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New purpose-built police cruiser built from scratch


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Not bad numbers considering a 4 speed tranny and the old 2V 4.6. Of course It is going to be slower than the 5.7L Hemi it is giving up over a liter of displcment a cog in the tranny and 20 years of tech advancements.

 

And their is a hell of a lot more to a PI unit than acceleration. The EPS here has Dissmissed all the other Auto's Labled as Police vehicles as thet CV is more suited over all. They have tried all others. After the last batch of impalas FWD was ruled out for good. And the couple chargers and magnums they tried failed miserably.

 

This is just more proof that Panthers need updating they are not the fastest nor the most fuel effciant. But they are still the car of choice for most PD's.

Time to seriously consider doing what should have been done years ago and give the cars a long over due conprehensive update.

Matthew

 

 

The impala, one of the only GM vehicles I would buy had really good numbers with their 4 speed and v6. I realize there is more to a PI than speed, I said so, but that was the particular issue we were discussing.

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I wasn't referring to it's 'offspring', I was referring to the actual 427 (or a production vehicle that looks like it b/c I'm not sure what type of engines, etc. the concept had)

I don't believe the 427 concept ever got a drivetrain, the Shelby GR-1 didn't. It wasn't until the second gen concept until the GR-1 was outfitted with one!

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Except the hemi charger, no police cars are fast, they don't need to be.

Amherst, OH bought a couple of Chargers but were found to be impractical because of the rear passenger seating was inadequate in volume even before the cage was added. That is what has discouraged the other local municipalities from buying them!

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Amherst, OH bought a couple of Chargers but were found to be impractical because of the rear passenger seating was inadequate in volume even before the cage was added. That is what has discouraged the other local municipalities from buying them!

 

 

I'm not disagreeing with you at all, I was just pointing out that the CVPI is slow, and is beaten in acceleration and top speed by a V6 impala.

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yup, its a friggin cartoon car. I don't see what's so incredible about it, and nothing looks conductive to real-world police work nor day to day minor damage common to police cars.

 

Well unfortunately you don't know much about day to day police work. Do any of you even know what the optimal police vehicle would be? You're gonna love this. The Subaru Outback with the turbo motor. :hysterical: Yeah, I know right. But trust me, it's been researched. The Outback in it's station wagon variant offers abundant storage room behind the back seat to store extra gear like traffic cones, evidence kits, rifles / shotguns, extra ammo, ballistic vest, riot shields and so on. If you ever looked in the trunk of a police crown vic you would be amazed the stuff they crame in there in addition to the stuff they have to have just for the car like AVL, code equipment control box and like that. The Outback makes it a lot easier to store and get to all of this equipment. The AWD drivetrain with it's heavy duty suspension makes it usable despite the outside weather conditions or if you have to pursue a suspect across a field or down a dirt road that has mud on it. Include the turbo charged motor and it has enough performance to be acceptable in most pursuit situations.

 

Why don't they buy the Outback then? It's not an American car. If a police department ever decided to make large purchases of imported cars to use as patrol vehicles they would catch hell from the media and the public at large. In one case a small department decided to try Volvo police sedans, I believe it was in Colorado somewhere. They were hounded in the press about it and many in the public demanded they go back to American made Crown Vics or Caprice Classics.

 

Except for a Ford 427 (concept) or Interceptor police car! (which IMO would look good looking police cars ---they would intimidate drivers w/ their aggressive looks)

 

This again is the point of view of someone who knows nothing about Police or Police work. Did you know that Police departments make a real and concerted effort to wear uniforms and use equipment that does not look intimidating? The next time you are looking at a uniformed officer, take a look at his holster. You will notice that in most departments the holster conceals as much of the gun as possible. Why? So as not to intimidate anyone. Didn't you ever wonder why many departments still have uniformed officers wearing neck ties? What do you need a neck tie in police work for right? Because it makes the uniform look less intimidating to the general public. Many departments have done away with them but some still have neck ties, even if they are only clip on. In fact as I recall they have to be clip on to prevent a perp from using it to strangle you to death. If you look at the duty belts you will notice that everything on it is concealed as much as possible from the extra magazines to the pepper spray holder. All in an effort to make the Officer appear less intimidating. In fact the material of the uniform itself is the worst thing you can wear for Police work. Almost all of them are 100% Polyester. It tears easy, doesn't hold up well in a fight and if you get close to a fire in it (i.e. a burning car at a car accident) the stuff is pretty flamable.

