"It's got a cop motor, a 440-cubic-inch plant. It's got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas.
I was a Highway Deputy Sheriff from 1986-2011 and drove 1984 to 2010 squads. The best squad car I ever drove was the 1995 Chevy Caprice with LT 1 and HD cooling. It was 275 hp with cast iron heads 9.5 to 1 CR. Top speed was 135 mph limited by Computer with the Z rated tires.1994 had two electric fans and would wear-out slow down and over heat, HD Cooling had one electric fan and one mech add on fan and never over heated. I liked it so much I bought a new 1996 Caprice with lt 1 for myself at home and still have it 189,000 miles later...
Billy B, that’s close to my era. The LT1 Caprice was absolute tops. Even the 91-93 years wasn’t too shabby. I hated the CV in comparison. Especially the 92-97s ... too fidgety at high speed. The Diplomats, older by the time I drove any, were pathetically slow. The boxy Caprices were pretty good, but you had to stay on top of them. They’d get away from you if you let them. They could u-turn thru a median like a tank though. Which was good, because if you didn’t keep some speed on a turn around, you probably weren’t going to catch up to whoever you went after... Not exactly quick.
The president of GM at the time said the whale Caprice went into production "over (his) dead body" and "we are a front wheel drive company". Yeah, sure, maybe if they were better at it they would've pulled *that* off. As it is, it's a shame they didn't scotch the GM10 W-bodies, make the '91 RWD B-Bodies a size smaller to meet the market and send them out with that LT1 as an upgrade and a 3800 V6 standard. 20/20 hindsight. And I now realize I just described a Holden Commodore.
Still have my 95 Caprice wagon with the 350 LT1. Still runs great with plenty of power and lots of room and has a smooth ride. Sure beats any SUV on the road.
It is a good car but overall the P71 has superior reliability standard dependable most agile towards it's size on persuit situations the 9C1 does not have those qualities Nor on top speed of 140+ My 03 P71 does it
I got a 96 LT1 with 57k between the frame rails of my badass daily driver 95 Wrangler with a 700r4 trans. About another week out till i get to start her up. Very excited LT1 5.7 is legendary.
Chris, I own a couple of decommissioned police cars. When I give someone a ride, I ask them if they have ever been in the front seat of one of these things.
My dad was a cop in the 80s so I will always have a soft spot for the Caprice. I remember he showed up to my cousin’s birthday on duty and he gave my sister, my cousins and I a ride around the block with the lights and siren on. That will always be a favorite memory of my youth.
@@RivieraByBuick It was the 80s. Guys were doing way crazier things back then, I don’t think giving kids a ride in the car would have been high up on the list of problems with 80s policing. That was during the era where guys were beating their wives and driving drunk and they all covered for each other.
Yup, it was the 80's, nuff said. My friend's dad was the volunteer fire department chief and once took us for a ride in a fire engine with lights and sirens. Also probably not legal but it was a small town and nobody cared 😂
I just turned 18 and I bought my first car and it's a 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis with 52,000 miles on it. The original owner kept it garaged! Absolutely well kept car and I bought it because people get exceptionally long life out of the crown victorias and lincoln town cars because of how well built they are. It's too bad cars aren't built to last anymore.
Nice choice! Im 40 years old and have had 30 something cars, and I daily drive a '05 Crown vic. I have tool boxes, a subwoofer, duffle bags. And still have room for my kids after work! I love this car. So tough
Keep it maintained and that Panther platform will last you a lifetime, I bought a 1996 Lincoln Town Car for a princely sum of $200, yes $200 because the paint was shot and it had 310,000 miles on it. That was a few years ago and now it’s at about 360,000 miles on it, I’m the second owner. It still rides like a cloud and can lay down the rubber if we are feeling feisty. I use it for trips from where I am on the Central coast of CA to visit my folks in Vegas, comfortable as can be. Gas mileage is good when compared to my pick up, but that’s not saying much haha. Enjoy your ride and have fun!
My '98 MGM GS just rolled over 219,000 miles and shows no sign of slowing down. These cars will take lots of abuse but as long as you keep all the fluids topped off and filters changed regularly...they will keep coming back for more. Remember.....if you take care of her, she'll take of you.👍
I saw a few comments wondering why the Ford Crown Victoria was not modernized. I met one of the men in person who was responsible for pulling the plug on the Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Car. We talked for probably close to an hour about it so I'll sum up as best as I can. Basically it all comes down the money. He told me that new governmental regulations would have required essentially an all-new Powertrain. Which he pointed out had been done previously in the panther platform. The problem was the last time the platform received a Powertrain upgrade the Panther wasn't over 30 years old. I pointed out that the Lincoln Town Car had not even had any updates on its web page since 2008, to which he quickly responded "That was marketing that wasn't us". (meaning his Department which dealt with fleet cars) but he also said it just went to show how little interest Ford had in the panther by that point. He also said that they had experimented with putting an Ecoboost V6 in a town car along with a "couple of different transmission configurations" . Which side note; that would be really exciting if there's actually an EcoBoost Lincoln Town Car out there somewhere. He concluded that in the end though the cost of repowering the platform was too much. He told me that " In the end that's all they care about upstairs is 'Do the numbers work?' And they didn't." He told me a lot of stories concerning all three of the cars, different ideas that had been implemented along the way how the fleet system worked at the corporate level. Again, it was about an hour long conversation so I skipped a lot here. He did tell "We loved that car, it broke our heart as much as it did yours." And after all that, I believe him.
I've owned my 2000 Grand Marquis for 17 years now, and don't plan to part with it any time soon. Very reliable, roomy, and comfortable. My previous car was a 1986 Caprice Brougham, which was also a great car. Ford made a big mistake dropping this platform, and I will likely buy my first foreign car once I decide to trade this one in. Sad indeed.
people don't understand this fact. the government epa regulations and cafe standards are killing the auto industry. I own two vics and absolutely love them but one gets 21 miles a gallon and the other 16... that will not fly with the cafe standards. The best part about them is that they are simple cars and easy to work on. if you were to swap power trains say put a coyote engine and a 10 speed transmission for fuel economy, i believe you would lose the durability and reliability of the car. Look at how poorly the chargers do when idled for long periods of time, simple fact is that most modern cars would not hold up to endless hours of idling but the crown victoria could and did. One of my crown vics has 9700 idling hours while the other 5600 both with about 150,000 miles and still going strong. You would never see numbers like that out of a modern powertrain, when you add complexity you decrease reliability and durability.
About breaking hearts, I followed "The Killing of The Panther" very closely at the time. Back in 2000-03, I was in high school, and I drove my old man's Grand Marquis fairly regularly. Now, this car was pretty sweet -not because it was one of these P platforms, but it was a 1992 (new body style) built in 1990, and had all the right options. I'm sure it had to be one of the originals that Ford produced, and likely would have a "rare" factor to an aficionado today. Anyway, story is he bought it as a demo car from our now defunct local Mercury dealer around 1992-93. The car had some kind of odd background story, and I wish he didn't trade it for that Lucerne at the height of the horrid 'Cash for Clunkers' scam. That Merc was a lot of fun to drive, probably "one of one" produced that early in production, and even with the peg-leg rear and 3:27 gears, it boogied. The car easily achieved a calculated 25-30 on the highway, and I never had a problem driving it in the snow (and we get a fair amount in the NE). Another fringe benefit, the car was built before governors were a "thing", so my buddy and I clocked it out of curiosity; we were able to max the car out at 134 on a very long straightaway (it was singing, but probably had a little more to go!). And, I tell you what, it felt no different than the suggested 85 "top speed" on the dial. Smooth as a sofa. Never saw rotors glow like these did, either (he still does not know of this, and never will). Out of all the things I've driven, I miss that car probably the most. A close second was the hand-me-down 1978 Buick Electra coupe with a functioning 8-track that I'd kill to still have. Either easily fit 6 of my friends inside, and another 4 in the trunk! We'll never see the likes of cars such as these again, sadly. Just glad that I was among the few of my generation that got to actually enjoy and appreciate these types of cars designed in an era long past. Don't get me wrong, I love the way a new Taurus feels, but it isn't an antiquated body-on-frame rear wheel drive American sedan.
*Couldn't agree more. My career started in 1990 and took me 25 years forward through the bubble Caprice, CVPI, several generations of front wheel drive Impalas and 2WD and 4WD Tahoes. The boxy Caprice had the best feel, best outward driver's view, best ingress/egress, best handling, best practical space availability, best foot and leg room....best everything. I will say from the Bible on Turbo Regals titled "Kirban's Guide to 1986 and 1987 Buick Turbo Regals" the FBI actually bought the Buick Regal Turbo T because you could get those in other colors and interiors but with the 3.8 SFI Turbo engine. They were very stealthy and just as fast as the GN.*
I drove a 90 Caprice when I started policing. Loved that car. It handled well and had plenty of power. Nothing like the 95’s with the LT 1 though. They were great too. I liked the crown vics but they didn’t have the low end power that the Chevy’s had.
I had a 1981 Ford LTD that used to be a govt car with the police package and had a 351W under the hood for my first vehicle, it was far quicker and more maneuverable than it looked and I won many stop light battles with it along with hunting down the occasional 80s Camaro in a game me and my buddy called cat and mouse, The car was almost indestructible but it suffered the fate of many 80s big three vehicles and was claimed by the Rustbelt demon, but that engine was solid and would pull forever, to this day I can still hear the dual exhaust rumble and that V-8 roar, The day I was forced to junk it I felt like I lost a brother, and a testicle.
I disagree. Was on Hwy Patrol when these cars, 1981 Ford LTD, came out and they were slugs. We just turned in perfectly running 1978 Dodge Monaca 440's for these new units. They were unsafe running stationary radar and had a top speed of around 145 KMH. Very slow acceleration and no top end. They were reliable and comfortable but that was it. When the GM LT1 came along no one wanted to drive the Fords.
Had an ‘81 LTD police package ex-RCMP car, which handled well for the era, but had a sluggish 302 v8 for power. Always wanted to have the 351 just to see how it compared. Not as quick as the ‘78 Plymouth Fury, also an ex-Mountie car, with a 440 HIgh Performance engine and factory non-catalytic dual exhaust that I got later. Factory high lift cam ( rougher idling than standard one) and factory 3000 rpm high stall converter on the transmission.
@@briancampbell5944 I drove a 1981 Ford LTD as a Va county deputy-sheriff and it was the slowest V8 I've ever driven. Poor acceleration and top speed of 105mph. The tranny went out at 12,000 miles, was constantly in and out of OD on the old country roads. We were then told to not use OD, keep it in 'D', or 3rd gear. Best cars we had then were Chrysler and Plymouth 360's. We also had the 440's until 1979.
CVPI There’s just something about a crown vic police car that will always seem right to me. I grew up playing with them, then there was a point in time where almost every single cop car was a crown vic. When I’m old I’m sure I’ll see one restored at a car show and I’ll definitely go check it out.
I still drive my 2004 Crown Vic. 😎 I love it. All the trunk space I need for traffic cones, all my pewpew, tacticool gear, and a case of water. And hearing that V8 purr. 😍
I was a COP in the 80's... we drove the Plymouth Fury's... 440 magnum.... this car along with the Pontiac Bonneville were screamers.... these should have been added...
@Charlie Hare I'm from the UK and noticed on quite a few Emergency service and military channels I follow that their seems to be a disproportionate amount of guys who comment making up stories about being current/ex First Responders or vets? Why do they do it? I'm a paramedic and ex Royal Air Force MERT medic, and can see through the lies instantly and often call them out as it infuriates me, especially as I lost good friends (both British and American) in Afghanistan and Iraq, and law enforcement friends badly injured on the job. We call them "Walter Mitties" over here. Why do so many American guys lie so blatantly?! Please don't think I'm criticising the American people as a whole, as I adore your wonderful country and people. Hope you and yours are staying safe at this awful time brother.
Ah the FBI Regals! Had never heard of them. In the early 90s, I was stationed in DC and lived in Alexandria. One day I was in the Buick/Pontiac dealer there having work done on my Pontiac. Browsing the used car lot, I spotted an unusual Regal. Painted gold, looked like grandma's car. Had the hood bulge but no badging. Tipoff were the Z rated tires. Talked to the salesman who confirmed it's provenance. He said there was no speed limiter in the special ECU. Woulda - coulda - shoulda grabbed that one.
@@chrisperrien7055 Please don't confuse the regular Regal with the T-Type. The T-Type suspension was even better for handling than even the GN while having the same turbocharged sequential fuel injection for the years 1986 and 1987. They for sure didn't handle like a box as a lot of the BMW's of the same year could affirm.
@@carlsanchez1360 OK, did not know there was a diff. Only car I ever wrecked-somebody came into my lane in a sharp turn from the other direction, so I had to swerve, skidded, and hit a retaining wall.
They did have Ford Taurus police cars in the '80s. I'm sure they used those in the movie "RoboCop" because of how futuristic-looking they were. Did they ever offer a Taurus SHO police version? You would think they would have.
the local police department had 4 Tauruses in the early 90's after about 6 months, the city pissed through it's entire annual vehicle repair budget. on those Tauruses. they were garbage the day they rolled off the assembly line.
Always older guys with the giant k40 antenna and for some odd reason they love to put blue tissue boxes in the back window I suppose to make you think that it's a blue light from a little ways back??? I have seen more then 100 of these retired cruisers sporting the blue tissue box in the rear window over the years. Not so much anymore but it was still kinda fubny.
