I’ve noticed that many (if not most) of the police cars and taxis that I see are Crown Victorias. Two questions:
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Is the Crown Vic the most common taxi and police car model?
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If so, why? (And if not, what is the most common, and why?)
Crown Vics are the ideal taxicab. They have good seating capacity, a nice big trunk, and a durable power plant. It isn’t uncommon to put a quarter-million miles on the engine and transmission.
The police model has similar endurance, and a beefed up engine that can outrun most of what’s on the road. Endurance is necessary because nearly all of a cop car’s time is spent idling or cruising at low speed.
The Chevy Caprice used to be used as well, for similar reasons. Impalas are used now to a small degree by police forces.
The Ford Pather-Body (Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis, Town Car) is the last of the full-size, body-on-frame (as opposed to unibody), rear wheel drive, V8 engined cars still in production. These characteristics all lend themselves to low repair costs, durability and comfortable ride. The GM B-Body (Caprice and friends) were last made for the 1996 model year, so they are becoming less common as the older ones fall apart and get retired from service.
Recently it seems that the current Chevy Impala, which is front drive, V6 engined and unibody, has been proving itself to be a decently durable vehicle for these purposes, and so has been gaining a little more favor as a police car and taxi. Chrysler will be coming out with a new rear-drive LX-Body series of vehicles in a year or two, so you might see those pressed into public service as well, sometime around calendar year 2005.
-Andrew L
The car manufacturer gets contract with the various police departments to produce police-issued cars, hence why you’ll see may cars all of the same type.
As to why the Crwon Vic was chosen, it’s a variety of reasons. Durability, trunk space, engine size, interior space.
Slight hijack: I read somewhere that some state police used Dodge Vipers to catch speeders. Can’t remember what state this was. I can’t see how they could justify the cost of a Viper. Is there any truth in this?
One reason for the cabs being Crown Vics is because cab companies often convert old police cars into cabs to take advantage of all the heavy duty parts etc.
Cite (Look at the bottom of the article.)
Don’t forget exploding bumpers. 
Fleet sales, fleet sales, fleet sales.
I can’t see it. Camaros, Mustangs, yeah, but not a Viper. I’ve seen diecast models like that, I’ve seen them in video games, and I’ve seen some pictures of Vipers with police paint jobs, but an actual on-duty Viper? I don’t think so.
They’re not necessarily bought. Cars are sometimes confiscated in drug raids, and they’re then either auctioned off, or turned into police cars.
As an example of what Chronos mentions, I’ve seen this sequence with one particular vehicle:
Late-model Corvette seized under drug forfiture laws --> used by department for “sting” drug buys --> local dealers catch on to that car --> car repainted and used for traffic and speed enforcement --> Car repainted again and used as a DARE program officer’s vehicle.
Again, Corvettes and the like are way less valuable than a Viper. In one seizure case I know of, the police sold a Viper and bought two premium SUVs with the proceeds. I can just barely imagine holding onto it for undercover work, but painting it and using it for speed interdiction? It would maintain its value much better when converted into cash.
Besides, they must be incredibly expensive to maintain.
Besides the items people have mentioned (Durability, trunk space, engine size, interior space) there is the effect of a self-fulfilling trend.
Enough police departments have found the Crown Vic suitable, that Ford now offers dealers the ability to order the “police package” for this car, which is a set of options commonly wanted for police vehicles. And since Ford builds them as a “standard” package, often in batches, they can offer a better price on them.
And dealers have found this to be a profitable business for them – governments pay up front, their checks don’t bounce, and they replace vehicles fairly often. Here in Minnesota, we have a Ford dealer in a small rural town that specializes in police vehicles – he bids on supplying police cars to government bodies all over the state. And because of his volume, he offers good prices, and wins many of these contracts.
Besides the items people have mentioned (Durability, trunk space, engine size, interior space) there is the effect of a self-fulfilling trend.
Enough police departments have found the Crown Vic suitable, that Ford now offers dealers the ability to order the “police package” for this car, which is a set of options commonly wanted for police vehicles. And since Ford builds them as a “standard” package, often in batches, they can offer a better price on them.
And dealers have found this to be a profitable business for them – governments pay up front, their checks don’t bounce, and they replace vehicles fairly often. Here in Minnesota, we have a Ford dealer in a small rural town that specializes in police vehicles – he bids on supplying police cars to government bodies all over the state. And because of his volume, he offers good prices, and wins many of these contracts.
A viper for a D.A.R.E car, maybe, but not as a general patrol/pursuit. Way too risky and expensive.
I have seen plenty of unmarked Mustangs and Camaros used for covert speed enforcement, especially on holiday weekends.
As for the standard Crown Vic/Caprice Classic/Impala, I saw a show on Discovery Channel (or similar station) describing their characteristics. Ford produces certain models for police work with “Interceptor” packages, which includes (most importantly) extremely heavy duty coolant and electrical/battery systems, upgraded suspension components, and some smaller things that escape my memory. Chevrolet no doubt provides similar packages.
As for taxis, they can probably purchase some of the same features. . .and quite of few of the cabs I’ve seen/ridden in appear to actually be retired or refurbished police vehicles. (oops, just noticed emulsified alread said this, and with a cite even!)
Another interesting thing to note–maybe suggesting either that fleet purchases of such vehicles are a great bargain, or that their reliability is extremely high, or both–is the number of these vehicles used for huge fleets that demand long life and reliability, but not necessarily heavy-duty abuse. For example, municipal fleets–the cars driven by city inspectors, housing authorities, etc. They need to take lots of miles, but not chase down speeders, sit idling all day, have a ton of electrical equipment running in them, and so on.
Here is a link to the official home page of Ford’s Police Interceptor line. It contains all kinds of information and documents relating to how they are different from regular Crown Vics and why.
My brother in law who sells law enforcement equipment, bought a (relatively) low mileage former police cruiser Crown Vic. Late one night he took me out in it. Along with all the heavy-duty stuff that makes it an ideal taxicab, there are two exceptional modifications.
The steering has been modified so that the turning radius is more like a sports car than a land yacht. That car has a narrower turning radius than my Taurus, or the Kunilou kids’ even smaller Chevrolet Corsica. Certainly a change from my father’s old Vic.
The car does not have exceptionally good pickup, but when my BIL got it up to highway speed and then floored it, it was like an afterburner kicked in. The transmission had been re-geared for high speed accelleration and cruising.
Slight correction – police departments don’t contract with car manufacturers, but with individual car dealers. Otherwise, same principles apply.
A few years ago in Car and Driver or Motor Trend, I read an article that GM was putting Police Interceptor packages into the Chevrolet Tahoe SUV.
Is it legal to purchase a vehicle that would have police car specifications? I ask because the concept of a durable, long lasting car seems pretty appealing.
It certainly isn’t difficult to get your hands on a used interceptor; condition will vary greatly, but it is possible to get one fairly young (I bought a one year old once) and in good shape.
If there was one thing I learned from watching The Blues Brothres, it’s that ex cop cars are cool. Cops shocks, cop brakes… plus they can leap across opening bridges.
What you really want is one with the lights and siren still working - no more rush hour traffic blues!