Hybrids Gutless according to Highway Patrol

The other day I saw a Prius with San Jose logos on the sides and a low profile LED bar on top. it looked pretty cool arty:

 

A Prius would suit the enforcement work I do if the boot space was 3 inches longer to allow me to carry the 6 portable wheel load scales we carry in our patrol cars.
The performance would be adequate and the other space in the vehicle more than adequate.

 

I'll always reserve the right to be wrong.

However, if I am wrong here, it would be in that I made too general a statement based on the invoices that I'd see periodically for these vehicles (at the time they were all crown vics.) Yes, some were the base interceptor model, many many others had performance enhancements added to them (larger engines and corresponding transmissions, turbo-chargers, high-performance brakes, etc.) by Ford prior to delivery. Those performance enhancements were always removed prior to the car leaving the fleet, even if the car was being junked. That was not true of a base interceptor (the only thing they took off of one of those were the blue lights.)

Does that mean that every police department does this, or that it's still common practice. No, I can't claim that. However, I'd bet a fair amount of money that especially in larger departments, they're buying enhanced versions of that base interceptor.

Regardless, I'd still rather the police had the ability to choose the equipment that they feel the most comfortable with. They are after all the ones that have to use it to do their jobs.

 

Poor Slob,
If he'd done his homework, he'd find that our RX-400h Lexus hybrid gets better 1/4 mile times than the ICE version. That, and the fact that Europe & Asia cops don't need guzzlers to patrol their beat. BTW, how far did the cops have to chase Al Gore Jr's Prius (at over 100mph) before they finally caught him?

Another BTW, the peak combined output of the hybrid LS 600h L is 483 horsepower, which can move the vehicle from 0 to 60 mph in a mere 5.5 seconds. Someone better wake Mr. Flatfoot up. oh well

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No car is low-technology. The simplicity of an electric motor would be great for harsh duties like pulling into 80-mph traffic from a dead stop.

The Prius wouldn't make a bad highway patrol vehicle, but I would want something quicker for pulling into 80-mph traffic. A Crown Vic doesn't exactly fit that bill, though. An overpowered hybrid would be nice. Most of the time, highway patrol cars act as mobile offices (for filling out reports, running license plate checks, providing "slow-down" alerts at construction zones, etc). Why would anyone run a V8 engine to provide 165 Watts of electricity for the laptop? A hybrid that can power the electronics and AC while an officer is parked seems like a no-brainer.

 

The state police recently purchased two hybrid Ford Escapes for support staff and has plans to buy as many as 10 more for its crime scene services unit. And supplies are transported from state police headquarters to the barracks via five natural gas Ford Econoline vans - but they can only fuel up at a select few natural gas pumps throughout the state...

State police hit the gas on fuel-saving measures - BostonHerald.com

 

Hi sje333,

Yea, I agree with the Prius. Although its a good car for campus security. They use them as such in Dekalb, Illinois.

The GS450H could easily do the pull into expressway traffic, however. Have you ever seen one of those things go ? Makes a Crown Vic look pitiful. Edmunds says the GS450h does 0-60 in 5.5 seconds. That car would make an ideal metropolitan area interceptor except for the times 4 price. The only performance down side would be sustained power, like up a mountain for 40 miles.

 

In all these caess, it'd be totally illogical for cash strapped governments to use expensive luxury vehicles not designed for police duty as police cars. The hybrid GS starts at $55K MSRP, RX at $41.5K and LS at ~$105K.

Crown Vic police interceptors should have MSRPs of $25K to $32K.