Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Charting the Five-Ohs: Next-gen Cop Car Comparo]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2010/03/19/charting-the-five-ohs-next-gen-cop-car-comparo/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/03/19/charting-the-five-ohs-next-gen-cop-car-comparo/http://www.autoblog.com/2010/03/19/charting-the-five-ohs-next-gen-cop-car-comparo/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

It used to be that every full-line American automaker offered a version of its mainstream full-size sedan to make it appropriate for police duty. By the time 1996 rolled around, the Chevrolet Caprice, which was the last would-be competitor to the standard-setting Ford Crown Victoria, was discontinued, leaving the lucrative police market to the Blue Oval Boys.

The automotive industry took notice, and plans began in corporate board rooms to remedy that situation, and even a few new entrants - most notably Carbon Motors - sprung up with promising designs that eschewed the mainstream production-based sedan design.

In 2005, Dodge rolled out a factory police package for its full-size Charger sedan, and for the first time in a decade the Crown Victoria faced some stiff V8-powered, rear-wheel-drive competition. Then in 2009, Chevrolet announced that its new Zeta platform Caprice would be returning for the 2011 model year packing a strong 6.0-liter V8 of its own.

How would Ford answer this newly mounted competition? Would the aging Panther-based Crown Vic finally get an update? Nope. Instead, Ford just recently announced that it would soon offer a highly ruggedized version of its most recent Taurus sedan, optionally equipped with the stout 3.5-liter turbocharged V6 engine powering all four wheels as seen in the revived Taurus SHO.

We decided to see for ourselves how the three new competitors stacked up against the old guard Crown Vic on paper, and as you can see, there's little to separate each offering on the spec sheets. It should prove interesting to see how police agencies react to these choices, especially since reliability and durability will be mostly unknown factors for the first time in ages. See for yourself.

Ford Crown Vic Ford Taurus Dodge Charger Chevrolet Caprice
Availability Forever Late 2011 2005 - Present 2011
Type Four-door, body on frame Four-door, enhanced unibody Four-door, unibody Four-door, unibody
Engine 4.6L V8 3.5L V6
Twin-turbo 3.5L V6		 5.7L Hemi V8 6.0L V8
Power 250 horsepower 263 horsepower
365 horsepower		 368 horsepower 355 horsepower
Torque 297 lb-ft 249 lb-ft
350 lb-ft
 395 lb-ft 385 lb-ft
Fuel Economy 14 City / 21 Highway 18 City / 28 Highway (2010 Ford Taurus FWD)
17 City / 25 Highway (2010 Ford Taurus SHO AWD)
 16 City / 25 Highway 15 City / 24 Highway (2009 Pontiac G8 GT)
Driveline Rear-Wheel Front or All-Wheel Rear-Wheel Rear-Wheel
Shifter Column Column Column Console
Wheels 17-inch steel 18-inch steel 18-inch steel 18-inch steel
Brakes Four-Wheel Discs Four-Wheel Discs Four-Wheel Discs Four-Wheel Discs
Cop Brakes Y Y Y Y
Cop Suspension Y Y Y Y
Cop Cooling Y Y Y Y
Seats Front - Cloth
Rear - Vinyl Bench		 Front - Cloth
Rear - Vinyl Bench		 Front - Cloth
Rear - Cloth Bench		 Front - Cloth
Rear - Vinyl Bench
Interior Volume 106.4 Cubic Feet 102.3 Cubic Feet 104 Cubic Feet 112 Cubic Feet
Trunk Space 20.6 Cubic Feet 20.1 Cubic Feet 16.2 Cubic Feet 18 Cubic Feet
Special Features
 Overwhelming Ubiquity

Tough as nails

Capable of withstanding 75-mph rear impact		 Seats with downsized lateral bosters, cut-outs for utility belts

Ford SYNC

Safety Canopy(R) side-curtain air bag

Rollover protection system

Customizable steering-wheel switches

Rear doors swing 71-degrees

Capable of withstanding 75-mph rear impact

BLIS(R) (Blind Spot Information System)

Cross Traffic Alert

Rear View Camera System

Reverse Sensing System		 160-mph (certified) calibrated speedometer

AM/FM radio with CD player, changer controls, four speakers and clock with auxiliary audio input jack

Load-leveling, height-control shock absorbers

Independently switched red/white LED dome lamp		 Seats with downsized lateral boosters, cutouts for utility belts

In-dash touch-screen computer technology

Driver information center in the instrument cluster with selectable speed tracking feature

