to beefen up certain components like they do with the police interceptor crown vics
The City police here do use front-wheel drive Chevy Impalas. Not exactly huge, quick around town and reliable and economical.
Many factors but, the Crown Vic and Impala are very cost effective.
If the cops are happy and the accountants are happy, no problem.
Crown Vic and Impala are about as cost effective to maintain as it gets.
Many factors but, the Crown Vic and Impala are very cost effective.
If the cops are happy and the accountants are happy, no problem.
Crown Vic and Impala are about as cost effective to maintain as it gets.
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I thought I saw one show that indicated that some German police carry full automatic weapons. It also indicated that you can get a very hefty fine for being "rude" while behind the wheel.
It kinda made our motoring public look really low class ..and our cops appear impotent in comparison. There you don't mess with the cops out of social maladjustments. Looks like we need to breed better citizens
My guess is, everyone drives what they can afford. In Poland, some police officers ride bicycles.
Others drive tiny Opel Corsas. I just wonder, where do they put a suspect, when they apprehend him? I guess they could fold down the rear seats and throw him in the trunk, but...
Really? If anywhere, I thought out here they've got the tools, the cheap gas, and the roads to do it.
Ease of maintenance for the engine, transmission and suspension are some the reasons police departments favor large rear wheel drive vehicles. Suspensions in particular are abused in a way that just aren't duplicated by the average driver. For the same reason, turbos, AWD, etc. are avoided. Plus, these cars are plain cheap to buy with spare parts plentiful since the designs haven't varied much over the years.
For a while, police departments shunned ABS - I don't know what their stance is now. Drivers were trained in a way that defeated ABS and the maintenence shops thought ABS was just another gimmick to go wrong.
Actually most of the departments in NC have gotten away from the Impala. Their failure rate is higher than that of the crown vic, their fuel economy and horsepower are equal to the crown vic and the cost is often times higher than the vic. What most depts. have done is keep maybe the least failure prone Imp and keep it for winter service, FWD and all and went back to the Crown Vic.
I suspect the Impala's going to end up like the Caprice in terms of losing its fleet status. Officers wanting either a better V6 or a V8 are pretty much sol. The astronomical price of the new V8 Impala outfitted w/ police package compared to the Crown Vic is going to to keep a lot of under funded departments standing by "old faithful".
I don't know how many cities are doing this but in my area the older Crown Vics have the ABS disabled.
I think KINGROB has the right ideas. The needs of N. American law enforcement officials (LEO's) are different than those in Europe. And of course the geography is different too.
Both big city and rural LEO's need to carry a large amount of equipment in their cars. Think about all the situations a county sheriff in a rural area would come across. He needs to have equipment on hand and be ready for almost anything. No 5-door VW Golf is gonna cut it, cargo-wise. Plus, our county mountie needs some room to transport perps along with everything else. So a big 4 door sedan with a large trunk is almost mandatory. Or he's gotta cruise in an SUV.
Maintenance and costs are a huge issue too. Audi's and Mercedes' may be common vehicles in Germany but they aren't in North America. Most little towns and every city here has repair shops that can work on a Ford V8 or a GM V6. And parts for domestic cars are plentiful and affordable. Almost every town in the US has a Ford and Chevy dealer, not to mention AutoZone, NAPA, Advance, or whatever parts store.
Gov't fleet purchases are driven by cost and capability. While there are some areas in N. America where a small patrol car would work OK, they're not going to work across the majority of the US and Canada.
But if Mercedes Benz wanted to offer N. American police agencies a police pkg E500 at about the same cost as a CVPI, I'm sure they'll find a few takers.
Both big city and rural LEO's need to carry a large amount of equipment in their cars. Think about all the situations a county sheriff in a rural area would come across. He needs to have equipment on hand and be ready for almost anything. No 5-door VW Golf is gonna cut it, cargo-wise. Plus, our county mountie needs some room to transport perps along with everything else. So a big 4 door sedan with a large trunk is almost mandatory. Or he's gotta cruise in an SUV.
Maintenance and costs are a huge issue too. Audi's and Mercedes' may be common vehicles in Germany but they aren't in North America. Most little towns and every city here has repair shops that can work on a Ford V8 or a GM V6. And parts for domestic cars are plentiful and affordable. Almost every town in the US has a Ford and Chevy dealer, not to mention AutoZone, NAPA, Advance, or whatever parts store.
Gov't fleet purchases are driven by cost and capability. While there are some areas in N. America where a small patrol car would work OK, they're not going to work across the majority of the US and Canada.
But if Mercedes Benz wanted to offer N. American police agencies a police pkg E500 at about the same cost as a CVPI, I'm sure they'll find a few takers.
JHZR2
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LOL, Id have to bet the 2.5 turbo legacy wagon is quicker, more fuel efficient, etc., etc. than a crown vic.
0-60 ~5.8 sec?!?
JMH
In California, back in the 80's the CHP use to use those little Mustangs as pursuit cars. If I remember correctly, the backend use to break loose on high speed chases making the car a candidate for the junkyard. Recently, I've seen Camaros used by the CHP, but haven't heard of any issues with it.
for a little while the Calif HP tested volvo 850s and had plans on switching the fleet over. i guess they dropped that idea. the do drive all white camaros with a low profile white led light bar. you really can't tell that they are chp until they get too close. they call it the "stealth cruiser"
OK. GM is selling a new, transverse mounted, front wheel drive v-8 with displacement on demand (using a solenoid to control lifter activation/deactivation), with the tried (or tired) and true 4 speed automatic. Oh, yeah, its an aluminum block too.
Yep, EPA estimates a 6% - 8% increase in fuel mileage. Of course, GM says it's really better in the "real" world. Wonder what sort of mileage increase could be achieved with a 5, 6 or 7 speed auto. hum.
Sounds good, but I think I'd pass for a while and hope my tax dollars aren't spend on these as well.
But, YMMV,
Jack
With the CNG option, fleets can have the CV and low fuel costs at the same time. Long Beach, CA has its own municpal gas company, so CNG-powered cars work perfectly.
At the other extreme of fuel costs, GM is selling a police version of the Tahoe. Torrance, CA has a fleet of them.
The Dodge Charger looks ugly enough to get them back into the Police market, like they were in the 1960's with the Polara.
At the other extreme of fuel costs, GM is selling a police version of the Tahoe. Torrance, CA has a fleet of them.
The Dodge Charger looks ugly enough to get them back into the Police market, like they were in the 1960's with the Polara.
I noticed last weekend that Spotsylvania, VA county police are using a two-tone siren which is what the Germans were using, isn't it?
I was watching a documentary on Moscow, Russia, and saw that the Moscow Police were using Ford Crown Vics, for their cruisers. I don't know what they used in the Winter, to compliment their fleet?
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Many Euro countries, including Germany, have been using two-tone sirens for decades. I guess it's changing now.
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