Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2008 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Volkswagen Beetle police cruiser, the "bug-erceptor"]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/25/volkswagen-beetle-police-cruiser-the-bug-erceptor/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/25/volkswagen-beetle-police-cruiser-the-bug-erceptor/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/25/volkswagen-beetle-police-cruiser-the-bug-erceptor/#commentsFiled under: , ,



It's a rather undignified process, being pulled over by the police. Next time you're sitting at the side of the road with the lights flashing in your rearview mirror, just think of this: at least you weren't pulled over by a VW Beetle. Unless you reside in Blount County, Tennessee, where Archie Garner, a 40-plus-year police veteran, nabbed this 1972 Beetle in a DUI case and summarily converted it into an Interceptor. Not that it does too much intercepting, being capable of only 70 miles per hour or so using the stock air-cooled 1600cc engine.

The "bug-erceptor", as it's affectionately referred to, just so happens to be car 53, wearing the same number as the lovable bug from the Herbie movie enterprise, and sees most of its duty in parades and on public relations missions. Wouldn't it be fun, though, to see your buddy pulled over in his souped-up Camaro by a Beetle? That's a story he'd never be able to live down.

[Source: USA Today, Knoxville News Sentinel]

 

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]]>blount countyblount-countyBlountCountypolice carpolice carspolice interceptorpolice-carpolice-carspolice-interceptorPoliceCarPoliceCarsPoliceInterceptorvolkswagen beetlevolkswagen bugvolkswagen-beetlevolkswagen-bugVolkswagenBeetleVolkswagenBugvw beetlevw-beetleVwBeetle2008-03-25T15:57:00+00:00<![CDATA[Tulsa police testing booty-shaking Rumbler sirens]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/22/tulsa-police-testing-booty-shaking-rumbler-sirens/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/22/tulsa-police-testing-booty-shaking-rumbler-sirens/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/22/tulsa-police-testing-booty-shaking-rumbler-sirens/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

In a move sure to please more than a few motorists, police in Tulsa, OK are testing new sirens on their patrol cars with a tone low enough to send vibrations through targeted vehicles and their occupants. It sounds strange, but as cars become more isolated from the outside world, it has become increasingly difficult for cops to grab the attention of wayward motorists. Locked in our motorized cocoons, a wailing siren just can't be heard over the din of cell phones, Sponge Bob and iPods.

This new and innovative (and non-sadistic) approach called the Rumbler is designed to blast a deep tone up to 70 yards away to alert drivers through vibrations in their backsides. The Tulsa police have three units in use, with three more expected within the next ten days. Law enforcement officials in Washington DC, New York, Pennsylvania and Florida are also trying the technology. Talk from the officers and the public indicates this apparently harmless approach works pretty well. If put into widespread use, it seems to us that the booty-shaking siren just could become the best part of being pulled over.

Follow the jump for video of the Rumbler in action and hear what the new sound of police sirens may soon be in your city. Thanks for the tip, Screwtape!

[Source: KTUL - Tulsa Channel 8 News]

Continue reading Tulsa police testing booty-shaking Rumbler sirens

 

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]]>Law enforcementLawEnforcementPoliceRumblersirenTulsavibration2008-02-22T12:58:00+00:00<![CDATA[Make my day: Corvette ZR1 police car]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/29/make-my-day-corvette-zr1-police-car/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/29/make-my-day-corvette-zr1-police-car/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/29/make-my-day-corvette-zr1-police-car/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



Bob Lutz has just posted a photochop on his GM Fastlane Blog of what the Corvette ZR1 could look like donning Michigan State Police livery. Bound to be the bane of speeders in the Wolverine state, the Corvette is sporting all the cop car traits necessary to scare the living Hell out of law breakers, including the prerequisite light bar, bumper guard (!) and spotlights. We, however, are particularly partial to the blacked out 20-spoke rollers. Despite lacking nanotechnology and more spoiler blades than a Cuisinart, we think this imaginary ZR1 cop car could give the new sci fi-inspired GT500KR-based KITT car a run for its money.