 

Ideally for police work an officer should be wearing ripstop material uniforms that are loose fitting and light weght, essentially BDU's. Instead of a duty belt he should have a duty vest, akin to a military tactical vest. This allows him to have all of his essential equipment right on the front of his torso where he can reach it quickly and easily. Many officers are forced into an early retirement because the duty belt will ruin your back after years of wearing it while driving a car. Think about it. In fact, if you ever look at SWAT team, this is exactly how they dress. So why don't regular officers? Like I said, they don't want them to because it's paramilitary and somewhat intimidating and second, tradition. This is the way it's always been and sometimes people can't fathom breaking with tradition. Even if it means you end up with a SWAT guy driving an Outback. LOL

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I'm not disagreeing with you at all, I was just pointing out that the CVPI is slow, and is beaten in acceleration and top speed by a V6 impala.

I'm glad you gave me the actual numbers, I did have the opportunity to drive a few while most of the public don't ever even get in the front seat. :D But the numbers don't lie. You know what the police say, you can out run my car but you'll never out run my radio! :hysterical:

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I'm glad you gave me the actual numbers, I did have the opportunity to drive a few while most of the public don't ever even get in the front seat. :D But the numbers don't lie. You know what the police say, you can out run my car but you'll never out run my radio! :hysterical:

 

 

I still think the CVPI is the picture of what a police car should be. I do think they should switch to others for undercover though. I'm always amused at how on L&O the people don't seem to notice a bunch of CVs with black rims stalking them. The impala 9C3 is a better fit for that type of duty IMO.

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Well unfortunately you don't know much about day to day police work. Do any of you even know what the optimal police vehicle would be? You're gonna love this. The Subaru Outback with the turbo motor. :hysterical: Yeah, I know right. But trust me, it's been researched. The Outback in it's station wagon variant offers abundant storage room behind the back seat to store extra gear like traffic cones, evidence kits, rifles / shotguns, extra ammo, ballistic vest, riot shields and so on. If you ever looked in the trunk of a police crown vic you would be amazed the stuff they crame in there in addition to the stuff they have to have just for the car like AVL, code equipment control box and like that. The Outback makes it a lot easier to store and get to all of this equipment. The AWD drivetrain with it's heavy duty suspension makes it usable despite the outside weather conditions or if you have to pursue a suspect across a field or down a dirt road that has mud on it. Include the turbo charged motor and it has enough performance to be acceptable in most pursuit situations.

 

Why don't they buy the Outback then? It's not an American car. If a police department ever decided to make large purchases of imported cars to use as patrol vehicles they would catch hell from the media and the public at large. In one case a small department decided to try Volvo police sedans, I believe it was in Colorado somewhere. They were hounded in the press about it and many in the public demanded they go back to American made Crown Vics or Caprice Classics.

This again is the point of view of someone who knows nothing about Police or Police work. Did you know that Police departments make a real and concerted effort to wear uniforms and use equipment that does not look intimidating? The next time you are looking at a uniformed officer, take a look at his holster. You will notice that in most departments the holster conceals as much of the gun as possible. Why? So as not to intimidate anyone. Didn't you ever wonder why many departments still have uniformed officers wearing neck ties? What do you need a neck tie in police work for right? Because it makes the uniform look less intimidating to the general public. Many departments have done away with them but some still have neck ties, even if they are only clip on. In fact as I recall they have to be clip on to prevent a perp from using it to strangle you to death. If you look at the duty belts you will notice that everything on it is concealed as much as possible from the extra magazines to the pepper spray holder. All in an effort to make the Officer appear less intimidating. In fact the material of the uniform itself is the worst thing you can wear for Police work. Almost all of them are 100% Polyester. It tears easy, doesn't hold up well in a fight and if you get close to a fire in it (i.e. a burning car at a car accident) the stuff is pretty flamable.