The patrol car that I loved most when I was wearing a badge was a 1971 Ford LTD with the "police package." In those days, "police package" meant the suspension was a little wider and lower than standard, 1st gear was blocked off the indicator, the gearing was different and beefed up. I got the car after my lieutenant had it remade to suit his wants and then got a promotion. Had a 427 ci that had been built, with two Holly 850 dual feeds and electronic fuel pumps. Just a hoss of a ride with all the room in the world. Oh yeah, also had a/c which most patrol cars at that time did not have.
@@fyretnt To avoid blowing an engine when you downshifted to make a bootleg turn or to grab a lower gear for more torque if needed at the start of a chase.
I remember the days in L.A. when I patrolled in the '95 Caprice with the LT1 engine. We always wanted to get those cars because they were the fastest in the fleet.
The 1994 - 1996 Caprice was the best and the fastest car in LAPD. We all loved the Boat. There was nothing like that V-8 power roaring behind a suspect. Second best was the Road Runner back in 1978.
Agreed. My career stretched from a '76 Gran Fury 440 interceptor to my last new unit prior to retirement, an '04 CVPI. In my experience, out of that entire span the only one that drew universal rave reviews across the board among patrol officers was the mid '90s LT1 Caprice. It was pretty much the perfect combo of everything we needed in a big metro area PD patrol unit. I'd give second place to the '88 to '90 5.7 square bodied Caprice, which at least in the configuration spec'ed out by my agency were almost as good as the later LT1's. The '70s full size 440 Mopars were fast in a straight line, but even with the police suspension did not feel nearly as "buttoned down" as the Caprices mentioned above or even the last generation CVPI's. They definitely made a sweet sound getting into the secondaries and they loved to run wide open, but they didn't like to turn or stop and could be a little scary in a pursuit or while rolling code in a city environment. The danger of overheated brakes (fade) was an issue. The '91 - '93 "bathtub" Caprices should have been great but for some reason they were not as good as the 9C1 Caprices just before or after them, even aside from how ugly they were, especially the '91's. Also, until GM got the problem corrected, and after sending out a bulletin to PD's advising to remove them until further notice, while you were rolling hot they tended to throw off those heavy, full wheels covers the early '90s 9C1 came with. I/we had a few close calls with those things popping off while rolling hot through traffic until my agency had them all removed. They were heavy and would travel a long distance, sometimes even getting airborne like a Frisbee. Not good anywhere, especially in a city environment. The early '80s 9C1 V-8 Malibus were ok, and were certainly preferable to the 318 Mopars from that era (Fury, Diplomat). Not much room especially for two man units but the smaller size made them handle and maneuver well for the time period. The Crown Vics prior to the 1998 redesign weren't much loved other than maybe for trunk and interior room. They just didn't do anything particularly well and felt gutless compared to the Caprices going all that way back to the 5.7's of the late '80s, especially the LT1. They also had the sloppy-feeling Ford transmission that would hesitate and drift when shifting quickly from D to R and back to D (as in doing a quick "Y" turn). That was still a problem with CV's through at least the 2004 model year. The last generation CV's (post '98) were ok, better and felt more buttoned down than prior generation CV's. I'd rank them 3rd of my era after the mid '90s LT1 and late '80s 5.7 Caprices. They didn't do anything spectacularly good or bad performance-wise. I'd describe them as "competent". They were roomy. quick enough for city patrol duties, handled ok, were simple, hard to kill, and IMO made a nice looking unit. When they first entered the fleet in '98, many patrol troops thought they were pretty "meh", an opinion no doubt influenced by the fact the CV's were replacing the no longer available B-body Caprices. Some agencies were so unimpressed with the CV's they kept their LT1 Caprices well into the '00's, some even going so far as to have their LT1's rebuilt rather than buy new units until they got so ragged they had to be retired.
I came across 95 caprice 9c1 and have til this day as a project car which everything is gonna be original build. Btw it has the lt1 in it and was neglected.
James Tonkin I got one of those for my first car. It was an old Florida car and was crazy fast. As a 16 year old kid I had no business with it. I got a couple of speeding tickets and one day I came home and it was gone. My dad sold it. He bought a Volare for me after that. I still hold a grudge to this day😂😂
@@chrisj197438 A 4000 lb car with whole 255 hp was 'crazy fast'??? And that's IF you had the E86 version. You probably had the much more common E85 with a whopping 205 hp, lol.
I owned a retired City of Miami '92 CC with a 350. I ran that thing over 100 running U.S. 1 from Homestead to Key Largo many late nights. And back then we never wore seatbelts! Scary to think of some of the stuff we did back then.
'87 Had New a Buick Grand National. It was one of the finest automobile engineering I've ever had a pleasure to own. I kept that car till 2000. When I sold the car, I didn't lose one penny from what I paid new in July 1987. The only car to date, no monies lost...Thank you
I had a GN for a couple weeks as a rental on a trip I took to Fort Worth. It was fast and fun to drive, especially in the days before black boxes. While it was speed limited, it was real quick off the line, I don't think they can slow that down.
I have a 91 GMC Syclone. Its the S-10 that GMC put the turbo V-6 motor from the GN in. Had it since it was new. Its worth 3 times what I paid for it ib 91. Inflation is 3-times as much now, so I guess if I sold it, I would actually break even. Never going to sell it though. Great little truck. Will still take anything new off the line.
I’m surprised Ford didn’t modernize the crown Vic instead of killing it. All they had to do was a normal update like they had done in 1992. Same car underneath but with different look. Besides this, Ford should come up with a new town car. A boxy but affordable Rolls Royce. I know, people will say nobody buys cars anymore. If that were true why is bmw and MB still selling many many cars? Can the big three not make even one rear drive or awd car?
I remember cars like these. Why they were discontinued is beyond me. All Wheel Drive is a good option to have, but why did GM and Ford ever discontinue the big rear wheel drive drivetrain in favour of front wheel drive is beyond me.
From what I was told, the panther tooling was badly worn out, and the car was also "not compliant" with standards that it wasn't worth it for Ford to do apparently. It's a shame cause these modern cop cars look like trash :(
The Crown Vic design was updated several times, but new safety requirements and design elements coming from those requirements would have required a complete redesign of the CV. New safety requirements force makers to put bumpers at a certain level, a lower sloped hood to avoid serious injury to pedestrians (ever wonder why so many new cars look so similar?) and other regulations killed the Crown Vic. The use of SUVs was a smart move on Ford's part. Police officers spend 8-10 hours a day in a vehicle so one that is cramped or lacks usable space isn't good. The large body RWD American 4-door sedans were spacious and rode comfortably with 115-120" wheelbases. To get the interior room, moving to the SUV gives officers more room to do their job more comfortably.
My Dad, who was a cop from 1981-2005, of the York Area Police Department (Formerly known as York Township Police Department). He said, his favorite would be the CVPI or Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. The sound was amazing, not to mention it's durability through harsh conditions in weather. Now I believe from what he last said, his Department didn't get the CVPI until 1999 but, before then it was the 1990 varient of the Chevrolet Caprice. Same thing with firearms, his Department started with the .38 service revolver. They then about late to early 90's i think, then got the Glock.
Unfortunately the 360 V8 was not offered in California during that time because of it's strict emissions requirements. The late 70's and early 80's were not a good time for American cars.
As an owner of a St Regis, I can tell you by 1970's Standards, they were trash. I love my St Regis, but it's trash. There's a reason why. Chrysler took a different approach than Ford and GM in the downsizing of full sized cars. Their approach was weight reduction. This meant the heavy use of Aluminum and plastic. Because of the Aluminum and plastic, the parts would simply break. I worked for Chrysler at a Zone Office and saw many St Regis's off loaded new from trucks. They would break in your hand, door handles, glove box doors, the aluminum trim would oxidize instantaneously and look awful. The filler panels around the bumpers would deteriorate and dissolve to nothing. Being a Pillarless Sedan, windows wouldn't fit right and they would leak and have tons of wind noise when driving On top of that all, they had no power. They were so extremely slow. Door fit and finish was awful, nothing lined up. And even if it was lined up right, the lines of the body were inconsistent with the other body parts, doors fitted perfect wouldn't line up right, it was as if the sheet metal stamping of the door was just designed wrong. And as earlier, everything plastic would simply break, it was very flimsy. But that being said, I love my St Regis. Even the window cranks in the door mechanism were made of Aluminum and after only a number of months of rolling a window up and down, the cranks would just stress out and eat themselves up and jam. I do remember by 1981, a lot of the quality issues were resolved, but those initial issues hurt the car and sales suffered. Salesmen in the dealers hated the car and didn't want to sell them.
The Crown Vic and Caprice 9c1 were considered to be the best police cars of their time. Before that, they were chasing 175 bhp 318 Mopar M body cars as well as 360 4bbl powered R bodies of 79 and 80. In fact, the Michigan st highway patrol used that car as the benchmark as the car to beat until the 94 9c1 came out. The r bodies had the best brakes, suspension, most interior room, biggest trunk and fastest 0-60 times until 94. The f body Mopars of 79 were the fastest US made sedan you could buy at that time. Slick top 79s with the E58 360 could do 0-60 in 8 secs or less with 2 aboard and a full complement of gear. Top speeds were about 130. Problem was those cars had weak frt suspensions, and many police depts shied away from them. What Ford paid attention to was the upgrading of that old panther platform, with added suspension components, bigger 4wdisc brakes, and power from its venerable 4.6L from 190 to 260hp. They also added bigger and fatter performance tires, most of them being Firestone Firehawks. Police depts were very fumed when Ford canceled the Crown Vic police package, and we still use old 1s with over 300k on them as patrolers in my town. They are just tanks. We experimented with 2 modern Taurus interceptors, as well as Explorers but they are in the shop more than they are on the road, despite how 'good' Ford says they are. We have tried many different police package cars, from Intrepids ( gulp) to fwd Luminas and Impalas, and they were turds. Rumor has it we will be getting Dodge Chargers of 2 different varieties for 19, a 3.6 patroller, and a 5.7 pursuit to replace the Fords. We will be keeping the Explorers as we need a police spec SUV. I had the privilege of driving a real 69 Fury II Indiana Highway patrol car, that was restored and refurbished back to original condition barring modern tires. The 440 4bbl had a ton of low end grunt. The owner took me to a deserted country road and opened it up. That Carter AVS was howling at speeds over 140, but the car was super stable; no vibrations, no shimmy. It was like it could do it all day.
The police cars in '80 hit 120 (CV-S with 351W plus the Mopars). Not until 1990 did they hit 120 again. That said, I did read the '84 Diplomat was at 122 for one year only. Why? Only year a wide-ratio 727 drove a 318 with a Carter carb and 8.4:1 compression. That is as fast as the E-bodies ran. The following year the Diplomat went to the Rochester carb and 8.0:1 compression and was much slower (117 mph vs. 122), plus they went to the close-ratio 904 trans (not as strong).
@@joshuaecht I presume you are limiting to 4 door squad cars. California bought a bunch of 1982 (and 1983 IIRC) Mustang LX models that easily hit more than 120 - factory rated at 125 as I recall - as "high speed pursuit cars". Oddly enough, they had a bit better accelleration from the same-year Mustang GT (which was a little heavier, aid dam and other such parts) but their top-end was a little lower (worse aerodynamics). Down side - those Mustangs were CROWDED by police standards.
The 80s boxy Caprice was what I grew up seeing cops drive in, a lot of police departments used them well into the 90s alongside the 90s Caprice and Crown Vic.....fond memories of the 80s boxy Caprice.
Might be because when the Michigan state police and LAPD tested them the LT1 caprice blew its doors off in every test except the 60' slalom, or maybe it was 60- 0 braking....Either way the caprice crushed it. Maybe it was because there were so few mustangs most departments never had one. No mention of the LT1 Camaro cop cars either.
@bdd1469-consider the fact that California and Texas highway patrols, plus RCMP in Canada (and many others, to be sure) used the Mustang SSP until at least the early 2000’s (or over a DECADE after the package was discontinued), the 5.0 SSP couldn’t have been as “bad” as you try to make it seem.
@@bdd1469 I call b.s. on that one. I can see how the Caprice could have beat out the Mustang, but there's no way it was because of performance. Interior space, cargo space, endurance probably. Especially if you're talking about the LAPD. Why would they need a car simply for intercepting speeders (which is all that the mustang would be good for)? You might be referring to the Crown Vic. At least in Florida, anyway, the FHP had 5 speed manuals in their SSPs.
I remember the 94 Caprice well. I was a rookie and was assigned equipment detail and assigned myself a brand new one and accidentally assigned one of the vets an older one. Needless to say I got chewed out, but it was so worth it. That car ran like a scalded dog.
I also remember the Buick GN and GNX. I've always loved the Buick Regal of 1980 until Buick switch to front-wheel drive, but my favourite are the Grand National and GNX.
The Diplomat was before my time, although we drove them while I was in the academy. They were the quintessential police car when I was kid (kind of the like the Crown Vic was in later years), but all the veteran officers and sergeants I ever spoke who spent a lot of time in them, disliked them intensely. Most referred to it as the Dodge "Diplo-Dog" because of its sluggish performance. So, while the Diplomat was definitely a very common police car in the mid to late '80s (even early '90s), it wasn't a police car that many officers would like to go back to.
Another honorable mention is the AMC Matadors with the 401 V8 of the 1970's. The Matadors with the 401 V8 were very quick during that time period and was a popular choice for the LAPD during that era.
