# Why don't cops drive foreign cars? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 22, 2006, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112 "2006-01-22T15:16:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112/61 "2006-01-23T14:44:25Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > I can only raise one very obvious point - police in other countries cope fine with a clutch in such situations. And as a single example, the clutch in [this car](http://www.ipswichtransportmuseum.co.uk/x428lgv.htm) coped far better than **silenus** ’s predictions. I’m just gonna raise another obvious point: That’s probably because they’ve always done it that way. Cops in this country have always used automatic and it seems to have worked rather well for them, so it wouldn’t make much sense to add a complication to all the various crap a cop has to deal with in a high speed persuit. \Besides, those European cops probably don’t get many _real_ high speed chases. Yep. Not like the ones they get in the ol’ US of A. 😃 \ On a sidenote, wasn’t there at least one chase in the US that involved a tank? ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112/62 "2006-01-23T15:09:16Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > I’ve already linked to an example of apparently-successful use of a Subaru Outback, so without an explanation of what they omitted from the equipment, I don’t think your argument holds much weight. Well, it doesn’t say exactly what they use it for. From looking at the pictures, they don’t have push bars like most patrol cars (and the Cherokee and Tahoe) and they don’t seem to have the same radio antennas that the trucks do. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112/63 "2006-01-23T15:52:48Z")
> [@tschild](#): > > What’s so extraordinary about that? VW Bugs widerly served as patrol cars. > > [Photograph of unit with call sign Isar 10, served Munich police 1973-1987](http://www.polizeiautos.de/show_one.php?id=979). > [Another one, from Hessen state police](http://www.polizeiautos.de/show_one.php?id=1052) > > Hessen state police used [a still smaller model](http://www.polizeiautos.de/show_one.php?id=819) (BMW Isetta 250). > > Hamburg police have [more modern small car](http://www.polizeiautos.de/show_one.php?id=1794) in their fleet (Smart Fortwo) Aren’t a lot of these basically publicity vehicles? I believe the Toronto police have a Beetle that goes around to schools and malls and such… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2006, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112/64 "2006-01-23T16:04:19Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > SNIP > On a sidenote, wasn’t there at least one chase in the US that involved a tank? Yup. Guy stole a tank. One of the better events in the tape of that event is the guy SHREDDING an RV like it was made out of paper mache. Tanked through it like it was butter. The tank got stuck, the cops swarmed it, opened the lid on the driver’s compartment and shot the guy to death. They claimed he “might have gotten it unstuck and injured the public” but I have questions as to whether or not they could have avoiding killing the guy. I’m sure he was mentally ill to do that, and the tank seemed VERY stuck to me. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112/65 "2006-01-24T09:03:35Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > I’m just gonna raise another obvious point: That’s probably because they’ve always done it that way. Cops in this country have always used automatic and it seems to have worked rather well for them, so it wouldn’t make much sense to add a complication to all the various crap a cop has to deal with in a high speed persuit. [Nitpick] The automatic transmission didn’t become commonplace until **after** WW II. [/Nitpick] ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112/66 "2006-01-24T10:01:39Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > > [@tschild](#): > > > > What’s so extraordinary about that? VW Bugs widerly served as patrol cars. > > > > Photograph of unit with call sign Isar 10, served Munich police 1973-1987. > > Another one, from Hessen state police > > > > Hessen state police used a still smaller model (BMW Isetta 250). > > > > Hamburg police have more modern small car in their fleet (Smart Fortwo) > > Aren’t a lot of these basically publicity vehicles? I believe the Toronto police have a Beetle that goes around to schools and malls and such… The last one (the Smart Fortwo) possibly. The other ones (from the 1950s-1970s) were in regular service. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112/67 "2006-01-24T16:06:57Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > [Nitpick] The automatic transmission didn’t become commonplace until **after** WW II. [/Nitpick] Well, mind you, when I say “always” my frame of reference only goes back to about halfway through 1984. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112/68 "2006-01-24T16:35:53Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Aren’t a lot of these basically publicity vehicles? I believe the Toronto police have a Beetle that goes around to schools and malls and such… I don’t know about those, but [this one](http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/funabashi521/3000) (10th photo) is in regular service. It’s a Daihatsu Mira Gino which has a 0.66-liter engine. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2006, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112/69 "2006-01-24T20:33:56Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > You also have to keep in mind, along with all of the above, the need for police cruisers to carry a ton of equipment inside, and still have room for cuffed prisoners in the back seat. This also necessitates a 4-door vehicle of some sort. Not to mention that Ford has a long history of providing specialized Crown Victorias to police departments all over the country. It would seem that by this time the Crown Vic is fairly well entrenched because it’s what the police have become accustomed to using. ---
**Author:** ![Big\_Cheesy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c4cdca/32.png) [@Big\_Cheesy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Big_Cheesy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112/70 "2006-01-25T01:08:32Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Nope, but only American cars have 4 doors _and meet the other requirements listed above._ Unless you start counting SUVs in the mix, I think American gas-guzzlers are going to be most suited for the wide range of patrol areas covered by American police departments. And SUVs have the HUGE limitation that they can’t corner at high speed. I know of at least one cop who nearly soiled himself the first time he chased someone while driving a new Tahoe (this was about 8 years ago). He hit the brakes because the high center of gravity made the truck nearly tip, only to discoverthat it had anti-lock brakes, while cops are traditionally trained with disc. He came very close to a very, very bad day. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112/71 "2006-01-25T02:41:21Z")
> [@Big Cheesy](#): > > SNIP He hit the brakes because the high center of gravity made the truck nearly tip, only to discoverthat it had anti-lock brakes, while cops are traditionally trained with disc. He came very close to a very, very bad day. …while cops are traditionally trained with disc. _cocks head_ Ummmmmm, yeah. Plenty of disc brakes that are ABS, plenty that aren’t. You meant to say non-ABS? Also, if he was in the middle of a corner that placed the vehicle at the limits of its cornering, hitting the brakes hard enough to activate ABS was kinda’ dumb. That’s a prescription for winding up in the ditch, actually. Tell his to boss to spring for one of those fancy Bob Bondurant pursuit driving classes. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112/72 "2006-01-25T17:33:44Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > Not to mention that Ford has a long history of providing specialized Crown Victorias to police departments all over the country. It would seem that by this time the Crown Vic is fairly well entrenched because it’s what the police have become accustomed to using. Nail-on-the-head, I suspect. Perhaps it’s simply that because the Crown Vic is so entrenched as the ‘standard’ police vehicle, a huge amount of the equipment is designed to fit into the interior of this vehicle. Therefore, any other choice of vehicle needs similar dimensions, which is most likely to be other American cars which compete for the Crown Vic’s market. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2006, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112/73 "2006-01-26T02:33:30Z")
> [@BarnOwl](#): > > I didn’t read all the posts thoroughly so somone might have mentioned that long ago famous ad headlined: > > ``` > **Don't laugh** > > ``` > > and the graphic showed a VW Bug that served as a real cop car, replete with appropriate wording painted on the side to the camera Several years ago I was in Wilmington, NC, where the city PD had a real VW Bug for cruising (patrolling) the narrow downtown alleys. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112/74 "2006-02-27T02:14:10Z")
Update I happened to run into a guy who worked for one of the local municipalities servicing police cars and I asked him if they were using Impalas or Crown Vics. His response was that they were ditching the Impalas as fast as they could. It seems that there were a large number of injuries among service personnel as they were installing things like spotlights, etc. So given that most foreign cars are the size of Impalas or smaller, I’d say that was going to be the best answer you can get. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112/75 "2006-02-27T03:09:16Z")