UPDATE: GM let us know this is not a prototype or anything official that implies a ZR1 cop car would actually be built. Someone sent this photoshopped pic of the ZR1 cop car to Lutz and he liked it enough to throw it up on his blog, much to the surprise of the PR department who didn't know anything about when we called.

[Source: GM Fastlane Blog]

Gallery: 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1

 

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]]>breakingcop carCopCarcorvettecorvette zr-1 cop carcorvette zr-1 michigan statecorvette zr1 cop carcorvette zr1 michigan stateCorvetteZr-1CopCarCorvetteZr-1MichiganStateCorvetteZr1CopCarCorvetteZr1MichiganStatezr-1zr12008-01-29T15:07:00+00:00<![CDATA[Queensland highway patrol deputizes the TRD Aurion]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/19/queensland-highway-patrol-deputizes-the-trd-aurion/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/19/queensland-highway-patrol-deputizes-the-trd-aurion/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/19/queensland-highway-patrol-deputizes-the-trd-aurion/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Click image for a gallery of more police Aurions

Many thanks to Anton, an Autoblog reader from Down Under, who was kind enough to grab a couple of snapshots showing us one of the Queensland Police Department's new highway patrol cars. We've reported on Toyota Australia's TRD Aurion before -- it's basically the Camry we want but can't have. With a much better-looking face and 323 supercharged horses underhood, the Aussie-built sedan is inherently more appealing than the vanillamobile available at our local Toyota stores. And now the fuzz has them, too.

Earlier this month, the Queensland police welcomed some of the "regular" Aurions into its white-liveried standard fleet. Our new friend Anton noticed a TRD Aurion dressed in the red finish used by the highway patrol. Curious, he followed it back to the station and talked up the officers there to get their opinion on their new interceptor. The verdict is that the TRD Aurion has as much punch as the older V8-powered FPV Falcons and Holden Monaros, and it is the clear winner in terms of interior comfort. Its front-wheel-drive configuration took some getting used to, however. The RWD pursuit cars could power through corners, and any oversteer incurred could be easily corrected from the driver's seat. The officers say that the Aurion's tendency to torque steer forced them to adjust their driving technique.According to them, hammering the throttle mid-corner doesn't do much at all, and the the car plows straight ahead. Solution: they don't do that anymore, and they're apparently "overjoyed" with their new toys, which, as Anton puts it, "go like the clappers." Thanks for the TRD pursuit car shots, Anton!

Gallery: Queensland Police Toyota Aurions


Gallery: 2007 TRD Aurion (AU)


Gallery: 2007 TRD Aurion 3500S (AU)


Gallery: 2007 TRD Aurion 3500SL (AU)

 

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]]>Aurion police carsAurionPoliceCarsQueensland policeQueenslandPoliceTRD AurionTRD Aurion pursuit carTrdAurionTrdAurionPursuitCar2008-01-19T15:02:00+00:00<![CDATA[Australian police testing super cruiser]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/02/australian-police-testing-super-cruiser/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/02/australian-police-testing-super-cruiser/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/01/02/australian-police-testing-super-cruiser/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



The transformation from police cruiser to police destroyer is almost complete. Researchers at Australia's National Safety Agency, along with Holden, Motorola and the Monash University Accident Research Center, have created an Emergency Services Concept Car that is not your standard black-and-white.

They claim the development of the car was necessitated by overheating issues in current cruisers and adequate power management. Emergency services personnel had so much technology crammed into their vehicles that they needed a better way to keep things cool and in control. We guess that once they replaced most of the peripherals with one central, voice-activated computer, they realized all the other stuff they could stuff inside.