I was the staff photographer for ROAD TEST Magazine back in 1970/71 and had the good fortune to drive one of the LAPD Plymouth cars with the 383 V8 on their training course located on a huge open lot down near Long Beach, I forget the exact town. I drove it with the LAPD pursuit instructor on a simulated city street race course they had set up. (They had one bend you could take about 48 MPH and he made me observe that speed, no more around that one bend so that I would not slide off and into a wall or something), otherwise the course was wide open, whatever you can manage. With him riding with me and directing me to ride the brake and hold 48 no more on that bend, I still matched the current record held on the course. A great day and I put it in the magazine.
I recall growing up in the L.A. area in the 80s and 90s, a story of a kid who had an ex-CHP Diplomat who killed himself and 3 passengers in one because he took a sharp turn on Wilshire Blvd. too fast. I recall the thing burned up! Not to discredit the car or its handling, but more to show that people thought (probably still do) that police cars were supercars or had superpowers. Unfortunately, for him and his friends, they found out the hard way!
As a kid who grew up in the 1980s, I always loved the Dodge Diplomat since it was the quintessential police car of that time. I drove some in the academy, but they were long retired from regular service before I started my career. Interestingly, all the older guys in my department and others in the county disliked them and referred to them as the Dodge "Diplodog" due to their sluggish performance. They all preferred the 1980's Caprices over the Diplomats, and said their favorite cars were the 1990s Caprices with the LT1 engines. Admittedly, I'd love to find and restore an old Dodge Diplomat police car. They just take me back to my childhood images of police cars when I was growing up in San Jose.
My Dad was a cop from 1973 to 2006 and was uniformed with an undercover stint from 1977 to 1990. So when I was a kid I remember the Dodge Diplomat and then later the last gen Caprice. His last car was the Crown Vic, which he liked. The sleeper of the bunch was an unmarked grey boxy Ford Crown Vic with a red vinyl interior. It had the Mustang 5.0 HO engine and was a cool car for the it's day.
Elwood in The Blues Brothers: "It's got a cop motor, a four hundred and forty cubic inch plant. It's got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters, so it'll run good on regular gas. What do you say? Is it the new Bluesmobile or what?"
Great video as always. Mopar did things right in the 60s and 70s. Those 440 polaras and coronets were and still are missiles. Crazy to think that it holds its own against modern cop cars. The lt1 equipped caprices, or in general, lt1 powered B bodies from 94-96 were also very good cars. Now days you can pick up a good lt1 B body for around $1000 if you look hard enough, and I personally believe there is no reason why anyone shouldn't give them a try. They're great for all the same reasons they were good cop cars; hard to kill, powerful and spacious. Also, unlike the Crown vic, the Lt1 is much easier to modify thanks to the block in cam design, meaning you could easily build a very mean sleeper.
Chrysler built their police cars & taxi vehicles at their Belvedere plant for many years. They started with a beefed up frame to take the rigors of fleet service (police & taxi). The 440 CID engines were differently tuned from the commercial ones, often with larger carburetors, different cams, bigger alternator, etc. Add the Torqueflight-727 bulletproof transmission, coupled with torsion bar front suspension and it was a great, fast car. Chrysler added front seats with extra springs/cushion for those 8-hour shifts. Most Mopars built for police service (at least in the west) had a "pearl white" steering wheel - a CHP request from the 60s - to reduce burnt hands in very hot areas (so-Cal, Az, Nv, NM, etc.) The downside, those big-block 440s and 383s were thirsty engines. In the mid-70s, Mopar stopped fitting the 383 to some of their police models, replacing it with the 360 (5.9L) V8 with not much improvement in MPGs. Chrysler's sales woes were building up to it's near demise in the 80s and they all but abandoned the Police market until fairly recently. The 1990s Caprice models had a few nicknames due to their semi-futuristic rounded look. When painted black or dark blue, they were called "Combat Caprice" while some in other color schemes were called "Combat Cadillacs".
Police station back home in Wa state bought two brand new Dodge Manaco and had a police package installed but the freeway model they had actually cought up to me on my motorcycle on the freeway lol.
When I worked for Yellow Cab, their fleet consisted of the mid-90s Caprice and Crown Victoria, all ex-police cars. Both of them were great for airport runs, but I always preferred the Caprice as its steering was much more precise. The steering in the Crown Vics was indistinct and needed constant small corrections. My grandmother owned a Lincoln Town Car of the period and it steered exactly the same way. BTW, what about the '74 Dodge Monaco? That's one of the most iconic police cars of all!
Yeah the Crown Vics need suspension maintenance every 100K miles or so to have nice precise steering. I got some new control arms and bushings and some steering stuff (I forgot what) last year and now mine feels like a sports car
@@charlie_nolan I have a 2006 Grand Marquis with 218,000 miles on it, all the steering and suspension parts are original except I had to replace the leaking rear air bags with coil springs. It drives just fine. My ex wife has a 2022 Hyundai Accent she bought new. Besides being very uncomfortable and cramped, the steering is so tight that it tried to dart to one side of the road or the other. when it tries to go right, the tiniest correction sends it left. The Grand Marquis has just enough play in the center that it tracks straight with just one finger on the wheel.
I had the 87' Caprice Classic I bought from a police auction which was formerly the Sheriff's cruiser. That car rode and handled beautifully even at high speeds of 147 MPH, not that I would know that from experience... cough ...cough 😉
@@jeremyfowler1519 The FBI received a fleet of white Buick Regal Turbo T-types. They are the same thing as a Grand National but with different rims and paint colours. They came with V rated tires and no speed limiter.
🚔When I went thru the Academy, we learned in the ‘94 Caprices with LT1 engines; loved them! 🚔 At my first post, we also had these but transitioned over to Crown Vics. They were _totally_ different - in their handling & torque especially - the Caprice took the cake on those! The CV’s were much more comfortable tho. In a Caprice, I still hold the record speed (20+yrs later) thru the serpentine course... both forward _and backward!_ at 48+mph! 🏁🤣 👍Excellent Video; Thank You!👍
These were mostly a West Coast car for some reason, we rarely saw them in police service in the Midwest. I heard the street guys liked them but they lacked engine cooling capacity and would overheat when idling though.
@@richardcarlson127 I'm surprised about the AMCs being a West Coast thing, seeing as how they were built in Kenosha, WI. I had a couple ( 74 Javelin AMX and a Rambler American 220 ), and I liked them. The V8s weren't bad, the 6 cylinders went forever, and the oddball factor was very cool.
@@williammacroberts2305 Hahaha! Yeah, they were just as bad as Mopars when it came to corrosion protection! Too bad they never made a Pacer as an interceptor, talk about undercover!
Most fools knew better than to challenge a Crown Vic Police Interceptor. Most police mechanics knew how to maintain them well to keep them on the road.
The Polara, aka Interceptor, was a sight to be seen as the CHP flew by us on the freeway. Before the 605 was connected to the 210 in the San Gabriel Valley, you could race the CHP Interceptors on Friday Nights from the end of the Freeway to the first off-ramp. It was a blast. Just don't go past the off ramp when racing or they would give you a ticket.
To this day, the fastest I’ve ever driven on a public road was in a 1996 Caprice. It was just a backup car at the part time PD job I had in addition to my full time uniformed police job at the time. One night I was on my way to backup 2 guys on a hot call with that Caprice and I checked the speedometer and noticed I was doing 153mph on a straightaway and still had a little throttle left. That car was a rocket ship and I miss it.
"Catch Cars" We called them in Florida. FHP used them, they were cream and black. They had that and the Gen. 4 wedge Camaros, I always thought they were used as high-speed interceptors. We had problems with street racing and high performance getaway cars.
Travis Williamson I did not know that, but I do know every example of the ex CHP Mustangs I saw were all turbo four bangers, not arguing just what I've seen from my experience. Almost makes them more special, I didn't even know they did turbocharged four cylinders back then.
I am crazy about police cars ... they are very cool , all of ‘em , there is a few 80’s square box Caprice / Impala highway patrol police cars here in Adelaide, South Australia where I live , they are in total original specs ..,. With lights on top of roof and everything, amazing looking cars , when I lived in Sydney I used to see heaps from Texas and other states , a lot collectors do love those police cars for sure .
Most of them have far more power than I'm guessing your used to with all your speeding laws and secret squirrel cam speed traps. I gotta say the best looking police car was the '61 Dodge Polara. That or the Buick Grand National.
Stormcrow Legendary: The '61 Dodge Polara was pretty cool, as are all Mopars, though the oldest police car they featured here was the '69 Polara. I would love to have one of those. Its 375 horsepower 440 cubic inch V-8 is actually the same engine, with the same horsepower, that was available in the smaller, mid-sized Mopar muscle cars (Dodge Charger R/T, Challenger R/T, Coronet R/T), so I would think that those would be even faster than the larger, heavier Polara. Surprising that police departments didn't use, say, Charger or Challenger R/Ts for high-speed pursuit work. Also, those were available with the even more powerful 440 Six-Pack (390 gross HP), and the 426 Hemi (425 gross HP). I remember hearing about Chrysler, in the late '50s and early '60s, having its own, specially designed police car called the Chrysler Enforcer that had a Hemi V-8 engine similar to that found in the Chrysler 300 letter-series cars, and it was kind of a police car version of the 300 letter cars. I would love to find one of those! I wonder how many of those are still around out there?
Wade Hauff yes the 2000’s era Caprice for USA 🇺🇸 police was made in Australia, also they developed the Chevrolet Camaro here in Australia on a Holden Commodore/Monaro/GTO platform Back in the early 2000’s ... but now it’s all history.
About 1973 I had an old 1967 Plymouth Fury 383 automatic ex-cruiser, all white, with lots of unfilled holes in the dash panel where radios and stuff had been installed. I paid $400 for it, and for the life of me can't remember why I sold it, maybe because it got about 12 mpg.
Drove three of the five as an LEO. The early Caprice, the later Caprice and the Crown Victoria (Crown Vic). Overall, I liked the Crown Vic the best. I put a lot of miles in one. Great car. Handled well, and fast.
Was always amazed how well those rear wheel drives did in bad weather, like very deep snow. I remember the 1969 Dodge Polara cop cars, they even had some station wagons in La Crosse, WI. The Minnesota State Patrol had some Mustang GT's in the mid '80's.
Hers my reactions in chronological order 86-90 Caprice: I've seen those used quite a bit Crown vic: Of course! That's practically a cult classic nowadays. 1969 Polara: Impressive. Though I'm surprised Dodge hasn't improved as well as I would have thought compared to their 1969 counterpart. 91-96 Caprice: used to think these were kinda ugly, but they're kinda growing on me. GN and GNX: Hold up, is this for real?? Needless to say, the Grand National threw me off something fierce.
1 car not listed was the 69 Galaxie 428 interceptor. Ours went from law enforcement to fire dept. It was faded blue and worn out but mighty fast. it also had a brake lock installed for 360's
@@thomashopkins2509 galaxies were great cars too, like you said, stuff a 428 down it's throat and they just fly. Almost bought a 63 model 500 last year. Didn't have the cash for it unfortunately.
The 80's Plymouth Caravelle and Ford Fairmont are also ommitted. Although that might be because they don't fit the "would still want to drive" criteria... :P
It's on display, the Don Knotts car, outdoors under a roof, at some museum next to a small river I forget what town but I saw it last fall while on a group motorcycle ride to N.C. I think it was. Have a photo in my phone.
@@johnhand871 Mt. Airy, North Carolina was Andy Griffith's home town, and supposedly what Mayberry was modeled after. They have an Andy Griffith museum there, mock ups of the courthouse and gas station. They also run vintage police car tours of the town which go past Andy's boyhood home. Starting with 1960, the Ford Motor Company supplied the police cars for use in the show. Each year, the current new model was supplied (which make it easy to identify what year the episode was filmed). After the season, the cars were returned to Ford, reconditioned and sold as used passenger vehicles. The vintage Ford police cars in Mt. Airy are really "tribute" cars.
I'm thinking the Dodge Polara's 440 V8 power figure was underrated at 375hp. I just checked, and I've seen reports of 410hp, giving it a bigger power advantage over the modern day car. Lots more torque too, but I'm more amazed it could reach 150 in a 3 speed. Must've had a low/tall rear end gear. From Bullitt to Blues Brothers (among others), this engine got plenty of screen time back in the day.
LAPD ordered early 70s AMC Matadors with power and handling combination the bigger players couldn't match. They were so well regarded some were still in use by the mid 80s. And boy did they look the part!
Very Cool Vlog. Notice the white steering wheel in the CHP Polara special order so it would be cooler in the hot sun. My favorite was the Caprice and Crown Vic in my service time. Retired now have a hemi Challenger and a Harley Heritage Softail. 🇺🇸🏍
I was excited to see the 1969 Dodge Polara in this video. This was my very first car (I was 18 years old). It was an ex-RCMP vehicle (I'm in Canada). It was six years old when I got it but what a huge, solid car! Mine had the 383 4-barrel and man, it was exciting to step on the gas! The interior was massive...by today's standards it could have been classified as an 8 seater. The seats were just one sheet of vinyl stretching from one side to the other. There was no carpet - just a rubbery floor covering. And a trunk that could hold many bodies. Oops...I meant golf bags, yeah golf bags! 😁 It burned premium fuel (with the emphasis on burned!) as it had lousy gas mileage, but then gas was cheap, around 70-some cents per gallon. The only thing I didn't like was that the dealer had repainted the car, so it was turquoise with a white roof 😣. Thank you for bringing back great memories.
I remember the police department in my town had pretty much all Caprices when I was a kid in the late 80’s/early 90’s... my mom had to drive past the parking yard for the police dept when she’d take my brother and me to day care, and even at that young age I loved cars. They eventually switched to Crown Vics and now they drive Tauruses/Explorers... it’s just not the same.
