Charger Police Cars
 

I know this isn't really news or anything, but I still love seeing the Charger police cars. They just looks so friggin' tough.

http://inventorspot.com/articles/speeders_beware_8575

Without a doubt though, in my mind, Virginia State Troopers is the hottest of the bunch (not pictured in the article) they just look the part; plus the fact that VA State Troopers are genuinely cool cats.

Now makes me wonder if any PD's will get the cajones to get a Challenger Police car? I think it was Florida or North Carolina that used to don the 5 litre Mustang. Albeeno, would probably lend insight on these.

http://www.allpar.com/squads/police-cars/charger.html

I know the colors are bit off, but I swear it reminds of the Grey Ghost. Chrysler should really consider offering two tone factory paint option.

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

I think I good car for the police to have.

I remember when I first got my Dodge Ram in 96. I saw a black one in my rear view mirror, thinking cool, another Dodge Ram. It sure was.[sm=bustedsign.gif] Got a speeding ticket. He didn't turn his lights on, until he was right behind me. [&o]

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

In San Antonio, there's a suburb called Alamo Heights that is completely surrounded by the city. Heights has two of the Charger cop cars, one white with conventional police markings and the other that's dark blue with some kind of marking on the side that's only visible when you're directly to the side of the car -- a little bit to the front or a little bit to the rear and the Alamo Heights Police sign disappears. It's pretty cool. Needless to say, when I got to work in the afternoons, the blue Charger generally has someone pulled over to get a ticket. :D

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

I've read in more than once article about Virginia leading the charge in the U.S. on insanely high speeding fines...

From a recent Autoblog article...

Drivers in Virginia might want to be particularly watchful of speed limits. Surpassing the limit by 15 mph will now cost you $1,250 plus court costs. Topping 80 mph will cost you double that and possibly jail time. All this seems pretty extreme, especially if a driver isn't driving recklessly or the speed limit is set artificially low.

Guess we all now know how they can afford those cool new Charger police cars, no? ;)

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

The Wisconsin State Patrol had the 5.0 Mustangs too. Now I've seen 2 Chargers in the fleet. A light blue one in Waukesha County, Patrolling I-94 west of Milwaukee. The other one is black in Kenosha & Racine counties, patrolling I-94 south of Milwaukee. Both unmarked cars.

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

From what I understand, The exorbitant speeding fines in Virginia ONLY apply to residents. While NO speeding ticket is cheap (with the fine, administrative fees, insurance hike....), I believe the fines for out-of-staters is far lower than natives.

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

That is strange, I guess the thought is the local residents should know better.

I remember I got a ticket on the toll way in California because I was confused by the signs and I apparently passed a toll without paying and a month later I got a ticket in the mail.

I called them about it and in the discussion they determined I was driving a rental vehicle. When they found that out they said, they were going to dismiss the ticket.

They tracked me down because it was a rental via records. They were lenient on me but I guess they just wanted to give me a hard time.

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

I'm seeing more and more of them. They seem to be catching on much better than the Intrepid did. The expression on the front reminds me of Clint Eastwood, "Do you feel lucky, punk?" I think the chances of their being a police package for the Challenger is about as likely as a police package for the convertible PT Crusier. The reason why they had fox body Mustang police packages was that during the 80s, the LTDs, Caprices, and Diplomats were very slow at their stock level as they were heavy and had zero power. The Mustang was able to take off as it weighed less and could give them the performance they were needing. Many of the people who used the Mustangs were complaining that the Mustang had practically no room for their equipment, let alone any rear passengers they would happen to pick up. Ford stopped making a full blown police package for the Mustang for a reason.

The LT1 powered Caprices of the 90s started to regain the market as they offered the room the police were accustomed to, the performance that was rivaling a Mustang, and the safety they sought. The Caprice was discounted after Ford already got the Mustang out of the police market and many of the police were satisfied enough with the Crown Vic. GM tried making Camaro police packages during that time to take over the remains of the market, but there simply wasn't enough sales to the fleets to justify keeping it in production.

The whole thing is it begs the question, why would you bother to buy a Challenger for a police car over a Charger. They will weigh about the same, they will use the same powertrains (with the exception of the Challenger getting a manual, which police prefer automatics on the column for their computers and equipment), a similar suspension, etc. You will end up with a more inconvenient path to put stubborn criminals, less storage room, with no real advantages. If the issue is the police need more power than the 5.7L, it would make more sense to just offer the 6.1L in the Charger. Something to think about, the Magnum police package was not a very hot seller, and that was technically a more practical choice for the police as it had the performance of the Charger with the room for a K-9 unit cage all in one package, and/or more storage space. If the police passed up on that, why would they go with less convenience and space?