So they added a license-plate reading camera that can process 5,000 to 8,000 license plates in ten hours. There are three additional cameras to keep track of, well, everything. There's a device for police to be able to send messages over another vehicle's car stereo. And there's also an item called "Starcatch" that fires a GPS dart into a vehicle that the police want to follow. It's only a concept vehicle for now, but the Aussie authorities are showing interest.

[Source: Courier Mail via Jalopnik]

 

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]]>2008-01-02T16:31:00+00:00<![CDATA[Meet the Fiat 500, Holland's newest junior detective]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/19/meet-the-fiat-500-hollands-newest-junior-detective/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/19/meet-the-fiat-500-hollands-newest-junior-detective/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/19/meet-the-fiat-500-hollands-newest-junior-detective/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

We already know that overseas, police cars are not the full-size cruisers we have patrolling our highways in America. But come on, there's a limit.

This Fiat 500, all decked out in police striping and with a little flashing light on the roof, was snapped while parading around Amsterdam with the Dutch police. Unfortunately, the text that came out of the online translator was about as intelligible as a tourist swaggering out of an Amsterdam "coffee shop", but as far as we can tell the car was used purely for demonstration purposes, much like Scotland Yard has displayed constabulary-striped supercars and F1 racers, before the law-enforcement markings were removed and the car went back to civilian duty.

It's a far cry from the Spyker C8 or the BMW M3 that the Dutch police showed recently, but this 500 just looks so darned eager to serve and protect, doesn't it?

[Source: AutoWeek.nl]

 

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]]>500amsterdamfiathollandnetherlandspolice2007-12-19T15:10:00+00:00<![CDATA[CA police pull drivers over, give them free coffee]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/18/ca-police-pull-drivers-over-give-them-free-coffee/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/18/ca-police-pull-drivers-over-give-them-free-coffee/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/18/ca-police-pull-drivers-over-give-them-free-coffee/#commentsFiled under: ,



If you find yourself being pulled over in Rancho Cordova for no apparent reason, don't worry. Police in the California town are currently rewarding good drivers by pulling them over and giving them $5 gift cards to Starbucks (that's good for a thimble-full of Frappuccino). According to a police department spokesperson, the program is in keeping with the holiday spirit and fosters goodwill between motorists and the traffic division. (At least until the latter runs out of presents and starts doling out tickets again.) Drivers have local merchants to thank, as they donated the cash for the coffee cards. Free donut coupons would be the perfect compliment to this, but if any exist, we've got to believe the fuzz hung onto them for, you know, safekeeping.

[Source: AP]

 

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]]>2007-12-18T16:56:00+00:00<![CDATA[Ford to shutter Ontario plant sometime in 2010]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/10/ford-to-shutter-ontario-plant-sometime-in-2010/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/10/ford-to-shutter-ontario-plant-sometime-in-2010/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/10/ford-to-shutter-ontario-plant-sometime-in-2010/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,



Despite the lack of a formal announcement (nor any real surprise), the Detroit News has the inside scoop on Ford's plan to close its Ontario plant after production of the Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car ceases, likely by the end of 2010.

The 2.6-million square foot facility currently employs over 2,400 workers and has built a number of models, ranging from the Pinto to the Escort.

Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) president, Buzz Hargrove, admitted to the News that, "There's nothing we can do to save St. Thomas," but we think there is. Convince Ford that the livery market is still dependent on the Panther-platform stalwart, despite New York City's vow to make all of its taxis hybrids in the next few years, and revamp the current car to be all things to all cops by fitting a new V8, a custom, police-friendly interior and anything else the boys (and gals) in blue could want.