Lot of love for the 1970s Dodge Monacos too, they got the 440 for pursuit work. Sadly many were wrecked by the Blues Brothers and every Glen A Larson action show of the 1980s.
Depends on which. The bubble bodied 5.7 Caprice, no, but the crappy 5.0 & 4.3 Caprice had no chance. The Box style Crown Vic however, was not up to par with the box style Caprice/Impala.
I've read in a number of places that for whatever reason, the Crown Vics are only capable of 130-135mph. Not sure if this is governed or otherwise, but while they hold up to abuse really well, they aren't great pursuit cars. Those mid-90 Caprices equipped with LT1 engines could top over 140mph. Not surprisingly, a lot of the state patrol agencies usually had a few Mustangs or Camaros for high speed pursuit duty.
area51isreal Yes you correct. I remember that commercial as well, it was the late Arthur Godfrey that was in the commercial standing there as a ‘72 Fury came to a screeching halt and two officers got out & ran towards the houses late at night. Good Day to You!
The Metropolitan Toronto Police Force (5,000 strong) used Plymouth Furys right through the early 60's up until the mid 70's. They then went to those small boxlike Dodge Aspens ? in the late 70's. In the 60's almost all the taxicabs in Toronto were Plymouth Fury's with the indestructible 225 c.i. Slant Six engine coupled with the best automatic transmission ever made, the Torqueflite a 727. Stock car racers are forever searching through the wrecking yards for old A 727's. Rugged as the day is long. One thing about Chrysler Corporation, is when they did something right, they did it really right, the minivan is a perfect example.
@@johnnyberetta9533 yeah. I think you are talking about that car that had the single large red gumball light on top. Really wide long and flat car. I haven 't seen one of those since then.
I bought a 2011 INTERCEPTOR with 101000 miles on it. It was a VENTURA County Sheriff's Dept. car, well maintained black/white. I commute with it, doesn't leak or use any oil at 154500 now, average 19mpg's running 80 on the freeway. These CROWN VIC's are no muscle cars but very durable and solid. They make great cheap used cars.....
The '69 Fury 440 Pursuit was probably the quickest, fastest, and most popular of the old big-block squads among those that used them in police service. It was Plymouth, of course, not Dodge, that captured most of the LEV bids from the late 50's through most of the 80's. It is surprising to see a non-police model (Buick) on a list of most common squads. Perhaps the better choice wouldve been the 1981-89 Dodge Diplomat and the '82 - '89 Plymouth Fury/Caravelle. While many Ford and Chevy fanboys dismiss consideration of the M body, the truth is - most officers liked them. They were quick for the time (MSP tests confirm this; with the big Fury continuing its tradition of performing while the identical Dodge was disqualified in 1987). They handled and braked far better than the Ford or Chevy. The only drawbacks were they were a bit narrow inside, and had a small trunk. The K-frame problem did exist on some cars between '86 and early '88, but unless it actually cracked, most agencies ran them with the Mopar shim kit, and they were just fine. Proof of the police agency's endearment to the M body was the tremendous uproar when Iaccoca pulled the plug. Finally, comparing the drag-limited top speed of the '69 Polara to the *electronically* limited top speed of the current Charger is rather silly. The CHP itself found the '06 LX model would run 165 mph wide open, and later tests with a newer LD model brought that number up to 176 mph on stock W-rated rubber.
When my dad immigrated to the US, he became a Chicago cab driver. The cab companies would buy retired police cruisers and convert them to taxi cabs. Dad always preferred the Caprice over the Crown Vic. Was convinced Chevy had better build quality
The Dodge Charger is not called a "Police Interceptor." Police Interceptor is a trademark by Ford and is exclusive to their police vehicles. The Dodge Charger is a "Pursuit"
Eric Stewart Chevy calls it the 9C1 or 9C3 depending on which one you buy. The 9C3 is toned down some, usually for detectives and looks more “retail” and is not pursuit rated.
"Police Interceptor" is not exclusive to Ford. I have that same thing on a Westward Industries GO-4 Interceptor which is a 3 wheel parking enforcement vehicle in my collection. It won't intercept anything!
I had the Police Interceptor tag on my Ford Windstar. When they were going to auction off the CV's I peeled a couple off the cars and kept the badges. I put one on my minivan. I wonder how many confused drivers behind me wondered if it was Windstar pursuit vehicle. .
I had a 77 Grand Fury 440 interceptor back in the day. Bought it at a police auction. It was an old Florida Highway Patrol vehicle. Wish I still had it !
Had a civilian stock 81 Crown Vic. That was one tough car. Hit a 4x4 hollow steel post with it (forced off the road!) - Dented the bumper a little, no other damage. Loved the 5 liter engine. I just wonder, if you put the older inline 6 (the one with the mega torque) what a ride you would get!
I ordered a brand new 9C1 1988 Caprice when I was with Toronto Police as a family car for personal use. Fully loaded with ever option it went to Entec Racing brand new upon delivery and had an LS5 454 plus 175hp nitrous system installed. 13.2 at 103 in the quarter, 5.8 0-60 and topped out at 160mph. Wife drove it daily for 18 1/2 years and put 300,000 km on it.
Loved my 9C1 85 Impala, and still love my 2003 P-71 Police Interceptor- 180k and still rockin'! (The 9C1 Impala had over 275k when I sold it, only major work done was the transmission: I looked it up on CarFax once, and saw it was still registered, with over 300k...)
I've talked to a few different cops over the years that had the Crown Vic, and they don't miss them at all---they all complained that it was too slow. The Polara was a proper police car, and so is the Charger
"It's got a cop motor, a 440-cubic-inch plant. It's got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters so it'll run good on regular gas.
Fix the cigarette lighter.
Me thinks you're about to be in a whole mess of trouble. Let's see if your story is on prime video.
The Bluesmobile was a Monaco.
What happened too the Caddy?
I only know this quote from the description of the cop car from carmageddon
I was a Highway Deputy Sheriff from 1986-2011 and drove 1984 to 2010 squads. The best squad car I ever drove was the 1995 Chevy Caprice with LT 1 and HD cooling. It was 275 hp with cast iron heads 9.5 to 1 CR. Top speed was 135 mph limited by Computer with the Z rated tires.1994 had two electric fans and would wear-out slow down and over heat, HD Cooling had one electric fan and one mech add on fan and never over heated. I liked it so much I bought a new 1996 Caprice with lt 1 for myself at home and still have it 189,000 miles later...
Billy B, that’s close to my era. The LT1 Caprice was absolute tops. Even the 91-93 years wasn’t too shabby. I hated the CV in comparison. Especially the 92-97s ... too fidgety at high speed. The Diplomats, older by the time I drove any, were pathetically slow. The boxy Caprices were pretty good, but you had to stay on top of them. They’d get away from you if you let them. They could u-turn thru a median like a tank though. Which was good, because if you didn’t keep some speed on a turn around, you probably weren’t going to catch up to whoever you went after... Not exactly quick.
The president of GM at the time said the whale Caprice went into production "over (his) dead body" and "we are a front wheel drive company". Yeah, sure, maybe if they were better at it they would've pulled *that* off. As it is, it's a shame they didn't scotch the GM10 W-bodies, make the '91 RWD B-Bodies a size smaller to meet the market and send them out with that LT1 as an upgrade and a 3800 V6 standard. 20/20 hindsight. And I now realize I just described a Holden Commodore.
Still have my 95 Caprice wagon with the 350 LT1. Still runs great with plenty of power and lots of room and has a smooth ride. Sure beats any SUV on the road.
It is a good car but overall the P71 has superior reliability standard dependable most agile towards it's size on persuit situations the 9C1 does not have those qualities
Nor on top speed of 140+
My 03 P71 does it
I got a 96 LT1 with 57k between the frame rails of my badass daily driver 95 Wrangler with a 700r4 trans. About another week out till i get to start her up. Very excited LT1 5.7 is legendary.
Almost every cop I talk to says they want the Crown Vic back
I think that depends on how old they are. A lot of them now like the Ford Explorer.
Richard Greene they do and I own a Ford Explorer but we all have our doubts. The crown Vic was so much easier to drive and push to the limits
@@richardgreene6810 explorers are junk. We only like them because of how big they are. Chargers and even Tahoes are taking over.
@@eric50gobucks Well if it was up to me, I would use all Tahoes. I think, however, that they may be too expensive for most municipalities.
@@richardgreene6810 love them but i wouldn't want to run hot in one
These cars are all great until you're in the backseat
Chris, I own a couple of decommissioned police cars. When I give someone a ride, I ask them if they have ever been in the front seat of one of these things.
@@sludge4125 HA!
Sludge LoL
Sludge LoL
Duh no kidding. I imagine the only people who like being in a Police car are the police.
My dad was a cop in the 80s so I will always have a soft spot for the Caprice. I remember he showed up to my cousin’s birthday on duty and he gave my sister, my cousins and I a ride around the block with the lights and siren on. That will always be a favorite memory of my youth.
Was it legal to do that ?
@@RivieraByBuick It was the 80s. Guys were doing way crazier things back then, I don’t think giving kids a ride in the car would have been high up on the list of problems with 80s policing. That was during the era where guys were beating their wives and driving drunk and they all covered for each other.
@@turnupthesun81 tough times..
Yup, it was the 80's, nuff said. My friend's dad was the volunteer fire department chief and once took us for a ride in a fire engine with lights and sirens. Also probably not legal but it was a small town and nobody cared 😂
I just turned 18 and I bought my first car and it's a 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis with 52,000 miles on it. The original owner kept it garaged! Absolutely well kept car and I bought it because people get exceptionally long life out of the crown victorias and lincoln town cars because of how well built they are. It's too bad cars aren't built to last anymore.
Nice choice!
Im 40 years old and have had 30 something cars, and I daily drive a '05 Crown vic. I have tool boxes, a subwoofer, duffle bags. And still have room for my kids after work! I love this car. So tough
I still miss my 79 Plymouth Volare that I got in 1988. It was a great ride.
Boy, that's going to last so long you'll end up giving it to your grandchildren. The Panther platforms are some the best & easy to maintain
Keep it maintained and that Panther platform will last you a lifetime, I bought a 1996 Lincoln Town Car for a princely sum of $200, yes $200 because the paint was shot and it had 310,000 miles on it. That was a few years ago and now it’s at about 360,000 miles on it, I’m the second owner. It still rides like a cloud and can lay down the rubber if we are feeling feisty. I use it for trips from where I am on the Central coast of CA to visit my folks in Vegas, comfortable as can be. Gas mileage is good when compared to my pick up, but that’s not saying much haha.
Enjoy your ride and have fun!
My '98 MGM GS just rolled over 219,000 miles and shows no sign of slowing down. These cars will take lots of abuse but as long as you keep all the fluids topped off and filters changed regularly...they will keep coming back for more. Remember.....if you take care of her, she'll take of you.👍
I saw a few comments wondering why the Ford Crown Victoria was not modernized. I met one of the men in person who was responsible for pulling the plug on the Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Car. We talked for probably close to an hour about it so I'll sum up as best as I can.
Basically it all comes down the money. He told me that new governmental regulations would have required essentially an all-new Powertrain. Which he pointed out had been done previously in the panther platform. The problem was the last time the platform received a Powertrain upgrade the Panther wasn't over 30 years old.
I pointed out that the Lincoln Town Car had not even had any updates on its web page since 2008, to which he quickly responded
"That was marketing that wasn't us". (meaning his Department which dealt with fleet cars) but he also said it just went to show how little interest Ford had in the panther by that point.
He also said that they had experimented with putting an Ecoboost V6 in a town car along with a
"couple of different transmission configurations" .
Which side note; that would be really exciting if there's actually an EcoBoost Lincoln Town Car out there somewhere.
He concluded that in the end though the cost of repowering the platform was too much. He told me that
" In the end that's all they care about upstairs is 'Do the numbers work?' And they didn't."
He told me a lot of stories concerning all three of the cars, different ideas that had been implemented along the way how the fleet system worked at the corporate level. Again, it was about an hour long conversation so I skipped a lot here. He did tell
"We loved that car, it broke our heart as much as it did yours."
And after all that, I believe him.
I've owned my 2000 Grand Marquis for 17 years now, and don't plan to part with it any time soon. Very reliable, roomy, and comfortable. My previous car was a 1986 Caprice Brougham, which was also a great car. Ford made a big mistake dropping this platform, and I will likely buy my first foreign car once I decide to trade this one in. Sad indeed.
people don't understand this fact. the government epa regulations and cafe standards are killing the auto industry. I own two vics and absolutely love them but one gets 21 miles a gallon and the other 16... that will not fly with the cafe standards. The best part about them is that they are simple cars and easy to work on. if you were to swap power trains say put a coyote engine and a 10 speed transmission for fuel economy, i believe you would lose the durability and reliability of the car. Look at how poorly the chargers do when idled for long periods of time, simple fact is that most modern cars would not hold up to endless hours of idling but the crown victoria could and did. One of my crown vics has 9700 idling hours while the other 5600 both with about 150,000 miles and still going strong. You would never see numbers like that out of a modern powertrain, when you add complexity you decrease reliability and durability.
Look up the 1999 Crown Vics built by Roush for the Bondurant Racing school. Oh, what could be been a great upgrade.
