Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[REPORT: Lamborghini Gallardo cop car crashes in Italy thanks to careless driver]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2009/12/01/report-lamborghini-gallardo-cop-car-crashes-in-italy-thanks-to/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/12/01/report-lamborghini-gallardo-cop-car-crashes-in-italy-thanks-to/http://www.autoblog.com/2009/12/01/report-lamborghini-gallardo-cop-car-crashes-in-italy-thanks-to/#commentsFiled under: , ,



The Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Polizia is a very capable police cruiser that just happens to also be an extremely desirable Italian exotic. How many police cruisers can go 200 mph while toting a vital organ in its specially made refrigerated storage? While Lambo and the Italian State Police thought of all kinds of neat amenities to make the LP560-4 the perfect cruiser, they neglected to install an idiot detection device and now they're paying the ultimate price.

One of two Gallardo LP560-4 Polizias is ready for the scrap heap after a careless Seat Ibiza driver pulled out of a gas station without first looking for $200,000 police car. The undoubtedly surprised driver of the Gallardo swerved to avoid the oblivious one and smashed into a row of parked cars. The wedge-like Gallardo hit the cars so hard that one vehicle actually ended up on top (see above) of the ultimate Pig-mobile, crushing the front end. Luckily, the police officer and his passenger were unhurt in the incident. Ironically, the police issue Gallardo was on its way home from a safe driving seminar when the accident occurred.

What a bummer. The cop driving the car was one of 20 officers specially trained to handle the Gallardo's awesome V10 power. Now that the world's neatest police cruiser is scrap-worthy, he'll likely have to go back to driving a Fiat. Thanks for the tips, everyone!!


Gallery: Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Polizia


[Source: Guardian | Image: YouReporter.IT]

REPORT: Lamborghini Gallardo cop car crashes in Italy thanks to careless driver originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ever since General Motors announced this spring that it was killing the Pontiac brand as part of its restructuring, fans of the Holden-developed G8 sedan have been clamoring to save it as a Chevrolet. After company officials repeatedly said over the past two months that no such thing would happen, Bob Lutz re-lit the fire last week in one of his first pronouncements after un-retiring. Lutz proclaimed that the G8 would indeed become a new Chevrolet Caprice.

During our first drive of the new Buick LaCrosse this week, we had the opportunity on one of the legs to ride with GM CEO Fritz Henderson, and we pressed him for more details on the Caprice plan. Unfortunately it turns out Henderson brought his portable fire extinguisher with him, telling us:
We've been looking at it for police applications. As for whether or not it's broader than police applications, I am not a believer in re-branding and re-badging. We've been talking about in terms of potential police applications and we'll leave it at that."
Henderson also threw a soaking wet blanket on the idea of adding production to Oshawa alongside the Camaro, saying that the cars will continue to be sourced from Australia. So, for the moment, it looks like Zeta sedan fans will probably have to be content with taking a Blues Brothers approach to the problem: Buying their next car as a decommissioned black-and-white.

[Image: GoAuto]

Fritz Henderson to Autoblog: Chevy Caprice is being looked at as "police application" originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>capricechevroletchevrolet capriceChevroletCapricechevychevy capriceChevyCapricecop carcop carsCopCarCopCarsfritz hendersonFritzHendersonGM CEOGmCeoHoldenpolice carpolice carsPoliceCarPoliceCarspontiacpontiac g8PontiacG8zetaWed, 15 Jul 2009 09:28:00 EST<![CDATA[South Yorkshire police enlist Mitsubishi Evo X in the force]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/10/south-yorkshire-police-enlist-mitsubishi-evo-x-in-the-force/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/10/south-yorkshire-police-enlist-mitsubishi-evo-x-in-the-force/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/12/10/south-yorkshire-police-enlist-mitsubishi-evo-x-in-the-force/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Click above for high-res image gallery of the Police Evo X
The South Yorkshire police just added a ten to their squad. No, that's not a sexist statement about some new hire, it's a reference to the new Mitsubishi Evolution X they just added to the fleet. Joining an already-intimidating Evo VIII and IX in the motorpool is a specially equipped X that should help keep the Road Crime Unit (RCU) ahead of the baddies. The Evo X should be more than adequate for tracking down drug dealers and car thieves by itself, but deployed as a pack, the trio of Evos will probably scare scofflaws into simply giving up the chase.

The new Evolution X squad car will also be fitted with an onboard Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system, which allows officers to "check who the vehicle is registered to and if there is anything remotely suspicious about the vehicle." So it even does a bit of detective work, too. This sounds like just about the perfect pursuit and apprehend vehicle. While it's no Lamborghini LP560-4, it's no i MIEV either. Looks a bit like that Carbon Motors E7, but it's a proven platform with SUPER ARREST POTENTIAL! There's a full press release after the jump and a small gallery of high-res pics available below.

Gallery: South Yorkshire Police Evolution X


[Source: Mitsubishi]

Continue reading South Yorkshire police enlist Mitsubishi Evo X in the force

South Yorkshire police enlist Mitsubishi Evo X in the force originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 10 Dec 2008 12:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Click above for high-res gallery of the Kuwaiti cop-issue Chargers

Choosing them for their portrayed image of "strength and power," officials in Kuwait have ordered 150 Dodge Chargers to be modified as police vehicles. As the Charger is the leading volume vehicle for Chrysler LLC in the Middle East, the choice doesn't come as much of a surprise. Delivery of the cop cars, however, isn't expected to take place for another couple months. In the meantime, the lot of them are heading to Canfield Equipment Service in Michigan where they'll be fitted for their new Kuwaiti roles in traffic, security, and emergency response. (Here's hoping none of our readers get a chance to check them out from the back seat once they're in service).

