New Patrol Cars for NYPD...Who's Next???

[bcjack]

http://www.officer.com/article/article.jsp?siteSection=2&id=28545

[TheForceCHP]

charger already failed the CHP testing

[Chippysgt]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060209/ap_on_re_us/nypd_muscle_cars_1;_ylt=AkpEfoKlOiSK6.U.fROkHB1saM YA;_ylu=X3oDMTA5bGVna3NhBHNlYwNzc3JlbA--

I just read the same type of article in this Yahoo news article. I don't know all the specs that the CHP has for patrol cars these days but that Dodge police car looks pretty impressive to me and the acceleration and top end sound pretty good too. I drove Dodges when I came on the job and the 66-69 Dodge Polaras were kick ass. take names patrol cars. They were truly stock racing cars that were awesome. Okay, the brakes sucked but the power was awesome. I wonder about the engineering that Chrysler is putting into the police cars. Any company that can produce a car like the Viper should be able to design a dandy high speed cruiser.
That looks like a mean puppy but there are a lot of factors that they look at these days...............

[KingFrankSam]

charger already failed the CHP testing

Where did you hear that?

[CaliforniaHighwayPatrol]

It says some of them will be V6's and only 15 V8's, so does it mean the V8's are HEMI's?

[Chippysgt]

It says some of them will be V6's and only 15 V8's, so does it mean the V8's are HEMI's?

You have to pay attention to details. Get use to hearing that, I am a retired Sgt. and I am trying to quit

It says they bought 15 and 10 will be V8s and 5, with V-6s will be assigned to inner city patrol. From the homework I have done, the V8 in these cars is a 340HP Hemi and the V-6 is 250HP.

:cool:

[TheForceCHP]

charger already failed the CHP testing

Where did you hear that?

"The Aussie Redneck*~

ROSEVILLE,
CALIFORNIA

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Posted: Jan 25, 2006 4:47 PM

They are NOT going to use the chargers, just for everyons information. the tranny didnt hold up very well.. they also tested the magnum, but that failed cuz of the tranny as well. so who knows what they are doing, but yea, im sure its crown vics for a few more years"

on another site. no my info. is not from the CHP, but i haven't heard any other news as of yet

[AirborneLEO]

I was doing some research regarding Dodge and police cars and came across this Dodge enthusiast (I think) page.

For a good laugh, read the comments on this message board:

http://www.srtforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70425

I only read the first page of how ever many pages there are. Talk about people thinking they know the law better than an Officer, ways to get out of a citation, and how to "out run" a CHP cruiser. Being that I am still pre-academy, I don't have the background to set some of these folks straight; not sure it would be worth my time anyhow.

[SB 405]

So,install a beefed up tranny.

[Your Mentor]

When it comes to the abuse we dish out, you have to match the tranny to the power train and engine. It takes a lot of trial and error. The Ford has been around so long it's pretty much dialed in. I went through 5 trannys in Death Valley. One in the old Windsor Crown Vic, a Couple in the LT1 Caprice, one in a Dodge Ram Charger and two in the newer Crown Vic when it first came out. Death Valley should be the test bed for all our vehicles. Nearly every major motor vehicle manufacture tests their vehicles there every year. You drive in the hottest weather 8 months out of the year and can go from below sea level to over 5K feet in less than 30 miles. Anyway, the problem is we're stuck in a contract with Ford until 2007. The upshot is that Dodge will have most of this year to get it right if they want a contract with us. I doubt the battle is over for now. Besides, I just got a new CV and need some time to run it out. ;)

[16528]

I also heard the small trunk was an issue :rolleyes:

[Darth Choke]

I KNOW we will never get the Dodge Charger (it's too cool looking and powerful) but, for arguments sake...

Does the Charger even come close to the amount of interior seating needed to adequately give us room to sit? You don' t realize how spacious the CV is until you hop out and have to drive/park & lock someone's vehicle. When I hop in almost every other car I can hardly move! My belt and equipment make me 4-6 inches wider.

I also like to put my flashlight between my right leg and the seatbelt latch so I grab it as I am unbuckling my seatbelt. That adds another 2 inches.

Not many vehicles with the interior space as the CV.

[TheForceCHP]

a little something extra that i found in my Motor Trend today(a reader wrote the following)

in regards to the charger, "sure, owners will get approving glances, but is that chaindriven tranny going out at 10,000miles?"

i highly doubt that they will just install a "beefed up tranny," though they could

[SB 405]

My point is if the transmission isn't makin' the grade and if that's the only thing holding things up I think Dodge would work on that to get the contract.

[Your Mentor]

What is really amazing is that every major vehicle manufacture has the ability to produce a vehicle for dedicated police work. Ford sells more CV's to police agencies than to civilians. Our contract, of course, is one of Ford's largest. As Darth pointed out, the CV has been well thought out from a patrol officer's perspective. Dodge hasn't produced a true police interceptor since 68' and the last Dodge we had, the Diplomat, was a disaster. I'm sure the powers that be are very sceptical about the Dodge. One thing to consider is that our department isn't about to enter a new contract with a relatively new vehicle without considering every performance issue. It LOOKS good but that is only important from a morale perspective and basically that has NEVER been an issue when selecting patrol cars. Historically, the vehicles our department chooses for class E vehicles, have always been neutral in appearance; neither aggressive or passive in appearance. I doubt the commissioners are anxious to go with an aggressive looking vehicle. Regardless, scepticizm abounds with a pretty ride in an age of street racers, pimped SUVs, and plastic surgery. If it doesn't work for an 8 hour shift, day after day, it's worthless to us. The Mustang was fun to drive on speed-rich beats but it was meant for young officers. It was tiring to drive, get in and out, and storage was almost non-existant. The current Camaro is so small inside most guys in our office just wouldn't drive it. I drove it for three days and couldn't wait to turn it back in.

I would love to drive a cool looking black and white but I want one that's comfortable for an 8 hour shift, day-in, day-out, and can carry all of the crap I have to carry out here. I also don't want to have to take it in every month for warranty work. If the tranny in the Dodge won't cut it, I don't want to drive one for work.

[Mac]

...I would love to drive a cool looking black and white but I want one that's comfortable for an 8 hour shift, day-in, day-out, and can carry all of the crap I have to carry out here...
Good point. I hated the Caprices because they were narrower in the seating area than the Fords - always felt cramped to me, and the configuration of the dashboard made for a lot of banged-up knees. They accelerated better, handled better and had a higher top speed, but I still avoided driving them because of the comfort issue. The Mustangs weren't terribly comfortable either....especially getting in and out, because of the low ground clearance. I was in a test Area for the Volvo, and while it was quick and handled like a rocket on rails, there was absolutely NO room in the trunk and all your gear had to go in the back seat. Just like the Mustang, it was also too small for a cage. I never drove the Camaro, but sat in it a couple times and could immediately see that it would be a "no-go" for me due to the size and ground clearance. (Keep in mind that this is all coming from a guy who's well over 6 feet tall, so YMMV.)

There are cars that out-muscle and out-handle the Ford, but as much as I hate to say it, there is currently no "complete package" that's better suited for law enforcement. Like YM said, a cool-looking car would be nice, but I'll take function over form any day. If I'm miserable in it every time I drive it, the 'cool factor' fades away quickly.