Crown Vics: Still associated with police cars?

At least around here, our local departments are quickly phasing out the P71s. So, a question: When will the rank-and-file stop slopping down whenever a Crown Vic appears in their rear-view mirror? Or has that already started to happen?

Around here you slow for a Crown Victoria, Impala, Tahoe, Charger, Taurus, Explorer, and its not odd to come across some others.

In the St Louis Metropolitan area, police are sill sourcing old impala parts off other impalas in the police lot. Rather comical.

Most confusing experience, I heard a siren, but saw no red lights. The Impala behind me had one flashing headlight and a siren.

Where this is no money, there will be no new cars.

Our state patrol still has a whole raft of P71's, as does local. I imagine it will be a while yet.

I still flinch but it's a Pavlovian response.

Locals here just went to Fusions in traditional B&W scheme.

I would say at least another 5 years, based on the local PD's buying habits.

I still give a long hard look to any domestic manufacturer's vehicle if it is clean and relatively unmarked by owner's personalizations (bumber stickers, window vents, rims, etc). There are still plenty of crown vic police cars in my area, so even the run down former taxi cab vics get appraised as potential law enforcement.

I say it will be a while.

On a related note, yesterday I followed a murdered-out (yes, I'm so hip) Ford Police Interceptor Utility. It had a Batman sticker in the rear window.

Yeah, there's a sneaky bastard of an LEO that runs around in a silver. striped up Charger R/T with the alloys. I only knew it was a cop because I spotted the cage as I was pulling alongside. Windows were nice and darklike, too.

Anything stopped alongside the road is viewed as a potential threat until positive ID is made.

Where it gets tricky is the placement of lights in the rear view. If it's fast approaching, I'm doing exactly the speed limit and staying there until I know what it is.

914Driver wrote: I still flinch but it's a Pavlovian response. Locals here just went to Fusions in traditional B&W scheme.

That is a Caprice.

If anything, the fact that police cars now come in a greater variety seems to have slowed us down, huh?

There are still quite a few P71's running around here, although they're slowly being replaced. The PASP still use a lot of them as well as the NJSP, although I'm starting to see more Taurus' in PA than in NJ. The twp my ex-g/f lives in has almost completely switched to Chargers. My twp uses a lot of Impalas.

For whatever reason, police versions of any of them are pretty easy to spot. They just sit differently. Also, in PA the unmarked cars have very dark tint, so they stand out in that way as well.

My city bought a huge amount of p71's that are just sitting and waiting (and rusting).

Pseudonym wrote:

914Driver wrote: I still flinch but it's a Pavlovian response. Locals here just went to Fusions in traditional B&W scheme.

That is a rebadged Statesman.

FTFY

[URL=http://media.photobucket.com/user/sportlife2008/media/CarPic/HoldenStatesmanWM2008a.jpg.html][/URL]

In my area they have just started replacing the p71s with explorers, but its still at least 90% p71s. There are a few chargers, wbody impalas, and 4th Gen camaros but you rarely see those.

Most PD's around here have moved on to Chargers, with My hometown going to the Taurus Interceptors. Sheriff uses the old P71's, plus newer Tahoe's.

There's still a lot of P71s in sevice here, bu they seem to be slowly moving away from them. I am weary of any clean domestic midsize SUV or Sedan from the last 5 years as the WSP apparently uses whatever they can get their hands on (and they don't have the decency to run a different colored plate like they do in Oregon).

If LEOs started using vehicles outside of those produced by the BIG-US-3, we'd be screwwed.

Imagine an unmarked Camry or Accord?

PHeller wrote: If LEOs started using vehicles outside of those produced by the BIG-US-3, we'd be screwwed. Imagine an unmarked Camry or Accord?

or Mercedes

PHeller wrote: If LEOs started using vehicles outside of those produced by the BIG-US-3, we'd be screwwed. Imagine an unmarked Camry or Accord?

Back in the late 80's the PASP had an unmarked Citation for patrolling the PATP. Talk about evil... It was even bland gold...

aussiesmg wrote:

PHeller wrote: If LEOs started using vehicles outside of those produced by the BIG-US-3, we'd be screwwed. Imagine an unmarked Camry or Accord?

or Mercedes

Already happened to me. Lights inside the windshield, no siren. I started moving over and then he passed me and took off.. So i chased him. Followed him around at a semi-rude distance until he exited while i called him in for impersonating a police officer.

Sad part is, one of the main reasons i knew it wasnt a police car is because it wasnt new and expensive enough. It was a ~5yr old C-class.

What's happening around here is that the unmarked chargers are starting to get blingin 22s and 24s to make them more plausible. I am NOT even kidding. It's pretty berkeleying irritating.

I was driving home in my Blazer, long, straight road at night. High beams 3/4 mile behind me. Seconds later Mr. High-beams is riding my you-know-what. I signal a turn ahead and the piece of E36-M3 attempts to pass me. I miss my turn because of his highbeams and his illegal passing attempt threw me off. This results in me totally blocking his pass. Next thing i know? Blue strobes in my mirror and he pulls me over and begins screaming at me for being aggressive. I was so pissed by this time I yelled right back asking him if it was legal to ride my "butt" after catching up to me at probably double the speed limit and then making an illegal pass!!! He said "you want to get arrested RIGHT NOW?" I yelled back "FOR WHAT GETTING BLINDED, TAILGATED AND PASSED ON A DOUBLE YELLOW?". I was proud of myself because he backed down after i made my irrifutable points.

Wow did that ever get off track... He was a state cop in a new Taurus!

I miss the good ole days of 5.0 Mustangs!

I'm on my iPhone... Can anyone post a few of the foreign cop cars? IIRC I've seen a few exotics used.

Vigo wrote:

aussiesmg wrote:

PHeller wrote: If LEOs started using vehicles outside of those produced by the BIG-US-3, we'd be screwwed. Imagine an unmarked Camry or Accord?

or Mercedes

Already happened to me. Lights inside the windshield, no siren. I started moving over and then he passed me and took off.. So i chased him. Followed him around at a semi-rude distance until he exited while i called him in for impersonating a police officer. Sad part is, one of the main reasons i knew it wasnt a police car is because it wasnt new and expensive enough. It was a ~5yr old C-class. What's happening around here is that the unmarked chargers are starting to get blingin 22s and 24s to make them more plausible. I am NOT even kidding. It's pretty berkeleying irritating.

Scary. The LEO here don't do anything to the vehicles beyond the police configuration stuff. Stickers are practically a guarantee that it is not a cop.

The vast majority of LEO here in WA use the vehicles you'd expect... However, there was a state patrol car a few years ago that was a white volvo 850 wagon. I was this close >< to getting nailed by him once. I was just trying to catch up to him for a closer look!

Yes lots still in service here in MA

The new Ford Taurus's that they are getting look really nice. I can not wait till they start showing up at the auctions.