GMs New Police Cruiser

[Rob Hall]

Those aren't police cruisers.

This

is a police cruiser.

was...the Blues Brothers car was a retired Joliet cruiser, IIRC.

[charlie8575]

:lol: Now THAT is funny! There may be a correlation there!

Ya think??

I was driving by a spare lot for a Chevy dealer in the area and they had about a dozen Caprices on the lot.

Really nice-looking cars.

I was surprised to see:

1. The price wasn't that bad- $33,000 and change. Considering Ford is charging $37,000+ for the Taurus Police Interceptor, I think Chevrolet will be getting a lot of bids. If they did this in consumer trim at about that price, or less, I'd buy one without even thinking twice about it.

2. They really are bucket seat with floor shift. But, there's definitely enough room in there to put in a bench seat (new big rear-drive Buick, perhaps?)

3. What really caught me off-guard is that these are still being built in Australia? I'll be it has to do with calculation of the CAFE standards. But, what they hay, GM is an American-owned company (quite literally considering I believe Uncle Sam does still have some percentage of it right now,) and I have no problem with the Aussies at all.

4. 15/24 for that 366 cu. in. V8 with short gearing and a lot of power is actually pretty respectable. If they put that 4/8-cylinder V8 set-up in this, I'll bet it would do the same or better.

All that said, this goes for sale to the public, even with a smaller V8 (seriously- I'm tired of having V6s, and I don't care how good they are, shoved on me,) and I will buy one as soon as I have a decent job again.

Charlie Larkin

[MrObsessive]

All that said, this goes for sale to the public, even with a smaller V8 (seriously- I'm tired of having V6s, and I don't care how good they are, shoved on me,) and I will buy one as soon as I have a decent job again.

Charlie Larkin

I'd love to see honest to goodness straight sixes come back into use! Yeah, yeah I know..............V6's are more efficient, saves space, blah, blah, blah---------but there's something to be said about how much better a straight six looks in an engine bay. Not to mention a straight six to my ears just flat out sounds better.

To me a V6 sounds like tearing paper when under full throttle!

[Junkman]

If fuel efficiency plays a role with vehicles that are used in life-saving emergencies, such as police cars, ambulances and fire engines, then the world has indeed ceased to be a place worth living in. If fuel was indeed as precious as they try to brainwash us into, then why don't they start with stoppig to make those bloody good for nothing tanks?

[checkmate]

Dont confuse car size with fuel efficiency, our Holden VY SS 5.7 Litre V8 used 8 to 10 Litres per 100km's and our 2 LitreToyota Rav 4 used around 12 Litres. Most of our V8's we've owned have got better economy than our 6's. I was a mechanic for over a decade and am constantly amazed by the misconception that V8's get poor fuel economy.

What works in the UK, doesn't necessarily work in other countries like Australia or the US, if my house was getting broken into or my life depended on it I wouldn't want the authorities driving an underpowered gutless 1.6 or 2 Litre FWD heap of snot I'd rather them driving a 6 Litre V8 and being able to get there in time to make a difference.

[niteowl7710]

was...the Blues Brothers car was a retired Joliet cruiser, IIRC.

Jake was housed in the Joliet Correctional Facility, the car itself was retired from the Mount Prospect PD, they were practically giving them away!

[niteowl7710]

If fuel efficiency plays a role with vehicles that are used in life-saving emergencies, such as police cars, ambulances and fire engines, then the world has indeed ceased to be a place worth living in. If fuel was indeed as precious as they try to brainwash us into, then why don't they start with stoppig to make those bloody good for nothing tanks?

Depends on the fleet. Your average U.S. department with 10-15 cars, 3/4 of which are primary patrol vehicles the difference in fuel economy really doesn't matter. But you start talking about say the NYPD which had over 12,000 vehicles getting an extra 5-7MPG is a substantial savings over a year's time, which is why they have so many Fusion & Altima hybrids.

[Rob Hall]

Jake was housed in the Joliet Correctional Facility, the car itself was retired from the Mount Prospect PD, they were practically giving them away!

Ah, yeah..my bad. Need to watch the movie again...been a few years.

[Lownslow]

I'd love to see honest to goodness straight sixes come back into use! Yeah, yeah I know..............V6's are more efficient, saves space, blah, blah, blah---------but there's something to be said about how much better a straight six looks in an engine bay. Not to mention a straight six to my ears just flat out sounds better.

To me a V6 sounds like tearing paper when under full throttle!

thats a huge misconception my 5.0 91 cougar got better mpgs than my 02 4.3 v6 blazer. the v6 did sound nice with the souped up exhaust but ill be going 4 cyl or V8 with my next vehicle purchase Edited August 19, 2012 by Lownslow

[Junkman]

Dont confuse car size with fuel efficiency, our Holden VY SS 5.7 Litre V8 used 8 to 10 Litres per 100km's and our 2 LitreToyota Rav 4 used around 12 Litres. Most of our V8's we've owned have got better economy than our 6's. I was a mechanic for over a decade and am constantly amazed by the misconception that V8's get poor fuel economy.

What works in the UK, doesn't necessarily work in other countries like Australia or the US, if my house was getting broken into or my life depended on it I wouldn't want the authorities driving an underpowered gutless 1.6 or 2 Litre FWD heap of snot I'd rather them driving a 6 Litre V8 and being able to get there in time to make a difference.

You don't have to convince me, I am driving V8s for over 30 years now. Even with my 61 Imperial I didn't need more than 13.5 litres/100km on the open road. Some old VW Beetles needed just as much.

However, what I said is that on cars that are intended to respond to emergencies where lives could be at stake, fuel consumption shouldn't matter at all.

Police is using V8 BMWs, turbo Volvos, or ST Mondeos for that kind of work here in the UK.

[charlie8575]

I'd love to see honest to goodness straight sixes come back into use! Yeah, yeah I know..............V6's are more efficient, saves space, blah, blah, blah---------but there's something to be said about how much better a straight six looks in an engine bay. Not to mention a straight six to my ears just flat out sounds better.

To me a V6 sounds like tearing paper when under full throttle!

Agreed on all counts...

Charlie Larkin

[Agent G]

My department was one of the first to use midsize front wheel drive autos for patrol. We started in '84 with the Chevrolet Celebrity police package. I recall it having a 3.8 V6 which gave no better gas mileage than the previous V8 Malibus. We drove those pigs until Chevy stopped building them, then received full size Impalas with V6's. That my friends was the absolute worst ever match of engine and body conceived and produced. Lordy what a pig.

The bean counters never take into account how the car will be used. In an urban area, such as I rode, we needed a car that could drag race block by block with more brakes than horsepower. Torque and brakes saved the day for us. A puny engine had to work harder and was harder on gas.

Then you go to the traffic division where the entire day is spent on the highway. You'd think the cars requirements would be completely different. NOT, again you need blinding acceleration, and great brakes. Handling is a plus factor here as well due to speeds involved.

Detectives and some UC units can get away with eco cars, anything marked will deliver economy with performance.

G