Officer Opinions on Current Cruisers

[Mustang Kid]

Well, my city PD bought one new Taurus N/A. With 500 miles on the clock and less than a week in service the motor developed a knock and the Ford dealer here is currently having to replace the entire motor. I get the feeling the PD is not going to buy any more Taurus's.
They've had V6 chargers since 06. Pieces of crap you might say. Door wiring harness's fraying and causing mayhem, timing belts failing, brakes, visibility, and the list goes on. They bought a new 2011 Charger a few months ago. Looks really cool all white with the black grille and the body lines fit the graphics nicely. It's been in the shop more than it's been on the road. Visibility was fixed, but they've had countless problems with the car, mainly electrical I think. It was a V6 too(and the timing belt is now a chain on the new motors).
CHP says the Chargers go through brakes like crazy and new brakes are pretty expensive.

Oregon State police hasn't gotten any new Chargers. Don't know what the officers really think of them or what problems they've had.

Only reason CHP is going with the SUV (when ever the govn'r approves funds ) is that it's the only one that can handle the weight load and still be in the manufacturer's limits. Why not Chevy tahoes? Ford is cheaper.
EVOC loved the Caprice. The Taurus was basically a match to the Crown Victoria. Ford might re-configure the suspension on the Taurus so it can handle the CHP's payload.
Room inside of the taurus? No leg room behind the drivers seat, little room on the passenger side. Front is probably comparable to the CV.

The Caprice will do circles around the Crown Vics all day long (V8). My dad drove one already. It will handle sharp curves at twice the posted speed limit, brake fast and responsively, and acceleration is considerably better than a CV.
I'll put it this way, if you thought the Crown Vics were fast, the Caprice is a Demon. My dad scared the sales rep a few times (or the entire time ) when he would go around blind corners at excessive speeds, but the car hugged the road firmly.
Room? Plenty. The over 6ft tall sales rep had plenty of foot room even with a partition installed, I think there was still room to move the seat back. The console shift was no inconvenience for my dad, actually it might be better than the column shift. It's right there, easy and fast to shift out of park. Rouge River PD here outside of Grants Pass bought some new Caprices. I got to look at one of them. Equipment setup inside looked good and easy to get to switches even with a lap top mount.
Another thing the Caprice has going for it is that it will look like an Impala to most people, thus it's essentially a sleeper.

If you want to look into SUV's, the Ford Expedition is superb. My dad has one as his patrol vehicle. It'll throw you back in your seat and handle the curves like a car. Lots of room too.

Just try and get some promo cars to test drive like it looks like you are doing with the Charger. Don't just test one and be done with it. You really need to get a feel of all 3 of them.


(PS, I know most of this since my dad is in charge of the sheriff vehicle fleet )

[CNTLOSE]

I agree the Chevy is very impressive. I have been at the OSP academy all week and had a chance to talk with several Troopers. OSP went to Chargers this year due to a two year price deal...which is cheaper than the last CV they purchased. The brake issues are reported to have been fixed with the 2012 model year.

Still waiting for Dodge to deliver our Charger with a cage. Chevy has been nothing but great to us. Ford has been nothing but jackasses and after some more terrible reviews and complaints I think I will not even waste my time with them.

[GSPI]

Originally Posted by CNTLOSE

Ford has been nothing but jackasses and after some more terrible reviews and complaints I think I will not even waste my time with them.

I'm sorry to hear that and I will make sure I forward your comment on to the PAB so that it can get addressed.

[CNTLOSE]

Originally Posted by GSPI

I'm sorry to hear that and I will make sure I forward your comment on to the PAB so that it can get addressed.

I contacted the guy you gave me. He seemed pissed that I called him. In all fairness is was on the weekend, but I figured I would be leaving him a message. (I am the relief sergeant so my hours are crazy.) He told me he only answered the phone because he thought I was calling from the MSP testing. Then told me he would get back with me and I have yet to hear from him. Did not sound like the 3-5 cruisers a year we purchase was enough for him to waste his time with me.

I am going to try one more place, Statewide Ford in Van Wert and see about getting a demo Explorer...I already know the Taurus will not work for us now.

I also found out this past week that Dodge underbid Ford CV's by $2000 on the Chargers. This was a big reason OSP went with the Charger. They are buying them for $19k a piece for two years. So far they seem happy with the 2012 Chargers vs. the older models.

[GSPI]

No excuse for the rep... a sale is a sale and that is in his job description to assist in government sales regardless of size. Wow. I may give him a call myself to see if he can't get his attitude adjusted some.

[chism]

I'm not a cop, but I believe Ford has the most refined police package with the Taurus and the explorer. I know they are AWD instead of RWD like the chargers and caprice, but to me that's not a deal breaker. This video explains all the things that make these a great choice. As far as legroom in the rear as MustangKid pointed out; it can't be any worse than the CV! Lol. The Taurus' rear doors open an additional 14 degrees (IIRC?) to make it easier to get people in and out. Ford really did their homework on these cars. Plus, twin turbo ecoboost!

Ford Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEh3N4eB8Kw&sns=em

[FHP0665]

Originally Posted by CNTLOSE

I also found out this past week that Dodge underbid Ford CV's by $2000 on the Chargers. This was a big reason OSP went with the Charger. They are buying them for $19k a piece for two years. So far they seem happy with the 2012 Chargers vs. the older models.

I'm 2 weeks into my 2012 and at almost 2000 miles, I can say I have been impressed in comparison to the CV... but then again, the CV is not an option anymore. The biggest improvements for me at least has been the layout of the interior with digital controls for almost everything and not to mention both the digital & anolog speedometer with cruise control which makes pacing a breeze now.

Drivers side seat adjustment is a big plus with being able to adjust the height so I'm sure that would be be beneficial for the tallest to the smallest of individual. Fuel economy seems to be better as well since your able to monitor that through the dash display... I've been getting 12 mpg to 16 mpg on a "slow" day when my foot hasn't been in the pedal too much.

Negatives I've noticed would be the slight loss of leg room in the back with the cage partition... then again, its not supposed to be comfortable for them back there. The loss of trunk space for your gear - depending on how much you carry. Also having to dig out that gear to get to the doughnut spare which puts you out of commision until you can get it changed since it's not a full sized spare... I work the Interstate so I average about a flat tire a month riding the shoulder.

I does take a little getting used to especially as far a viewpoint compared to the CV but I would say it has been more of a + so far... thats just my 2 cents.