Police Vehicles in The United States and Canada - History

History

The first police car was a wagon run by electricity fielded on the streets of Akron, Ohio in 1899. Since the 1920s, the New York City Police Department has employed a fleet of Radio Motor Patrol vehicles to aid in its fight against crime in the city.

Ford's introduction of the Ford flathead V-8 in its Model B in 1932, the first low-priced, mass-marketed car with a V8 engine, gave it brand loyalty that allowed it to capture the police car market until 1968. In the 1940s and 1950s the Big Three began to offer specialized police packages with severe duty parts. Foremost among these was the Ford package of 1950, which utilized the larger and more powerful Mercury engine in the smaller, lighter Ford. This ended the practice of some state police of buying larger, more powerful, higher priced models including Buicks, Hudsons, and Chryslers. In 1969, Plymouth took first place in the police market, with Chrysler Corporation's 440 cu. in. V8s, Torqueflite transmissions, and torsion bar suspensions giving them a compelling advantage. Chrysler held their lead until the 1970s energy crisis drove buyers to smaller cars and Chrysler discontinued their rear-drive platform after the 1989 model year.

In the United States and Canada, police departments historically have used standard-size, low-price line sedans since the days of the Ford Model A. Many police departments switched to intermediates, such as the Plymouth Satellite, Ford Torino and AMC Matador, in the 1960s and 1970s. Some state highway patrols (such as California and Missouri) adopted pony cars such as the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, and AMC Javelin as high-speed pursuit vehicles. The Ford LTD, Plymouth Gran Fury and Chevrolet Caprice were re-adopted as standard when the models were downsized in the late 1970s. Since the termination of the Chevrolet Caprice product, most police departments currently use the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor as the standard patrol car. New North American Crown Victoria Police Interceptors are optionally equipped with a fire suppression system to combat the threat to highway patrol vehicles of rear-end impacts while parked on the side of highways. In September 2011, however, the Crown Victoria was discontinued, in favour of the 6th-generation Taurus. This has helped Dodge reclaim leadership in the market with the Charger.

Non-Crown Victoria police vehicles may be bought to diversify a police department's fleet, so that less disruption occurs should a recall occur.

While some departments have adopted SUVs and front-wheel drive sedans (mainly the Chevrolet Impala), the rear-wheel-drive V8 configuration is favored for being consistent with pursuit driver training as well as for better reliability. Trials with front-wheel-drive vehicles like the Ford Taurus and Chevrolet Impala have shown problems with the cost of maintenance. In 1994, for example, a Ford spokeswoman noted that "It is certainly true that any front-wheel-drive car would be more expensive and difficult to maintain if you subjected it to the kind of hard use they get in police departments." General Motors and Chrysler provide other types (front-wheel drive, smaller engine) police vehicles as well, and a few jurisdictions (primarily in Canada) use these vehicles. The Chevrolet Tahoe PPV version is the only 'pursuit rated' SUV available in North America.

Many jurisdictions use the Chevrolet Impala, which in its current configuration is a front-wheel-drive V6. The Dodge Charger R/T is the most likely challenger to the Crown Victoria as a RWD V8 patrol car, though the Washington State Patrol and the North Carolina Highway Patrol are using the vehicle initially as an unmarked patrol car. The Charger has shown great promise as a police car, being faster and more fuel efficient than the commonly used Ford Crown Victoria. Some complaints about the Charger though are its limited rear visibility and smaller trunk than the Crown Victoria. There were, in the 2005 and 2006 model years, significant problems with the braking systems, which has since been revised by Dodge. At the end of 2006, multiple Dodge Chargers have been put into the NYPD fleet for citywide testing. In the summer of 2006, the Georgia State Patrol announced that it would begin using the Charger R/T for high speed chases on Interstate highways due to its additional power and speed, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol switched to the model early as well. As of 2007, the Alameda County (California) Sheriff's Office has plans as well to upgrade to the Charger. Many police agencies in the metropolitan Detroit area have also adopted a fleet that includes a number of the Dodge. Dodge only rates their 6-cylinder and Hemi-engined versions as "pursuit capable" (when ordered as a police package). The R/T version is not available in a police package.