[Source: Detroit News]

 

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]]>crown victoriaCrownVictoriafordgrand marquisGrandMarquislincolnmercuryontariotown carTownCar2007-12-10T08:04:00+00:00<![CDATA[The Rumbler: The Fuzz supplies the sounds, you get out of the way]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/07/the-rumbler-the-fuzz-supplies-the-sounds-you-get-out-of-the-wa/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/07/the-rumbler-the-fuzz-supplies-the-sounds-you-get-out-of-the-wa/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/07/the-rumbler-the-fuzz-supplies-the-sounds-you-get-out-of-the-wa/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,



Police and rescue vehicles pump out an array of aural and visual warnings to tell motorists and pedestrians to get out of the way. With distractions like cell phones, MP3 players, eating on the run, and applying a fresh coat of Revlon, civil servants still can't seem to grab our attention. That's where Federal Signal's Rumbler comes in. The new audio warning system doesn't pierce your ears with loud, screeching sirens. It uses low frequency sounds coming from two sub-woofers and an amp to shake the ground in ten second increments. The pulses can be felt 200 feet ahead of the vehicle, giving motorists plenty of time to clear a path in times of emergency. The new device is now being used in the U.S., though we've never felt it, so the next time you hear kickin' bass coming up from behind you, it could be Shaq or it could be the fuzz. Either way, it's best to just clear a path.

[Source: Auto Express]

 

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]]>AmbulanceBassFederal Signal RumblerFederalSignalRumblerPoliceSub-Woofers2007-12-07T19:57:00+00:00<![CDATA[UK's most senior cop in court for speeding]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/23/uks-most-senior-cop-in-court-for-speeding/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/23/uks-most-senior-cop-in-court-for-speeding/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/23/uks-most-senior-cop-in-court-for-speeding/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

For years it seems there was an unwritten code among law enforcement officers stating that you didn't give a shield-wearing brother a speeding ticket unless his offense was really bad. Beyond bad, even. That doesn't appear to be the case in the UK, as the chief constable of South Yorkshire has been cold busted going 90 in a 60 mph zone. Britain's Med Hughes stepped down after the court hearing, but he states that his decision to walk away from his post of top traffic cop had nothing to do with his lead foot. To that we give a hearty, "Right-o, chap." Of course as the chief constable, Mr. Hughes preached stringent speed enforcement. The now-defunct top traffic cop even lobbied for hidden speed cameras, which would keep speeds down while racking up big fine money for the department. If Mr. Hughes feels slighted or embarrassed, we'd like to welcome him to our club. As members, when we get tickets we pay the fine, collect the points, and generally suck it up. We're sure he'll find it all to be very novel.

[Source: Top Gear]

 

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]]>British top copBritishTopCoplaw enforcementLawEnforcementMed HughesMedHughesspeeding ticketSpeedingTicket2007-11-23T14:02:00+00:00<![CDATA[Top five upcoming tech gadgets for cops]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/17/top-five-upcoming-tech-gadgets-for-cops/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/17/top-five-upcoming-tech-gadgets-for-cops/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/17/top-five-upcoming-tech-gadgets-for-cops/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Many criminals today have tools to evade capture, and now tech companies are doing their best to help law enforcement catch up. License-reading cameras, infrared lights, GPS tracking, enhanced communications, and WMD sensors are just a few of the ways that cops are helping to get criminals, but law-breakers are constantly adapting their methods. Popular Mechanics analyzed all the new technology that is helping the good guys catch the bad guys, and they've come up with a list of the most cop-friendly gadgets. You can check them out after the jump.

[Source: Popular Mechanics]

Continue reading Top five upcoming tech gadgets for cops

 

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]]>Cop gadgetsCopGadgetscriminalsgps trackingGpsTrackinglaw enforcementLawEnforcementlicense-reading camerLicense-readingCamerPolice interceptorpolice officerPoliceInterceptorPoliceOfficerwmd sensorsWmdSensors2007-11-17T15:23:00+00:00<![CDATA[Crown Vic prepares to give up its scepter]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/01/crown-vic-prepares-to-give-up-its-scepter/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/01/crown-vic-prepares-to-give-up-its-scepter/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/11/01/crown-vic-prepares-to-give-up-its-scepter/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

click above image to view more pics of the Ford Crown Victoria

According to Ford sources who gossiped to Ward's Auto, the Ford Crown Victoria won't be available on retail lots after 2008. From 2009, the only folks who can buy one are police and taxi drivers. Even that frontier is being threatened, with police departments snapping up Dodge Chargers and Chevy Impalas. New York's taxi fleet has to go hybrid by 2012, and Ford is pushing the Escape Hybrid to replace 2,500 Vics on Big Apple streets.

