Hagerty question of the week article....what is the best patrol car.
- Thread starter Pete Kaczmarski
- Start date
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
What a dumbass question. We all know what the best ever was.
My personal choice for the 1960's would be the '68 Dodge Polara with 440HP.
For the 1970's, the '70 Fury 1 cruiser with U code 440.
Dave
Rather than "Dodge" of "Plymouth", I'd just say "Chrysler-built/powered" as Plymouth would have gotten the bid over same-spec Dodges, typically, unless there was a reason the slightly longer wheelbase Dodges better suited the area the vehicles might be used in. Each had their own advocates, back then.
Ford had some credible cars, too, with (typically) 390 4bbls in them (which almost universally meant their full-size cars).
When I saw a city have Chevys or other GM lines, I knew they obviously didn't have much crime in that area. NO need for high-speed pursuits, obviously, unless there were FEW turns to navigate. OR there wasn't a Chrysler Corp dealer in the area, and they must not have liked Fords much.
Municipalities could sometimes indicate which brand of car they wanted by the way they built their bid specs, by observation.
CBODY67
Ford had some credible cars, too, with (typically) 390 4bbls in them (which almost universally meant their full-size cars).
When I saw a city have Chevys or other GM lines, I knew they obviously didn't have much crime in that area. NO need for high-speed pursuits, obviously, unless there were FEW turns to navigate. OR there wasn't a Chrysler Corp dealer in the area, and they must not have liked Fords much.
Municipalities could sometimes indicate which brand of car they wanted by the way they built their bid specs, by observation.
CBODY67
Certainly, the Mustangs and Camaros were liked due to their top speed capabilities (especially the Camaros of the 1990s!) or their quickness (Mustang 5.0 LX coupes), which fit certain areas better than others. Until the IROC-Z based Camaros came online, the top speed trophy in Michigan Police Car Tests was held by a 1969 Polara 440/375 4-dr sedan. 440/375 2.76 rear axle ratio P235/75R-15 equivalent police tires. The ONLY C-body to have OEM Street Hemi muffles under it, from the factory (rather than the longer-case C-body size mufflers). The Mustangs were quick, but with no spoiler on the rear deck, "rear end lightness" came on in the low-triple-digit speeds, from what we were told.
Chrysler always built "The TOTAL Package" police cars, whether Dodge, Plymouth, or Chryslers.
Read the second version of the Chrysler Police Car book for comments on Turbo Z-based K-car (adapted from existing turbo fwd cars) and also how the LH cars might have fared with a genuine police package, in their earlier years.
LOTS of great police vehicle history also in the related www.Allpar.com website articles . . . from the middle '50s and their metallic brake shoes.
CBODY67
Chrysler always built "The TOTAL Package" police cars, whether Dodge, Plymouth, or Chryslers.
Read the second version of the Chrysler Police Car book for comments on Turbo Z-based K-car (adapted from existing turbo fwd cars) and also how the LH cars might have fared with a genuine police package, in their earlier years.
LOTS of great police vehicle history also in the related www.Allpar.com website articles . . . from the middle '50s and their metallic brake shoes.
CBODY67
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