Question for the Police car buffs out there

[Agent G]

The Celebrity was a shock after driving full size RWD autos for years. Then again when the first of the Nova's arrived we all had to stand back and wonder. That ended the first trip around the block with the Nova's 350, tranny and Belaire brakes.

That Nova started our trend toward smaller mid size autos. From the Nova we got Malibus, then Fairmonts, then Celebritys. After the Fairmont the Celebrity was the bomb.

Fast forward to full size Impalas and Caprices for a few years, followed by the Crown Vic in it's various guises. The CV wasn't bad in '96 and '97, it was actually quite nimble and served our purposes well. I understand troopers didn't like the car as it was unstable at speed but we city coppers liked it.

I left six weeks after receiving an '07 Impala, yuck.

G

[lordairgtar]

I remeember back in the early 70s, Cotati, California had these little Mazdas.

[niteowl7710]

I left six weeks after receiving an '07 Impala, yuck.

G

Your old stomping grounds picked up a couple of Chargers this year for DUI/Traffic Enforcement. Painted them solid black like the County Police's Highway Safety Chargers.

[Agent G]

I heard!

Does your site have the photos of the '94 Impala SS we used for DUI enforcement? We had two of them and man they looked good. How about photos of those Chargers?

They later tried to replicate those with black 2000 Impalas with spoilers and AM wheels. Not the same..........

G

[niteowl7710]

I heard!

Does your site have the photos of the '94 Impala SS we used for DUI enforcement? We had two of them and man they looked good. How about photos of those Chargers?

They later tried to replicate those with black 2000 Impalas with spoilers and AM wheels. Not the same..........

G

I don't have, but I've seen pictures of the Impala SSs and the later Impala imposters...

[Agent G]

I retired way too soon!

G

[Rob Hall]

I got passed on the freeway a couple of years ago at night by 3 black Charger SRT8s w/ 'US Government' plates...Secret Service taking John McCain to the airport, maybe?

[SoCalCarCulture]

Don't underestimate the new Taurus, also available with the Ecoboost V6 & all wheel drive!

Pics from the LA Auto Show last month.

Edited December 19, 2010 by SoCalCarCulture

[evilone]

Don't underestimate the new Taurus, also available with the Ecoboost V6 & all wheel drive!

Pics from the LA Auto Show last month.

these cars are crazy fast when that VGT kicks in. When they come out i will feel bad for the Fast and the furious honda racers out there. They wont stand a chance with their fart cans lol

[niteowl7710]

Don't underestimate the new Taurus, also available with the Ecoboost V6 & all wheel drive!

Ahh yes but you forgot the Ecoboost and AWD are $$$$ options. Otherwise it's a dinky FWD car, that hasn't been a recipe for success for the prior Taurus police package, the Intrepid, nor the current Impala.

Dodge sells a lot more V-6 Chargers than Hemis (because the Hemi is extra $$$), but that's still a RWD car.

With the new Caprice, and refreshed Charger out there now, Ford is taking a HUGE gamble by not having this car ready to go till 2012. They had 75% of the police market with the CVPI, and I don't know that this is the right move to keep a majority of it. Only time will tell, but I know plenty of departments that stopped ordering new CVPIs when Ford officially canceled them, and went to Chargers because they in no way, shape, or form want to deal with a new FWD experiment.

[SoCalCarCulture]

Ahh yes but you forgot the Ecoboost and AWD are $$$$ options. Otherwise it's a dinky FWD car, that hasn't been a recipe for success for the prior Taurus police package, the Intrepid, nor the current Impala.

Dodge sells a lot more V-6 Chargers than Hemis (because the Hemi is extra $$$), but that's still a RWD car.

With the new Caprice, and refreshed Charger out there now, Ford is taking a HUGE gamble by not having this car ready to go till 2012. They had 75% of the police market with the CVPI, and I don't know that this is the right move to keep a majority of it. Only time will tell, but I know plenty of departments that stopped ordering new CVPIs when Ford officially canceled them, and went to Chargers because they in no way, shape, or form want to deal with a new FWD experiment.

The other drawback is retraining costs for everyone to get up to speed driving front wheel drive or all wheel drive cars - I just had that conversation with a CHP Public Affairs officer a couple weeks ago.

[Joe Handley]

How do departments train their officers, I've heard some are...not so good at driving around here.

[niteowl7710]

How do departments train their officers, I've heard some are...not so good at driving around here.

Every state, and most large cities have some form of on site (at the academy) driving instruction. Most of it focusing on EVOCs (Emergency Vehicle Operator Course). There they teach the fundamentals of high speed driving, emergency braking, emergency lane changing, skid control, skid recovery, PIT maneuvers and the like...NYPDs has a basic driving instruction component to it considering how many NYPD recruits have never even had the need to drive, and don't possess a license to begin with...

Michigan State Police and the L.A. County Sheriff are considered to have the best schools. It's why their top instructors are the ones that do the annual testing and ranking of the new police vehicles. Once you start getting into local cops the instruction can be hit or miss. In WV for example all new police officers/deputies regardless of department ALL go through the WVSP Academy. But here in PA and next door in OH, both are "Pay to Play" states. You can, with the tuition money, and passing all the entrance exams and interviews bank roll yourself into the police academy without being sponsored by a specific agency. The departments like it because they get trained rookie pool without footing the bill, and there is a certain amount of freedom for the rookie officer who's not tied to a specific department upon successful completion of the academy.

But that's also where it get dicey from the prospective of training. I've heard from people about a particular not-to-be-named Ohio academy where EVOC was (allegedly) a one day course which involved watching some movies and having concepts drawn out and explained on a dry-erase board. I will say the one that was closest to me when I was a CDL Instructor near Cincinnati had an on-site EVOC and I would go out there and watch the new guys kill cones from time to time. Most of the local academies near Pittsburgh all use BeaveRun Motorsports Complex

[Agent G]

In Nevada all the academies have extensive EVOC training. The one thing I noticed is the kiddos train on the Crown Vic. While that is the police car of choice with the NHP, LV Metro, and North LV PD's, Henderson PD drives Tahoes.

Hmmmm.

Remember, the two largest items in any PD budget are first, salaries, and second, fleet. Fleet is a term used to encompass all aspects of, purchase, maintainence, gas, equipment etc etc etc.

It has been my experience EVOC is considered a necessary evil by the bean counters, and gets what's left over.

Niteowl hit the answer right on.

G