Isuzu VehiCOPS!
Photo: Chris Belanger
We love seeing interesting police cars, and by "interesting," we mean a car that does not have an available factory police package. With that in mind, you can imagine the smile that crossed our faces when we opened an email from reader/tipster Chris Belanger. Chris saw something parked in Montecito, CA that definitely qualifies as interesting as far as we're concerned.
It would appear that the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's motor pool includes a genuine oddity among the usual fleetmobiles: a full-dress Isuzu VehiCROSS police car.
Powered by a 3.5-liter 215-horsepower, the quirky-cool 2-door VehiCROSS was only available from '99 to '01 in the US. It seems that Americans preferred their SUVs with a second set of doors (no surprise there), more traditional appearance, and spacious interiors . The VehiCROSS was two doors short and a bit too avant-garde-looking for the masses, and it was euthanized in the US after a little more than 4,000 of them were imported over its three-year stay.
Well, we now know the fate of one of them. If you're in Santa Barbara County, you might catch it out and about one of these days, which would certainly be better than it catching you, if you get our drift.
Great tip, Chris!
(More photos after the jump)
[Source, photos: Chris Belanger]
All photos courtesy of Chris Belanger
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Tumnas 3:47PM (9/21/2006)
That car is so beautiful!! I don't understand why it wouldn't sell well?...On a more serious note, that is one of the ugliest cars ever produced...ahahaha
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karguy427 8:25PM (9/21/2006)
It would be interesting to find out the 'back story' on WHY they have this vehicle. Anybody out there know?
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Will Wheeler 4:19PM (9/21/2006)
I wonder what they use it for? There are a lot of police vehicles that are not on patrol, but used for recruiting , and DARE programs. I for one would be very suspicious if one of those was behind me and tried to pull me over.
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Stacey 4:19PM (9/21/2006)
Definitely one of the ugliest cars every made!
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MikeW 4:44PM (9/21/2006)
The vehiCROSS needed more power, the direct injection version of the 3.5 V6 would be been a start. Also a 5 speed auto to round out the powertrain too. That would have been fast, and it might have had staying power.
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:-) 4:27PM (9/21/2006)
In Winter Springs,FL there are a couple interesting police cars. They have 3 VW's, a new Beetle, a mk4 Jetta, and a mk5 Jetta. They are used for everyday patrol, it's kinda cool especially for us VW folks.
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Jay 4:34PM (9/21/2006)
>That car is so beautiful!! I don't understand why it
>wouldn't sell well?
For no more than what it was, it was pretty expensive. IIRC, around $35,000-$40,000 USD. I always thought they were awesome trucks, but the price tag was way too steep.
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rwdmtparkingonly 4:45PM (9/21/2006)
The Santa Barbra County Cops need something freaky like this so that they fit in when they are doing surveillance at the Neverland Ranch.
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Tony C 4:42PM (9/21/2006)
As I've always said... An Amigo that got left in the toaster oven too long...
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Corey W. 5:00PM (9/21/2006)
I actually liked the VehiCross, they could have made the front easier on the eyes. But overall I thought it was a good truck. And what's wrong with 2 door SUV's?? :(
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ann ita 5:06PM (9/21/2006)
Obviously Tumnas and Stacey, you must sport an innovative, high performance, and eye catching Corolla or Civic. Those who know something about this vehicle would understand why it is in the employ of a police department. Knowledge is power.
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Brian 5:13PM (9/21/2006)
I really like the VehiCross....always drawn to the unusual vheciles. Love my Suzuki XL-7 Limited, and currently craving the new 2007 Suzuki SX4 (test drove it and loved it). Never wanted to be the cookie-cutter owner, always rocked the boat, and resisted the norm...I must be a total weirdo!
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kansei 5:18PM (9/21/2006)
NO WAI!! I've always dreamed of getting one of these as my winter car... they are totally sweet. Recaro seats, carbon fiber interior trim (don't remember if it's real or not). A used car dealership in my hometown 2 years ago got a black one.. I went and checked it out, and was saddened to see that it was an automatic.. which if I recall correctly, they all were :'(
rear visibility in that truck is atrocious though.
nice find!
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Ted 5:23PM (9/21/2006)
Santa Barbara PD had one for years that was used as a DARE car and pulled out for promotional pictures. I didn't think the county bought a bunch of them though. This apparently is what happens when a car doesn't sell. They pawn it off on the police. Guess that's why the Crown Vic is still around.
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rwdmtparkingonly 5:26PM (9/21/2006)
They got a last generation 2-door RamCharger in Mexico (http://www.cardatabase.net/search/photo_search.php?id=00021387), and I think they might have gotten a 2-door full size Blazer based on the last generation Suburban, but I couldn't find any pictures.
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Andy 5:33PM (9/21/2006)
The most creative SUV I have seen.
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felonious monk 5:33PM (9/21/2006)
I had a '01 which I bought new in '02 at half the original sticker. It was the best handling truck I've ever owned or driven (Grand Cherokee, Wrangler, Cherokee, Bronco, etc.) In stock from it was slightly underpowered. Rear blind spots where huge, but easily fixed with $5 stick-on convex mirrors.
They didn't sell well due to a number of reasons:
1. Lack of publicity.
2. Isuzu gutted a few key items from JDM to make the US version (ex. backup camera). Isuzu chose to cheap out rather than be a market leader. Few cars in the states had backup cameras at the time.
3. Styling was ahead of its time. US consumers had yet to associate trucks with anything other than a boring box. And judging by some of the idiotic comments, some yokles still aren't ready.
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jg 5:49PM (9/21/2006)
Whats wrong with 2 door suv's? I love my 2 door 1994 S-15 Jimmy.
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James 6:47PM (9/21/2006)
I really liked the look of the VehiCross - they had a special Iron Man Edition I almost bought. I remember test driving it and really liking it. If it was to come out today it would be much more popular - it has that "good fuel economy futuristic" look. :-)
James
http://www.cartv.com
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Justin Bregar 10:06AM (9/22/2006)
I actually had one as well. It was never intended to be a hot seller and the production numbers were kept low for a reason. It was a "showoff" vehicle for Isuzu. They stopped production when the molds used to stamp the bodywork were exhausted.
I'll agree, the rear view was horrid and getting anything larger than a poodle into the backseat was nearly impossible (but once you're back there, there was a TON of room). But the seats were really comfy (Recaro Trend) and it had great handling and pickup for an SUV that weighed 5500lbs.
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