new Ford cop car

[WA1GFZ]

BOO HISS front wheel drive and 6 banger 3.5L
Long live the crown vic.

Almost as funny when local cops ran 318 mopars and us kids were running over 400 HP. 

[WD8BIL]

I guess it's the new era of the "green" force!

[K9PNP]

Most around here ran the 383 into an A727 torque flight xmission.  Could run with most stock 400's.  Those really serious ran 440 magnums and 426 hemi's, some with the dual-quad cross-ram manifolds.  It was a good time then.  It is interesting to note that the Dodge Charger is making serious inroads into the law enforcement like the Chevy is in the EMS market.

[W1RKW]

BOO HISS front wheel drive and 6 banger 3.5L
Long live the crown vic.

Almost as funny when local cops ran 318 mopars and us kids were running over 400 HP.  

My Prelude should be able to beat the pants off that. Of course it could beat the pants off a CV as well.

That's almost as funny as when Waterford went to Volvos.  Hopefully, the municipalities will see the light and go back to torque and HP

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

They are cop cars, not dragsters. 

[K1JJ]

Dragsters are people too....

[WA1GFZ]

I think most cops prefer dragsters

[KA8WTK]

They love high horsepower. But if they can "make" you, there is no outrunning the radio.

[Steve - WB3HUZ]

Who cares what cops prefer? What car does what they need and costs the least? A big gas guzzling monster probably isn't what's needed 99% of the time. High speed chases are mostly a thing of the past, especially in cities.

[K5UJ]

if giganticness was so important why didn't ford make a fleet version of the town car?  now that would have been a cop car.  when the impala cop car came out i asked cops what they thought about it.   half said they didn't like it but half said the crown vic was a pain to drive and liked the impala which surprised me. 

the other thing about high speed is American cars can go fast but much above 80 mph handling sucks with few exceptions like the corvette.  ur cop crown vic has the horse power but if you want to chase at 100 mph plus give me a Mercedes.  The Germans know how to make a sedan that holds the road and moves. 

[k4kyv]

Back in the 60's, Ethiopian cop cars were Volkswagen Beetles.

[Opcom]

probably because the average motorist drove a donkey.

[steve_qix]

Back in the '70s, I was helping one of my college professors do a proof of performance on a directional antenna array.  We ended up having to make measurements in just about every town in Massachusetts, and one of them was Montague.  We encountered a cop care, and I couldn't believe it - they used V.W. *BEETLES* as cop cars - way back then.

But, from what I found out later, that would be typical of Montague, even at that time.

[AJ1G]

RI State Police apparently have some of the new Dodge Chargers.  Saw someone pulled over by an unmarked Charger on I-95 the other day....

[kb3ouk]

Around here all the cop cars are fords, actually come to think about it, almist all the state govt. agencies around here mostly use some kind of ford vehicle
shelby

[WA1GFZ]

I went to Montague once when I worked for scrotorola reminded me of Hooterville

[W1ATR]

My Prelude should be able to beat the pants off that. Of course it could beat the pants off a CV as well.

 

Yeah but does it have the most needed 5" fart pipe with a ring of blue LEDs inside and a 4 foot tall Kenny Bernstein drag wing on it?

[N3DRB The Derb]

West Virginia just switched over to Toyotas, they thought the stuck accelerator pedal was a feature.

lookit the police chargers:

http://www.allpar.com/squads/police-cars/charger.html

[AJ1G]

lookit the police chargers:

http://www.allpar.com/squads/police-cars/charger.html

Got a cop motor, cop tires, cop suspension, and cop shocks.....

http://www.videosift.com/video/Its-got-a-cop-motor-cop-tires-cop-suspension-cop-shocks

[WA3VJB]

MoPar's "St. Regis" was a favorite with Maryland State Police and there was a huge outcry among troopers when the state threatened to go to a smaller, more fuel efficient patrol car.

The argument that kept the officers in a big car was that they use the car as their office and need the room.  These days, they need even more room for their mobile computer terminals on a pedestal.

And, I'm increasingly seeing unmarked Suburban/Expedition type SUVs. Initially MSP was using these for truck weight enforcement (they carried scales in the back) but now they're on routine patrol with LED light bars in the sunvisor and upper rear window, as well as installed in the side-view mirrors.

Can't outrun the radio, as noted, and it's tough to ignore the police lights in your rear view, especially if you've just passed the SUV at an enthusiastic rate of speed.

[ka3zlr]

I think it's a waste, there shud be an increase in Battery Hybrid Vehicle usage, more bicycles, there shud be at least one 4x4 vehicle suv whatever assigned to each Town an County precinct for obvious reasons. This continual  Car mindset needs upgrading..Seriously.


73
Jack
  

[Ed/KB1HYS]

In some cities they probably would be better off in something clad in steel plate with a 25 mm main gun and 7.62 mm coax.

It seems that at least once a month there is a high speed chase going on somewhere in the west coast.   This will increase the more limited the cop cars become.  Criminals aren't usually the smartest segment of the population, if they think they can get away they will try.  I doubt many would be impressed by a Prius driving force.   

Of course you could get away with the "green" cop cars, if you put some firepower on the police helicopters.  I alway thought it was funny how they could keep a camera trained on the escaping vehicle but that was all they would do, kinda like a sports commentator.   A precision non-lethal munition would fit that application nicely.

[ka3zlr]

Howdy Ed,

In Towns an Tight urban areas yea...more walking patrols, close all Bars at Midnight an get people off the streets an in bed bring the city curfew's back an enforce them... as far as chasing road warriors I thought that was outlawed in some states because of the crashes it causes I'm not sure which ones, your answer the Chopper is the right one, radio ahead will do wonders.

It should be more creative than just another v6 Campbells Soup car or fleet thereof. Out of the car an protecting the public.


73
Jack

[Superhet66]

25+ mpg, 4 cylinder, 3.9 Liter turbo Diesel Crown Vic.  

All thats missing is veggie fuel and thats an easy conversion on this direct injected engine. The Cummins 3.9 is a torque monster for it's size.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7FT4z4U8Xw

[KB1IAW]

Of course you could get away with the "green" cop cars, if you put some firepower on the police helicopters.  I alway thought it was funny how they could keep a camera trained on the escaping vehicle but that was all they would do, kinda like a sports commentator.   A precision non-lethal munition would fit that application nicely.

Seemed like Sky King always had a ready supply of sandbags which he could drop through the windshield of  an escaping bad guy with unerring, non-lethal accuracy. The car would safely careen off the road into the Arizona desert allowing the ground based  authorities to capture the dazed criminal and lead him off to jail. If Sky King could pull this off in a fixed wing, twin engine aircraft imagine how simple it would be from a helicopter.