 

Ideally for police work an officer should be wearing ripstop material uniforms that are loose fitting and light weght, essentially BDU's. Instead of a duty belt he should have a duty vest, akin to a military tactical vest. This allows him to have all of his essential equipment right on the front of his torso where he can reach it quickly and easily. Many officers are forced into an early retirement because the duty belt will ruin your back after years of wearing it while driving a car. Think about it. In fact, if you ever look at SWAT team, this is exactly how they dress. So why don't regular officers? Like I said, they don't want them to because it's paramilitary and somewhat intimidating and second, tradition. This is the way it's always been and sometimes people can't fathom breaking with tradition. Even if it means you end up with a SWAT guy driving an Outback. LOL

You are correct, I was an AUX, my brothers a cop, and my Dad is a retired police officer. Every word you just uttered is true, they even get a clothing allowance and the dept. has to pay to replace garments when they have been damaged in the line of duty!

Edited by Furious1Auto
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I'm actually going by the Michigan Police test numbers, stand by for link.

MSP, USA

Click the first link. The Impala does very well in the area we are discussing.

 

Yeah...the company 2002 WImpala I drive nightly will also do a fantastic job of torque steering your ass in the ditch if you don't watch it....but MSP doesn't test for that.

Edited by Armada Master
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Yeah...the company 2002 WImpala I drive nightly will also do a fantastic job of torque steering your ass in the ditch if you don't watch it....but MSP doesn't test for that.

 

 

They do actually test for driveability, but just not in the same category. Again, its not the point I was arguing. Its just that between the Charger, Magnum, Impala, and Tahoe, the CVPI no longer does anything best and arguably is not even the best all around.

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They do actually test for driveability, but just not in the same category. Again, its not the point I was arguing. Its just that between the Charger, Magnum, Impala, and Tahoe, the CVPI no longer does anything best and arguably is not even the best all around.

 

The Tahoes MPG suck, and that whole increased probability of rollover thing.

 

The WImpalas are cramped, tiny trunks, wrong wheel drive, and don't take the same beating that a CVPI or Tahoe can.

 

The Chargers/Magnums look promising but the trunks and backdoor ingress/outgress are a joke and overall longivity has yet to be spoken for.

 

The arguably underpowered CVPI is still the best option.

Edited by Armada Master
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This again is the point of view of someone who knows nothing about Police or Police work. Did you know that Police departments make a real and concerted effort to wear uniforms and use equipment that does not look intimidating? The next time you are looking at a uniformed officer, take a look at his holster. You will notice that in most departments the holster conceals as much of the gun as possible. Why? So as not to intimidate anyone. Didn't you ever wonder why many departments still have uniformed officers wearing neck ties? What do you need a neck tie in police work for right? Because it makes the uniform look less intimidating to the general public. Many departments have done away with them but some still have neck ties, even if they are only clip on. In fact as I recall they have to be clip on to prevent a perp from using it to strangle you to death. If you look at the duty belts you will notice that everything on it is concealed as much as possible from the extra magazines to the pepper spray holder. All in an effort to make the Officer appear less intimidating. In fact the material of the uniform itself is the worst thing you can wear for Police work. Almost all of them are 100% Polyester. It tears easy, doesn't hold up well in a fight and if you get close to a fire in it (i.e. a burning car at a car accident) the stuff is pretty flamable.

 

I suppose it's true that they dont want to be intimidating, being pulled over by one would probably make somebody nervous enough. I guess my desire to see an aggressive 427/Interceptor type Ford vehicle on the road took over.

 

On another note, I have a relative that is a police officer. He says he prefers the Crown Vics over every other police car he's had. He currently has an Impala (not the current body style)

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They do actually test for driveability, but just not in the same category. Again, its not the point I was arguing. Its just that between the Charger, Magnum, Impala, and Tahoe, the CVPI no longer does anything best and arguably is not even the best all around.

 

This is off topic, but I see you've changed your avatar again.

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First of all, the thing looks like a joke. Something out of a scifi movie, but with poor taste. Secondly, it's gonna cost too much as others have said. For those of us who work in field dominated by disposable income, the fact that the economy is in the crapper is so obvious I want to cry. I don't think anyone on here has a clue how bad things are yet.

