Maybe this is just one of the mysteries of life, but does anyone know why the police usually drive such big cars (Crown Vics, Expeditions, etc.)? It seems to me that criminals could be transported just as easily in smaller ones (hey, it works in Europe), if maybe not as comfortably. Not to mention that smaller cars are more maneuverable, cheaper to operate, and often perform much better. The recent insane gas hikes have just made me wonder…
You know, I’ve wondered the same thing myself. I think we might be talking about a catch-22 here – there’s never been a Ford Contour Police Interceptor model, because there’s no demand from American public safety agencies, because they’ve never been made … see where I’m going?
Having worked in local government, I’m stumped about why Ford Tauruses are the general fleet veicle of choice. If you’re a planner or engineer just going out into the field, you really don’t need such a large car. Also, considering maintenance, I think local governments might be better off with a fleet of small, fuel-efficient, American-built Honda Civics or Toyota Sentras.
Ask an officer to look inside his trunk some time…
Big cars= lotsa trunk space. They need a lot of trunk space.
Also, try getting in and out of a Dodge Neon with 15-20 pounds of duty belt strapped around your waste. For officer safety, they need to be able to get out quickly. Also, though you might think your Dodge Neon has pleanty of room, see how much space is left once all the light/siren switches and computer is installed.
Well, I may be misinformed, but I am told that the Crown Vic is the last US-made car with a frame-and-chassis construction, instead of the unibody, structural-frame construction that is typically found on cars these days.
And since police cars are heavily reinforced, have heavy duty components, and carry lots of extra equipement, they need the added weight capacity that a reinforced chassis offers. Not to mention that here in CA, the police pursuit vehicles need to be able to survive minor to moderate collisions when they do their “pick” maneuver to put an end to the (almost daily) auto chases.
And I’ve seen other Ford models used as police cars. They had a Special Vehicle Operations division that produced Mustangs and other performance vehicles for highway patrols, and I’ve seen Taurus and Escort models on the road for parking enforcement and light security duties.
The CHP stations and Sheriff’s departments in more remote locations, like eastern Riverside and San Bernadino counties, frequently use Expeditions - presumably because they need to travel more often on dirt roads. Not that a Crown Vic couldn’t do it, it’s just that an Expedition handles them better.
Of course, the police are not above using big cars (or other large vehicles) for their intimidation factor. I recently called my local PD to inquire why their chopper had been circling for an hour, making low passes over my house. It turned out there was a domestic dispute, and a woman had made verbal threats of violence. Why did they need a helicopter to circle for an hour? To intimidate her.
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- Police vehicles tend to be large because using smaller vehicles would make it even more difficult to stuff writhing perpetrators into the back seat. Some cars use confinement grating to keep people in the back seat, in the back seat, and that takes up a couple inches between the seating areas too. Also, uh, , (-here we go again-,) big cars are safer in crashes than small cars. Ask a cop if he’d rather drive a Caprice/Crown Vic or a Geo Metro, and then tell him that all the accidents he’s seen of large cars flattening small cars is a statistical anomaly.
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- The local police even experimented with a 4WD SUV, but it ended up having much higher maintenance costs- partly from general road wear, and partly from the fact that a couple officers attempted to pull people out of snow and ditches by attaching the tow cable to the SUV’s front bumper, and putting it in reverse. -Which is a real good way to damage the front axle of just about any light 4WD truck, -which is exactly what happened twice, -which cost a couple grand to fix both times.
- The IL state police also have a couple unmarked Chevy Camaros in the area, but they do [inot* transport arrests in them - they call a regular car to do that. - MC
Also, cars like the Crown Vic have been around a long time and haven’t changed a lot meaning they’re very reliable and solid albeit archaic in some ways.
It may also be a reflection of traditional U.S. automakers’ approaches to car design: American cars tend to be big and heavy, with big engines designed to have high top speeds. Import cars tend to focus more on quickness, handling, and acceleration.
American police need big cars for the reasons mentioned above, but the cars produced by Ford and Chevy have traditionally been big and fast.
^zertron
You are correct. I was just reading an article on the Crown Vic Police Special in Popular Science (don’t laugh, it was the best available reading in the doctor’s waiting room). They said it’s the last unibody vehicle, and cops buy them for durability.
They did one really interesting test, they went to Hertz and rented a stock Crown Vic without the “Police Eliminator” engine and it substantially beat the Police Special in all handling, speed, and accelleration tests. The cars were almost the same weight so that couldn’t account for it…
Not to nit-pick, bug, but it’s called P.I.T., not “Pick”.
It stands for Pusuit Intervention Technique.
Non-Police vehicle fleets use larger cars, too.