If you've got to have a full-sized rear-driver from the Blue Oval, the Mercury Grand Marquis will still be available. The Marquis is apparently much more popular with the public than the Vic, with nearly 38,280 Marquis' sold by dealers in the first nine months of this year. Compare that to the Crown Victoria, which moved 3,000 Vics to retail buyers in all of 2006. I guess this means we'll have to start looking out for Charger headlights in our rearview mirrors at night...

[Source: Wards Auto]

Gallery: Ford Crown Victoria


 

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]]>crown viccrown victoriacrown victoria last model yearCrownVicCrownVictoriaCrownVictoriaLastModelYearford crown victoriaFordCrownVictoriagrand marquisGrandMarquismercury grand marquisMercuryGrandMarquis2007-11-01T08:01:00+00:00<![CDATA[Speeders are screwed! Caparo T1 police edition]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/31/speeders-are-screwed-caparo-t1-police-edition/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/31/speeders-are-screwed-caparo-t1-police-edition/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/31/speeders-are-screwed-caparo-t1-police-edition/#commentsFiled under: , ,



You feelin' lucky, punk? Don't even think about trying your luck in London with this Caparo T1 police car on the prowl. It will run you down faster than a cheetah does a gazelle, that is, if it doesn't burst into flames first. Top Gear reports that the car will obviously not be pressed into service, but it's a fun idea and one of the hottest cruisers we've ever come across. Produced in conjunction with the London Metropolitan Police and Caparo, the T1 cruiser will be display this week at the MPH '07 Show in jolly old England, at Earls Court in London to be specific.

[Source: Top Gear]

 

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]]>caparocaparo t1caparo t1 cruisercaparo t1 policecaparo t1 police carCaparoT1CaparoT1CruiserCaparoT1PoliceCaparoT1PoliceCar2007-10-31T12:18:00+00:00<![CDATA[UK: Sussex police get Lotus Exige cruiser]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/25/uk-sussex-police-get-lotus-exige-cruiser/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/25/uk-sussex-police-get-lotus-exige-cruiser/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/25/uk-sussex-police-get-lotus-exige-cruiser/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Click image for photo gallery

Over in England, the East Sussex police department has a new machine in the motor pool, and there's no doubting it's the class of the bunch. The force recently took delivery of a fully-liveried Lotus Exige, right down to the flashing blue lights. While it sounds like the perfect speed enforcement/pursuit machine, the car's actual purpose is more diplomatic in nature. Speeding and generally obnoxious driving habits by teens have apparently become a bit of an issue, and the Lotus serves as a rolling ambassador to the lead-footed youth population. Brought out for public awareness campaigns and gatherings, the Sussex police department says that the car brings teens to them, and that makes it easier for the police to sell their safety message to the kids. If it works, good for them. Lord knows we'd be doing anything but setting an example if we were handed an Exige as our work vehicle. It'd be more like this: "Alright then, kids. Here's what not to do." Cue the squealing tires...

[Source: Auto Trader]

Gallery: Sussex Police Lotus Exige

 

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]]>lotus exigelotus exige policelotus exige police carLotusExigeLotusExigePoliceLotusExigePoliceCarsussex policeSussexPolice2007-10-25T19:56:00+00:00<![CDATA[Dutch fuzz get an E92 BMW M3 Coupe]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/14/dutch-fuzz-get-an-e92-bmw-m3-coupe/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/14/dutch-fuzz-get-an-e92-bmw-m3-coupe/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/10/14/dutch-fuzz-get-an-e92-bmw-m3-coupe/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Click image for gallery

E92 M3 PoliceDutch speeders take note: the police have a new weapon in which to chase you down and write you tickets. And with its 420-horsepower V8, it's more than capable as a pursuit vehicle. The car, of course, is the new 2008 BMW M3, and if the burnout shot at right is any indication, the officers who get to drive the car are probably going to have a little more fun with it than the average patrol car. That's what we call a favorable work environment. And here we think it's cool when our local police departments get Chargers.

