Saw the paper this morning at work and read this, I found it interesting. It seems like there is much love for the old skool Vic in the police world:
http://www.macon.com/198/story/735633.html
http://www.macon.com/198/story/735633.html
“The Crown Vic is the most durable of all the police vehicles on the road today,” Reed said.
“The Crown Victoria has been the car of choice because of durability, cost of operation and the car hasn’t changed much over time,” Davis said.
Because the car hasn’t changed, it’s easier to get parts, he said.
But in tight economic times, there are some agencies with patrol cars on the road with more than 200,000 miles, Norris said.
Reed said in his experience — selling police vehicles in 15 states — the Crown Victoria has outlasted other types of police vehicles on the road two to one.
Departments trying out the front-wheel drive V6 Chevrolet Impala have found that the cars can’t hold up to the abuse of day to day patrolling the same as the Crown Victorias.
For some rural sheriff’s offices, the cars don’t last more than 75,000 miles due to driving on rural roads, Reed said.
“They’re just worn out completely,” he said.
He said departments buying Dodge Chargers typically are drawn by the car’s speed even though Chargers cost between $1,500 and $2,000 more than a Crown Victoria. A Charger can achieve speeds of 145 mph as compared with the Crown Victoria’s 135 mph.
But when the cars cross medians, some Chargers have had back windows to pop out and the body to crack, Reed said. Norris said some departments also have found the Chargers’ breaking systems to be inadequate.
“We’ve had people who have bought Chargers and are now coming back and buying Crown Vics,” Reed said
Panther, the last of its kind.Reed said he expects the Fusions used on patrol will likely hold up about like the Impalas, but will do fine in other capacities such as investigators’ cars.