Zat ees no cop car! Subaru wins police vehicle contract in France
Frenchmen and
women scouting for a Peugeot 306 S16 or Renault Megane Coupe when speeding away from the scene of a crime may
be in trouble when they miss the blue Subaru WRX pulling up behind them. In a fierce bidding war to win a deal to
supply four-door AWD police vehicles capable of going faster than 240 km per hour (about 149
mph) at a reasonable price, Subaru has beaten France's domestic automakers for a contract to supply 63 Subaru WRX
sedans to the Gendarmerie Nationale. While most countries tend to purchase domestic vehicles,
the Renault and Peugeot offerings just weren't up to speed -- literally.
Agents from the rapid intervention brigade, as it's called, will be trained on the Bugatti racing circuit of Le Mans in west France.
[Source: Automotive News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
matt 5:25PM (4/01/2006)
well there goes my plan for stealing the mona lisa and making a run to the border
i heard in england they have forester XT's for highway control.. mean while in canada and the states we have these huge boats patrolling the streets and come winter they're useless (i live in whistler i've seen RWD cop cars in the rockies... completely useless)
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Rico 6:13PM (4/01/2006)
I live in France and I'm glad the cops bought Japanese cars! Maybe that'll teach these idiots at the government that powerful French-made cars is not so politically incorrect afterall! You know that the biggest engine you can get in a Renault is a Nissan 245hp 3.5L V6 (Renault Vel Satis and Espace), and for Peugeot it's a 211hp 3.0L V6 (Peugeot 607, 407 coupe...). Both cars are supposed to be brand flagships! German flagships have more powerful BASE engines! Do you guys know that a few years back, our dear president Chirac, while visiting the Paris Auto Show, ordered all the "powerful" cars to be hidden from his view! With such a behavior from French politicians and with all them speeding cameras and radar guns on our roads, it's killing the French auto industry! And the taxes! I lived in the US for a few years, you guys have it easy! In France, we get ass-raped everytime we buy/use our cars: 20% sales taxes on cars (almost everything else too), double taxation on gasoline (sales taxes + petroleum taxes = 70%), a 44% increase this year in registration fees for the Paris region (almost 800 for basic Focus or Megane), plus now a "pollution" tax on cars emitting over 150 grams of CO2 per kilometer, which means almost every car with an engine bigger than a 1.5 liter disel. And you know, because having a car is so expensive in France, the average age of cars in the country is 9 years, and because so many people buy used cars because the new ones are too expensive, the used car market in France is almost running dry! There's not enough people in France buying new cars to supply the used auto market! You guys maybe heard of the Dacia Logan, a car made in and for eastern Europe by Renault: well, it's a best seller in France! I say that when a "rich" country is fond of product made for a "poor" country, there's a serious problem. They're killing the cash cow with their taxes, all I want to say is bring it on, kill the French auto industry so we'll all be driving Geelys and Ladas instead of Peugeot and Renault.
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H Tran 8:35PM (4/01/2006)
Come Down Under and try to outrun the Holden and Fords that are used by the local police. You might stand a chance in urban areas but if you're on a highway ...
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applebox 8:45PM (4/01/2006)
Damn Rico, why don't you tell us how you really feel. It's really a shame though to read that. I would have thought though due to the French emphasis on nuclear energy that they would have advanced pure electric vehicle a bit more.
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Anonymous 12:37PM (4/02/2006)
Italy has a couple Lamborghini Gallardo Police cars
Japan uses well modified Skyline GT-Rs
All nightmares for criminals on the escape...dammmit!!!
Welcome to the party France (one less country to be on the run in)...Though you should have really let renault develop something worthy of that contract... Renault is in Formula 1 for what again?
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Schira 1:55PM (4/02/2006)
And this is what is used by most of the Indian police ..
http://www.mahindra.com/mahindras/automotive/CL500-550%20MDI.HTM
http://www.film.queensu.ca/CJ3B/World/MahindraJp.html
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Ted K 9:21PM (4/08/2006)
"Italy has a couple Lamborghini Gallardo Police cars"
Not even close. There is exactly one, a publicity gift. I doubt it sees any duty other than going to car shows.
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