Cop Motor, Cop Tires, Cop Suspension...

[Ncostello]

and cop shocks!!! Was reading today Ford is finally getting rid of the iron horse of the US police car industry... the Crown Vic. They are coming out with a new car simply called the Ford Police Interceptor. Its the new Taurus with some cop upgrades like stab plates in the seats, and such things to make it a cop car. FWD and V6 from what I've read. Sad. They are really messing up I think.



Chevy is meanwhile introducing the Caprice PPV... an continuation of the G8 Pontiac with the underpinnings of the Camaro and a 6. 0L V8. RWD. The whole thing is imported. Its being used already in Australia and the Middle East. Sad too they can't make it here. But Obama prolly don't want his bailed out GM making racist police cars here... since he thinks "police act stupidly". Remember Cambridge and professor Gates?



To me the only Choice is the Charger. RWD... Powerful and mean looking. Our Sheriffs office has them... and let me tell you... your gonna get caught with these things. They look bad in two tone brown and spotlights. Black wheels. Wonder how long Dodge can stay afloat to keep making them. Obama owns them too.



Anyhow thought about this the other night after I failed to turn on my turn signal and got pulled over on a dark, little traveled side street in town. Apparently they were looking for any excuse as it was Operation Pull-Over in Indiana for DUI's. I got a WRITTEN WARNING!!!! I've seen these drones give verbal warnings for 20MPH over the posted limits. But then again I don't have long blonde hair and a nice rear. However I think my Mag Hytec cover looks great on the old Dodge!! Anyhow I digress.



Any thoughts on cop cars of the future??? PS: I've never had a ticket and only been pulled over twice in 36 years of my life. Both were bogus just to check me out for no good reason. The other time was for possible theft of gas. They were looking for a green Silverado... I was in a bright blue F150 with a white camper shell. And my tank was on E. The cop kept insisting it was me perhaps and wasted alot of time calling the gas station etc etc etc. Until I showed him my nearly empty gas gauge. The perp stole like 20 dollars worth. I was 24 at that time so gas was much lower.

 

[icman95]

You might be interested in this:



Police Car for Police | Carbon Motors Corporation



Check out the "latest news" part a bit down on the right hand side. They are partnering with BMW for a diesel power plant for this thing. I haven't read the whole site, so I'm sure there's stuff in there I didn't see, but it sure is different.

 

[Skydiver]

The larger city shops will take a hard hit since they are tooled for the Crown vic. The Charger I heard eats brakes, but will fly. When Ford drops the vic others will raise the price.

 

[jgillott]

I was in a Crown Vic Taxi in Florida last year, which I assume are also equipped with most if not all of the P71 equipment. Get this..... 425K on the ticker of that thing. Those cars are going to be missed.

 

[opjohnny]

My brother had two ex police cars, 1965 Ford Custom from Utah and a 1999 Vic from Kansas. We have a used car lot here that only sells that type, ex police, fire chief ect. Just the cars. He sold the 65 but they were both fun.

 

[Ncostello]

I think my favorite of all time is the Dodge Diplomat of the early 80's. I like that style for some reason with a spotlight and the dog dish hubcaps. The ones I remember most from the late 80's (when I got my drivers license) were the square body LTD Crown Vics. Then the 90's full size Caprice Classic. GM never recovered from that phase out.



Our town Marshall STILL has a 93 Caprice he got brand new. Its like new still (almost). I think most agencies kept those Chevys until they completely fell apart, which took a long time. The LT1 package was a real runner and it would outrun a Crown Vic of the same era something terrible.



I know its 2010... but RWD cars are something they will miss if it becomes unavailable. You can't compare what a lone trooper on a long stretch of highway in Montana has to do with a car... versus a metro cop patroling the neighborhood in downtown Philly. Big difference on their needs.



A very good friend of mine is a Sheriff Deputy. I rode with home once to take some fire department equipment to the scene of a possible suicide. We were doing 130MPH on a 4 land highway. And I remember asking him what happens if a deer strays out on the highway. He just said... "we dont' talk about that kind of stuff".



Not sure about you all... but I don't want to be in a front wheel drive domestic sedan (aka taurus) at 130MPH.

 

[Dl5treez]

The 'new' Crown Victoria Police Interceptor (with the 4. 6) has been a compromise vehicle since job 1.