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

I don't think they'll be making any Challenger cop cars unless they 4-door 'em.[:'(]
BUt i like the idaho Chargers too.

http://www.isp.state.id.us/news_rele...ger8x10-v2.jpg

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

RLSH700, you answer your own question.

They probably went with the sedans because of some silly stigma or concern over IMAGE. That is the exact same reason they would opt for a Challenger, simply because it'll look tough. I'm not saying they'll have ton's of 'em...but I'd be surprised if there weren't more than a few across the nations PDs or state police.

You're point is absolutely valid, the most practical vehicle would have been the Magnum, but they didn't opt for it.

Think about it, why would they purchase HD's over Honda's or some other more reliable bike? They get Harley's because of image I would venture.

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

Pennsylvania has two 90's Mustangs, a coupe and a convertible. I've seen the same trooper driving the convertible for several years and asked him about it once. He said they're both drug siezure cars, and all they ever use them for is to go around and tell kids how bad drugs are. A noble mission, to be sure, but I wonder if he ever gets frustrated never really getting to use the thing?

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

Is it replete with spinners, a dope sound system and "crazy mad" bling accoutrements? The convertible I mean...;)

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

FYI - Mass. State Police have a C5 Corvette that I've seen out on the roads. Fortunately I've been lucky enough to avoid it altogether! Also, the Wayland, MA Police Dept. have a considerable amount of new Chargers as part of their fleet.

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

Skippy, your misunderstanding the point. The police simply like sedans better than coupes because they are more functional for their purposes. During the late 90s-02 the Camaro was by far the fastest police package. the acceleration times were about 5.9 secs on the police version 0-60 run and the top speed was about 159mph. The Camaro suppsively was less expensive than the Crown Vic whos acceleration times were in the 8 sec range and the top speed was between the mid 120 to low 130 range, yet it sold very few units.

Will there be at least 1 or more Challengers used by the police? I'm sure they will, just don't expect an offical police package is all I'm saying. It would be an excellent undercover cop vehicle as no one will suspect a Challenger just as most people still don't suspect Chargers like they suspect Crown Vics since it is newer to the market. There are some police stations that have used Cadillac Escalades in the past and we know that the Escalade does not come in a police package.

There have been other station wagons used as police interceptors, in fact I've seen a few Caprice wagons of the last gen Caprice, but they were not popular enough in recent years to use let alone offer an offical package and things haven't changed. The police simply like sedans better for some reason. Also the use of an SUV seems to be favored probably for those times they have to chase someone down a backroad.

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

I'm not missing the point. Your point is crystal and totally valid. Four door sedan is much more practical. Further to your point, the Wagon is even more of a good thing, but they like the sedan (probably allows shotguns and other such goodies to be locked away - that and the fairly expensive video recording apparatus).

I'm not disagreeing with you, I doubt Chrysler will offer a Police Challenger package too, but I can't wait for some affluent or lucky (confiscation) PD to roll one up into an intimidating precision machine of Law Enforcement; the kind Beaufort T. Justice would be proud to captain!

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

The FHP (FL Hwy Patrol) use numerous undercover Chargers for speed enforcement. They are all silver R/T's.

The cop on the Harley uses LAZER [:@] then the Charger is the chase car.

BTW The cops hate the Chargers. I work very closely w/ West Palm Beach PD. They got a few test chargers to try out. The cops hated them for not handleing and lack of room compared to theCrownVics.

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

All I've heard is good things about the Charger Police cars. As far as handling. IRS (independent rear suspension) for the Charger and solid axle for the Crown Vic. I don't know what Cop you talked to, but he must love Fords. The Charger is in a league by itself when it comes to handling. The Cop you talked to must have hemroids and wants a cushy ride. So is it the softer ride of the Vic or the excellent handling of the Charger? And the Charger has faster excelleration and superior braking. I'm not sure if it has cup holders as the Vic and an easy clean up of donut crumbs:D

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

Okay, I see what your saying now. Your not talking about a package, but an undercover cop type situation. I doubt that you would see Beaufort T. Justice in a Challenger as he seemed to prefer Pontiac LeMans and Pontiac Parisienne. Perhaps he would fit better in an Aztek in terms of attractiveness of the car Beaufort T. Justice would drive.:D

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

You guys are funny and must be real old to know Beaufort T. Justice.:D

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

As old as dirt! LOL! Or just a big enough fan of movies with interesting car chases. ;)

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

That movie was the biggest commercial for CB radios I had ever seen. Kinda like what John Travolta did for disco dancing.:D

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

Breaker breaker 1 9. 10-4 Good buddy. Catch you on the flip flop this heres the lear4406 I'm east bound and down got the pedal to the metal because it green and clean 10-4.:D

RE: Charger Police Cars
 

Wow, as a 6 year old, my handle was T-Bird. My 10-20 was in the country in Virginia. Breaker, Breaker. Out.