Posted on 02/10/2006 4:26:50 AM PST by IndyTiger
The New York Police Department is adding some muscle to its car fleet: the 2006 Dodge Charger, whose 1969 model is best remembered for outrunning a hapless sheriff in "The Dukes of Hazzard."
The department plans to buy 15 police versions of the car for a pilot program that will begin this summer, officials said Thursday.
In a recent analysis by Michigan State Police, Chargers equipped with a V-8 engine had the quickest acceleration (6.52 seconds to 60 mph) and fastest lap time (150 mph) of any police vehicle tested.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Jeepers, does this mean the Crown Vic's soon to be on the endangered species list?
And how fast can one actually go on the streets of NYC?
by the same logic, they should have gotten vipers
cooler
Exactly! Another waste of tax dollars.
LOL. Heck, haven't been there since Giuliani was mayor, but I could run faster than the traffic was going.
I knew this was coming. When Chrysler stopped making rear wheel drive cars a long time ago Chevy and Ford had the cab and police car marlet locked up, then GM stupidly stopped making their rear wheel drive Impala and Ford had the market to themselves.
Now the Charger comes on line with rear wheel drive and a 6 liter hemi engine that makes you sit back in the seat with acceleration and handles well and Ford has some competition., I expect some forces to buy the Magnum also.
Front wheel drive is fine if you dont require superior coirnering an handling and you underpower the car, but when you put power in a car they wont handle the strain, and they wont turn for crap. Front wheel drive has been tried in most racing venues and dropped for just that reason, lousy handling.
I assume it's for highway patrol units..
I've seen traffic jams on Second Ave at 1:00 a.m.
Is it the new blues mobile or what?
And how fast can one actually go on the streets of NYC?
give it to a good cabbie and he could do three digits in bumper to bumper traffic.
With kids souping up the Honda's and Toyota's and putting nitrous in them ,and street racing on the rise, I will let the cops judge what they need.
LOL. Next time I'm there, I'll have to hire me one of those :)
Fix the cigarette lighter.
With all due respect, you know very little about the streets of NYC. IMO, this is nothing, but an expensive toy.
If you haven't driven the R/T version you are missing out. With the TracCont off in NYC, you could paint rubber from one light to the next as long as you started braking at 50' from the next red light.
I too agree that I am sure these will be used on the highways for those white knuckle hot pursuit chases that New York is famous for.
In FL, the Highway patrol has all kinds of exotic vehicles due to confiscation of property under drug laws.
Fix the lighter.
Yep, a lot of state police departments are testing Chargers now. It meets the rear-wheel-drive requirement most have plus its got lots of oomph.
Indiana State Police has a small contingent of Mustang GTs, Ford Explorers, camaros and Taurusses that are unmarked with smoked windows. Years ago I about dumped hot coffee on my lap when a tailgaiting maroon camaro litup like a circuis in my rear vew mirror between Martinsville and Bloomington on US 37. Lucky for me he was more interested in the young lad that had just raced passed us.
I still see oddities with concealed lights here and there around the state.
I can see how state PDs and sheriffs departments could make good use of them. I guess I just wonder about metro PDs. Seems like overkill. Hope the car gets good city MPGs.
I'm shopping right now- the Impala is pretty strong at 305 hp, and it gets 28 mpg due to the variable cylinder shut-down technology.
But no rwd and no 6-speed. Plus it looks like an Accord.
What a waste of hp.
The GTO has all that, and it's screaming fast, but still kind of lame looking. The new Camaro will be out in 09, and it should be monstrous. Looks kind of like a 69!
I'm still waiting for a new incarnation of the '70 429 Hemi Cuda.
Badass police mobile.
Since the statute of limitations has run out and since I no longer engage in the behavior described, I am willing to tell this story:
Many years ago I once out-manuevered/out-ran a Virginia State Trooper, who was driving a Crown Vic. I was driving a 1980 Subaru DL with 186,000 miles on its odometer, in front-drive-only mode. He came out to get me when I was running about 85 mph (more or less the top speed of that crate) on Rt 8 (heading West). I turned onto the very next side road (633, I think) to try to lose him. He followed, almost putting his car in the ditch as he turned off Rt 8.
I saw his headlights in the mirror for about 1/2 - 3/4 mile, and through about 5 or 6 relatively tight turns, and then I saw him no more. I never once went below 60 mph even in the right angle turn off Rt 8.
I like rear wheel drive cars with lots of power becasue they are easier to trail-brake ans because they allow you to steer with the throttle when you need to. However, I have driven front wheel drive cars for quite a number of years and have quite a bit of fun driving them. It's best to do ALL your braking before corner entry and then accelerate all the way through the turn.
The bottom line is, it doesn't matter what a cop is given to drive if he doesn't know how to drive it.
