Autoblog

Ponch Approved? California chooses Ford Explorer Police Interceptor as next patrol car

Jeff Sabatini — Tue, 29 May 2012 15:30:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, SUV, Government/Legal, Ford, Police/Emergency

How many cops does it take to choose a new police car? In California, the answer is four. But this is also a trick question, because the California Highway Patrol didn't choose a car to replace its aging Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors - it chose an SUV. That's right, Cali 5-0 will be rolling in the Ford Explorer starting this fall.

According to Motor Trend, due to the CHP's requirement that each of its cruisers be able to carry four officers plus all their equipment, none of the three police sedans currently on the market were even eligible for consideration. Only the Ford Police Interceptor Utility, as the Explorer-based pursuit vehicle is known, and the Chevrolet Tahoe Police Pursuit Vehicle are able to carry the roughly 1,700-pound payload that CHP requires. According to the report, the Explorer out-performed the Tahoe in testing by the L.A. County Sheriff's Office and the Michigan State Police, however Ford won the CHP bid by virtue of having the lower price.

Motor Trend says the contract is good for some 1,800 Explorers over the next two years, although the the CHP may also be buying some sedans to use for "executive vehicles." As CHP is one of the major players in the police vehicle market, its decision to adopt the Explorer carries considerable weight with other agencies - meaning that Ford has to be happy with how things are shaking out in the post-Crown Vic world.

Ponch Approved? California chooses Ford Explorer Police Interceptor as next patrol car originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 May 2012 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chevy boasts about Caprice PPV performance in Michigan State Police test

Zach Bowman — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:32:00 EST

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

General Motors has a reason to preen over the results of the Michigan State Police vehicle evaluations. The Chevrolet Caprice PPV managed to eclipse its competition in top speed and braking tests. The Caprice PPV managed to scoot down from 60 miles per hour in just 125.8 feet, which is a full four feet shorter than the equivalent Ford Interceptor Sedan. Likewise, with a top speed of 154 mph, the protect-and-serve Bowtie boasts a top speed that's 6 mph faster than the 148-mph Interceptor. While that's impressive, we're more terrified by the fact that the Chevrolet Tahoe PPV managed to ratchet up an astonishing 139 mph. That's what we call a flying brick.

The Chevrolet PPV Sedan gets its power from the company's 3.6-liter V6 engine and lays it to the pavement by the miracle of good, old-fashioned rear-wheel drive. While Ford claims that the company's forced-induction V6 garners better fuel economy with equivalent performance, it will be hard for most law enforcement agencies to brush past the PPV's taller top end and shorter stopping distance. Hit the jump for the press release.

Continue reading Chevy boasts about Caprice PPV performance in Michigan State Police test

Chevy boasts about Caprice PPV performance in Michigan State Police test originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford Police Interceptors earn official pursuit ratings

Zach Bowman — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sedan, Government/Legal, Crossover, Ford, Police/Emergency

The Michigan State Police have officially graced the Ford Police Interceptor line with a Pursuit-Rated designation after a volley of tests. Both the Interceptor Sedan and Utility withstood the organization's battery of 0-60, braking and handling evaluations over a period of two days. And, the results?

According to Ford, both vehicles offer increased fuel economy and performance compared to the outgoing Crown Victoria Police Interceptor thanks to the use of the company's 3.5-liter turbocharged Ecoboost V6. With 365 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque, the engine offers more grunt than the old 4.6-liter V8 with a smaller appetite for fuel.

The addition of a larger alternator and radiator means that the forced-induction six-pot can now handle the abuse that patrol duty can wreak on a vehicle. In addition, Ford says that its offerings are the only law-enforcement-specification options on the market right now specifically engineered to protect occupants from a 75 mph rear-end collision.

While both the Sedan and Utility have received the thumbs up from the Mitten State, the Los Angeles Police Department will also put the vehicles through the ringer in November. Hit the jump for the full press release.

Continue reading Ford Police Interceptors earn official pursuit ratings

Ford Police Interceptors earn official pursuit ratings originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:00:00 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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Chevy Caprice outperforms Ford and Dodge police cars in official test... or does it?

Dan Roth — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 11:28:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Specialty

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

The police vehicle market is flush with new iron from all quarters, making the results of this year's Michigan State Police Vehicle Evaluation hotly anticipated. Ford brought its new Taurus-based Police Interceptor, Chrysler had the 2011 Dodge Charger Police Pursuit model, and General Motors showed up with the Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle. Preliminary results of the performance and dynamics testing put the Caprice PPV on top of its rivals, says GM, but there's a catch.

Chevrolet is touting the unofficial test outcome (final results will be released later this year) as proof of the Caprice PPV's superiority. Being quicker to both 60 and 100 mph and offering shorter stopping distances are performance attributes that officers appreciate, as is a 6.0-liter V8 and a chassis that handled Grattan Raceway with the best average lap time. Thing is, despite the fact that Ford's forthcoming Taurus-based cruiser was on-hand and competed in the tests, GM only compares its new Caprice to the ancient Crown Vic. The reason? The Blue Oval's new PI won't be available for more than a year. According to the blokes at Jalopnik who were on-hand for the shootout, the Caprice was actually bested by the AWD Taurus PI in braking and lap times, but GM has fashioned the 'not available yet' loophole to create victory (nevermind that the Caprice isn't on the streets yet either).

Of course, good performance numbers aren't all there is to police work, or departments would patrol in Corvettes. Chevrolet says the Caprice PPV leads in interior space and thoughtful touches like seats designed to accommodate officers' equipment belts. All of this, GM says, adds up to an open-and-shut case for the Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle. You'd expect no less from a press release (posted after the jump), but clearly, the real victory in the race to replace the Crown Victoria has yet to be determined.

Gallery: 2011 Chevrolet Caprice Police Car

[Sources: General Motors, Jalopnik]

Continue reading Chevy Caprice outperforms Ford and Dodge police cars in official test... or does it?

Chevy Caprice outperforms Ford and Dodge police cars in official test... or does it? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spring Forward... into the car in front of you

Chris Shunk — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 09:36:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., First Drives

Today is the day we give father time back the hour we stole from him last fall, and we're all a little tired as a result. If you're a frequent traveler or you don't have a 9-5 job, the change may mean little to you. For those of us with a set schedule, however, pushing forward the alarm clock increases your chance for a car accident.

The Detroit Free Press obtained from the Michigan State Police crash statistics for the average Monday vs. the Monday after the time change, and the numbers are pretty crazy. On an average Monday in March, there are 1,022 accidents in the state of Michigan, but on the Monday after the clocks are moved forward, the average amount of accidents between 2002 and 2006 jumped to 1,396. The good news, if there is any, is that there are fewer fatalities than average on Spring Forward Monday. Experts say sleep deprivation could be part of the problem, but bad weather could have also play a factor. Either way, try to hit the hay early tonight, make a beeline to the local beanery for some breakfast blend, and double-check the seat belt before you head to work tomorrow.

[Source: Freep]

Spring Forward... into the car in front of you originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 09 Mar 2008 09:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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