Autoblog

Mopar's Dodge Charger Pursuit police car says "Respect Mah Authoritah!"

Jeff Glucker — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 11:31:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Government/Legal, Dodge, Police/Emergency

A Dodge Charger Pursuit police car is a rather unwelcome sign in your rearview mirror. Especially if you've got an eye towards criminal pursuits and a mind to press your luck and your throttle pedal to make a run for it. Now, you better ask yourself... do you feel lucky, punk? Do you? We know what you're thinking. Is that Mopar-equipped Dodge Charger carrying the 292-horsepower 3.6-liter Pentastar V6, or does it have the 390-horsepower 5.7-liter Hemi V8 under the hood?

Either way, this new Dodge cop car has a slew of features handed down from the minds at Mopar, including slide-out trunk trays, trunk ventilation (to keep expensive electronics cool), a 100-watt siren, and upgraded electrical systems. Dodge is offering police officers the choice of one of six quick-order packages so America's various law enforcement divisions can get the car that fits the job. In addition to the pre-prepped vehicles, Mopar is offering 24 more items that an officer might want to make his cruiser even more battle ready.

Click past the jump to go through the full list of Mopar options for Dodge's new Charger Pursuit police car.

Continue reading Mopar's Dodge Charger Pursuit police car says "Respect Mah Authoritah!"

Mopar's Dodge Charger Pursuit police car says "Respect Mah Authoritah!" originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chrysler replaces Dodge Charger police car after 'suspicious' fire

Zach Bowman — Tue, 31 May 2011 17:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Etc., Chrysler, Dodge, Police/Emergency

Chrysler has agreed to replace a Dodge Charger Pursuit and all of the police gear inside for free after the vehicle mysteriously burnt to the ground. As you may recall, a Curry County, Oregon sheriff's deputy saw his new cruiser (which had 6,000 miles on it) go crispy after stopping to assist in a search and rescue operation.

Patrick Combs, the rescuee, was found and taken to a local hospital by ambulance, but deputy Jared Gray's new Charger Patrol didn't survive the scene. The fire seemed to take hold in the passenger-side front wheel well and continued to reignite after fire crews extinguished the blaze.

There was one small caveat to the vehicle's generous replacement, however. In exchange for the new set of wheels, the sheriff's department had to agree to sign a non-disclosure, which means we may never know exactly what set the car ablaze.

As our friends at The J point out, no reports of toasty civilian Chargers have been made to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Chrysler replaces Dodge Charger police car after 'suspicious' fire originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 31 May 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LA Sheriff's Department tests new police cruisers, compiles findings in 174-page report

Jeff Glucker — Mon, 16 May 2011 16:31:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Police/Emergency

2011 Chevrolet Caprice Police Car - Click above for high-res image gallery

Curious about the latest crop of cop cars? The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department - which undoubtedly has good reason to be interested in such machines - has released a bit of data to help clue you in on the newest cruisers. California's Boys in Blue put 15 vehicles through rigorous testing, and they ended up with a rather large stack of results. How large are we talking?

174 pages.

We thought cops hated paperwork, but it appears the movie industry has again lied to us. Those 174 pages are filled with stats on all 15 test vehicles, officer insight into vehicle performance and results from the various types of tests applied.

We'll be honest... we've only skimmed. We're not quite ready to take a deep dive into this particular PDF, however, it's available for you to peruse at the LA County Sheriff's Department website, should you have some time to kill.

LA Sheriff's Department tests new police cruisers, compiles findings in 174-page report originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 May 2011 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official MSP Numbers: Chevy Caprice is quickest, fastest police car... barely

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Government/Legal, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, GM, Police/Emergency

2011 Chevrolet Caprice PPV -- Click above for high-res image gallery

The numbers are in, folks. This year's Michigan State Police Vehicle Evaluation pitted Ford's Jurassic Crown Victoria Police Interceptor (the new Taurus-based Police Interceptor was reportedly on hand, but its numbers won't be included until next year), Chrysler's 2011 Dodge Charger Police Pursuit model and General Motors' Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle against each other in a no-holds-barred fight to the finish. And let's just say the results are closer than you might think.