The Caprice, as mentioned before, with the LT1 engine option would outrun the CV on a whim, and was a (arguably) better police platform. The older CV's with the 302 H. O. or the 351 Windsor were decent power-wise but lacked the precision handling of the Caprice; if you can call any 4 door sedan's handling precision...

The 'new' Crown Vic was the primary car because it was the last 4 door rear drive car in the U. S. The purchases made while the Caprice platform was still available from G. M. were due to costs.

No LE I have ever come across has liked the Crown Victoria. They are slow, handling is so-so, and the brakes are rubbish; in comparision to what they had before the Crown Vic is not a real cop car by any means, but compared to other options, is the best overall cop car out right now, which isn't saying much.

The Dodge Charger police package has tremendous power in a straight line, but does not corner well, has blind spots like a semi truck, eats brakes like candy, and is extremely uncomfortable to ride in, even in the front seat.

 

[David_VT]

I bought an 03CVPI (Crown Vic Police Interceptor) for $2500 a few years back at a state auction. The 03 has Rack and Pinion and corners like it is on rails. The power is ok but not Blue's brothers HP like you would think. They have the same drive train as the civilian versions but for dual exhaust, different shift points in the software and of course all the heavy duty cooling stuff. If I keep my foot out of it, I get 23mpg.

My failing father could not climb into the Dodge any longer and I was driving hours to visit him. I am a good sized person and enjoy the leg room and comfort of the big Vic.

This summer will be the forth summer I have had it. It is still young at 167K

As to buying a used state police car, the behavior of folks around you in traffic starts to wear on you after a few months. It is funny at first when folks slow down but soon it gets old. I pulled the spot light off but that did not help at all. I ended up putting a 'life is good' sticker in the middle of the back window. If folks can't figure it out after seeing that, then they deserve to tail gate a muddy old Crown Vic for 30 miles.

I had to add a cruise control because the state was too cheap to put one in from the factory. With a vehicle that always wants to go 80mph if you don't pay attention, I knew I had to put in cruise control. There was no way a cop was going to give me a warning if I got stopped in that thing.

It will be interesting to see what is at the state auctions in 10 years. I hear those new interceptors might have an AWD option. Hmmm might be interesting for my retirement toy...

----
As to the Caprice mentioned above. I wish it was made and sold here. They are a popular taxi in Dubai and elsewhere in the middle east. I found them very roomy and comfortable. I imagine that could be a good fleet car here if GM brings them in.

 

[Dl5treez]

----

As to the Caprice mentioned above. I wish it was made and sold here. They are a popular taxi in Dubai and elsewhere in the middle east. I found them very roomy and comfortable. I imagine that could be a good fleet car here if GM brings them in.

It is/was here... . as the Pontiac G8 and before that, the GTO.



Hardly anybody bought it. G. M. marketing at its finest... ...





Watching the CV's at the Washington State Patrol test track is like watching a bad movie for the 3rd or 4th time. You know when the nasty stuff happens and get to wince a couple seconds before the carnage. They're a great car to drive normal, but when they're pushed to the limit, the weaknesses come out and come out quickly.

 

[jhenderson]

The new GM cruiser is based on the Pontiac G8. That car was manufactured by Holden Co. of Australia , which is a subsidiary of GM. My wife drives a GTO which is made from a Holden Monaro. It is by far, the fastest, best handling, best stopping car i have owned. 125 mph feels the same as 75. All for $31,000. I do not understand why Pontiac didn't sell 1,000,000 of them. Both of these vehicles use corvette drive trains and are built to US specs by Holden. Great cars!

 

[Dieselnut59]

You might be interested in this:



Police Car for Police | Carbon Motors Corporation



Check out the "latest news" part a bit down on the right hand side. They are partnering with BMW for a diesel power plant for this thing. I haven't read the whole site, so I'm sure there's stuff in there I didn't see, but it sure is different.

I have been following the Carbon Motors thing for a while. That looks like an AWESOME machine! Gotta love the diesel power too! It is SPECIFICALLY built for police use and is correct (rear) wheel drive.

 

[Dieselnut59]

I think my favorite of all time is the Dodge Diplomat of the early 80's. I like that style for some reason with a spotlight and the dog dish hubcaps. The ones I remember most from the late 80's (when I got my drivers license) were the square body LTD Crown Vics. Then the 90's full size Caprice Classic. GM never recovered from that phase out.



