US Police departments get modern Mad Max cars!

[flightsuit]

If you're into cars, you probably were aware of the fact that the amazing Pontiac G8 was a Holden Commodore with Pontiac styling. Now that the Pontiac division is being closed down, that car has, sadly, disappeared from the US market.

But not completely. If you have a badge, you do have some hope of driving this new police car, which is based on the longer Statesman chassis:

http://jalopnik.com/5468619/chevy-capri ... l-want-one

With 355HP and a projected 0 to 60 time of under six seconds, I'd say the only thing missing is a yellow, red and blue paint job!

[toecutter]

This isnt a US slam,but the Fords built and sold in the US are technically inferior to the Fords that are built and sold in Australia. I was there last year and drove several. The towncar and mustang still use leaf spring suspension FFS! The lincoln towncar i drove was nice but primitive compared to a Falcon in Oz.

So id say if the US cops wanted modern equivalents, Ford US would import Falcon XR8's etc.

I saw a post on another forum wondering if the new 'caprice' imports would be durable enough, you know, being foreign and stuff. Unbelievable.

[flightsuit]

Ford in the US has completely dropped the ball when it comes to police vehicles. There used to be competition between the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, the Dodge Diplomat/Plymouth Fury, and the Chevrolet Caprice, all of which were traditional, full-size, RWD American cars, and very appropriate for police use. The Diplomat/Fury was the first to disappear in the late 1980s when Chrysler moved even their big luxury cars to a modified, FWD K-car platform.

Then the the Caprice was cancelled back in the mid 1990s. It was quite popular with police fleet buyers, and when it was discontinued, that meant the only full-size, body-on-frame, RWD vehicle Chevy could sell to police departments was an SUV.

Ford's Crown Victoria Police Interceptor has owned the police market every since. Due to the complete lack of competition, Ford stopped putting any money at all into research and development for that car; a 2010 Crown Victoria is almost identical to a 1995 model, but fleet buyers kept on buying them, 'cause they were the only game in town.

This sorry state of affairs finally began to change with the recent introduction of the RWD Dodge Charger...



And the new Caprice will continue to hold Ford to a higher standard.

[flightsuit]

It looks like Ford heard me bashing their current cop cars. Feast your eyes on the new Ford Police Interceptor:



Read about it here:

http://jalopnik.com/5491850/2012-ford-p ... eplacement

Since it's based on the Ford Taurus, it is a FWD V6 car, but AWD and twin turbos are optional.

[flightsuit]

Meanwhile, I'm no fan of the ugly new Camaro, but I must say this Texas police department has succeeded in turning one into a very Mad Max-ish pursuit special:



http://jalopnik.com/5489060/the-camaro- ... e-arrested

[Foxtrot X-Ray]

I like it.

The new Camaro would definitely not be my first choice of "The Big Three", but I wouldn't mind having one in the collection.. if I could afford a collection.

[flightsuit]

As long as we're on the topic of American police cars, here's a photo I snapped many years ago, during a visit to Lake County, California. The Monte Carlo SS ceased production in 1988, but, if I'm remembering correctly, I think I may have taken this picture as late as the early 1990s, in which case the police department was obviously holding on to this classic and getting as much use out of it as they could.

[toecutter]

Australian Federal Police Interceptor

http://onfourwheels.blogspot.com/2010/0 ... alcon.html

[flightsuit]

That is one bad-ass Interceptor! I love the AFP crest. Very Mad-Maxish. I must, however, take issue with one statement the blogger made:

Having driven around LA for a few weeks in a Lincoln Town Car (a badge brother of the Ford Crown Vic)...

He's somewhat mistaken. The Lincoln-Mercury division's Grand Marquis is the "badge brother" of the Crown Victoria. Though the Town Car is based on similar technology, it's a bigger, heavier, more luxurious vehicle than the Crown Vic or the Marquis. I'd have to double-check, but I'm pretty sure the wheelbase is longer. They definitely don't have any sheet metal in common with the Crown or Marquis.

Crown Victoria



Grand Marquis



Town Car



The Town Car sure looks like it's the same as the other two, but when you see one in person, it's obvious that it's a much larger automobile.

[mack tanker]

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