Interesting piece in the SF Chron about police depts. using the Charger as cruiser. They say it's significantly faster than the Crown Vics and the public likes them. I imagine that would be the public not confined to the back seat.



A CHARGER ON FORD’S BUMPER

Officer Jeff VanderMeulen of the Martinez Police Department says his Dodge Charger "is more responsive than the Crown Vic. It handles more nimbly, and it's getting a lot of response from the public."

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Does CHP still have any "Fast" pursuit cars? Weren't the Italians using Gallardos to police the roads?

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1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

Just watch the Viggo Mortensen version of 'Vanishing Point'.

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Experiment? Some stations in the Denver area have already been using them for a few months now.

Well, the article points out that the numbers of Chargers actually bought anywhere so far is still pretty small.
I think article said that the Charger's top speed was around 148.

Oh, here it is:

Meanwhile, the police who do have the Dodges say they love them; motor power, alone, may be one reason. The new cars use Dodge's 5.7-liter V8 hemi engine putting out 340 horsepower, 90 more than the Ford. In the Michigan State Police tests, the Dodge beat the Ford in all three categories: in acceleration and top speed testing, the Dodge police car did zero to 60 mph in 6.5 seconds; the Ford in 8.7. The Dodge's top speed was 148 mph, the Ford's 130. In the braking test, the Dodge's stopping distance from 60 mph was 10 feet less than the Ford's. And the Dodge beat the Ford on the handling test.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Cool, even San Ramon has purchased a few. I didn't see any when I visited my folks. I guess police departments that have nothing to do can buy more expensive police cruisers.

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1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

My mother is a sheriff's Deputy and she has a charger for her unit and she loves it. It has lots of pick up and with the police package handles better than my benz IMO.

With ballistic door panels, fire suppression system, over 20 cubic feet of tgrunk space for police equipment, full body on frame strength, plenty of room for computer, radio and shotgun in front, don't count out the Crown Victoria as a police car yet. They've held a monopoly since their last competitor, the 1996 Chevrolet Caprice, bowed out of service.

Many Police officers buy Crown Victorias for their personal rides see: www.crownvic.net

The Dodge may be faster car, but speed alone only is one aspect of what makes for the most suitable police cruiser.

Also, the California Highway Patrol somtimes wrote the bid specifications so that the car they really wanted would be the only car that could meet them.

For many years, from about 1961 the big Dodge was the preferred cruiser for
the CHP. They tried Oldsmobile in 1967 but they threw rods at 130 mph, and the big Mercury Monterey won in 1970, but Dodge carried the day into the '80s, and the Crown Victoria was first used by them in 1984. The Dodge Diplomats of the late 1980s were the last serious Police cruisers dodge made, and those rear wheel drivers had emasculated smog-equipped engines.

They experimented over the years with Mustang 5.0 and Camaro Z 28s and even had a few Volvo T-5 850s in service, but basically a large four door car was needed for patgrol duties..

The old veterans always said the fastest Dodge CHP cruisers they ever had were the 1969 Polaras with the 440 magnum engines.

The officers down in Santa Barbara used to drag race them at 4am for fun.

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Wasn't the fire supression system installed in response to concerns over the Crown Vic's gas tank vulnerability? Seems like a Band-Aid for a potential arterial bleed. I like the Crown Vic, but while Ford has done some work on the car over the last several years (new frame, new steering gear), it needs to stop playing around and install the 5.4 and six-speed automatic from the Expedition under the hood, even if it means creating a new hood to accomodate the taller engine. Much better performance can be derived from the higher torque and broader gear spread of the six-speed. A brake hardware improvement can also be easily accomodated.

Been using them here for about a year or so now... And I must say, a good choice.

When are they going to bring the Dodge Diplomat back?

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Jason Priest
1999 E430
1995 E420 - retired
1986 420SEL - retired

This is funny.
Many years ago in VA neighboring county bought Cudas with the 340 6 pack and 4 speeds with Hurst shifters. 4 cars total. HAd the bumble bee graphics and all. They lasted about 8 months and were gone.
I've seen the State Troopers in VA drive Mustang GT and Camero IROC for crusiers.

Fords screwed there goes a lot of money out of there pockets. The only thing keeping the Crown Vic in production are fleet purchases.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

The cops here have them. They do look pretty cool cruising the downtown area, all magged out. They also look much more 'aggressive' than the usual Crown Vics. I wonder how that helps they public image...

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Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

Been seeing them in the Deep South for over a year now--SF must be getting less progressive. Maybe time to move, cmac