Our town Marshall STILL has a 93 Caprice he got brand new. Its like new still (almost). I think most agencies kept those Chevys until they completely fell apart, which took a long time. The LT1 package was a real runner and it would outrun a Crown Vic of the same era something terrible.



I know its 2010... but RWD cars are something they will miss if it becomes unavailable. You can't compare what a lone trooper on a long stretch of highway in Montana has to do with a car... versus a metro cop patroling the neighborhood in downtown Philly. Big difference on their needs.



A very good friend of mine is a Sheriff Deputy. I rode with home once to take some fire department equipment to the scene of a possible suicide. We were doing 130MPH on a 4 land highway. And I remember asking him what happens if a deer strays out on the highway. He just said... "we dont' talk about that kind of stuff".



Not sure about you all... but I don't want to be in a front wheel drive domestic sedan (aka taurus) at 130MPH.

I will never own a front wheel drive car if I can help it. I HATE the way they handle and perform. When you accelerate hard in a vehicle, the weight transfers to the rear. It makes scientific/logical sense for especially the bigger more powerful vehicles to be rear wheel drive.

 

[AMink]

I heard that Nevada Highway Patrol moved to the V8 Chargers and after most of those got wrecked, they went to the V6. The V8's were more powerful than the troopers were skilled, the story goes.

 

[Dl5treez]

I heard that Nevada Highway Patrol moved to the V8 Chargers and after most of those got wrecked, they went to the V6. The V8's were more powerful than the troopers were skilled, the story goes.

The V8 Chargers are very quick in a straight line.



The V6 Charger exhibits roughly the same performance as the Ford Crown Victoria.



Neither one turns corners or stops very well, and the V8 Charger in police form (sans traction control) is a handful to keep the rear end underneath the car in aggressive corning maneuvers.

 

[Flying_gage]

That is a shame that they are ending the run. As the last holdout, they were a decent platform. Our P. D. went with a trial run of the Charger wagons and they had huge issues with the blind spots. Next time we are at the garage, I will have to ask what direction the city is going.

I have owned three ex police vehicles. My first was a 1994 Caprice with the LT1 and that thing flat out flew. Bone stock at 4200 pounds, it went through the traps at 14. 93. Felt like I was doing 80 when I had it maxed out at 146mph. Finally when driven sedately on the interstate, I would get 25mpg all day long... Miss that car!

The other two I still own. An ex CHP notchback Mustang and a 1998 Pennsylvania Highway Patrol Camaro. My little mustang still makes me grin ear to ear when I drive her. When it comes to people whining about the Charger and traction, I don't want to hear it. It literally eats tires as it is nothing to spin the tires pulling away from a stop light and that is unintentionally... .

The Camaro probably was the pinnacle of pursuit vehicles in that it flat out screams with the LS1 engine and has the top end stability of the Caprice that was sorely lacking in the Mustang. Little more cramped inside and hard to get out of, but that little "Go" pedal sure makes up for it.

 

[icman95]

I have been following the Carbon Motors thing for a while. That looks like an AWESOME machine! Gotta love the diesel power too! It is SPECIFICALLY built for police use and is correct (rear) wheel drive.

Yup, it does look like an awesome car, but I'm sort of disappointed that they had to go overseas (BWM) for a diesel engine. I know that there are few, if any, American made car sized diesel engines, but it would have been nice to have an all American sourced car-or at least as much as possible. Maybe this would have been a good opportunity to work with a domestic manufacturer to produce one that could then be spun off into the regular civilian market. Oh, well. Still an awesome car.

 

[Dieselnut59]

Yup, it does look like an awesome car, but I'm sort of disappointed that they had to go overseas (BWM) for a diesel engine. I know that there are few, if any, American made car sized diesel engines, but it would have been nice to have an all American sourced car-or at least as much as possible. Maybe this would have been a good opportunity to work with a domestic manufacturer to produce one that could then be spun off into the regular civilian market. Oh, well. Still an awesome car.

Yea, they could probably work with Cummins to use that "light duty" V-8 that they developed for Chrysler and then got screwed out of.

I am just glad to see they are using a diesel!

 

[SHobbs]

YouTube - The Blues Brothers - the bluesmobile