UPDATE: From a commenter - "It was a stunt from the local BMW dealer for the national police day, they removed the stickers the next day...same thing happened last year when the KLPD got a Spyker for a day."

Back to Opels (or whatever) for you, coppers!

Thanks for the tip, Lou.

[Source: M3Post]

Gallery: 2008 BMW M3 Police Car

 

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]]>2008 bmw m32008BmwM3bmw m3 police carBmwM3PoliceCardutch policeDutchPolicee92e92 m3E92M32007-10-14T12:26:00+00:00<![CDATA[LAPD to use GPS projectile to chase crooks]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/27/lapd-to-use-gps-projectile-to-chase-crooks/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/27/lapd-to-use-gps-projectile-to-chase-crooks/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/27/lapd-to-use-gps-projectile-to-chase-crooks/#commentsFiled under: , ,



High speed chases with cops and robbers may make for great TV, but the dangerous activity puts lives and property in danger, and sometimes the bad guy gets away. The LAPD has some of the most elaborate pursuits ever put on tape, but the new StarChase Pursuit Management System may help them nab suspects without as much risk to those around them. The device is mounted on the front end of the police cruiser, and a laser target helps with aim. When the police have the suspect in range, they simply fire a projectile at the fleeing vehicle. Once the small GPS device, battery, and cellular radio are attached to the vehicle, the fuzz can track the perp without having them in plain site, which means the police can keep pedestrians from being a statistic.

Only time will tell if the device will truly work, but it's good to see that the Police are coming up with new technology to keep up with ever-improving criminal tech. Hit the StarChase website to check out a product video demo, it looks pretty cool, but as of right now it doesn't look like the projectile firing device kicks out enough force at high speeds for the tracking device to stick. It's a good thing that such a device wasn't in existence 30 years ago, however, because Smokey and the Bandit would have been one short, uneventful movie.

[Source: The Truth About Cars]

 

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]]>GPS cellular deviceGpsCellularDevicepolice chasePoliceChaseStarChase Pursuit Management SystemStarchasePursuitManagementSystem2007-09-27T19:31:00+00:00<![CDATA[Calling all cars: Carbon Motors purpose-built police car]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/21/calling-all-cars-carbon-motors-purpose-built-police-car/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/21/calling-all-cars-carbon-motors-purpose-built-police-car/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/21/calling-all-cars-carbon-motors-purpose-built-police-car/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Checker did it with taxi cabs a generation and a half ago, but since then, purpose-built working cars haven't been produced in mass quantities. Carbon Motors thinks it's about time the fuzz get their own purpose-built ride, instead of being forced to modify a civilian car. Law enforcement agencies have kept Ford's Panther platform alive long past its expiration date, but even that is winding down. Carbon's E7 looks to step in and fill the niche that the eventual phasing out of the Panther will provide (nevermind that there's been some adoption of the even tighter quarters of the Chrysler LX cars). Police need cars that are tough and economical to run and maintain. With those criteria, it's easy to see why the Crown Victoria is the Queen of fleet. They take a pounding, they're relatively cheap, and they're big enough to hold the constabulary essentials and leave room for perps, even if there's precious little elbow room for Officer Krupke.

