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From all the new tests I've seen, anything AWD is giving the best performance of all. Wet pad tests are cakewalk with them. I bet snow and ice would be too.
That's been the case forever. But few cruisers are AWD unless the local weather suggests it. RWD works fine on all but the most slippery surfaces, if the driver knows what he/she is doing.
Quote:
Originally Posted by reed067
I just moved to N.C & I'm seeing more Dodge Chargers then anything else at the moment. I have yet to see a Ford or a Chevy here as a police car.
I live in NC and have seen many of the local and state departments start moving towards the Charger from the CV.
Chevrolet Caprice followed closely by the Dodge Charger. I think the Chevy Caprice will eventually beat out the Dodge due to it being bigger then the Charger. The cops I have talked with say the only thing that they don't like about the Charger is that it is smaller then the Crown Vic and the old Caprice. I don't think many will miss the Chevy Impala as it leaves the market too.
Full size, V-8's and rear drive will continue to be the preferred vehicle of police departments. The Carbon Motors car looks interesting with its diesel. I think that most departments will find the Explorer underpowered, Ford dropping having a V-8 in it is a mistake. The Taurus will likely replace Impala's as secondary vehicles.
The 3.5 V6 in the Explorer makes nearly 300 H.P., not sure what the 3.5 ecoboost motor makes in the Explorer, but I'm thinking somewhere in the neighborhood of 330-340. Having been in law enforcement for 30+ years, I do agree with you, police officers do like full size RWD vehicles for the most part (obviously not in severe weather climates where 4WD is a must). In the course of my career we went from Fords to Dodge Diplomats to Chevy's and back to Fords. We experimented with FWD GM vehicles, some 4WD Suburbans, Expeditions, Explorers and even a propane powered Ford van. The K-9 guys were big fans of the Explorers. Enough room for their pooches and equipment but not too big.
I meant to check the Chevy caprice, but I hit other on accident.
I was thinking that there would be a 2013 Impala made into a police cruiser. Don't know what made me think this...I'm probably way off, but it seems chevy hasn't had their turn in a while.
The Impala is being redesigned next year, and I haven't heard anything about a police version being offered.
Dodge is currently king of the hill at least as far as volume goes. They were fortunate as when the Vic went away they were the only ones offering the classic cop model of car that departments had experience with. The new Caprice is a great car and a few departments I've worked with love them, but they are concerned about costs and repair downtime. The Chargers are dirt cheap and the new V6 and 8-speed combo is a great performer while getting good MPG, which is really what most fleets are concerned with these days.
I think it will be a case where some departments get Caprice PPV's or use them as officer/detective vehicles, but I think the ubiquitous cop car is going to be the Charger for quite a while. So...
Charger
Caprice
Explorer
Tahoe/Suburban
Taurus
Other
Not entirely true. Some departments base everything on the initial bid. Far more have figured out a low introductory price does not lead to an inexpensive police car. Maintenance and repair costs are considered and are factored into final decisions.
I purchased many dozens of police car in my role of Fleet Supervisor for a California city government. By law, you must buy the low bid not matter what. If you were to accept anything other than low bid, the losing bidders can and will sue the city. I have seen it happen. In one instance we were forced to cancel an order and reorder with the low bidder to prevent a law suit. That is how the government works..!
Future costs are the last thing considered. I have seen many cases where they will spend more to repair an item than they could replace it for. The reason, it looks better to the tax payer who doesn't know the real facts.
It's all about politics, nothing to do with saving money.
You forgot the Tahoe Interceptor in the poll. They cost the most but they last the longest according to some article I saw.
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