About breaking hearts, I followed "The Killing of The Panther" very closely at the time. Back in 2000-03, I was in high school, and I drove my old man's Grand Marquis fairly regularly. Now, this car was pretty sweet -not because it was one of these P platforms, but it was a 1992 (new body style) built in 1990, and had all the right options. I'm sure it had to be one of the originals that Ford produced, and likely would have a "rare" factor to an aficionado today. Anyway, story is he bought it as a demo car from our now defunct local Mercury dealer around 1992-93. The car had some kind of odd background story, and I wish he didn't trade it for that Lucerne at the height of the horrid 'Cash for Clunkers' scam. That Merc was a lot of fun to drive, probably "one of one" produced that early in production, and even with the peg-leg rear and 3:27 gears, it boogied. The car easily achieved a calculated 25-30 on the highway, and I never had a problem driving it in the snow (and we get a fair amount in the NE). Another fringe benefit, the car was built before governors were a "thing", so my buddy and I clocked it out of curiosity; we were able to max the car out at 134 on a very long straightaway (it was singing, but probably had a little more to go!). And, I tell you what, it felt no different than the suggested 85 "top speed" on the dial. Smooth as a sofa. Never saw rotors glow like these did, either (he still does not know of this, and never will). Out of all the things I've driven, I miss that car probably the most. A close second was the hand-me-down 1978 Buick Electra coupe with a functioning 8-track that I'd kill to still have. Either easily fit 6 of my friends inside, and another 4 in the trunk! We'll never see the likes of cars such as these again, sadly. Just glad that I was among the few of my generation that got to actually enjoy and appreciate these types of cars designed in an era long past. Don't get me wrong, I love the way a new Taurus feels, but it isn't an antiquated body-on-frame rear wheel drive American sedan.
Thank you for the enlightening perspective, Andrew Snyder. Merry Christmas!
Been in the profession for 29 years. The 90 Caprice or "box chevy" as we used to call them was the best cruiser I ever drove.
Let me know if you find one for sale? Prefer '89 or '90. I think they had more power than the '86 - '88 didn't they? Thanks.
Gordon Allen door mounted seat belts sucked
*Couldn't agree more. My career started in 1990 and took me 25 years forward through the bubble Caprice, CVPI, several generations of front wheel drive Impalas and 2WD and 4WD Tahoes. The boxy Caprice had the best feel, best outward driver's view, best ingress/egress, best handling, best practical space availability, best foot and leg room....best everything. I will say from the Bible on Turbo Regals titled "Kirban's Guide to 1986 and 1987 Buick Turbo Regals" the FBI actually bought the Buick Regal Turbo T because you could get those in other colors and interiors but with the 3.8 SFI Turbo engine. They were very stealthy and just as fast as the GN.*
89 was the best ever
Gordon Allen I bought a 86 Caprice at a sale. It was a state detective car. It flew on the highway and handled like a 3rd gen z28 Camaro.
I drove a 90 Caprice when I started policing. Loved that car. It handled well and had plenty of power. Nothing like the 95’s with the LT 1 though. They were great too. I liked the crown vics but they didn’t have the low end power that the Chevy’s had.
I had a 1981 Ford LTD that used to be a govt car with the police package and had a 351W under the hood for my first vehicle, it was far quicker and more maneuverable than it looked and I won many stop light battles with it along with hunting down the occasional 80s Camaro in a game me and my buddy called cat and mouse, The car was almost indestructible but it suffered the fate of many 80s big three vehicles and was claimed by the Rustbelt demon, but that engine was solid and would pull forever, to this day I can still hear the dual exhaust rumble and that V-8 roar, The day I was forced to junk it I felt like I lost a brother, and a testicle.
I disagree. Was on Hwy Patrol when these cars, 1981 Ford LTD, came out and they were slugs. We just turned in perfectly running 1978 Dodge Monaca 440's for these new units. They were unsafe running stationary radar and had a top speed of around 145 KMH. Very slow acceleration and no top end. They were reliable and comfortable but that was it. When the GM LT1 came along no one wanted to drive the Fords.
Had an ‘81 LTD police package ex-RCMP car, which handled well for the era, but had a sluggish 302 v8 for power. Always wanted to have the 351 just to see how it compared.
Not as quick as the ‘78 Plymouth Fury, also an ex-Mountie car, with a 440 HIgh Performance engine and factory non-catalytic dual exhaust that I got later. Factory high lift cam ( rougher idling than standard one) and factory 3000 rpm high stall converter on the transmission.
Yes they were slugs they had a crappy carburetor too.
Once the '73 cats. were introduced with lower compression, all engine performance Tanked.
Didn't come back until 2010 or so.
@@briancampbell5944 I drove a 1981 Ford LTD as a Va county deputy-sheriff and it was the slowest V8 I've ever driven. Poor acceleration and top speed of 105mph. The tranny went out at 12,000 miles, was constantly in and out of OD on the old country roads. We were then told to not use OD, keep it in 'D', or 3rd gear. Best cars we had then were Chrysler and Plymouth 360's. We also had the 440's until 1979.
R.I.P. Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor
CVPI There’s just something about a crown vic police car that will always seem right to me. I grew up playing with them, then there was a point in time where almost every single cop car was a crown vic. When I’m old I’m sure I’ll see one restored at a car show and I’ll definitely go check it out.
I think Ford is gonna bring them back
@@eggnugget575 nope
What why?
@@eggnugget575 because the cvpi got replaced by the fpis that now got replaced with the fusion
I still drive my 2004 Crown Vic. 😎
I love it. All the trunk space I need for traffic cones, all my pewpew, tacticool gear, and a case of water.
And hearing that V8 purr. 😍
Loved those cars with a trunk that could sleep 3..:)..
As a Mall Marshal I just need a trunk big enough for a gold whistle and a Smokey the Bear hat. But women want me!
@@kingbeat101 And fit a lot more, just ask any wise guy.
Vroom vroom
I have a 2004 Crown Vic myself
Imagine going 150MPH in a 440 Polara on bias ply tires
Yea haw! I'm gonna get that sucker!
Getting along side the bad guy and shooting his tires out at 150 :)
Don't forget they only had drum breaks,bias tires and poor suspension.
As long as it's a straight line, the car would be stable. I've had a 90's Vette get real twitchy over small bumps at 110
Floating on a cloud
I love the Crown Vic's. I've owned 3 of them, still driving my 3rd one now.
Wow can you upload that on RUclips
S R C W 1985 I’ve always wanted to own a Crown Vic. With the spot lights and cage.
S R C W 1985 Those cars are soo bad on Gas
Because of low compression ratios, lean carburetors and 3 speed automatic transmissions
SSG Squidward who cares. Just get a economic car for daily and the Vic for weekends
I was a COP in the 80's... we drove the Plymouth Fury's... 440 magnum.... this car along with the Pontiac Bonneville were screamers.... these should have been added...
Yep. Too bad MOPAR pulled the plug in 1979. No more 440s after 1978. 1978 A38 Furys w/a 440 are the most sought after, other than the '69 Polara. '
1910FruitgumCompany god bless you sir defending our safety. When I grow up I want to join my sheriff dept
1910FruitgumCompany wow
@Charlie Hare
I'm from the UK and noticed on quite a few Emergency service and military channels I follow that their seems to be a disproportionate amount of guys who comment making up stories about being current/ex First Responders or vets? Why do they do it? I'm a paramedic and ex Royal Air Force MERT medic, and can see through the lies instantly and often call them out as it infuriates me, especially as I lost good friends (both British and American) in Afghanistan and Iraq, and law enforcement friends badly injured on the job.
We call them "Walter Mitties" over here. Why do so many American guys lie so blatantly?!
Please don't think I'm criticising the American people as a whole, as I adore your wonderful country and people.
Hope you and yours are staying safe at this awful time brother.
@@residentelect didn't we beat you in a War a few years ago?
Ah the FBI Regals! Had never heard of them. In the early 90s, I was stationed in DC and lived in Alexandria. One day I was in the Buick/Pontiac dealer there having work done on my Pontiac. Browsing the used car lot, I spotted an unusual Regal. Painted gold, looked like grandma's car. Had the hood bulge but no badging. Tipoff were the Z rated tires. Talked to the salesman who confirmed it's provenance. He said there was no speed limiter in the special ECU. Woulda - coulda - shoulda grabbed that one.
If it was gold, it was likely a T-type Regal
Man, that'd have made a cool road legal track car.
Those Regals looked like a box and handled like a box.
@@chrisperrien7055 Please don't confuse the regular Regal with the T-Type. The T-Type suspension was even better for handling than even the GN while having the same turbocharged sequential fuel injection for the years 1986 and 1987. They for sure didn't handle like a box as a lot of the BMW's of the same year could affirm.
@@carlsanchez1360 OK, did not know there was a diff. Only car I ever wrecked-somebody came into my lane in a sharp turn from the other direction, so I had to swerve, skidded, and hit a retaining wall.
RoboCop wants his Ford Taurus back! 😊
My SHO Taurus was waaay fast and never gave me a bit of trouble
And the 80s Taurus isn't on this countdown.
They did have Ford Taurus police cars in the '80s. I'm sure they used those in the movie "RoboCop" because of how futuristic-looking they were. Did they ever offer a Taurus SHO police version? You would think they would have.
the local police department had 4 Tauruses in the early 90's after about 6 months, the city pissed through it's entire annual vehicle repair budget. on those Tauruses. they were garbage the day they rolled off the assembly line.
@@mel1nda12ax7 Wikipedia says that the current SHO is available to police, but no mention of any earlier versions to them.
“It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark... and we're wearing sunglasses”
“Hit it”
plymouth Fury wasnt it....
@@pu81nk 85 Vic.
@@AdamMann3D Movie came out in 1980/ 74 dodge Monaco.
@@pu81nk yeah it was . that was a great scene 😆
Crown Vic will always be in my heart😍
And I like ya'and I want cha'
Alexandra Reed now and always, the king of cars
Long live the Panther!
I got one that use to be a police car I will take u for a ride
saaaame!!
My uncle had a 70s 440 Chrysler police car. Wouldn't sell it to me. I was 16 at the time. Probably saved my life ! Thanks for the video.
To this day I slow down when a Crown Vic rolls up behind me.
Especially In A GEO METRO!!
Richard Kaltenbach How very dare you?! I drive a Volkswagen!
Always older guys with the giant k40 antenna and for some odd reason they love to put blue tissue boxes in the back window I suppose to make you think that it's a blue light from a little ways back??? I have seen more then 100 of these retired cruisers sporting the blue tissue box in the rear window over the years. Not so much anymore but it was still kinda fubny.
Still happens now, even though not as frequent as it once was.
Yep, I guess a habit!
But what about the 1974 Dodge Monaco? It was after all, "on a mission from god".
One of the very best cop cars of all time. I also love the 1972 Plymouth Satellite....gorgeous car !!!!
I had one and loved it!
Those cops are all dead...they dont wish anything
Greg Kod and what about the 77 lemans
*God
Crown vic hands down. I enjoyed driving them so much on the job i bought a police package one for my comuter car 😄
Crown Vic for me.
The Kansas State Highway Patrol purchased the Last Crown Vic's from the n The Ford Motor Company.
The patrol car that I loved most when I was wearing a badge was a 1971 Ford LTD with the "police package." In those days, "police package" meant the suspension was a little wider and lower than standard, 1st gear was blocked off the indicator, the gearing was different and beefed up.
I got the car after my lieutenant had it remade to suit his wants and then got a promotion.
Had a 427 ci that had been built, with two Holly 850 dual feeds and electronic fuel pumps.
Just a hoss of a ride with all the room in the world.
Oh yeah, also had a/c which most patrol cars at that time did not have.
Why would 1st gear be blocked?
@@fyretnt To avoid blowing an engine when you downshifted to make a bootleg turn or to grab a lower gear for more torque if needed at the start of a chase.
@@nickicribb4299 oh ok
I remember the days in L.A. when I patrolled in the '95 Caprice with the LT1 engine. We always wanted to get those cars because they were the fastest in the fleet.
My stepdad was an instructor at LASD EVOC training center at the Pomona fairgrounds. He loved the caprice and hated the Crown Vics lol.
The 1994 - 1996 Caprice was the best and the fastest car in LAPD. We all loved the Boat. There was nothing like that V-8 power roaring behind a suspect. Second best was the Road Runner back in 1978.
Agreed. My career stretched from a '76 Gran Fury 440 interceptor to my last new unit prior to retirement, an '04 CVPI. In my experience, out of that entire span the only one that drew universal rave reviews across the board among patrol officers was the mid '90s LT1 Caprice. It was pretty much the perfect combo of everything we needed in a big metro area PD patrol unit. I'd give second place to the '88 to '90 5.7 square bodied Caprice, which at least in the configuration spec'ed out by my agency were almost as good as the later LT1's.
The '70s full size 440 Mopars were fast in a straight line, but even with the police suspension did not feel nearly as "buttoned down" as the Caprices mentioned above or even the last generation CVPI's. They definitely made a sweet sound getting into the secondaries and they loved to run wide open, but they didn't like to turn or stop and could be a little scary in a pursuit or while rolling code in a city environment. The danger of overheated brakes (fade) was an issue.
The '91 - '93 "bathtub" Caprices should have been great but for some reason they were not as good as the 9C1 Caprices just before or after them, even aside from how ugly they were, especially the '91's. Also, until GM got the problem corrected, and after sending out a bulletin to PD's advising to remove them until further notice, while you were rolling hot they tended to throw off those heavy, full wheels covers the early '90s 9C1 came with. I/we had a few close calls with those things popping off while rolling hot through traffic until my agency had them all removed. They were heavy and would travel a long distance, sometimes even getting airborne like a Frisbee. Not good anywhere, especially in a city environment.
The early '80s 9C1 V-8 Malibus were ok, and were certainly preferable to the 318 Mopars from that era (Fury, Diplomat). Not much room especially for two man units but the smaller size made them handle and maneuver well for the time period.