Gallery: Dodge Charger Kuwait Police


[Source: Chrysler]

Continue reading Kuwait orders 150 Dodge Charger police cars

Kuwait orders 150 Dodge Charger police cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ChargerCop CarCopCarDodgeKuwaitLaw EnforcementLawEnforcementMiddle EastMiddleEastPolice VehiclePoliceVehicleWed, 03 Sep 2008 17:03:00 EST<![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

Make my day: Corvette ZR1 police car originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Jan 2008 15:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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

2007 International Police Vehicle Design contest winners announced originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 24 Aug 2007 09:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Note to criminals: if you're planning to be the lead car in a high-speed pursuit, your odds of getting away just got ever so slightly better. Ford Motor Company has decided to conduct a voluntary recall of its Crown Victoria police package Interceptor model (2003 model shown) because of small cracks that could form in the car's steel wheels during high speed pursuits. These cracks could cause "rapid air loss," or what the street folk call a blow-out, effectively allowing the no-goodnicks to get away and obviously putting the officer behind the wheel in a signifcant amount of danger.

About 109,664 examples of the 2003 to 2005 model will be recalled, though it's suspected that a very small percentage of active duty cop cars actually are rolling on defective wheels. Only two crashes have been attributed to the issue and no officers were injured. Nevertheless, Ford has been down the recall road with the Interceptor before, issuing a different wheel recall in 2003, as well as being forced to address potentially faulty gas tanks that could explode after a crash. Neither helped the automaker's relations with this country's law enforcement community, which doesn't bode well for the ancient Interceptor that's now facing stiff competition from the new hotness in police-issue whips, the Dodge Charger.

At the moment this new recall is a voluntary move by Ford, which has already notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of its actions. The recall will be targeted to owners of Interceptors with specific wheels that could be affected, who will be notified and told to visit nearby dealerships where the wheels and spares can be replaced.

[Source: MSNBC]

Ford recalling Crown Vic Interceptors for potential danger during high-speed pursuits originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Mar 2007 08:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As automakers are moving away from fleet sales, there is one segment they just can't seem to say no to. The relatively high-margin law enforcement vehicle field has been pretty much dominated through the years by large rear-drive domestic sedans. Up until recently, that had meant a Ford Crown Victoria. There weren't many other options, that is until Dodge decided its new Charger/Magnum would look great in black and white. Each of the (formerly known as) Big Three, in fact, is pushing an entry in this field now.

As BusinessWeek points out, law enforcement agencies are purchasing between 65,000 to 70,000 vehicles every year as part of multiyear contracts. And these aren't base-model strippers we're talking about. Dodge's police Charger has an MSRP of $26,825, about five grand more than a base 2.7-liter civilian Charger. Sure it comes with the 3.5-liter V6 and tops out at 150 mph, but that extra five thou represents a considerable profit margin. Right now Ford's Crown Victoria is the undisputed king of the cop car fleet, and pretty much the only reason Ford still makes it. Out of the 63,939 Crown Vics Ford moved in 2005, 50,000 were police versions, according to John Arnone, a manager of Ford's Canadian manufacturing operations.

Dodge began selling police versions of the Charger and Magnum last year, and they are starting to make a dent in Ford sales, but still trail even GM's front-wheel drive Impala and Tahoe in this segment. The newer platforms give a performance advantage over GM and Ford, but the Vic has momentum, loyalty and room on its side.

To see a lineup of what Business Week thinks are the coolest cop cars, click through the read link.

[Source: BusinessWeek]

Related posts:

Ford and Dodge ready to fight over police departments originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Oct 2006 15:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cop carCopCarpolice carPoliceCarMon, 16 Oct 2006 15:35:00 EST<![CDATA[Alfa Romeo 159 new Italian "Pantera"]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2006/05/13/alfa-romeo-159-new-italian-pantera/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/05/13/alfa-romeo-159-new-italian-pantera/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/05/13/alfa-romeo-159-new-italian-pantera/#commentsFiled under: ,



Many precincts in the U.S. are ecstatic over their new Dodge Charger police cruisers, but Italian police are just as pleased to replace their fleet of Fiat Mareas with the new Alfa 159. Police cruisers in Italy are called Panteras, which means "Panther" in English, and the crime-fighting Pantera patrols the boot with a bulletproof windshield and windows, separated passenger compartment and remote-controlled, roof-mounted search lights. You may remember the Baby Blue and White paint scheme from the last Italian police car we told you about - a Lamborgini Gallardo. Man, Italy knows how to serve and protect in style.

[Source: Italiaspeed, autoblog.it]

Alfa Romeo 159 new Italian "Pantera" originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 13 May 2006 14:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well, it's not actually the Detroit police. Those brave souls would do well to soldier on with their heavily armored Crown Vics. It's actually the campus police of Wayne State University in Detroit who have received the first hydrogen fuel cell-powered police vehicle in the world. The vehicle will operate in and around the campus and serve as a "learning laboratory" for WSU students enrolled in the country's first masters-degree program in alternative energy.

The campus po-po's paddy wagon is based on DaimlerChrysler's innovative F-Cell hydrogen vehicle, which has a 100-mile range and a top speed of 85 mph. The electric motor develops 88 horsepower, just enough to run down jaywalkers and truant students. Sixty mph is reached in 16 seconds or next semester, whichever comes first.

[Source: DaimlerChrysler]

Detroit fuzz first with hydrogen fuel cell cop car originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 09 Apr 2006 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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