For instance, as pointed out by the proud parents at Chevrolet, the Caprice did, in fact, manage to set the best acceleration times to 60 miles per hour and 100 mph. But... and there's always a but... the 2011 Charger was pretty much neck-and-neck with the Caprice. In fact, the Charger was quicker to 20, 40, 50, 70 and 80 mph. So, which one is really quicker? Pretty much a photo finish, if you ask us.

Also, top speeds between the two competitors were within spitting distance: 148 mph for the Caprice and 146 for the Hemi-powered Charger. There's plenty more intriguing data as well, such as the fact that the new Pentastar V6-powered Charger was, on average, almost exactly as fast around the race track as its more powerful V8-powered sibling, and both were about a second behind the Caprice in the lap time derby.

And what of the old stalwart? Ford's age-old Crown Victoria did its best, but was still over two seconds behind at 60 mph and a woeful 10 seconds afield by 100. Top speed for the Vic was 129 (with a 3.27 rear end, which was even slower in acceleration tests than its 3.55-equipped brother), and its lap times were well behind that of the Caprice and Charger.

Braking tests also favored the new Caprice and Charger. Chevy's entry posted a projected 60-0 stopping distance of 128.3 feet and the Charger managed to come to a halt in 133.9 feet (133.2 with the V6). For comparison, the Crown Vic needs 141.6 feet to haul itself down from speed.

One final note: If acceleration is really what an officer is into, perhaps he should consider a switch to two wheels. Kawasaki's Concours 14 ABS Police bike hit 100 mph in under 10 seconds and the BMW R1200 RTP did the deed in under 12. See the complete preliminary testing results here at the link below.

Gallery: 2011 Chevrolet Caprice Police Car

[Source: Michigan State Police Vehicle Evaluation]

Official MSP Numbers: Chevy Caprice is quickest, fastest police car... barely originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Authorities skeptical of Ford's new Police Interceptor at testing event

Jonathon Ramsey — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 10:59:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Government/Legal, Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, Police/Emergency

2012 Ford Police Interceptor testing - Click above for high-res image gallery

Michigan law enforcement officials have gathered to run a rodeo with the Ford Police Interceptor, Dodge Charger Pursuit and Chevrolet Caprice police car. The last horse standing will be trying to slide into the spot left by the Ford Crown Victoria, which sold about 50,000 units per year before going out of production. Ford doesn't have the inside line on replacing its standard bearer, though, because the Taurus-based Police Interceptor is front-wheel drive, and that makes some officers skeptical.

An officer's remark that "It is a whole different driving system" symbolizes the wariness, with concerns not only about cost and complexity, but just being able to drive the thing in the way officers are accustomed. The competition is rear-wheel drive, and in the case of the Caprice - which ran the police fleet show until it went out of production - there's more interior room. All the cars have their give-and-take, although the Ford is the only offering with all-wheel drive. Final results from the weekend's testing will be announced in December.

Gallery: 2012 Ford Police Interceptor

Photos by Steven J. Ewing / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Report: Authorities skeptical of Ford's new Police Interceptor at testing event originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 10:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: 2011 Dodge Charger Pursuit police car leaks out

Steven J. Ewing — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:01:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Videos, Dodge, Police/Emergency

Dodge Charger police pursuit vehicle revealed - Click above to watch the video after the jump

This all seems a bit backwards. Chrysler has yet to release the official details and images about the 2011 Dodge Charger, but we already have the skinny on the Charger Pursuit, Dodge's work-ready police car set to hit the streets in just a few months. And while only one official image of the Charger cop car has been revealed, a new video gives us a walk-around of Chrysler's latest pursuit vehicle.

Recorded at what appears to be some sort of police fleet convention, this poorly-lit amateur video gives us a nearly complete view of what the 2011 Charger's exterior will look like when gussied up for police duty. Furthermore, it shows off the new lines of the Charger sedan, including that Challenger-inspired rear end.

Can't wait for Chrysler to unload a high-res image gallery of 2011 Charger photos? Feed your impatience by watching the video after the jump. Hat tips to Edgardo and Dave W!

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: 2011 Dodge Charger Pursuit police car leaks out

Video: 2011 Dodge Charger Pursuit police car leaks out originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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