[jaydee]

Well...

I look at the CHP, an agency that has sported some nifty rides, such as the Camaro Z28, and Mustang...

San Jose PD has a Corvette they use for D.A.R.E. and many of the local agencies are moving from the Caprice, or Crown Vic's to SUV's like the Tahoe, or Expedition, the coolest, the Expedition's. The CHP's have winches, and all sorts of gear stuffed into them...

So when I was out driving near Stockton today, coming home, and see this Black & White sneaking up on me, I move over, and drop the cruise control down to 70 (in the 65) and almost keel over dead from laughter as this CHP VOLVO passes by... All marked up, the whole she-bang...

So... I remember a while back reading the CHP had tested them, and never thought I would EVER see a US or State agency approve the purchase of a FORIEGN car, though it's probably built here, Volvo is still a non-US company unless GM has some kind of stake in them, even though... Still a little surpised...

If there's anyone about that can explain the "Mission" of the new Cruiser, I'd appreciate it... Thankfully, it was "Sans Baby Seat". :grin:

 

[gyp_c2]

Well it is the "safest" car out there...LOL..

 

[jaydee]

Whoopss... Forgot that Volvo is actually a Ford brand... Still not what I would consider the typical "Detroit Classic" though...

Gyp-C, is it REALLY safer than an Expedition with the Side Airbags? I'd rather be in mine if something happened... Nice to be in 5000 lbs of body on steel chassis... :wink:

 

[Peter Loron]

I'll preface this by stating for the record that I'm not a cop and I have no cop experience or training.

My two bits is that a good Volvo wagon with a few suspension tweaks and the T6 engine would be a great copwagon. MUCH better handling and thrust-to-weight ration than a Expedion or other road barge.

I finally saw a local patrol car with good performance tires on it the other day...thought I'd never see one with something other than crappy mushball all seasons on there.

 

[jaydee]

IRC, the Volvo is one of the few remaining Rear-Drive cars being built.

Also, IIRC, that was a requistite for the CHP choice.

I had heard a few years ago that the CHP was not happy with the Crown Vic's due to power defeciencies, and in some small rural areas, a friend of mine actually fitted Paxton's to them, but since the newer models came out, I hadn't heard the same concerns.

I have to tell ya though, the Volvo isn't gonna break any speed records, especially with the SMALL trunk stuffed with gear.

It was a shame that Chevy got out of the Police Sedan business... While I hated them, they did serve well...

I used to wrench at a shop that had the maintenance contracts for EPA PD, and they had some Crapice's, a few Ford's, and some REALLY old Dodge's. Talk about "Beaters".

I suppose, for the price, and with Rear Drive only in mind, the Volvo is hard to beat... Bet a few of the CHP officers are wishing that they had Patrol Cruisers supplied by the same company that provides their Motorcycles though :wink:

 

[jaydee]

I have to wonder these days HOW much handling is really required...

With the Radio, and Air Support, chases just aren't the same as they used to be, when power was really a necessity.

I am not certain that having All Season's up there in the land of the monsoon would be so bad :wink: Of course, Goodyear does have the Aqua Channel performance tires that probably pump some water...

The sad truth is that since these guys are putting 10's of thousands of miles on the cruisers each year, using a harder tire is more cost efficient.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: jaydee on 2001-07-17 09:54 ]</font>

 

[gyp_c2]

On 2001-07-16 23:13, jaydee wrote:
Gyp-C, is it REALLY safer than an Expedition with the Side Airbags? I'd rather be in mine if something happened... Nice to be in 5000 lbs of body on steel chassis... :wink:

...I honestly don't know what these will be used for Jaydee...I didn't know about the airbags in your yacht! :wink: I bet the Expedition is easy to get in and out of while fully "equipped " though!

_________________
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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: gyp_c2 on 2001-07-17 10:48 ]</font>

 

[Sean Smith]

"...last of the V-8 interceptors..." :grin:

 

[Peter Loron]

Well, the T6 motor puts out 268hp in stock trim...I suspect that with some simple mods you could make 300 or 315 pretty easy. That's reasonable go juice.