Carbon's got to make a case for a niche application, limited production vehicle with some expensive hardware. A twin-turbo diesel inline six is not as cheap a power unit as Ford's long-serving and robust (let's not talk about valve guides and seals, please) modular V8. The aluminum spaceframe that Carbon designed as the basis of the E7 is also not cheap, but the tradeoff for the high cost componentry is a 250,000 mile durability spec. By the time Crown Vics reach that kind of mileage, they're no longer cruisers - usually having long been handed down to less demanding city departments. The car looks like vaporware currently, though there's plenty of CG eye candy at the Carbon Motors website for dreamers to feast upon. Hey, fire trucks are manufactured by niche producers that charge a bundle for vehicles that serve forever, and it could make sense for police departments, too. It all comes down to how durable the cars actually are, how expensive they are to run and maintain, and how much the initial cost is. You know, just a few minor numbers to run.

[Source: Carbon Motors via Paul Tan]

Gallery: Carbon Motors E7

Continue reading Calling all cars: Carbon Motors purpose-built police car

 

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]]>carbon e7carbon motorscarbon motors e7CarbonE7CarbonMotorsCarbonMotorsE7cruisere7policepolice carpolice cruiserPoliceCarPoliceCruiser2007-09-21T09:03:00+00:00<![CDATA[Michigan State Police hit the test track with latest cop cars]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/17/michigan-state-police-hit-the-test-track-with-the-latest-cop-car/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/17/michigan-state-police-hit-the-test-track-with-the-latest-cop-car/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/09/17/michigan-state-police-hit-the-test-track-with-the-latest-cop-car/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,


Click the Dodge Charger cop car for a high-res gallery

Every September since the 1950s, the Michigan State Police have conducted vehicle performance testing on the latest cop cars. Prior to the early 1970s when the first oil embargo occurred, they would go out for bids every year and then test just the low bid vehicle. In those days, testing was limited to acceleration, top speed and braking distance.

According to Lt. David Halliday of the Michigan State Police, as carmakers were struggling at that time and scrambling to sell their bigger vehicles, they all started submitting bids around the same price with only a $45 spread covering all the contenders one year. Around that time they decided to start testing all of the available vehicles and they also made their test results available to all interested police agencies. For the past three decades, a chunk of that annual testing has been conducted at the Chrysler Proving Ground in Chelsea, MI.

Gallery: Michigan State Police car testing

Continue reading Michigan State Police hit the test track with latest cop cars

 

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]]>chrysler-proving-groundcop car testingcop carsCopCarsCopCarTestingmichigan-state-policepolice carspolice-car-testingPoliceCarsspecial service carsSpecialServiceCars2007-09-17T11:58:00+00:00<![CDATA[2007 International Police Vehicle Design contest winners announced]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/24/2007-international-police-vehicle-design-contest-winners-announc/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/24/2007-international-police-vehicle-design-contest-winners-announc/http://www.autoblog.com/2007/08/24/2007-international-police-vehicle-design-contest-winners-announc/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Every year for the past 20, Law and Order magazine has held the International Police Vehicle Design contest, and this year's winners were just announced. As far as we can tell (this ain't a rag you can run down to your local Borders and buy), there are two categories for the competition, one for municipal police departments with less than 50 members and one for Federal or State agencies.

The winner of the small town cop car category comes from the Hummelstown Borough Police Dept. in Pennsylvania. At first we were surprised that such a simple design was declared the winner, but after examining the Hummelstown cruisers, we grew fond of their design's bold simplicity. The word "POLICE" on the side of the cop-spec Dodge Charger couldn't be clearer. It almost looks like a movie car, in fact. Second place went to the Itasca Police Department near Chicago, whose Dodge Chargers wore much more expressive graphic than the Hummelstown cars.

As for the Federal and State agency awards, first and second place both went to state universities in New York. Top prize was awarded to the State University of New York at Buffalo for its Dodge Charger, while coming in second was SUNY Albany, which was the only Ford Crown Victoria to be honored in the top two of either category this year.

You can check out the design of each winning car in the gallery below.

Gallery: 2007 International Police Vehicle Design contest winners

 

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