Charting the Five-Ohs: Next-gen Cop Car Comparo originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>chevroletChevrolet Impalachevrolet impala policeChevroletImpalaChevroletImpalaPoliceChevy ImpalaChevy Impala Police Cruiserchevy impala ppvChevyImpalaChevyImpalaPoliceCruiserChevyImpalaPpvcop carcop carsCopCarCopCarsdodge chargerdodge charger cop carDodge Charger Police carDodgeChargerDodgeChargerCopCarDodgeChargerPoliceCarford crown vicford crown victoriaford policeford police carford police cruiserford police interceptorFord Police Interceptor Crown VictoriaFord TaurusFord Taurus Police Interceptorford taurus SHOFordCrownVicFordCrownVictoriaFordPoliceFordPoliceCarFordPoliceCruiserFordPoliceInterceptorFordPoliceInterceptorCrownVictoriaFordTaurusFordTaurusPoliceInterceptorFordTaurusShoImpalaimpala policeImpalaPolicepolice cameraspolice carspolice impalapolice interceptorpolice interceptorsPoliceCamerasPoliceCarsPoliceImpalaPoliceInterceptorPoliceInterceptorsFri, 19 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/19407079/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2010/03/19/charting-the-five-ohs-next-gen-cop-car-comparo/19407079/article-detail.xml 19407079 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/03/police-badge-250_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2010/03/police-badge-250.jpg <![CDATA[2009 Dodge Charger Cop Car gets boost in power and fuel economy]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/10/dodge-charger-cop-car-gets-boost-in-power-and-fuel-economy/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/10/dodge-charger-cop-car-gets-boost-in-power-and-fuel-economy/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/10/dodge-charger-cop-car-gets-boost-in-power-and-fuel-economy/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Click above for small high-res gallery of 2009 Dodge Charger police car

Sheriff Buford T. Justice will now be able to chase your Bandit *** all over the country if he's protecting and serving behind the wheel of a 2009 Dodge Charger police car. The Charger's 368-horsepower HEMI is nearly double what Pontiac was putting underneath the screaming chicken back in '77, and gives the cop-spec Charger the most power of any police car on offer; plenty of snort underfoot when it's time to apprehend individuals devoid of respect for the law. Hot pursuit will last longer, too, with Chrysler's Multi Displacement System switching off half the cylinders in the V8 to conserve 20-percent more fuel. The venerated Ford Panthers were rugged and inexpensive for fleets, but the Charger gives officers a firepower upgrade while also offering a chassis that's far more capable. It's never been advisable to attempt running from the police, but that's now an extremely bad idea with the upgraded Charger on the beat. We discovered this first hand, not when we were arrested, but when Dodge gave us a cop-spec Charger to play with for a week, which you can read about here. Press release after the jump.

Gallery: 2009 Dodge Charger Cop Car


Gallery: In the Autoblog Garage: Dodge Charger Cop Car


[Source: Chrysler]

Continue reading 2009 Dodge Charger Cop Car gets boost in power and fuel economy

2009 Dodge Charger Cop Car gets boost in power and fuel economy originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>charger copChargerCopchrysler copchrysler policeChryslerCopChryslerPolicedodge charger cop cardodge charger policedodge charger police carDodgeChargerCopCarDodgeChargerPoliceDodgeChargerPoliceCarlx coplx policeLxCopLxPoliceFri, 10 Oct 2008 10:28:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1338219/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2008/10/10/dodge-charger-cop-car-gets-boost-in-power-and-fuel-economy/1338219/article-detail.xml 1338219 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/10/chargerpolice_opt_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/10/chargerpolice_opt.jpg <![CDATA[Review: On a mission from God! We test the 2008 Dodge Charger cop car]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/11/in-the-autoblog-garage-were-on-a-mission-from-god-2008-dodge/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/11/in-the-autoblog-garage-were-on-a-mission-from-god-2008-dodge/http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/11/in-the-autoblog-garage-were-on-a-mission-from-god-2008-dodge/#commentsFiled under: , ,


2008 Dodge Charger cop car - Click above for high-res image gallery

To paraphrase the words of the immortal Elwood Blues to his recently emancipated brother, Jake; "It's got a cop motor, cop tires, cop suspension, and cop shocks." There was a time when Dodge was a major player in the field of supplying vehicles to the police agencies of America. In the early '70s, the black and white Dodge Monaco as exemplified in the Blues Brothers film was a common sight patrolling the streets of this country. As the '80s faded into the '90s, Chrysler dropped out of the cop car market as its entire lineup went front-wheel drive.

Earlier this decade, rear-wheel-drive cars returned to the PentaStar range and the Ford Crown Victoria faced a new competitor in the form of the Dodge Magnum and Charger. When Autoblog asked Chrysler for a chance to spend some time behind the wheel of a Charger police special, the car-maker turned over a demo unit in black and white regalia complete with a full light kit and "Dodge City" police markings all over the sides. In spite of the prominent "Out of Service" markings across the windshield and trunk, the look proved to be a little too authentic for some. In true Autoblog fashion, however, we were "On a mission" of some kind and went the extra mile for you our loyal readers. Read all about our little adventure with the Charger cop car after the jump.


Gallery: In the Autoblog Garage: Dodge Charger Cop Car


Photos Copyright (C)2008 Sam Abuelsamid / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading Review: On a mission from God! We test the 2008 Dodge Charger cop car

Review: On a mission from God! We test the 2008 Dodge Charger cop car originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>2008 Dodge Charger cop car2008 Dodge Charger police special2008DodgeChargerCopCar2008DodgeChargerPoliceSpecialchargerdodgedodge charger cop cardodge cop carDodgeChargerCopCarDodgeCopCarfeaturedreviewMon, 11 Feb 2008 12:00:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/1110800/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2008/02/11/in-the-autoblog-garage-were-on-a-mission-from-god-2008-dodge/1110800/article-detail.xml 1110800 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/02/charger_cop_car_1280_17_opt_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2008/02/charger_cop_car_1280_17_opt.jpg -1 2