http://wieck.com/public/*2PV_071846

 

Interesting.

I wonder if that'll catch on.

I'm thinking they'll be a bit too pricey though, compared to Impalas and Crown Vics....

 

actually, that would work great as a cop car.
fullsize, hell of alot more room to shove a suspect into, and lots of storage room in the back.
i have yet to drive one, but they look comfy, and they should have decient accleration...

 

On the whole, policemen in general don't really care if a perp has lots of room to be comfortable. They are more concerned with a secure, easily cleanable interior - at least with regards to the "guest compartment". The ones I know would also be concerned with what wheels are doing the drivin' - in this case the rear ones so those troopers involved in pursuit would happy. From what I hear, many are still somewhat skittish about high speed work with FWD cars like Impala or Intrepid despite any traction and acceleration advantages over - say the now departed Caprice.

This is a fairly untapped market for a station wagon, since patrol work is dominated primarily by sedans. Traditionaly - at least locally, such wagons would really only see canine and ident duties - probably due to their increased cargo capacity. The Magnum could indeed do well. It would also probably pump up the "cool" factor for the lucky officers who got to drive one.

 

I wonder if the idea of NOT having an enclosed, lockable, non see-through trunk would be an issue to some?

 

this was posted in the lounge:

Legendary `muscle car' engine offered in Dodge police cruisers

By DAVID N. GOODMAN
Associated Press Writer

DETROIT (AP) -- DaimlerChrysler AG is trying to muscle its way into the police car market with a modified Dodge Magnum, powered by Hemi engines packing up to 340 horsepower.

First designed for fighter planes and once banned by NASCAR, the Hemi is a key component in the police version of the rear-wheel drive Magnum that will debut in September 2005, the automaker announced Thursday.

"These police cars are going to be able to run down anything on the road," said Ray Fisher, vice president for fleet sales of the German-American automaker's Chrysler group.

The launch marks the company's effort to grab a share of the 60,000 annual police car market now dominated by Ford Motor Co.'s Crown Victoria.

Fisher is quick to stress other features of the Magnum police special - electronic stability system, traction controls, a rear lift-gate for easy cargo access and a roomy interior.

"In terms of performance, we're going to be the best ... in every category," Fisher said. "It's not just a power story."

But he acknowledged that the launch of the police version of the Dodge Magnum is meant to show the public that DaimlerChrysler is serious about putting muscle under their car hoods as well.

The move comes as American car-buyers seem to be renewing their love affair with heightened horsepower.

Automakers installed large V-8 engines in 29.1 percent of all passenger vehicles built in North America for the U.S. market last year, the highest rate since 1985, according to Ward's Automotive Reports.

With aggressive advertising, DaimlerChrysler has put the Hemi engine at the front of the beefy engine class.

"People are gobbling them up," said Mike Wall, an auto analyst with Farmington Hills-based CSM Worldwide.

The Hemi gets its name from the hemispherical shape of its combustion chamber, which Chrysler says improves power and fuel economy.

The engine began its life in 1939 as a V-16 power source for fighter aircraft. In 1951, Chrysler introduced an automotive version, a 180 horsepower V-8. Four years later, a Chrysler 300 with a 331 cubic-inch Hemi became the first production car to make 300 horsepower.

Hemis began dominating the stock-car circuit until NASCAR banned them in 1965 by setting minimum street sales levels. Chrysler re-qualified the next year.

Chrysler introduced the newest version of the Hemi in 2002 on heavy-duty trucks, then began offering it as an option on pickups and sport utility vehicles.

Two upcoming cars will have the Hemi, the Chrysler 300C sedan and Dodge Magnum sport wagon. The car version of the Hemi uses a system that allows the vehicle to reduce the number of cylinders in use during normal driving conditions, improving fuel economy by 10 to 20 percent.

The 2005-model Magnum SXT will use a V-6 Hemi engine. The 2006 model with the police package will come with a 250-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6 as standard equipment or an optional 340-horsepower, 5.7-liter V-8.

Prices have not been announced, but a tight economy will make it hard for DaimlerChrysler or any automaker to make big returns on fleet sales to police, Wall said.

 

Not when compared to a Police Tahoe. The Magnum looks like a good mix for police work, Sedan handling, SUV storage, with Hemi power that will blow the 239HP Crown Vic away.

I don't think this will replace sedans for Police work, but it will be a good supliment to many fleets. Great K9 hauler.

