Dodge chasing Ford in police cars
 

Dodge chasing Ford in police cars


Dodge Charger has been gaining market share and is challenging Ford and Chevy for police sales.
November 26 2007: 1:33 PM EST
NEW YORK (AP) -- The police car you see on the roadside - or in your rearview mirror, if luck's not on your side - might not look like you expected.

The sporty upstart Dodge Charger is aiming to challenge the Ford Crown Victoria as chief of police cars. Chrysler LLC's full-sized model that debuted in 2006 is no immediate threat to the Crown Vic or Chevrolet Impala, the market's other major player, but the Charger is gaining momentum in a market that sells 75,000 vehicles a year as national tests cite its speed and handling.

"We've been steadily gaining market share and acceptance for the police vehicle since its inception," said Chrysler LLC spokeswoman Shawn Morgan. "We see that trend continuing."

It's a small dent in the automotive industry, which expects to sell about 16 million cars this year. But it's an important niche for automakers because it gives them a chance to put their products to the test when life - or at least the law - is on the line.

"That vehicle has to accommodate a bunch of requirements - it's an officer's first-aid station, comfort area for accident victims, command post for a crime scene. Next thing you know it's involved in a high-speed run, responding to a heart attack, chasing a criminal," said Lt. David Halliday, who leads the Michigan State Police's annual police vehicle tests that serve as a national standard for law enforcement.

"We really ask [the automakers] to do an enduring duty for the public that's often underestimated," he said.

Automakers don't break out data for sales to law enforcement agencies, but overall sales for the full-sized Charger were 97,833, up 1.5 percent for the first 10 months of 2007 compared with last year. The Crown Victoria's sales were 51,286, down 7.2 percent during the same period. The Impala's total sales through October were 270,504, up 12.6 percent, according to Autodata Corp.

John Felice, Ford Motor Co.'s (Charts, Fortune 500) director of North American fleet operations, said the decline is due to a drop in retail sales, which accounts for a small percentage of the Crown Victoria's sales. He said Ford forecasts flat sales this year for police cars and controls about 80 percent of the market.

The latest round of police vehicle tests on 2008 models found the Charger with the 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 engine had the fastest acceleration, highest top speed and among the shortest braking distances.

"Law enforcement has always liked good performance in a vehicle," Halliday said. "For example, the [5.7-liter] Charger has a top speed of [nearly] 150 mph. If you're in the market for a vehicle that has that kind of performance, that kind of vehicle will fit the bill."

Halliday said his testing team doesn't assign scores to the vehicles or declare winners. It assesses what each vehicle offers and how it can be applied to a department's mission. The tests also include road racing course times on a two-mile course. The winners: the V-8 versions of the Dodge Charger and Magnum wagon.

Halliday said the Charger also has an advanced stability-control system, which senses when a driver may lose control of the vehicle and automatically applies brakes to individual wheels to help keep it stable and avoid a rollover. He said his team is working with the other automakers on developing such systems for their police vehicles.

Likewise, many agencies opt for the Impala because it has front-wheel drive, which offers additional traction control in slippery conditions, he said.

Halliday believes the Charger might be garnering attention because it offers a new option in the market, long dominated by Ford and General Motors Corp.'s (Charts, Fortune 500) Chevy division.

Chrysler returned to the police car marke

RE: Dodge chasing Ford in police cars
 

The biggest factor that the police Charger has against it is the price. I don't know the figures off the top of my head, but the Chargers are at least a few thousand more than the standard Crown Vic - maybe a little less for the Chevy Impala, but right now, the Charger is by far the priciest - and that's a tough pill to swallow for some municipalities.

The Charger is the first true police competitor to the standard Crown Vic since the Caprice went away after 1996. There are many that have come along since then, most notably the Chevy Lumina (later Impala) and the Dodge Intrepid (and in some cases the Ford Taurus). But cops as a whole despised all of them. Most cops I know can't stand the current Impala for the same reason - they just don't have the room that the cops desire (and need). Especially today with all the computers, firearms, body armor and gun belts - they require alot of room, and the Crown Vics are the only ones that truly have that kind of room, which is why, along with the cheap price, they still remain a police favorite.

But I do think it's cool that Dodge is finally being taken seriously again in the police market... except when there's one looming in my rear view mirror. :D

RE: Dodge chasing Ford in police cars
 

It's inevitable. Ford is going to lose the police market eventually. They are going to have to retire the Crown Vic Police Interceptor on the Panther platform sooner or later. The Grand Marquie is no longer going to be produced on the Panther platform after 2010 and I doubt they will continue to make the Lincoln Town Car in its current form for that much longer either. When they switch platfoms, they will lose the market. The only reason why the police still use the Crown Vic is because they can interchange parts between models which helps them save money since they can just take a door from a scrapped 1992 Crown Vic to replace a damaged door on a new one. Once they change, this advantage will be gone. My theory is the sooner the better. Ford needs to stop depending on flawed technology routing back to the 70s, with engine and transmission technology that wasn't competitive back in the 90s, that hasn't changed its appearance since the 90s.

RE: Dodge chasing Ford in police cars
 

This is true in the case of the HEMI equipped versions; however, the 3.5L models who actually offer about the same acceleration and a higher top speed and better fuel efficiency costs about the same as the Crown Vic. The police stations didn't seem to mind shelling out the extra money for the Crown Vics when the faster, yet lower priced Intrepid was being used. Part of the issue other than what I listed already is they are stubborn and do not want to change their ways.

The only reason why the Impala caught on was purely the nameplate. The Lumina was a complete flop and the only real diffference between the Impala and the Lumina is the name (both are W-body cars). The problem with the current Impala is it has lost several of the advantages that the previous one had to offer. The braking distance on the previous one was the best in the industry, the current one is the worst, and police value braking distances as it can often save themselves from accidents. The other problem is the current Impala doesn't have the fuel savings which interestingly some police stations actually bought the Impala for that reason. The only thing that is better about the new one is the engine actually can compete with similar acceleration times and having a top speed that is higher than the Crown Vic (141 mph vs. 130 mph). The previous one was very slow at 124 mph, good luck catching people at that speed in a high speed pursuit when they say you need 20 mph extra to catch up with some criminals.

I know the space is an issue (hence the reason why I cringed when I heard the stats on the size of the LX cars), but I think the police should retire the Crown Vic. Having a car that is getting easier and easier to outrun and easier to out manuver due to cars getting faster and better handling is hardly a wise choice if you ask me. If Ford would have actually put in some effort into the Crown Vic (an engine that can at least match the acceleration and top speed of say a 94-96 Caprice, brakes that can also match the same Caprice, not wait until 2004 to put in such "innovative" technology as say rack-and-pinion steering, a new transmission with more than 4-speeds, and other reasonable changes) they might be able to keep any competition away by having a product that police love so well that they won't have any reason to want to change and maybe somebody besides them, taxis, and senior citizens might actually want to drive one. It might also pay to once in a while change the appearance so it doesn't look like the last time they put in any effort and actually cared was 1992.

RE: Dodge chasing Ford in police cars
 

I have always heard that law enforcement like the front engine V-8 and rear wheel drive. Dodge has improved on both areas and the advancements are great. MDS V-8 Hemi and independent rear suspension. So you get 350 HP and a little better gas mileage. The Vic is as stated 90s tech. Our law enforcement deserves the Charger. But if I'm being blue lighted I prefer the Crown Vic, gives me options;) But if its the Charger I'm pulling over.:D