Hybrids Gutless according to Highway Patrol

Exactly how common are car chases anyway?

A helicopter can follow the car and the Prius can run them dry.

 

Haven't seen a car yet that could outrun a radio.

 

This guy's been watching a few too many 'Dukes of Hazard' re-runs! I agree, cant outrun a radio....

 

The discontinued Honda Accord Hybrid probably would have made a decent Police Cruiser. It would have at least the performance of the weakass V6 models that some departments are considering.

 

Funny thing, the Chevy Impala police version they mention apparently goes 0-60 in just over 9 seconds. The Crown Vic, about the same.
Modern Racer - Features - Police Cars - Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor
Modern Racer - Features - Police Cars - Chevrolet Impala 9C1

This test puts them more in the ~8.5 second 0-60 territory.
The 2007 Impala Police Package

Seems like if you put some Camry or Accord Hybrids out there, you'd double your mileage and pick up performance at the same time. The accord was only 2 cuft shy of the impala on interior volume to boot.

Rob

 

Maybe they could borrow this from Formula One:

Torotrak | RNS releases | 05.06.07 - Torotrak and Xtrac expertise will help F1 teams develop new kinetic energy recovery system

 

It is all an excuse to get the department to buy these

 

0-60 times:
Prius: 9.5-10.6
Ford Interceptor: 8.9
Dodge Charger V6: 8.9
Chevy Impala V6: 8.8
Camry Hybrid: 7.3-8.4
Accord V6: 6.5-7.6
Accord Hybrid: 6.7-7.3
Camry V6: 6.1-6.5

I'd say going Japanese would be a pretty big step up for most departments.

Toyota Prius hybrid-electric car information - second generation

Rob

 

The Lincoln Police Department uses Dodge Magnums or 300Cs (can't remember which). Such a rediculous car for a Police cruiser in a tiny town where there is no way you can perform a high speed chase.

 

While Camry Hybrids, Accord Hybrids and Altima Hybrids can hold their own in terms of speed and acceleration, I think those police departments don't want to buy them because they are not built by a U.S. car company.

I think that attitude varies from place to place though.. Here in New York where our local government are not averse to foreign car brands, we got Priuses in the NYPD fleet. NYPD Traffic en Flickr: ¡Intercambio de fotos!

 

It's not just car chases. Police need to frequently pull into fast moving traffic from shoulders and sometimes stomp on it (or conversely, brake hard) when responding to a call with lights on. IMO with the abuse police cars take they need to have something that's as low tech as possible.

 

In that case wouldn't you think they'd want something faster and more agile than a 2+ ton V8 behemoth? A Crown Vic couldn't catch a Hyundai these days.

Rob

 

Very nice! At least somebody gets it. In Phoenix we get Tahoe cruisers, go figure. I guess its all that offroading they have to do in the country's 5th largest city.

Rob

 

Around here the various city, county and state cops drive a varied assortment of cruisers, lots of Dodge Intrepids, plenty of the ubiquitous Crown Vics, a smattering of SUVs and even pickups, a few Dodge Chargers and Chevy Impalas. I think that the Chargers are pretty hot from a power-accelleration standpoint, but the rest aren't all that much more gutsy than a Prius if you ask me. I'm just not sure whether the average drunk miscreant would be more inclined to run if he/she saw that they were being pursued by a hybrid, there might be a pshychological factor involved that wouldn't be helpful, but as others have said, high-speed chases are relatively rare, and things like radios, helicopters, stop-strips, and other cop-tech have changed things from the days of Dukes of Hazard days.

 

There's nothing faster nor lower-tech (depending on how you define it) than electric drive. They should probably be driving Tesla roadsters.

 

I know A LOT of cops and I am inclined to agree. My roomate is one afterall and the stories he tells are fairly sad when it comes to the typical officer mentality. Thankfully there are quite a few free thinking ones out there too.

 

Look at these #'s. I think they are a little more accurate:

Dodge Charger police cars - police testing results - MSP and LA


It is quite clear that the Prius would make a poor highway patrol vehicle because of size/speed/performace issues. The police load a large amount of heavy equipment in their vehicles so the times you see for a crown vic intercepter are the times for it LOADED.

The Camry hybrid on the other hand could do the job. Its bigger, faster and in the range of vehicles they use for police work. The hybrid system would allow for lower maintenance on the breaking systems as well as much lower gas use.

The Accord hybrid is not quite as big and no longer made. It was also pricey.

 

Police forces in the UK use diesel Vauxhall Astras. They don't have as much open road as we do, but in this respect the Prius could be fine for urban and suburban forces.

The biggest reason police forces still use P71 Fords more than anything else is the FR layout. Police training is geared toward a rear-drive layout; this is why some forces are also starting to use Dodge Chargers. Also, Ford offers the P71 Interceptor package for a price no hybrid and no Japanese automaker could match. Maintenance and repairs on Ford's 4.6L V8 are dead simple, too.