Dodge Charger the new police car model?

[JEDI]

CNN

Dodge Charger

"Overall, based on the Michigan police's recently published final scores for the 2006 model year, the Dodge Charger ran away with all the performance categories."

The Charger, when equipped with a 5.7-liter V-8 engine, had the quickest acceleration (6.52 seconds to 60 miles per hour), the fastest top speed (150 miles per hour) and quickest average lap time of the vehicles tested by the Michigan State police.

The police version of the Charger has high-performance braking and suspension systems and is electronically regulated to a top speed of 145 mph. (A DaimlerChrysler spokeswoman attributed the test results to ideal conditions on the day of the test.) Civilian Charger R/Ts are regulated to 126 mph. The Charger Daytona comes closer, with an electronically regulated top speed of 142 mph.

The police Charger also allows the driver to completely turn off electronic stability control, something that can't be done on any civilian version.

One real down side was a relative lack of trunk space compared to the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. Not that the Charger doesn't have a big trunk. It's just that the Crown Vic's is huge.

 

[Pciber]

interestingly enough.. weren't the police cars in the movie "The Island" dodge chargers? ~2006 ones at that...

 

[ElFenix]

the problem is that every police department on the planet's garage is set up for the crown vic and maybe the impala. adding a 3rd model would increase costs quite a bit

 

[Tu13erhead]

Damn. Makes me want to pull over already.

 

[Vette73]

Problem is departments want the majority of their force to stay 1, maybe 2, car/s. Cheaper and easier to maintain. So dodge will have to price them well to get them to move. Chevy has lowered the price and touted the gas milage savings with the Impala to get them into fleets. So there are a lot of Impalas out now because of that. That and the 3.8L motor is cheap for parts and maintaince already so that helps as well.
Dodge has always been a pain when it come to price and ease of maintaince of their full size cars. I doubt much of that has changed.

 

[AdamK47]

0 to 60 in 6.52 seconds? That's really not good for a "performance" vehicle. The car is an overweight pig.

 

[OREOSpeedwagon]

Originally posted by: Pciber
interestingly enough.. weren't the police cars in the movie "The Island" dodge chargers? ~2006 ones at that...

not sure, but i remember there were a lot of 300C's that were cop cars in that movie.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: OREOSpeedwagon

Originally posted by: Pciber
interestingly enough.. weren't the police cars in the movie "The Island" dodge chargers? ~2006 ones at that...

not sure, but i remember there were a lot of 300C's that were cop cars in that movie.

Most movies and TV shows don;t use REAL cop cars. They take the cheapest basic car and just paint it that way. If you know what to look for it stands out. 1 that I remember might be CSI where a Chevy Impala "cop" car was shot. But when they opened the hood it had a 3.4L motor. The cop impalas only come with 3.8L's not the car rental 3.4L motor.

 

[Ornery]

It boils down to cost. How much is the initial purchase price, and how much to maintain 'em? I doubt many citizens will tolerate extra tax dollars for the most 1337 cruisers.

 

[jumpr]

The big thing with police car practicality is front seat space. Officers usually have to deal with radar sensors on the dashboard, a huge console with radio/lights/intercom functions, an in-car computer terminal, and a passenger seat stuffed with a duty bag, clipboard, hat, coat and other equipment. The Crown Vic has tons and tons of front seat space. The Impala has markedly less of it.

The Charger's performance might be great, but it's the officers' comfort that really matters.

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: Ornery
It boils down to cost. How much is the initial purchase price, and how much to maintain 'em? I doubt many citizens will tolerate extra tax dollars for the most 1337 cruisers.

and gas money.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Law enforcement should stick with domestic cars. Damn Germans...

 

[SupaDupaCheez]

Originally posted by: AdamK47 3DS
0 to 60 in 6.52 seconds? That's really not good for a "performance" vehicle. The car is an overweight pig.

I'm not sure what is included in the 'police package' but if they equipped the test car with the equivalent weight of the 'normal' equipement in a typical police car, those numbers don't seem too bad to me.

 

[GoingUp]

You see the Magnums and Charger Police cars here in Auburn Hills. MI all the time. They look damn sweet and the police love em.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Out of curiosity, why the hell would them limit the police model's speed?

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf
Out of curiosity, why the hell would them limit the police model's speed?

Tires. I know the crown vic comes with steel wheels and smaller tires then the upgraded street one. So if they limit the speed then they can use a slightly cheaper tire/wheel setup.
i.e. cheaper and makes more money.

 

[Ornery]

Originally posted by: Gobadgrs
You see the Magnums and Charger Police cars here in Auburn Hills. MI all the time. They look damn sweet and the police love em.

No shlt? :Q

 

[FallenHero]

My main concern would be upkeep costs. If its going to cost any more than the vic to upkeep over the long term, no department or city is going to switch over to it. Dodge has to make these super cheap if they want to sell them as police cars.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: FallenHero
My main concern would be upkeep costs. If its going to cost any more than the vic to upkeep over the long term, no department or city is going to switch over to it. Dodge has to make these super cheap if they want to sell them as police cars.

Yep. And with dodges history I can;t see them being cheap to up keep at all.
The biggest way they will get in is when you have a elected sherif that is a Dodge fanboy and will buy them. Most city goverments will keep the Vic or the Impala as they are both proven and cheap to upkeep. With gas prices going up I see more and more impalas everyday now. And being the dodges get the worse gas milage I don;t think MANY will grab onto them..