# Ford Crown Vics with spotlight & civilian plates **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 1, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161 "2013-05-01T00:38:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/1 "2013-05-01T00:38:24Z")
I see these all the time-Crown Victorias, for the uninitiated, are typically the car of choice for regular police cruisers. These have the kind of spotlights that regular cruisers have too. Otherwise they look like civilians rides. I’d imagine if they belonged to a police dept., they’d have police plates on them. No undercover cop would be dumb enough to drive around in one, of course. Are they private security? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/2 "2013-05-01T00:39:41Z")
They could just be old police cars. Are they Interceptors? ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/3 "2013-05-01T01:07:39Z")
They might also be retired taxis. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/4 "2013-05-01T01:14:08Z")
When I lived in L.A., I frequently drove by a yard in the Long Beach area where surplus police vehicles were stored. I don’t know how they were sold, but they were made available to the public for purchase. I’m pretty sure most of them were sold to taxi companies. Many of the taxis I saw every day had no trim on the front doors, which one would expect if a CHP star had been on there. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/5 "2013-05-01T01:18:53Z")
There’s a difference between an unmarked car and an undercover vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/6 "2013-05-01T01:25:55Z")
My friend’s husband bought a couple of ex-CHP Mustangs at auction a number of years ago. I imagine they also sell ex-cruiser type cars at auction to the public as well. That is probably what you saw. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/7 "2013-05-01T01:27:12Z")
Probably retired police cars, just like the Blues Brother’s car. ---
**Author:** ![leftfield6](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leftfield6/32/18780_2.png) [@leftfield6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leftfield6)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/8 "2013-05-01T01:41:33Z")
Commonly sold at auction by police departments when they are worn out. Sometimes you see them still with the police style [paint job.](http://static.flickr.com/96/230506072_6bc5ab1ace.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/9 "2013-05-01T01:55:21Z")
I see these all the time too. My question is, why isn’t the spotlight removed before the car is sold to civilians? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/10 "2013-05-01T02:13:30Z")
Why would it be? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/11 "2013-05-01T02:21:43Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I see these all the time too. My question is, why isn’t the spotlight removed before the car is sold to civilians? Because there are people who want to drive cars that look like cop cars. I see them all the time here (Indianapolis). They occupy the left lane, tailgate a lot, and generally rely on other drivers getting out of way in fear of being pulled over. They’ll often attach large antennas, decals and other things to add to the illusion. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/12 "2013-05-01T02:27:28Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Because there are people who want to drive cars that look like cop cars. I see them all the time here (Indianapolis). They occupy the left lane, tailgate a lot, and generally rely on other drivers getting out of way in fear of being pulled over. They’ll often attach large antennas, decals and other things to add to the illusion. Well I’m sure lots of people want to drive cars that look like cop cars but that doesn’t address why the _cops_ would want that as well. It seems like the very opposite of what law enforcement would want. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/13 "2013-05-01T02:29:25Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Why would it be? > [@Munch](#): > > Because there are people who want to drive cars that look like cop cars. I see them all the time here (Indianapolis). They occupy the left lane, tailgate a lot, and generally rely on other drivers getting out of way in fear of being pulled over. They’ll often attach large antennas, decals and other things to add to the illusion. Basically this. Because of the potential for police impersonation. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/14 "2013-05-01T02:35:34Z")
The potential for police impersonation is small, but the usefulness of a spotlight for taxi drivers or people who live in areas that are not well-lit is great. Besides, anyone who wants or needs a spotlight can just buy one and put it in the pre-existing hole. Why not just leave the light in? ETA: Someone told me of seeing a Crown Vic with a license plate that read NOTACOP. . ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/15 "2013-05-01T03:51:53Z")
It’s a lot easier plugging a hole drilled in a trunk lid for an antenna than it is to repair the hole in the A pillar for a spotlight. And they’re not all that police related of an option anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/16 "2013-05-01T03:58:00Z")
IIRC, my city once sold a couple of police cars and removed nothing but the radios. The buyers got marked cars with working blue lights and sirens. This was controversial for obvious reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/17 "2013-05-01T04:00:50Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > IIRC, my city once sold a couple of police cars and removed nothing but the radios. The buyers got still-marked cars with working blue lights and sirens. This was controversial for obvious reasons, and the city is more careful now. Insane. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/18 "2013-05-01T04:29:37Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Insane. And hard to believe. Notice no cite. I’m not saying it didn’t happen, I’m just saying…CITE? Many of the spotlights on used police vehicles are disabled. It’s quite easy to do as a cable is disconnected out of a fuse box, and then the bulb is removed. This is easier to do than fill in the holes used for the control arm and such. And it MUST be done as it is a capital offense for a civilian to posses a spotlight on a vehicle!!! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/19 "2013-05-01T05:09:16Z")
Back when I was just out of high school I owned a 1968 Plymouth Fury that was an ex LA County Sheriffs patrol car. The county painted it before they sold the car, a very ugly shade of orange. I My friends christened it the big orange ugly. The BOU had 2 spotlights (clear, not red) and was an absolute blast to drive. I didn’t have to tailgate anybody, people on the highway would see me a 1/4 mile back and they would make a lane change (and slow down). 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2013, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161/20 "2013-05-01T05:34:42Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > And it MUST be done as it is a capital offense for a civilian to posses a spotlight on a vehicle! …that looks exactly like a police car. Right. I agree. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ford-crown-vics-with-spotlight-civilian-plates/657161.md?page=2)