 

Even with Hemi power driving them, it would just be too weird seeing interceptor wagons pulling people over. I can just hear the conversations back at the station now..."Geez cap'n, I was gonna take out the Camaro or maybe the Stang for highway duty but, yeah... gimme that wagon over there... that'll really mess up those mornin' speeders"

I imagine that with the dark window tint on the truck - errr wagon (puh-leaze...) and perhaps a privacy screen the cargo area could be, for all intents and purposes kept out of view to conceal that confiscated contraband.

 

Maybe they can put the detaines in the back seat and the dog in the back wagon half. Then the dog would have something to do on trips.

 

Actually the '04 Police Interceptor got 250HP, but it doesn't matter because they aren't really any faster. With the optional 3.55 rear its a little faster accelerating but the top end is limited due to drive shaft vibrations and harmonics.

The Hemi's will really make the Ford PIs look bad at the Annual MSP Testing later this year.

 

1. If Daimler-Chrysler has a backlog of retail sales, why would they worry about the law enforcement market?

Law Enforcement Fleet Sales = Huge Warranty Claims
Law Enforcement Fleet Sales = Minimal Profits

2. Does Daimler-Chrysler want to give the Magnum the same sort of "image" as the old Diplomat?

Law Enforcement Fleet Sales = Poor Credibility with Retail Customers.

Try to think of a single brand/nameplate that has been bolstered by selling lots of units to law enforcement? There's a reason why the most "popular" cop cars are the nameplates that are almost extinct on the retail market.

 

Who benefitted the most from these sales?

The Fox Ford Mustang comes to mind. They added a huge shine to the 5.0 Mustang reputation, and was a rolling advertisement for Ford. For the same reasons, Chevrolet had tried to push the Lumina when it was around & the Tahoe currently, while Ford after initially trying to push the Taurus, finally gave up. Most of all Crown Vic sales are to law enforcement.

Why?

Law enforcement, beyond the free advertising and the image, is also a perfect way to evaluate a car's durability. When Thunderbird SCs 1st came out, Ford gave them out to certain agencies in Nevada, Arizona, and Michigan for this reason. Also, law enforcement is a great way to demonstrate how tough your vehicle really is (guess that's another form of advertising, huh?).

The final reason is simply put, SALES. It's a great steady income if it's done well.

Ford has a lock on law enforcement vehicles by default. Camaros (as were Mustangs)were great pursuit cars, but had limited utility. Highway enforcement loath FWD, and has shunned Impalas and Intrepids, despite both being marginally quicker and in Impala's case, quicker stopping, than the Crown Vic. Tahoes are expensive, and simply don't handle as well as a car handles (high speed pursuits in a truck?? Where do we line up to sue in the event of accidents!)

Now Dodge has a vehicle that has the storage set up of a Tahoe, a price that may be lower than a Crown Victoria (about $28,000 last time I checked) without the exploding fuel tank, and is much much quicker than the LT1 Caprices that many agencies refurbished instead of replacing with Crown Vics.

 

I would love to see those as cop interceptors. Just not too much because it would make me always think of the Magnum as a cop car...like a Caprice, which IMO takes away from the fun of having one a little bit.

 

The Crown Vic is a retail zombie, while the Grand Marquis is still more-or-less alive on the sales front. The situation more or less parallels that of the Dodge Diplomat back in the 1980s. Chrysler sold quite a few horrible 5th Avenues, but the Diplomat went largely unbought by civilians. Judging by past history, law enforcement fleet sales don't bolster a car's image or sales.

I mean seriously, did law enforcement sales save the Caprice or Camaro?

1. The "free advertising" isn't worth that much. The State Trooper's Z28s were very visible around where I live, but the C5 Corvette consistantly outsold the Camaro in this region.

2. The Thunderbird SC's head gasket issue sure didn't get "caught" by law enforcement.

Unless the stated purpose of Daimler-Chrysler is to "provide law enforcement types with quicker, better handling vehicles, because no other manufacturer is all that interested," I'd have to question the business model behind the "police" Magnum.


1. Why sell to fleets if you can't meet retail demand? By all accounts, the Magnum RT is a hotter item now than the Tahoe was back in '97.

2. I pity the police dog that's forced to ride in the back of a Magnum. If a 27" TV box will barely fit, what about a dog carrier big enough for a german shepard?

3. I suspect that guionM is affiliated with a law enforcement agency, and that he'd really like to get his hands on a Magnum "Enforcer."

If so, I can really see where he's coming from.

 

It's not like they are going to be backlogged with orders forever...

It's probably a good thing D/C is thinking ahead by more than 3 months or so... ya know?