Well, if it's anything like the General Lee, they'll be able to jump over the traffic snarls, bend the frame all to hell, and morph back into perfect condition by the time it rounds the next corner.
"I'm still waiting for a new incarnation of the '70 429 Hemi Cuda."
I'm not auto expert, but...
I think that recently announced Challenger is about as close as
you'll get. I don't know when it rolls out; it was covered in a recent
"Car And Driver".
Pretty fast going by some of the cab rides I have had. I recall one in particular from Battery Park to the Times Square area that would have made any NASCAR driver proud.
Ditto
The Barracuda was a Plymouth, and they're gone.
In another article about this, it said that the engine was a 5.7 liter--wouldn't that do a bit better 0-60 then they reported in the article? Under 6 secs. I would imagine...perhaps a gear head can enlighten me.
I would say your case is one in a million , I think you got lucky.
Police cars are not just high powerd toys. Police receive special training in how to drive them, The shock absorbers are heavy duty to hold the turns better the tires are of a softer compound the radiator is larger. The police dont do well in car chases just because they drive faster. They are in a piece of equipment that is better set up for the chase than the average ride of the people they are chasing. When all else fails they have communications on board to call ahead for friends. Yes I would say you were lucky.
You got away with making a stupid mistake. You should have slowed down and stopped at the nearest Lottery supplier and bought a ticket. That was your lucky day.
The Ford Explorer can be improved with a conversion kit that greatly improves power and handling. One retail kit is from Saleen. Be willing to bet that some of the Saleen conversion tricks find their way into a police Explorer.
Texas DPS has been using police upgraded Mustangs as interceptors. Don't know if they have the top end of the Crown Vic. What I have heard about the Crown Vics is little can get away from them on the interstate. The Chevy Caprice Classic was still better handling than the Ford.
Some city police departments in Texas have been using Tauruses (one being West University Place). Biggest complaint has been failing and worn engine mounts, followed by transmissions (front wheel drive and police "lights and siren" is a lousy combination).
I drove a Magnum with the six cylinder and it had plenty of power, the hemi version must be a monster, and now the Chrysler folks have two hemi's out, The 350 CI one and one that is up over 400 CI.
The Ford folks have a pickup with a Power Stroke Diesel in a 6 liter version. Take out the slow chip and put in one that doesnt quit at 100 mph. get a kit that allows you to set the horsepower where you want it fom the Dash , and hold on to your hat,. You need to place the transfer case in 4 wheel drive high to get it off the line, but it will put a grin on your face.
Cool but why don't they buy a American car?
I've always been a Mopar fan and have been since the days of the Max Wedge in the early '60's. But that is one butt-ugly Charger. Can't begin to compare with the 1968 and 1969 Dodge Charger in any way, except is has a powerful engine
Four doors? Too many.
Um, its 426 Hemi, not 429. 429 "Boss" Hemi was a Ford engine.
Typo?
You are right, the little I know about NY streets is from trips there. The street seemed to be adorned with potholes and went up and down like a roller coaster as some were paved at different time and little effort was made to smooth the transition.
With all due respect I would suspect the NYPD knows a little about those streets and are better fit to judge than you what they need. I see they only bought ten of the big motor cars and some of the 6 cylinder models. I would imagine they would put the big motors where they feel they need them, and probably use them at night when the traffic is light and people tend to go a little faster.
Sorry our opinions arent the same, but thats what makes horse Races.
This "muscle car" is slower than an Accord V6 MT
In other news, Former Davidson County sheriff Gerald Hege has just announced he's accepting a post as asskicker on the NYPD.
["I'm still waiting for a new incarnation of the '70 429 Hemi Cuda."
I'm not auto expert, but...
I think that recently announced Challenger is about as close as
you'll get. I don't know when it rolls out; it was covered in a recent
"Car And Driver".]
Fellas, you can order a 429 Hemi crate motor from the internet. All printed, balanced, documented and dynoed. Hold on to your seat. It comes with a warranty. It pushes 500HP, costs $12,000 and comes race ready. Throw a fuel feeder on top, add and electrical source shoe horn it some stout MOPAR product (preferrably with seatbelts), fire it up and hold on!!!!
I would be honored to be pulled over by a cop who has that car! ;)
I have one of those stories too, but I was driving a 1969 Bonneville 428. Turned out it was much faster then the Trooper's Impala, back in about '74.
You are right. 426 not 429.
Best motor for power is Ford's 460CU. Long Block with lots of vesatility. Make much horse power.
Have they bothered to buy radios that work yet?
The 475hp Shelby GT500 comes out this summer. The latest Motor Trend mag says that the new 400hp Camaro will be out in 2009 or 2010. I am hoping the Camaro SS will have the 505hp LS7 in it.
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