The American car companies had gone out of business. What would SHP, county and local law enforcement drive? At least what ever they drove would have to get better gas mileage then the Crown Vics and the Chargers.
HP would likely choose something RWD. You'll notice they resist FWD cars. They purchased Impalas back in '03, but they haven't purchased any since. When they buy Chevys, they buy Tahoes. The Crown Vic has been a continued favorite for their durability and reliability. Because of their body-on-frame design, they can have those cars back on the road in just a few days after an accident. Ford, however, has informed buyers that the Crown Vic will be officially ended in 2011. The Charger has emerged as the vehicle of choice. There is another option: Carbon Motors. Its a small company (albeit a U.S. company) that has created a custom-built police car. www.carbonmotors.com
I read about this in one of the SPAM-mags I get...it makes a lot of sense. A purpose built vehicle with systems and survivabilty/maintainabilty built in...besides, I hate gettin' spoofed by every retiree in a Crown Vic!
http://www.4wheelsnews.com/ford-confirms-a-new-police-car-to-replace-its-aging-crown-victoria/ based on Taurus, probably rwd though
Really? I knew they were discussing it at one time, but I sort of lost touch with the story. Good to hear, because Ford makes a good police car. The Crown Vic is probably one of the best Ford cars they've made. However, Dodge apparently produces a good product with the Charger. The highway patrol doesn't buy junk, so they must be having a lot of success with the Hemi Chargers. I was expecting that perhaps GM would be smart and take the Pontiac G8, convert it to a Chevy and make a police car out of it, as well. The Carbon Motors car would be fantastic for law enforcement, but I'm not sure the six cyinder diesel would be that popular.
When the Chargers first came out, an LEO friend of mine told me they delivered a bunch for testing to the local LEOs. The V-6 Charger out performed the Vic in everything. The vic has to be built to LEO specs, but the Charger was stock.
They don't really prep the Vics that much different. The frames are the same, the suspension is a bit different. Engine specs are not that much different than civilian. The later model Vics got the Mercury Marauder's larger MAF sensor and they delete the silencers on the dual exhaust. Police vics have the 3.55 rear option (3.27 standard), whereas the stock Vics get no higher than 3.27. Actually, in handling tests, the civilian Vics with the handling performance package outperform the police interceptor model and the horsepower is within 10 or so of the "hotter" police model. The Michigan State Police testing is the gold standard for the police car industry and they show year after year that the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor is almost identical to the 3.5L Charger in acceleration. The Charger V6 has a higher top end because the Crown Vic is governed. In handling, The Crown Vic and Charger with comparable horsepower are again almost identical. One or two past years, the Crown Vic actually clicked off a slightly faster road course than the Charger six. Of course, with the Hemi accelerating out of corners a lot harder than either, it has the upper hand. The Charger makes one heck of a police car, no doubt. The one thing that I come back to with the Vic is its body on frame build. Its frame is almost truck-like in sturdiness. I've seen two NC Highway Patrol Crown Vics that have been rear-ended at 70 mph and the Troopers survived. Actually, the Vic is the only one that is rear-end tested up to 70 mph. I think Dodge does theirs up to 45 or 50. http://www.michigan.gov/msp/0,1607,7-123--16274--,00.html
A co worker was telling me that when he was stationed in Germany they use Mercedes Benz. He said the Benz over there is nothing like the Benz that gets shipped here. Its more like a "Chevy" version of a Benz. No leather No high end stuff.