I work for the Tennessee State Department of Transportation.
We use vans , Tauruses & other larger vehicles.
The reason for this is simple–personnel survival in the event of an accident. Transportation personnel are out late at night, & in adverse weather. Also, the more hours per year that you drive, the higher the number of accidents, per year…
The cost in cash for on-the-job deaths is higher than the savings for smaller cars.
Though, that may change.
Chas: The new Police Interceptors have the same engine as the civilian cars, but a heavy-duty suspension and electrical system. The police Crown Vic is 5 mph slower than the civilian one, because of the drag from the light bar 
Back in the good ol’ days, an Interceptor engine was a really big, souped-up, almost-race engine. Dodges had 440s (remember the original Bluesmobile?). The 1967-69 Ford 428 Interceptor was also used in the Shelby GT500 Mustang. In the early '70s, Ford had a 460 Interceptor…a specially tuned version of the engine used mainly in one-ton trucks and the biggest Lincolns. Imagine the gas mileage that got at WOT. :eek:
In the early ‘90s, there were Mustang Interceptors–Cobra-tuned 5.0L V8 (and stiff springs) in the base-model LX coupe. Now they use Z28 Camaros for the high-speed work, but all of the highway patrolmen I’ve talked to preferred the Mustangs’ better handling and stability at speed (even though they were a tiny bit slower). As already stated, they call in a regular squad car (Crown Vic/Caprice) to take the guy in once they catch him.
The Police Interceptor model they tested was straight from the factory without lights, radios, and other special equipment installed after it leaves the factory. Must be something else that accounts for the difference. I dunno. Could be the tires, for all I know.
From the factory, most Police Interceptor packages have H-rated tires on steel 15" wheels, for what it’s worth. I’d make a wild guess and say the differential in speed is due to the beefed-up electrical systems needed to add light bars and the like. Extra batteries, heavy-duty alternator, and things like that add quite a bit of weight. This kind of equipment would have to be installed at the factory, because the electronics on the 4.6L V-8 are far too delicate for the average police department mechanic to monkey around with.
I tried a few searches, but couldn’t find anything that’d answer the OP, but I’d still like to make a wild guess. I figure that police departments use larger vehicles for the added interior space, to make room for all the necessary equipment that a police car needs. I know the RCMP have been using Dodge Intrepids for a few years as well as the traditional Crown Vics and the last few Caprices they have, because of the class-leading interior space.
That’s my wild guess, but I’ll try to get a straight answer out of my cousin the cop…
My friend’s brother David had one of those SVO Mustangs. Awesome machine. He had taken off the “SVO” badge from the side and replaced it with a “5.0 Liter” badge, and would street race it. But he eventually wrapped it around a tree during a rainstorm… The wreckage is still in his mom’s backyard.
The answer has already been given but I may as well chime in anyway. Power (through mass) for the inevitable collisions the car will be in, and space for all the equipment. I own a civilian model Crown Vic and I drive one on the job. It is amazing how much less room their is in the police cruiser. It is very important that we not be cramped in our cars lest we need to draw our service pistol or even the shotgun, let alone the fact that I spend about 5-6 hours (easily) a day in that car.
oops, just reread my first post, and I realize I made a huge mistake. Unibody is the new system of “frameless” construction (the car body panels are the frame and structural support), the Crown Vic is NOT unibody, but the last non-unibody car. Sorry for the goof.
well, I think there are probably couple reasons. First off, they need tons of trunk space, and the Crown Vics have plenty. Also, a big, boomy V8 LT1 Police engine won’t fit in a Chevy Cavalier very easily.
I once saw a Corvette cop car belonging to the San Jose police department. I always wondered what Earthly purpose that served, and if it was a confiscated drug-dealer’s car that they decided to press into service.
But, yes, most are Crown Vic’s, for the reasons already given. Many years ago, they used Plymouth Fury’s a lot, too. There used to be a lot of mythology floating about concerning the Plymouth “police special” or “blueprint” 440.
While we’re at it, unibody is “new” only in very relative terms. Chrysler used it extensively in the 60’s, and Hudson was the first American maker to use it for their entire line in 1948. Slowly, more and more makers switched from using it only on their smaller cars to using it across the board, until now the Crown Vic is the only car by a major maker with body on frame construction.
I should point out that I have also seen Chevy Caprice Classics in service as police cruisers, mostly by local city PDs here in LA county.
Just being fair. Although I am a Ford man.
Lots of departments still use 'em. However, Chevy quit making them a few years ago, so there aren’t any new ones. There’s one for sale near here ('96, LT1, even has the A-pillar spotlight, $6995). If I didn’t distrust all things Chevy, I’d buy it. 