The Crown Vics prior to the 1998 redesign weren't much loved other than maybe for trunk and interior room. They just didn't do anything particularly well and felt gutless compared to the Caprices going all that way back to the 5.7's of the late '80s, especially the LT1. They also had the sloppy-feeling Ford transmission that would hesitate and drift when shifting quickly from D to R and back to D (as in doing a quick "Y" turn). That was still a problem with CV's through at least the 2004 model year.
The last generation CV's (post '98) were ok, better and felt more buttoned down than prior generation CV's. I'd rank them 3rd of my era after the mid '90s LT1 and late '80s 5.7 Caprices. They didn't do anything spectacularly good or bad performance-wise. I'd describe them as "competent". They were roomy. quick enough for city patrol duties, handled ok, were simple, hard to kill, and IMO made a nice looking unit. When they first entered the fleet in '98, many patrol troops thought they were pretty "meh", an opinion no doubt influenced by the fact the CV's were replacing the no longer available B-body Caprices. Some agencies were so unimpressed with the CV's they kept their LT1 Caprices well into the '00's, some even going so far as to have their LT1's rebuilt rather than buy new units until they got so ragged they had to be retired.
I came across 95 caprice 9c1 and have til this day as a project car which everything is gonna be original build. Btw it has the lt1 in it and was neglected.
In Toledo, police AND fire (command officers) had them.
Fire's were faster, less junk in the trunk.
When I was on the Sheriffs Dept. back in the 70's. we had the 1976 Coronets with the 440 police package, that was a screamin demon.....
James Tonkin
I got one of those for my first car. It was an old Florida car and was crazy fast. As a 16 year old kid I had no business with it. I got a couple of speeding tickets and one day I came home and it was gone. My dad sold it. He bought a Volare for me after that. I still hold a grudge to this day😂😂
@@chrisj197438 , that was bogus A. F...!
@@chrisj197438 A 4000 lb car with whole 255 hp was 'crazy fast'??? And that's IF you had the E86 version. You probably had the much more common E85 with a whopping 205 hp, lol.
231mac
In the late 80’s it was fast.
@@chrisj197438 sounds like good father.
The Caprice was the best one out of all of them.
I owned a retired City of Miami '92 CC with a 350. I ran that thing over 100 running U.S. 1 from Homestead to Key Largo many late nights. And back then we never wore seatbelts! Scary to think of some of the stuff we did back then.
70 Dodge with 440! That was a BEAST!
'87 Had New a Buick Grand National. It was one of the finest automobile engineering I've ever had a pleasure to own. I kept that car till 2000. When I sold the car, I didn't lose one penny from what I paid new in July 1987. The only car to date, no monies lost...Thank you
I had a GN for a couple weeks as a rental on a trip I took to Fort Worth. It was fast and fun to drive, especially in the days before black boxes. While it was speed limited, it was real quick off the line, I don't think they can slow that down.
Old Hollywood- NBC Mr. Hahn they are appreating in value every year everyone loves Grand National
I have a 91 GMC Syclone. Its the S-10 that GMC put the turbo V-6 motor from the GN in. Had it since it was new. Its worth 3 times what I paid for it ib 91. Inflation is 3-times as much now, so I guess if I sold it, I would actually break even. Never going to sell it though. Great little truck. Will still take anything new off the line.
TC Johnson the Syclone has a 4.3 turbo AWD. Same block as the GN used bigger bore. And never sell that gem 💎
@@jasonvogue4487 Umm, sorry, but the Syclone used a Chevrolet v6 not the Buick v6. Two completely different engine blocks.
Bring back the 1990s Crown Vic and Caprice
Yeah, baby !!!
YES! I PROTEST
Dodge Monoco ?Come on guys...440ci cop package ! (Blues Mobile)?How did you miss this gem?Maybe because the cigarette lighter didn't work !:P
Of course the Monaco.Even the '76-79 Nova,'78-83 Malibu,with the 350 were good.
They were practically giving them away. I had to buy one when I traded my Caddy for a microphone.
@James Marrs Awesome!
@@231gnx The good old days, my buddy bought a '72 Dodge Polara w/440 @ auction that did great one wheel wonder burnouts
I had a civilian 1972 Polara with the 400. I loved that beast.
I’m surprised Ford didn’t modernize the crown Vic instead of killing it. All they had to do was a normal update like they had done in 1992. Same car underneath but with different look. Besides this, Ford should come up with a new town car. A boxy but affordable Rolls Royce. I know, people will say nobody buys cars anymore. If that were true why is bmw and MB still selling many many cars? Can the big three not make even one rear drive or awd car?
I agree. I don't know what the thinking is.
I remember cars like these. Why they were discontinued is beyond me. All Wheel Drive is a good option to have, but why did GM and Ford ever discontinue the big rear wheel drive drivetrain in favour of front wheel drive is beyond me.
From what I was told, the panther tooling was badly worn out, and the car was also "not compliant" with standards that it wasn't worth it for Ford to do apparently. It's a shame cause these modern cop cars look like trash :(
In two years the only car Ford will be selling will be the Mustang. Police departments are buying more and more large SUV's anyway...
The Crown Vic design was updated several times, but new safety requirements and design elements coming from those requirements would have required a complete redesign of the CV. New safety requirements force makers to put bumpers at a certain level, a lower sloped hood to avoid serious injury to pedestrians (ever wonder why so many new cars look so similar?) and other regulations killed the Crown Vic.
The use of SUVs was a smart move on Ford's part. Police officers spend 8-10 hours a day in a vehicle so one that is cramped or lacks usable space isn't good. The large body RWD American 4-door sedans were spacious and rode comfortably with 115-120" wheelbases. To get the interior room, moving to the SUV gives officers more room to do their job more comfortably.
My Dad, who was a cop from 1981-2005, of the York Area Police Department (Formerly known as York Township Police Department). He said, his favorite would be the CVPI or Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. The sound was amazing, not to mention it's durability through harsh conditions in weather. Now I believe from what he last said, his Department didn't get the CVPI until 1999 but, before then it was the 1990 varient of the Chevrolet Caprice. Same thing with firearms, his Department started with the .38 service revolver. They then about late to early 90's i think, then got the Glock.
Having one, I can tell you it’s not very good in the winter. Although mine has the short axle ratio and no traction control
Does anyone remember the early 80s Dodge St Regis and Plymouth Gran Fury? Both were commonly used as police cars and had the 360.
They were trash.
Unfortunately the 360 V8 was not offered in California during that time because of it's strict emissions requirements. The late 70's and early 80's were not a good time for American cars.
elton john please. Back to your closet, John
@@Welcometofacsistube they were junk. Unibody cars no power garbage
As an owner of a St Regis, I can tell you by 1970's Standards, they were trash. I love my St Regis, but it's trash. There's a reason why. Chrysler took a different approach than Ford and GM in the downsizing of full sized cars. Their approach was weight reduction. This meant the heavy use of Aluminum and plastic. Because of the Aluminum and plastic, the parts would simply break. I worked for Chrysler at a Zone Office and saw many St Regis's off loaded new from trucks. They would break in your hand, door handles, glove box doors, the aluminum trim would oxidize instantaneously and look awful. The filler panels around the bumpers would deteriorate and dissolve to nothing. Being a Pillarless Sedan, windows wouldn't fit right and they would leak and have tons of wind noise when driving On top of that all, they had no power. They were so extremely slow. Door fit and finish was awful, nothing lined up. And even if it was lined up right, the lines of the body were inconsistent with the other body parts, doors fitted perfect wouldn't line up right, it was as if the sheet metal stamping of the door was just designed wrong. And as earlier, everything plastic would simply break, it was very flimsy. But that being said, I love my St Regis. Even the window cranks in the door mechanism were made of Aluminum and after only a number of months of rolling a window up and down, the cranks would just stress out and eat themselves up and jam. I do remember by 1981, a lot of the quality issues were resolved, but those initial issues hurt the car and sales suffered. Salesmen in the dealers hated the car and didn't want to sell them.
The Crown Vic and Caprice 9c1 were considered to be the best police cars of their time. Before that, they were chasing 175 bhp 318 Mopar M body cars as well as 360 4bbl powered R bodies of 79 and 80. In fact, the Michigan st highway patrol used that car as the benchmark as the car to beat until the 94 9c1 came out. The r bodies had the best brakes, suspension, most interior room, biggest trunk and fastest 0-60 times until 94. The f body Mopars of 79 were the fastest US made sedan you could buy at that time. Slick top 79s with the E58 360 could do 0-60 in 8 secs or less with 2 aboard and a full complement of gear. Top speeds were about 130. Problem was those cars had weak frt suspensions, and many police depts shied away from them. What Ford paid attention to was the upgrading of that old panther platform, with added suspension components, bigger 4wdisc brakes, and power from its venerable 4.6L from 190 to 260hp. They also added bigger and fatter performance tires, most of them being Firestone Firehawks. Police depts were very fumed when Ford canceled the Crown Vic police package, and we still use old 1s with over 300k on them as patrolers in my town. They are just tanks. We experimented with 2 modern Taurus interceptors, as well as Explorers but they are in the shop more than they are on the road, despite how 'good' Ford says they are. We have tried many different police package cars, from Intrepids ( gulp) to fwd Luminas and Impalas, and they were turds. Rumor has it we will be getting Dodge Chargers of 2 different varieties for 19, a 3.6 patroller, and a 5.7 pursuit to replace the Fords. We will be keeping the Explorers as we need a police spec SUV. I had the privilege of driving a real 69 Fury II Indiana Highway patrol car, that was restored and refurbished back to original condition barring modern tires. The 440 4bbl had a ton of low end grunt. The owner took me to a deserted country road and opened it up. That Carter AVS was howling at speeds over 140, but the car was super stable; no vibrations, no shimmy. It was like it could do it all day.
Adam Trombino by
Also, tremendous rust problems, though that was not unique to Chrysler in the 70s.
The police cars in '80 hit 120 (CV-S with 351W plus the Mopars). Not until 1990 did they hit 120 again.
That said, I did read the '84 Diplomat was at 122 for one year only. Why? Only year a wide-ratio 727 drove a 318 with a Carter carb and 8.4:1 compression. That is as fast as the E-bodies ran. The following year the Diplomat went to the Rochester carb and 8.0:1 compression and was much slower (117 mph vs. 122), plus they went to the close-ratio 904 trans (not as strong).
@@joshuaecht I presume you are limiting to 4 door squad cars.
California bought a bunch of 1982 (and 1983 IIRC) Mustang LX models that easily hit more than 120 - factory rated at 125 as I recall - as "high speed pursuit cars".
Oddly enough, they had a bit better accelleration from the same-year Mustang GT (which was a little heavier, aid dam and other such parts) but their top-end was a little lower (worse aerodynamics).
Down side - those Mustangs were CROWDED by police standards.
Did you get the Chargers?
The 80s boxy Caprice was what I grew up seeing cops drive in, a lot of police departments used them well into the 90s alongside the 90s Caprice and Crown Vic.....fond memories of the 80s boxy Caprice.
I was surprised no mention of the fox body mustang highway interceptor from 1987 to 1993?
YYC GUY I own an 89 ex Georgia State Patrol unit 798 post 44 Forsyth have owned it for 22 years
Might be because when the Michigan state police and LAPD tested them the LT1 caprice blew its doors off in every test except the 60' slalom, or maybe it was 60- 0 braking....Either way the caprice crushed it. Maybe it was because there were so few mustangs most departments never had one. No mention of the LT1 Camaro cop cars either.
@bdd1469-consider the fact that California and Texas highway patrols, plus RCMP in Canada (and many others, to be sure) used the Mustang SSP until at least the early 2000’s (or over a DECADE after the package was discontinued), the 5.0 SSP couldn’t have been as “bad” as you try to make it seem.
@@bdd1469 I call b.s. on that one. I can see how the Caprice could have beat out the Mustang, but there's no way it was because of performance. Interior space, cargo space, endurance probably. Especially if you're talking about the LAPD. Why would they need a car simply for intercepting speeders (which is all that the mustang would be good for)? You might be referring to the Crown Vic. At least in Florida, anyway, the FHP had 5 speed manuals in their SSPs.
"It takes a 5.0 to catch a 5.0" - Florida Highway Patrol, 1988.
The Crown Victoria! Having the Longest Run, Hands Down The Ultimate Police Car! Even Today Folks behave when they see one from the rear View Mirror
6:10 Dodge does not make a 2019 Dodge Charger “police interceptor”. They make a police pursuit charger but the “police interceptor” is a Ford moniker.
I think all of the Chrysler products used in law enforcement used the term "police pursuit" as an advertisement method
I remember the 94 Caprice well. I was a rookie and was assigned equipment detail and assigned myself a brand new one and accidentally assigned one of the vets an older one. Needless to say I got chewed out, but it was so worth it. That car ran like a scalded dog.
Never knew about the Buick GN and GNX. Imagine finding one of those at a government auction! -Chris
Me too.
Pgh PA traffic division held on to regal t types unmarked until about 2000
I also remember the Buick GN and GNX. I've always loved the Buick Regal of 1980 until Buick switch to front-wheel drive, but my favourite are the Grand National and GNX.
The FBI never owned any 1987 Grand Nationals or or GNXs.
@@Airwolf1971 they had some GNs was a big ta do when they got them.. No GNXs very few of those were even made
A lot of law enforcement also used the Gran Fury’s and Diplomats in the early to late 80’s. They were a bit smaller, but handled well
I agree some locales couldn't afford these more expensive vehicles previewed here.
