Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Crown Vic to bow out?

The pending demise of the Ford Crown Victoria is the subject of a detailed article in the Detroit News a week ago Friday. The rumor has been persistent for several years, but it looks like Ford is drawing its line in the sand. Too bad—it’s been a workhorse. I can’t imagine fleet managers warming up quickly to the Taurus. The cool roll-over in the on-line article pretty much explains why the Crown Vic has been so popular as a police patrol car.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Chief-

What are you going to switch the fleet to chargers or impalas? Also are you going with a new design on the crusier?

Anonymous said...

The ease of drivetrain/suspension repair/maintenance of the CVPI vs the Taurus (or the Impala, or any FWD car) are miles apart. Structural toughness is also an issue. Additionally, while the impressive top end of the CVPI will almost never come into play for an agency like LPD, that can't be said of LSO, NSP, or any similar agency that spends a fair amount of time covering a lot of ground in a hurry when responding to high-priority calls that are many miles away. About all you gain is better snow performance, and better mpg, but that's all I can see.

Anonymous said...

Was the individual cited in A9-089005 also the victim in A9-088987? If so, considering the actual target items of most home invasion robberies, that would make sense, and I wonder why the press chose not to make the connection. The HIR story made the AP (but not the resultant citation). I have to wonder why the resident would answer the door the second time (or the first time, for that matter).

Anonymous said...

Chief- You've been around law enforcement for awhile and have probably driven all kinds of cruisers back in the day when any ol' sedan would do the job. Care to take us on a trip down memory lane?

Tom Casady said...

10:08-

Yes.

10:20-

In my street days, I was assigned to a Fury, Harley, Coronet, LTD II, Diplomat, and Reliant. On occasion, I would drive a Fairmont, Nova, and Malibu, but I don't think I ever had one of those as an assigned car.

My favorite car was the 1972 Fury that Barry Rogers and I were assigned on the ASAP squad in 1975. It was a low-miler that was only driven on a single shift, so it was a peach. The K-car I shared with Sgt. Bill Jernigan was surprisingly good, but it had a full-size Federal light bar on top, that was like pushing a billboard down I-180.

Jon Holmes said...

Chief,

The City of Laramie WY lease/purchased 30 Impala's beginning 2007 for a take home program. MPG was a listed factor for the bid award, as well as price. You might want to take a look at the other entities service records before deciding. Every one of our patrol vehicles have been in for MAJOR waranty work, as well as quite a few officer complaints. We have literally walked a few folks to jail who would not fit into the back seat... With no Dodge dealership within 50 miles our choices are limited. Good Luck!

Anonymous said...

For those of you who DIDN'T get to drive one, the 1968 Plymouth Fury I with the 383 hemi was the one to drive. (Followed closely by the 72-73 Fury)

Anonymous said...

Just for the record, the 383 was not a Hemi it was a wedge motor. These terms (wedge/hemispherical) refer to the shape of the combustion chamber in the engine. The Hemi in this era was a 426.

Wow, gearhead talk on the Chief's blog. Who wudda thunk it???

Anonymous said...

Some of the smaller officers may be somewhat comfortable in the Impala and Taurus but there isn't much wiggle room for bigger officers. I'd like to see LPD go with more Chevy Tahoes instead of the small cars that can cause back problems in taller officers.

I know they don't get the gas mileage of the small cars but it will be a touch shift in a car that is too small.

Anonymous said...

The 383 in that '68 police interceptor would have been a wedge, not a hemi.

Tom Casady said...

3:00-

Speaking of wudda thunk, Jon Morris and I were just reminiscing about car 85A: a 1973 Ford that doesn't show up on our history of LPD vehicles page. It was the airport car. The 460 in that baby got it's exercise on runway 36R.

Anonymous said...

To anonymous 3:31, I am definitely one of those "bigger officers" (6 ft 6 in. 300 lbs) and I am currently assigned to a Tahoe cruiser and I have to say it is the most uncomfortable cruiser I've had to drive. It is slow, the brakes go away under any kind of hard driving and the seat configuration leaves my legs cramped after any more than 2 hours behind the wheel. I've driven Crown Vic's most of my career and am of the opinion they are the most well suited of any available, but I've also had the displeasure of driving an Impala or 2 in a previous department. The Impala's are just not a good car period. Poorly built and way underpowered. Whatever LPD decides to go with please keep in mind that all officers aren't built the same and go with something that will accommodate the largest group as well as those of smaller stature.

Anonymous said...

Should get some VW's

Anonymous said...

What about non-traditional vehicles? How about a Prius or some other hybrid?