 

IMH(and completely uninformed)O, shouldn't a ground up cop car be based off of something like the focus cargo van thingies they have in europe? Wouldn't be appropriate for every department but would be adaptable to a lot of different uses very easily and get good gas mileage. The drivetrain i'm sure isn't as durable as the crown vic, but given that the focus is used for rallying i'm sure it could be made to go through a pursuit fairly well. Instead of having one size fits all, you could have a small little runabout that could be customized for a lot of different purposes, which is how larger police departments seem to work anyways. For example, if they're riding around looking to bust someone for drugs, theres a k-9 unit following another unit that probably has more equipment or whatever. Where I live, I hardly every see someone pulled over by just one cop car. Small patrol cars would be ideal for a lot of other reasons in suburb and urban areas, they just need to be able to fit the cops comfortably. Screw the person in the back. Not to mention they keep a low profile, and would do so much better than a crown vic. That stupid thing would stand out like a sore thumb, it would be impossible to go anywhere without everyone knowing theres a cop around.

 

Anyways, this whole thing looks like a joke to me. They have very little information on their web site. I would say its a scam but people on this board happen to believe otherwise given the people involved. Maybe these guys should get into making scifi flicks or something...

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No car is faster than a two-way radio! Speed is not one of the requirements for a good cruiser. The officer's comfort and the car's durability and dependability are! You can't beat a Crown Vic; don't even try!

 

A relative of mine, who is a cop, says Crown Vics are his favorite squad cars.

 

Unfortunately for him though, he is currently driving a pre-06 Impala as his police cruiser.

Edited by rmc523
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Many departments now are operating on what is called the "Cop Car" program.

 

Some departments do provide take home vehicles but not all that many. It does extend the life of the vehicle and is great but the cost is still higher. To purchase, as in my department 80 units is a bit pricey and the taxpayers would flip. While I did have my own vehicle the last year or so on the job, I didn't use it 24/7.

 

To be truthfully, many on the job don't want them. They are parked at the home and are a target and to use off duty is a pain in the butt. A take home car mandates that the off duty officer get involved to some extent in many areas he would not do so in his own vehicle. Think about the bad PR when the marked unit flys by your disabled vehicle on the highway.....

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Some departments do provide take home vehicles but not all that many. It does extend the life of the vehicle and is great but the cost is still higher. To purchase, as in my department 80 units is a bit pricey and the taxpayers would flip. While I did have my own vehicle the last year or so on the job, I didn't use it 24/7.

 

To be truthfully, many on the job don't want them. They are parked at the home and are a target and to use off duty is a pain in the butt. A take home car mandates that the off duty officer get involved to some extent in many areas he would not do so in his own vehicle. Think about the bad PR when the marked unit flys by your disabled vehicle on the highway.....

 

Over 300 take home cars here. It's actually worked out cheaper then fleets. Some patrol cars get targetted for egging and what not in the driveway. But the truth is, most of the little punks in the neighborhood know where the police officers live even if there's not a patrol car out front. Yes, if you are on your way to or from work and happen upon a car accident or borken down vehicle you have to stop. Here you get paid overtime for that and frankly it doesn't happen all that often.

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Over 300 take home cars here. It's actually worked out cheaper then fleets. Some patrol cars get targetted for egging and what not in the driveway. But the truth is, most of the little punks in the neighborhood know where the police officers live even if there's not a patrol car out front. Yes, if you are on your way to or from work and happen upon a car accident or borken down vehicle you have to stop. Here you get paid overtime for that and frankly it doesn't happen all that often.

 

A neighbor of mine is a cop, but we dont know him. He drives an "undercover" Chrysler 300, w/ the usual undercover stuff --- cheap wheels, dark tinted windows, etc. I did see him outside in his uniform though, before that I wasn't aware he was a cop.

 

Undercover units are so easy to spot (at least when they're Crown Vics), changing the model helps (like to the 300)

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  • 4 weeks later...
They cannot sell a vehicle like that for the same price as the Crown Victoria.

If police departments really want cars like that, Ford would have done it years ago.

 

Crow Vic is the Officers choice.

If these cars can beat the Vic then they may get some road time....I'm sure they will give a couple away to Atlanta PD to get a good real life testing...

Hey even BMW gave a couple of there bigger sedans to SCHP to see how they did..Price was a killer though....

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