twintornados Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 (edited) Was talking to two of my co-workers today who are also part time police officers for departments in two rural districts here in Central NY. Both agreed that overall, the Impala is the car of choice for police duty in these northern climates. Roomy, front drive works great in traction challenged areas, they are reasonable on fuel consumption, and they are comfortable for long stints behind the wheel. I asked what they thought of Crown Victoria, while both agreed it was a solid performer, they both also agreed that it was an archaic throwback to a bygone era (that bummed me out...I am a Ford fan) And while both liked the performance of the Charger with a Hemi, they also agreed that it was a pig on fuel and cost their respective departments a lot more in fuel than either the Crown Victoria and esp the Impala..... Ouch.... Edited July 22, 2009 by twintornados Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topgun Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 Was talking to two of my co-workers today who are also part time police officers for departments in two rural districts here in Central NY. Both agreed that overall, the Impala is the car of choice for police duty in these northern climates. Roomy, front drive works great in traction challenged areas, they are reasonable on fuel consumption, and they are comfortable for long stints behind the wheel. I asked what they thought of Crown Victoria, while both agreed it was a solid performer, they both also agreed that it was an archaic throwback to a bygone era (that bummed me out...I am a Ford fan) And while both liked the performance of the Charger with a Hemi, they also agreed that it was a pig on fuel and cost their respective departments a lot more in fuel than either the Crown Victoria and esp the Impala..... Ouch.... Ask them which one they want to be driving if they were in an accident....unibody or full frame? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 Ask them which one they want to be driving if they were in an accident....unibody or full frame? Already asked....they both wanted to be in a safe car.....unibody or full frame is not a valid point...Volvos are amongst the safest vehicles in the world...and yet, I have yet to see a "full frame" Volvo....build a safe car and people will buy it...Ford is proving that daily with C170, CD3, D3 as well as Panther. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rscalzo Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 The figures on the Hemi are not correct. MI tests ever police fleet special service vehicle extensively. the results show the ford comes up short when put up against the Charger 5.7. Not only is the 5.7 a more powerful engine, it is more economical. http://www.michigan.gov/documents/msp/Vehi...my_260471_7.pdf The 4.6 is a dog that was in need of replacement years ago. what they did be right was the fact that the CV su*ks in the snow. We spend more time towing our own cars than motorists during increment weather. But then the charger is no prize in the snow either. Our impalas were a disaster suitable only for light duty unmarked service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted July 23, 2009 Author Share Posted July 23, 2009 (edited) I honestly don't know anymore....while I am an avowed Ford Fan...it is disheartening for me to sit and watch Crown Victoria languish due to neglect...but the fact remains...Crown Victoria has not seen a significant upgrade and Ford has made it very clear that it will indeed die in the very near future. I wonder if Global Rear Wheel Drive is the answer after all....can Taurus (D3) handle the stress of police/livery/taxi duty? Does Ford want it to? To paraphrase President Reagan.... If not Panther...who...If not now...when? Edited July 23, 2009 by twintornados Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packardbob Posted July 23, 2009 Share Posted July 23, 2009 This is pretty much the opposite of what I was told. I've asked cops in two different towns which was their favorite for patrols. One of the towns is where I'm from and the other is where I went to college. The town that I'm from currently only uses CVs, but they have tried Chargers and weren't impressed with the reliability, where I went to school, they had mostly all Impalas, but will buy a couple CVs for "heavy duty" use. Every time it comes up that although they all have their ups and downs, the CV was the over all favorite. The comments on the Impala was that, although they are easy on gasoline, they are not really comfortable for long patrols and there isn't enough room in the front for all of their crap. The Chargers were docked for horrid mileage and basically no reliability and nobody wanted to buy them after they were pulled from service, but they were the fastest hands down. The CV wasn't great on fuel either, but they were roomy and they had them sold before they were taken out of service, either for city municipal use (most of the time), or taxi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Topgun Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Already asked....they both wanted to be in a safe car.....unibody or full frame is not a valid point...Volvos are amongst the safest vehicles in the world...and yet, I have yet to see a "full frame" Volvo....build a safe car and people will buy it...Ford is proving that daily with C170, CD3, D3 as well as Panther. Unibody or full frame is not a vaild point......Really....Well if I were a cop I know which one I'd be in. Let me know how you make out in that Impala with your lights flashing ,pulled over on the side of a highway and you get smucked at 70 mph from some dummy. Tell your part timers to take the full frame ...if they want to walk away or do they just walk the beat . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted July 24, 2009 Author Share Posted July 24, 2009 Fellas...it is nothing scientific, it is just the opinion of two part time patrol cops about their likes and dislikes...I knew the Panther Mafia would come riding in to defend their queen....but sadly, she is dying, and nothing we can do here will ever save it. Lets look at the current crop of vehicles that are used as police cars and find something in the current lineup that will surpass it....from North America...the only thing I see other than Taurus, is Explorer (but it is dying too) and Expedition.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rscalzo Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Expedition.... Doubt it. At four or five thousand more per unit that won't sell. They are find for special service but useless for routine patrol in a urban enviroment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 The figures on the Hemi are not correct. MI tests ever police fleet special service vehicle extensively. the results show the ford comes up short when put up against the Charger 5.7. Not only is the 5.7 a more powerful engine, it is more economical. http://www.michigan.gov/documents/msp/Vehi...my_260471_7.pdf The 4.6 is a dog that was in need of replacement years ago. what they did be right was the fact that the CV su*ks in the snow. We spend more time towing our own cars than motorists during increment weather. But then the charger is no prize in the snow either. Our impalas were a disaster suitable only for light duty unmarked service. The territory comes as a RWD and AWD with turbo I-6 and is the SUV derivative the Falcon. Not saying to use the Territory but perhaps a cross bred falcon sports wagon with AWD would suit better? It is trick trying to cover all bases with respect to utilization, climate and keeping costs under control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHERIFF Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 FACT--> very few cops want to be seen driving a front wheel drive V-6. It's just not real macho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuyfromSTAP Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 FACT--> very few cops want to be seen driving a front wheel drive V-6. It's just not real macho. Macho cops...why does the YMCA song come to mind??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bored of Pisteon Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 The figures on the Hemi are not correct. MI tests ever police fleet special service vehicle extensively. the results show the ford comes up short when put up against the Charger 5.7. Not only is the 5.7 a more powerful engine, it is more economical. http://www.michigan.gov/documents/msp/Vehi...my_260471_7.pdf The 4.6 is a dog that was in need of replacement years ago. what they did be right was the fact that the CV su*ks in the snow. We spend more time towing our own cars than motorists during increment weather. But then the charger is no prize in the snow either. Our impalas were a disaster suitable only for light duty unmarked service. Depends on the type of winter weather and how you drive them. I've never had any problems driving Crown Vics in the snow. It's a plus to have All Season or snow tires in the rear of course and learn how to shift in and out of lower gears and such. I also think it depends on what rear axle gear ratio you might have on that specific Crown Vic also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelsonlu Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 FACT--> very few cops want to be seen driving a front wheel drive V-6. It's just not real macho. Nearly every cop on A&E's "First 48" appears to drive a FWD V6 (usually a midsize Taurus). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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