The perception of needing to have all-season tires to get good rain capability is one that is rampant. Until there is so much water on the road that you start hydroplaining, a high-performance tire will do better than a lower performance tire. Once you start hydroplaning, a good tire will also be predictible in the way it looses and regains grip. Any good hi-perf tire will also do a good job of getting rid of water. The Yokohama AVS Intermediates I have on my care are *WAY* better inevery way in the rain (and we get a lot) than the Goodyear GA tires that came on the car.

I hear and understand the argument about tire life, but there is a compromise between tire performance (and thus safety) and tire life. I don't think most all-season tires are it. I get about 30k miles on my AVS-Is and they cost about the same as the Goodyear GAs.

Info on Volvo 850 Wagon racing

CastleBravo: Right on!

 

[Peter Loron]

Oh, yeah. AFAIK, all Volvos are either FWD or AWD. If they needed RWD, they'd have to go for Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, or probably some domestics.

Personally, I think the modern AWD systems are the way to go.

Now I just need VW to come out with a turbo V6 AWD with a manual trany.

 

[jaydee]

Hey Pete, I guess you're right, they are FWD's, show's how long it's been since I have looked at the Volvo... :wink:

I did manage, after some extensive searching to find some pics of the beasts, and apparently, they did not survive the Testing in 2000. They were 1998 S70's, and the CHP will continue to use the ones they have until the service limit is reached, at which time, they will remove them from service, based on one website's info.

FWIW, I feel really sorry for any officer who has to "work" in the S70, that "Office" is pretty small.

Here's a pic of one Sans Lightbar, but the one spotted yesterday did have one of the Victor bars on it.

They are currently testing the 2001 Impala, and I guess that will be the next cruiser...

Gotta tell ya... I'd HATE to roll up on one of these at a fast clip... I rely on that lettering to help me pick them up :grin:

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: jaydee on 2001-07-17 16:58 ]</font>

 

[jaydee]

Here's a pic of the latest Hi-Performance PD Cruiser... :wink:

http://www.geocities.com/garthed/0028.jpg


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: jaydee on 2001-07-18 12:01 ]</font>

 

[Peter Loron]

Could you post the URL to that test website? Curious about what CHP wants in the cars...

 

[jaydee]

Pete... Not really a whole bunch of info there, but here ya go...

http://fp3.antelecom.net/taria/capdcars ... stcars.htm

Interesting though, I did catch this link provided by someone else... Could be a real viable alternative...

http://www.motortrend.com/june01/maraud ... der_f.html

 

[jaydee]

Pete... I knew I wasn't too far off with the Volvo's... I was reading a Motortrend writeup on the S80 T6, and they mentioned it replaced the 9 series, which was a rear drive... Suppose it is correct that they don't have any now, but I knew they used to...

Interesting too... The Lincoln LS is a rear drive sedan, about the same size as the S sedan's, and in that "class", could be a consideration.

I think that Marauder is likely to be the next Police Hotrod though for any agency looking to ditch some high mileage wagon's.

 

[JohnH]

This is all from memory but as I recall the Volvos, both sedan and station wagon, did very well performance wise on the Michigan State Police vehicle tests. The main selling point of the Volvo was long term costs. Since the vehicles are designed to last many more miles than a Crown Vic, the cost for the life of the car was supposed to be lower. IIRC, Volvo recently backed out of the US cop car market due to lack of interest. Very few agencies adapted the cars, only the richer depts like Colorado (famous for using Saabs) and I believe Falls Church, Va.

I found the test results from 1997, the 850 Turbo was tested. The Volvo outperformed the Ford Crown Vic and was only bested by the Camaro.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: JohnH on 2001-07-27 02:06 ]</font>

 

[wewebb]

I have a 2001 LS and you DO NOT want it for a police car. It is very low to the ground and because of the positioning of the seat and steering wheel in relation to the door opening it is a hard vehicile to ge into and out of. I'm not a LEO but I can't even sit in the drivers seat (bucket) with a weapon in a belt holster, lumbar supports and consoles stop that quickly and painfully. With a dutybelt you might be able to do it if you have a sub-30inch waist. It's cramped and has really poor visability due to the super-sized roof supports.

I'm getting rid of this POS as soon as the lease is up (company car) and getting either an F150 Crewcab or the Expedition.