The Diplomat was before my time, although we drove them while I was in the academy. They were the quintessential police car when I was kid (kind of the like the Crown Vic was in later years), but all the veteran officers and sergeants I ever spoke who spent a lot of time in them, disliked them intensely. Most referred to it as the Dodge "Diplo-Dog" because of its sluggish performance. So, while the Diplomat was definitely a very common police car in the mid to late '80s (even early '90s), it wasn't a police car that many officers would like to go back to.
Another honorable mention is the AMC Matadors with the 401 V8 of the 1970's. The Matadors with the 401 V8 were very quick during that time period and was a popular choice for the LAPD during that era.
I was the staff photographer for ROAD TEST Magazine back in 1970/71 and had the good fortune to drive one of the LAPD Plymouth cars with the 383 V8 on their training course located on a huge open lot down near Long Beach, I forget the exact town. I drove it with the LAPD pursuit instructor on a simulated city street race course they had set up. (They had one bend you
could take about 48 MPH and he made me observe that speed, no more around that one bend so that I would not slide off and into a wall or something), otherwise the course was wide open, whatever you can manage. With him riding with me and directing me to ride the brake and hold 48 no more on that bend, I still matched the current record held on the course. A great day and I put it in the magazine.
There have been a lot of great police cars, but the 1988 Dodge Diplomat was my favorite. Not as fast as some, but it handled really well.
I recall growing up in the L.A. area in the 80s and 90s, a story of a kid who had an ex-CHP Diplomat who killed himself and 3 passengers in one because he took a sharp turn on Wilshire Blvd. too fast. I recall the thing burned up! Not to discredit the car or its handling, but more to show that people thought (probably still do) that police cars were supercars or had superpowers. Unfortunately, for him and his friends, they found out the hard way!
As a kid who grew up in the 1980s, I always loved the Dodge Diplomat since it was the quintessential police car of that time. I drove some in the academy, but they were long retired from regular service before I started my career. Interestingly, all the older guys in my department and others in the county disliked them and referred to them as the Dodge "Diplodog" due to their sluggish performance. They all preferred the 1980's Caprices over the Diplomats, and said their favorite cars were the 1990s Caprices with the LT1 engines. Admittedly, I'd love to find and restore an old Dodge Diplomat police car. They just take me back to my childhood images of police cars when I was growing up in San Jose.
I own a '89 Crown Vic LX. Loved the sound of the 302 Windsor despite its low horsepower and it is built like a tank.
WHO wants 1994 caprice and Ford crown vic back like this comment
96 caprice
Those 94-96 Caprice 9C1's were amazing! Fast and fun and smooth on the highway. Crown vics were okay but the caprice - wow!
I pass,the Crown Vic were discontinued due to faulty gas tank or catching fire.
96 caprice
2006 Ford crown Vic.
My Dad was a cop from 1973 to 2006 and was uniformed with an undercover stint from 1977 to 1990. So when I was a kid I remember the Dodge Diplomat and then later the last gen Caprice. His last car was the Crown Vic, which he liked. The sleeper of the bunch was an unmarked grey boxy Ford Crown Vic with a red vinyl interior. It had the Mustang 5.0 HO engine and was a cool car for the it's day.
cool car any day
The fastest police car in early 90s was Caprice
The mid 80s box LTD Crown Vic 5.0 had 140 horsepower and a top speed of 85.
I knew that the mid- to late- nineties Caprice was going to make that list. The shocker was the Grand National / Regal.
Elwood in The Blues Brothers: "It's got a cop motor, a four hundred and forty cubic inch plant. It's got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks. It's a model made before catalytic converters, so it'll run good on regular gas. What do you say? Is it the new Bluesmobile or what?"
Fix the cigarette lighter.
It’s got good pick-up...
What was the Blues Brothers car a 74 Dodge Monaco?
A 440 needs Premium gas, Elwood!
Only issue I saw with one of my
favorite movies.
steve
I thought they used monablue, hemorthers lol
Great video as always. Mopar did things right in the 60s and 70s. Those 440 polaras and coronets were and still are missiles. Crazy to think that it holds its own against modern cop cars. The lt1 equipped caprices, or in general, lt1 powered B bodies from 94-96 were also very good cars. Now days you can pick up a good lt1 B body for around $1000 if you look hard enough, and I personally believe there is no reason why anyone shouldn't give them a try. They're great for all the same reasons they were good cop cars; hard to kill, powerful and spacious. Also, unlike the Crown vic, the Lt1 is much easier to modify thanks to the block in cam design, meaning you could easily build a very mean sleeper.
Chrysler built their police cars & taxi vehicles at their Belvedere plant for many years. They started with a beefed up frame to take the rigors of fleet service (police & taxi). The 440 CID engines were differently tuned from the commercial ones, often with larger carburetors, different cams, bigger alternator, etc. Add the Torqueflight-727 bulletproof transmission, coupled with torsion bar front suspension and it was a great, fast car. Chrysler added front seats with extra springs/cushion for those 8-hour shifts. Most Mopars built for police service (at least in the west) had a "pearl white" steering wheel - a CHP request from the 60s - to reduce burnt hands in very hot areas (so-Cal, Az, Nv, NM, etc.) The downside, those big-block 440s and 383s were thirsty engines. In the mid-70s, Mopar stopped fitting the 383 to some of their police models, replacing it with the 360 (5.9L) V8 with not much improvement in MPGs. Chrysler's sales woes were building up to it's near demise in the 80s and they all but abandoned the Police market until fairly recently.
The 1990s Caprice models had a few nicknames due to their semi-futuristic rounded look. When painted black or dark blue, they were called "Combat Caprice" while some in other color schemes were called "Combat Cadillacs".
AK02 ... did you really mean "block in cam"?
@@JW...-oj5iw ..... oops
Yes I have a 95 roadmaster, it will surprise alot of people on the road
Police station back home in Wa state bought two brand new Dodge Manaco and had a police package installed but the freeway model they had actually cought up to me on my motorcycle on the freeway lol.
When I worked for Yellow Cab, their fleet consisted of the mid-90s Caprice and Crown Victoria, all ex-police cars. Both of them were great for airport runs, but I always preferred the Caprice as its steering was much more precise. The steering in the Crown Vics was indistinct and needed constant small corrections. My grandmother owned a Lincoln Town Car of the period and it steered exactly the same way.
BTW, what about the '74 Dodge Monaco? That's one of the most iconic police cars of all!
I drove a taxi in the early 1990s those ex police cars caprice I loved that car made good money then n the power of the old V8 nothing beats it
Yeah the Crown Vics need suspension maintenance every 100K miles or so to have nice precise steering. I got some new control arms and bushings and some steering stuff (I forgot what) last year and now mine feels like a sports car
@@charlie_nolan I have a 2006 Grand Marquis with 218,000 miles on it, all the steering and suspension parts are original except I had to replace the leaking rear air bags with coil springs. It drives just fine. My ex wife has a 2022 Hyundai Accent she bought new. Besides being very uncomfortable and cramped, the steering is so tight that it tried to dart to one side of the road or the other. when it tries to go right, the tiniest correction sends it left. The Grand Marquis has just enough play in the center that it tracks straight with just one finger on the wheel.
I had the 87' Caprice Classic I bought from a police auction which was formerly the Sheriff's cruiser. That car rode and handled beautifully even at high speeds of 147 MPH, not that I would know that from experience... cough ...cough 😉
Wow! I had no idea the FBI had a fleet of Grand Nationals.
G V they didn’t T-Types
yeah same here.. that's pretty neat knowing that.
And that's just the way they wanted it.For us not to know.
@@jeremyfowler1519 ah....we had both types T and GN
@@jeremyfowler1519 The FBI received a fleet of white Buick Regal Turbo T-types. They are the same thing as a Grand National but with different rims and paint colours. They came with V rated tires and no speed limiter.
🚔When I went thru the Academy, we learned in the ‘94 Caprices with LT1 engines; loved them! 🚔 At my first post, we also had these but transitioned over to Crown Vics. They were _totally_ different - in their handling & torque especially - the Caprice took the cake on those! The CV’s were much more comfortable tho.
In a Caprice, I still hold the record speed (20+yrs later) thru the serpentine course... both forward _and backward!_ at 48+mph! 🏁🤣
👍Excellent Video; Thank You!👍
The 401 AMC Matador was a decent police car. And the police Javelin was just plain cool.
These were mostly a West Coast car for some reason, we rarely saw them in police service in the Midwest. I heard the street guys liked them but they lacked engine cooling capacity and would overheat when idling though.
@@richardcarlson127 I'm surprised about the AMCs being a West Coast thing, seeing as how they were built in Kenosha, WI. I had a couple ( 74 Javelin AMX and a Rambler American 220 ), and I liked them. The V8s weren't bad, the 6 cylinders went forever, and the oddball factor was very cool.
@@richardcarlson127 probably because they would rust out in the first year
@@williammacroberts2305 Hahaha! Yeah, they were just as bad as Mopars when it came to corrosion protection! Too bad they never made a Pacer as an interceptor, talk about undercover!
@@richardcarlson127 - My '67 GTX with the 375 HP 440 did not overheat idling in Southern California. This is the same engine as the CHP Dodge Polara.
You didn’t mention the 1979 Plymouth fury 440 police vehicle,,we had one, resulting in lots of bummed out speeders thinking they could outrun us.
I pissed of a cop in a late 80's caprice cruiser. My VW Beetle outran him, or so he thought. I actually parked the car while I was in his blind spot.
Don't you mean 77 fury?
Plymouth didnt offer a Fury in '79, or the 400/440.
Nice interceptor car
My favorite cop car... I like the 77 and 78's . Duke's of Hazzard cars
Most fools knew better than to challenge a Crown Vic Police Interceptor. Most police mechanics knew how to maintain them well to keep them on the road.
I finally got my hands on a crown vic and yes...
It’s retired PD!!! So happy
Hey cabbie!
Ya might wanna watch the engine. I hear retired police crown vics have engine issues from being run hard and being abused. Watch the engine
Yes I have my 87caprice today in 2019 and it runs and drive I will never let it go.
In my 32 years as a deputy sheriff my favorite was the 1977 Nova.Quick, excellent turning radius, good brakes and handling..
The Polara, aka Interceptor, was a sight to be seen as the CHP flew by us on the freeway. Before the 605 was connected to the 210 in the San Gabriel Valley, you could race the CHP Interceptors on Friday Nights from the end of the Freeway to the first off-ramp. It was a blast. Just don't go past the off ramp when racing or they would give you a ticket.
I loved the 1980's and 90's chevy caprices growing up in the 90's watching movies and cop shows.
To this day, the fastest I’ve ever driven on a public road was in a 1996 Caprice. It was just a backup car at the part time PD job I had in addition to my full time uniformed police job at the time. One night I was on my way to backup 2 guys on a hot call with that Caprice and I checked the speedometer and noticed I was doing 153mph on a straightaway and still had a little throttle left. That car was a rocket ship and I miss it.
Nice Always loved police cars , I remember the 5.0 liter Ford mustang highway patrol cars of my youth.
We passed through South Carolina back in 2011 and they still had them.
"Catch Cars" We called them in Florida. FHP used them, they were cream and black. They had that and the Gen. 4 wedge Camaros, I always thought they were used as high-speed interceptors. We had problems with street racing and high performance getaway cars.
None of those were actually 5 litres. They were all turbocharged 4 cylinders, at least for the CHP.
Blain Gunter actually most ssp foxbody mustangs came with a 5.0 v8
Travis Williamson I did not know that, but I do know every example of the ex CHP Mustangs I saw were all turbo four bangers, not arguing just what I've seen from my experience. Almost makes them more special, I didn't even know they did turbocharged four cylinders back then.
I am crazy about police cars ... they are very cool , all of ‘em , there is a few 80’s square box Caprice / Impala highway patrol police cars here in Adelaide, South Australia where I live , they are in total original specs ..,. With lights on top of roof and everything, amazing looking cars , when I lived in Sydney I used to see heaps from Texas and other states , a lot collectors do love those police cars for sure .
Most of them have far more power than I'm guessing your used to with all your speeding laws and secret squirrel cam speed traps. I gotta say the best looking police car was the '61 Dodge Polara. That or the Buick Grand National.
Stormcrow Legendary: The '61 Dodge Polara was pretty cool, as are all Mopars, though the oldest police car they featured here was the '69 Polara. I would love to have one of those. Its 375 horsepower 440 cubic inch V-8 is actually the same engine, with the same horsepower, that was available in the smaller, mid-sized Mopar muscle cars (Dodge Charger R/T, Challenger R/T, Coronet R/T), so I would think that those would be even faster than the larger, heavier Polara. Surprising that police departments didn't use, say, Charger or Challenger R/Ts for high-speed pursuit work. Also, those were available with the even more powerful 440 Six-Pack (390 gross HP), and the 426 Hemi (425 gross HP).
I remember hearing about Chrysler, in the late '50s and early '60s, having its own, specially designed police car called the Chrysler Enforcer that had a Hemi V-8 engine similar to that found in the Chrysler 300 letter-series cars, and it was kind of a police car version of the 300 letter cars. I would love to find one of those! I wonder how many of those are still around out there?
Don't they manufacture and deploy the new Holden Caprice over there?
They did!!!!!!!!
Wade Hauff yes the 2000’s era Caprice for USA 🇺🇸 police was made in Australia, also they developed the Chevrolet Camaro here in Australia on a Holden Commodore/Monaro/GTO platform Back in the early 2000’s ... but now it’s all history.
I love old cars, but nostalgia does not equal safety. Today's police cars are much safer than those of the past.
