The Big Three Compete at The 2011 Police Car Shootout

Images: Jalopnik

The vacuum left by the demise of the Ford Crown Victoriawas too much for Dodge and Chevrolet to leave be. Scrambling as fast as possible to produce new, suitable police vehicles to fill the void, models from Chevrolet, Dodge and Ford were tested for the first time by the Michigan State Police. Many arriving in full police colors and equipment, Jalopnik was on scene to cover the action.

“For 36 years, the Michigan State Police have run an annual battery of speed, braking and handling tests on cars, trucks and motorcycles offered to U.S. law enforcement agencies,” stated Jalopnik. Vehicles up for review are squeezed through a batter of tests, needing to pass the standards established by the State Troopers.

Due to its aged platform and growing inefficiencies compared newer models, Ford decided to retire the Crown Vic and try to convince police departments to accept a front-wheel and all-wheel-drive drive Taurus as its successor. Although, Chevrolet has had limited success selling front-wheel-drive Impalas for light-duty work, police departments have been skeptical at best. Seeing this as an opening, Chevrolet and Dodge have pushed out new or updated RWD replacements, hoping to earn the coveted place.

Dodge’s Charger entry was so new, that the redesigned Dodge was first leaked to the public via the law enforcement-equipped “Pursuit” before a R/T or SRT model was! The refreshed Charger touted a host of mechanical upgrades, including Chrysler’s new 3.6 liter V6 making 305 horsepower. Previous Charger models were successful, offering both V6 and HEMI-powered RWD cars racking up about 11,000 sales a year.

But several complained when the Dodge’s brake pads wore out after a few thousand miles in service, a problem Chrysler said it’s since resolved. Additionally, the original Charger suffered due to its poor visibility; thankfully, the redesigned model features larger windshields, a lower belt line and a larger greenhouse.

Knowing that the current FWD Impala couldn’t compete with Ford’s twin-turbo V6 Taurus, GM commissioned its Australian-built long-wheelbase Holden Commodore. Converted into a V8-powered Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol vehicle, Chevrolet had to make a variety of changes including tougher suspension, brakes and oil cooling along with a 355hp V8. The biggest drawback to the new Caprice was its shifter location.

All police units move the shifter to the column to free up extra space for a laptop and such; all except the Caprice. Since there’s no off-the-shelf parts for column-mounted shifting for the Commodore, Chevy conjured up a temporary fix, but according to several present, the shifter alone knocked the Caprice off their lists.

Ford’s entry was the most perplexing. Arriving with a police-outfitted version of the Taurus SHO, the sedan was equipped with all-wheel-drive and a 365-horsepower twin-turbo V6. Some were concerned that fleet mechanics used to V8 engines may resist the twin-turbo V6 and its all-wheel drive. Nonetheless, on the short track, the Ford’s all-wheel-drive grip became an asset. While the Caprice powered through the straights, its oversteer through the curves knocked the Caprice down a couple pegs. The Dodge showed slightly behavior, but a lower top speed.

The turbo’ed Ford posted not only the lap best average, but also the lowest time of the day, just beating out the Caprice. But that’s not all: the Ford’s braking times were best in class as well.  While the new Caprice was at the front for straight-line speed, the only model to hit 150 on the test track, the HEMI-powered Charger kept a close second.

While Jalopnik personally felt the Charger was the best average of all the three contestants, the numbers showed that the AWD, twin-turbo Ford was the true performer, winning two out of the three tests. Unfortunately, despite the Ford’s performance, the existing fleet infrastructure might be reticent to that degree of change, and therefore make the Caprice or Charger a better – or at least more likely – option.

About the author

Kevin Shaw

Kevin Shaw is a self-proclaimed "muscle car purist," preferring solid-lifter camshafts and mechanical double-pumpers over computer-controlled fuel injection and force-feeding power-adders. If you like dirt-under-your-fingernails tech and real street driven content, this is your guy.
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