> [@Mr. Slant](#): > > Criterion: > > 1. Acceleration > A. 0-60 time 8.8 seconds or better ('05 Impala) > B. 0-100 time 25.2 seconds or better (approx. '05 Impala > 2. Top Speed: 122 MPH or better ('05 Impala) > 3. Interior Room: 104.7 cu ft ('05 Impala) > 4. Trunk Volume: 18.6 cu ft ('05 Impala) > 5. Invoice: $23250 or less > > I used the stats above since they’re a low baseline. The Crown Vic can beat all of the above numbers (except the “city PD” version with the aggressive rear-end ratio… top speed is 115.) > Seriously, please find me an import that meets or exceeds all the above. I’m not saying you can’t, I just can’t think of one. > I suspect you can’t make a business case for an import that matches the above, since most imports that big are… pricy. Maybe the V6 accord? OK, its been a couple of years, but the 98-99 Volvo S70 T-5. The California Highway Patrol bought 10 for patrol duty. In all tests it spanked the Crown Vic with the exception of trunk space IIRC. The Volvo had close to a 20MPH top speed difference with the light bar installed. It would just motor away from a Crown Vic. Yes the retail price was above 23,500, but what makes you think the CHP paid retail? Does Volvo currently have a car that could be used as a police car? Sure a couple but you have to remember that big brother (Ford) has almost a lock on the police cruiser market and may not want us playing in their sandbox. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112/76 "2006-02-27T04:01:25Z")
Washington Stade Patrol had mustangs in the 80’s, I test drove one that had been sold at auction. High output 5liter 302 with a 5 speed manual tranny. that car was all balls, I started sliding while merging onto the freeway on dry pavement going into 3rd gear. no I wasnt pushing it hard either. so they arent ALL auto, just the vast majority. as for fwd vrs rwd, performance wise Fwd will never, ever come close to what you can do with a Rwd. 2 cars whos only difference is front vrs rear the fwd will lose every time. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112/77 "2006-02-27T15:48:53Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > SNIP > Does Volvo currently have a car that could be used as a police car? Sure a couple but you have to remember that big brother (Ford) has almost a lock on the police cruiser market and may not want us playing in their sandbox. 🙂 Heck, Rick, if Volvo wanted to confuse the heck out of various market segmentation consumers, you could always badge engineer a Crown Vic with a Volvo logo. Just have to add stability control, or air bags mounted in the back side of the front seats, or maybe a REALLY nice Euro-looking voice-activated navigation system. And nicer leather than the CV normally gets. Then you could offer a police package Volvo XRC62 or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112/78 "2006-02-27T16:09:10Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > I’m just gonna raise another obvious point: That’s probably because they’ve always done it that way. Cops in this country have always used automatic and it seems to have worked rather well for them, so it wouldn’t make much sense to add a complication to all the various crap a cop has to deal with in a high speed persuit I would have thought it helped a lot in stop-start traffic too, you don’t wear yourself out before you leave the car. Given that they’re not too worried about fuel consumption like a taxi driver (especially so in the US) a large engine will take care of the slack an automatic gearchange gives you. > [@Big Cheesy](#): > > And SUVs have the HUGE limitation that they can’t corner at high speed. I know of at least one cop who nearly soiled himself the first time he chased someone while driving a new Tahoe (this was about 8 years ago). He hit the brakes because the high center of gravity made the truck nearly tip, only to discoverthat it had anti-lock brakes, while cops are traditionally trained with disc. He came very close to a very, very bad day. SUV’s aren’t really used in high speed chases, just for motorway patrols at least here in the UK and the US from what I’ve seen on tv. SUVs have huge space inside, that’s their advantage for cops. That and they’re deadlier if you run over a suspect 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2006, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112/79 "2006-02-27T18:45:46Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > SNIP > SUV’s aren’t really used in high speed chases, just for motorway patrols at least here in the UK and the US from what I’ve seen on tv. SUVs have huge space inside, that’s their advantage for cops. That and they’re deadlier if you run over a suspect 😃 Pushkin, Most police package SUVs aren’t intended for pursuit driving. In fact, every Ford SUV with a police/special service package has “Not for pursuit driving” written in bold letters on its brochure. I will point out that for at least a couple of years Chevrolet _was_ advertising their police package Tahoe as “pursuit-rated”. Based on an interview I read of a GM executive, it almost sounds like GM got tired of cops whining about GM not having a RWD, V8 interceptor. “Okay, here, it’s a V8 and RWD. Go chase traffic with it!” Anyone remember Jeep’s stance on whether or not the Cherokee was “pursuit-rated” ? I remember the W.Va state police were using them for a couple of years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-cops-drive-foreign-cars/341112.md?page=3)