About 1973 I had an old 1967 Plymouth Fury 383 automatic ex-cruiser, all white, with lots of unfilled holes in the dash panel where radios and stuff had been installed. I paid $400 for it, and for the life of me can't remember why I sold it, maybe because it got about 12 mpg.
Drove three of the five as an LEO. The early Caprice, the later Caprice and the Crown Victoria (Crown Vic). Overall, I liked the Crown Vic the best. I put a lot of miles in one. Great car. Handled well, and fast.
Was always amazed how well those rear wheel drives did in bad weather, like very deep snow. I remember the 1969 Dodge Polara cop cars, they even had some station wagons in La Crosse, WI. The Minnesota State Patrol had some Mustang GT's in the mid '80's.
Hers my reactions in chronological order
86-90 Caprice: I've seen those used quite a bit
Crown vic: Of course! That's practically a cult classic nowadays.
1969 Polara: Impressive. Though I'm surprised Dodge hasn't improved as well as I would have thought compared to their 1969 counterpart.
91-96 Caprice: used to think these were kinda ugly, but they're kinda growing on me.
GN and GNX: Hold up, is this for real??
Needless to say, the Grand National threw me off something fierce.
1 car not listed was the 69 Galaxie 428 interceptor. Ours went from law enforcement to fire dept. It was faded blue and worn out but mighty fast. it also had a brake lock installed for 360's
@@thomashopkins2509 galaxies were great cars too, like you said, stuff a 428 down it's throat and they just fly. Almost bought a 63 model 500 last year. Didn't have the cash for it unfortunately.
The 80's Plymouth Caravelle and Ford Fairmont are also ommitted. Although that might be because they don't fit the "would still want to drive" criteria... :P
Not just the 69 Polara. Make that right up until 71. The gov did not start enforcing smog regs until 72.
@@johnhand871 so mechanically a 69 polar is no different from its 70-72 counterparts?
Don Knotts 64 Ford Galaxie Xl cop car from ( Andy Griffin) should be on this list
The Ford Galaxy was used as the local police car when I was a kid
Don Knotts did not have an XL for a police car at any time. The only years the show used a galaxie was 62 and 63. The 64 was a custom!
It's on display, the Don Knotts car, outdoors under a roof, at some museum next to a small river I forget
what town but I saw it last fall while on a group motorcycle ride to N.C. I think it was. Have a photo in my phone.
@@johnhand871 Mt. Airy, North Carolina was Andy Griffith's home town, and supposedly what Mayberry was modeled after. They have an Andy Griffith museum there, mock ups of the courthouse and gas station. They also run vintage police car tours of the town which go past Andy's boyhood home. Starting with 1960, the Ford Motor Company supplied the police cars for use in the show. Each year, the current new model was supplied (which make it easy to identify what year the episode was filmed). After the season, the cars were returned to Ford, reconditioned and sold as used passenger vehicles. The vintage Ford police cars in Mt. Airy are really "tribute" cars.
I'm thinking the Dodge Polara's 440 V8 power figure was underrated at 375hp. I just checked, and I've seen reports of 410hp, giving it a bigger power advantage over the modern day car. Lots more torque too, but I'm more amazed it could reach 150 in a 3 speed. Must've had a low/tall rear end gear. From Bullitt to Blues Brothers (among others), this engine got plenty of screen time back in the day.
LAPD ordered early 70s AMC Matadors with power and handling combination the bigger players couldn't match. They were so well regarded some were still in use by the mid 80s. And boy did they look the part!
This title also known as : "5 Police Cars Most Civillian Wish They Still Drove"
Big slow heavy rear drives aren't faster than anything. Get away from one in town with a Civic.
Rich Sackett yeah lol no a civic isn't outrunning that 69 polara
@@chicagolineproductions2001 Dude, three turns and he won't know where I am. Big stupid boat.
Police are civilians too. Unless in the military.....everyone is.
@@chicagolineproductions2001 no kidding! When those Secondaries kick in on those 440s. They would tear those cars up
I had no idea the Dodge polara was the grand father to today's Dodge charger.
Yep...
MOPAR ruled the police market in the 60s & 70s.
Dodge Charger has been around since 1964. Full production started in 1966.
It's gone through many incarnations, not all of them good.
Dodge Polara & Monaco; Plymouth Fury & Gran Fury - versions included both full and midsize sedans.
I loved the 70 to 76 Plymouth Fury and Grand Fury with the 440 cid engine. Not many cars could outrun us especially on the interstates.
Very Cool Vlog. Notice the white steering wheel in the CHP Polara special order so it would be cooler in the hot sun. My favorite was the Caprice and Crown Vic in my service time. Retired now have a hemi Challenger and a Harley Heritage Softail. 🇺🇸🏍
Thanks for your service to the community and keeping citizens safe! God bless America
I was excited to see the 1969 Dodge Polara in this video. This was my very first car (I was 18 years old). It was an ex-RCMP vehicle (I'm in Canada). It was six years old when I got it but what a huge, solid car! Mine had the 383 4-barrel and man, it was exciting to step on the gas! The interior was massive...by today's standards it could have been classified as an 8 seater. The seats were just one sheet of vinyl stretching from one side to the other. There was no carpet - just a rubbery floor covering. And a trunk that could hold many bodies. Oops...I meant golf bags, yeah golf bags! 😁 It burned premium fuel (with the emphasis on burned!) as it had lousy gas mileage, but then gas was cheap, around 70-some cents per gallon. The only thing I didn't like was that the dealer had repainted the car, so it was turquoise with a white roof 😣. Thank you for bringing back great memories.
I own a 5.7 Caprice. I confirmed she's awesome!
Headlights on the 86-91 Caprice were easily identifiable @ night . Lol
That Polara made me think "My top end is unlimited "
Dirty Mary...Crazy Larry ! ! !
I remember the police department in my town had pretty much all Caprices when I was a kid in the late 80’s/early 90’s... my mom had to drive past the parking yard for the police dept when she’d take my brother and me to day care, and even at that young age I loved cars. They eventually switched to Crown Vics and now they drive Tauruses/Explorers... it’s just not the same.
Forgot about the 1978 Plymouth Fury A10 440... A proper muscle car chaser
I think they left out two very good cars - the 1975-1979 Chevrolet Nova & the 1981 - 1983 Chevrolet Malibu.
Also forgotten were the Dodge Diplomat, Plymouth Gran Fury, Dodge St. Regis, Chevy Impala, Ford Mustang, Ford Taurus, and Chevy Camaro.
Lot of love for the 1970s Dodge Monacos too, they got the 440 for pursuit work.
Sadly many were wrecked by the Blues Brothers and every Glen A Larson action show of the 1980s.
None of my cop friends ever said the crown vic would outrun a caprice.
Depends on which. The bubble bodied 5.7 Caprice, no, but the crappy 5.0 & 4.3 Caprice had no chance. The Box style Crown Vic however, was not up to par with the box style Caprice/Impala.
I've read in a number of places that for whatever reason, the Crown Vics are only capable of 130-135mph. Not sure if this is governed or otherwise, but while they hold up to abuse really well, they aren't great pursuit cars. Those mid-90 Caprices equipped with LT1 engines could top over 140mph. Not surprisingly, a lot of the state patrol agencies usually had a few Mustangs or Camaros for high speed pursuit duty.
None of mine either
I saw an old TV add for the 1972 Fury claiming that Plymouth had 85% of the North American Police car market.
area51isreal Yes you correct. I remember that commercial as well, it was the late Arthur Godfrey that was in the commercial standing there as a ‘72 Fury came to a screeching halt and two officers got out & ran towards the houses late at night. Good Day to You!
Yep. They made almost all the cop cars as well as most of the taxi cabs too. All through the 70s.
The Metropolitan Toronto Police Force (5,000 strong) used Plymouth Furys right through the early 60's up until the mid 70's. They then went to those small boxlike Dodge Aspens ? in the late 70's. In the 60's almost all the taxicabs in Toronto were Plymouth Fury's with the indestructible 225 c.i. Slant Six engine coupled with the best automatic transmission ever made, the Torqueflite a 727. Stock car racers are forever searching through the wrecking yards for old A 727's. Rugged as the day is long. One thing about Chrysler Corporation, is when they did something right, they did it really right, the minivan is a perfect example.
I still have my 78 Fury. It was my first car. Baught it for 600 bucks. Granny owned in 93. It 's a 727. With 318 cid
@@johnnyberetta9533 yeah. I think you are talking about that car that had the single large red gumball light on top. Really wide long and flat car. I haven 't seen one of those since then.
I bought a 2011 INTERCEPTOR with 101000 miles on it. It was a VENTURA County Sheriff's Dept. car, well maintained black/white. I commute with it, doesn't leak or use any oil at 154500 now, average 19mpg's running 80 on the freeway.
These CROWN VIC's are no muscle cars but very durable and solid. They make great cheap used cars.....
The '69 Fury 440 Pursuit was probably the quickest, fastest, and most popular of the old big-block squads among those that used them in police service. It was Plymouth, of course, not Dodge, that captured most of the LEV bids from the late 50's through most of the 80's.
It is surprising to see a non-police model (Buick) on a list of most common squads. Perhaps the better choice wouldve been the 1981-89 Dodge Diplomat and the '82 - '89 Plymouth Fury/Caravelle.
While many Ford and Chevy fanboys dismiss consideration of the M body, the truth is - most officers liked them. They were quick for the time (MSP tests confirm this; with the big Fury continuing its tradition of performing while the identical Dodge was disqualified in 1987). They handled and braked far better than the Ford or Chevy. The only drawbacks were they were a bit narrow inside, and had a small trunk. The K-frame problem did exist on some cars between '86 and early '88, but unless it actually cracked, most agencies ran them with the Mopar shim kit, and they were just fine.
Proof of the police agency's endearment to the M body was the tremendous uproar when Iaccoca pulled the plug.
Finally, comparing the drag-limited top speed of the '69 Polara to the *electronically* limited top speed of the current Charger is rather silly. The CHP itself found the '06 LX model would run 165 mph wide open, and later tests with a newer LD model brought that number up to 176 mph on stock W-rated rubber.
All of them were awesome cars. I never knew the FBI used the grand national as a fleet vehicle. Awesome vid I like your content.
Same here
In the 80's the state DCI here used all two door cars. T-Birds, Monte Carlos, Regals, Cutlass Supremes, and Grand Prix.
When my dad immigrated to the US, he became a Chicago cab driver. The cab companies would buy retired police cruisers and convert them to taxi cabs. Dad always preferred the Caprice over the Crown Vic. Was convinced Chevy had better build quality
The Dodge Charger is not called a "Police Interceptor." Police Interceptor is a trademark by Ford and is exclusive to their police vehicles. The Dodge Charger is a "Pursuit"
Good to know
But,
What does Chevy call their car?
Eric Stewart Chevy calls it the 9C1 or 9C3 depending on which one you buy. The 9C3 is toned down some, usually for detectives and looks more “retail” and is not pursuit rated.
"Police Interceptor" is not exclusive to Ford. I have that same thing on a Westward Industries GO-4 Interceptor which is a 3 wheel parking enforcement vehicle in my collection. It won't intercept anything!
@@stepside2839 Police Pursuit Vehicle (PPV)
I had the Police Interceptor tag on my Ford Windstar. When they were going to auction off the CV's I peeled a couple off the cars and kept the badges. I put one on my minivan. I wonder how many confused drivers behind me wondered if it was Windstar pursuit vehicle. .
How many of you guys miss your Grand Fury with the 440 beast under the hood?
It was the last REAL police car!
I had a 77 Grand Fury 440 interceptor back in the day. Bought it at a police auction. It was an old Florida Highway Patrol vehicle. Wish I still had it !
440 fury & Lt1 carp.#1
Had a civilian stock 81 Crown Vic. That was one tough car. Hit a 4x4 hollow steel post with it (forced off the road!) - Dented the bumper a little, no other damage. Loved the 5 liter engine. I just wonder, if you put the older inline 6 (the one with the mega torque) what a ride you would get!
The Mopar squads of the 60's and 70's were the best.
I always thought RWD cars ware way cooler then FWD cars.
They ARE.
..not in the winter....
@@paulzammataro7185 Mercedes 190E is fine in the winter.
My neighbor still owns a '94 Caprice LT1 ex-WSP that looks like new with it's original black steel wheels w/chrome center caps
Paul Zammataro RWD Are WAY WAY more fun in the winter.
I LOVED my 2003 Crown Vic Police Interceptor, it was fast and comfortable and saved my life when it counted.
I'll vouch for the 86-90 Caprice. That this was an awesome cruiser!
I ordered a brand new 9C1 1988 Caprice when I was with Toronto Police as a family car for personal use. Fully loaded with ever option it went to Entec Racing brand new upon delivery and had an LS5 454 plus 175hp nitrous system installed. 13.2 at 103 in the quarter, 5.8 0-60 and topped out at 160mph. Wife drove it daily for 18 1/2 years and put 300,000 km on it.
I bought an auction 86 chevy caprice. Loved it!
Loved my 9C1 85 Impala, and still love my 2003 P-71 Police Interceptor- 180k and still rockin'! (The 9C1 Impala had over 275k when I sold it, only major work done was the transmission: I looked it up on CarFax once, and saw it was still registered, with over 300k...)
I've talked to a few different cops over the years that had the Crown Vic, and they don't miss them at all---they all complained that it was too slow. The Polara was a proper police car, and so is the Charger
It’s not all about speed. There’s always Motorola.
There's something a little gay about Chargers.
@@Anon1mous IKR!!
But the Polara was 60s and 70s. The Vic was 90s till almost now.