Not so much anymore. The SUV craze affected cop cars too.
Ford stopped making the crown Vic, but I don’t know why they went to SUVs.
Look up the CAFE act, that explains it.
TL;DR they created a loophole in emissions standards for “work trucks” that these giant SUVs and pickups fall into.
But I thought the CAFE act was introduced in the 70s (and in addition to the chicken tax) resulting in the “light truck” market taking over north america. I don’t know why police switched from the crown Vic in the late 2000s to SUVs rather than another sedan
They added some stuff to it in the 90s from what I understand
get a Marauder instead, they look better and the Mercury logo is easy enough to identify so folks can breathe a sigh of relief
Debadged mercury marauder with utility lights. Prowling the early aughts like a panda dressed as a grizzly.
Are you a cop though - you have to tell
usthem if you are a cop you know!?!?!? :-PDoesn’t even matter which four-door sedan you drive.
Just take off your hubcaps, add a guard on your front grill, and suddenly everyone lets you pass then.
All the cops around here drive white or grey SUVs that are almost impossible to spot because the LED flashers are so slim.
Don’t forget the driver side mounted light
And the sirens
I just roll up to people’s houses and shoot their dog.
And the fascist thug in the driver’s seat
And the shotgun!
I was my parents’ dedicated cop watcher since I was 8, and this is definitely a big one that a lot of people overlook. It’s one of the easiest features of even an unmarked police vehicle to spot from behind if you know to look for the folded light’s mounting hardware. My wife is always surprised at how quickly I can spot a cop from long distance, and it’s often because I spot something strange sticking out of the drivers’ side mirror.
In my area, most new cop cars, are SUVs and don’t have the side light.
Do cops even drive crown vics anymore? I don’t even see crown vic taxis now.
All the cops around here drive white or grey SUVs that are almost impossible to spot because the LED flashers are so slim.
For those Explorers and Tahoes, the only tell-tale sign is to look at the roof.
Civilian models will have these roof rails, police models won’t.I always say, the moment cop cars start adding roof racks and bike mounts we’re all getting pulled over lol
The iconic police Crown Vic model was discontinued like a decade ago. Like 80% of police cars I see nowadays are SUV’s.
On March 12, 2010, Ford Motor Company unveiled the Ford Police Interceptor Sedan. While sharing a nameplate with the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, the Police Interceptor Sedan was a variant of the sixth-generation Ford Taurus, shifting from the long-running Panther chassis to an all-wheel drive version of the D3 architecture.[29]
In a design decision, the Police Interceptor Sedan did not adopt the Taurus nameplate, as it was sold alongside the Ford Police Interceptor Utility, derived from the Ford Explorer. Along with heavier-duty components and a redesigned interior, the Police Interceptor Sedan adopted higher-performance steering and suspension tuning. The standard engine was a 3.5-L V6, but a 3.7-L V6 (shared with the Mustang) later became the standard power plant. A twin-turbocharged EcoBoost V6 (shared with the Taurus SHO) was also available as an option.[30]
The Ford Police Interceptor Sedan was discontinued alongside the North American Ford Taurus model on March 1, 2019.[31] The Ford Police Interceptor Utility remains in production as of 2022 as Ford’s main police vehicle, sharing its design with the civilian market Ford Explorer.[32]
From the Crown Vic Wikipedia Article
Anyone driving a black or white ford explorer is worry some. The tell is the antennas. Cop cars have big antennas on the roof that normal cars don’t have.
And the wheels. I get the homage nod to the past, but that big shiny hubcap is a huge tell that isn’t offered on the non-police models.
Murdered out police insignia and shorty antennas only go so far when you floating on that chrome
Yes, but those are hard to see when the car is directly behind you.
They don’t have external antennas around here any more. They don’t even have the push bumpers. Half the time the flashers are mounted inside the windshield and back window. They’re very difficult to spot. I have a radar detector now, which reliably notifies me when one is in the area.
Yea it’s rough. The tax exempt plates are a tell that you can use if they’re ahead of you.
Sometimes you can see the grate/cage divider inside too, if you’re sharp eyed
Yeah, if they’re behind me I look for the shotgun. It’ll be fairly obvious, vertically mounted between the passenger and driver seat. You can even see the silhouette at night if there’s someone behind them with their headlights on.
Good tip! I’ll keep an eye out for that detail next time I see one
Also just having a new explorer is enough, my parents got a new explorer a few years ago and one time I was driving them somewhere and got into the carpool lane, then I noticed everyone in front just kept getting out of the way and I realized they all thought we were cops
Antennas, that cage on the front bumper, black on black lettering, and no hub caps around my neck of the woods.
Mostly SUVs and Chargers.
Like 80% of police cars I see nowadays are SUV’s.
And the other 20% or so is Dodge Chargers.
Actually I kinda want to get one of the ex-police Chargers at auction because I’d never spend that much on a sporty car, but I feel like that would be fun, even if it only lasts a couple of years. For less than 6-8k you can certainly do worse!
Especially because they beef up the suspension, and performance maintenance religiously on their vehicles.
They do in poorer areas- my local county sherrif only had the budget for two new dodge Durangos in the last 4 years, the rest of the force drive crown vics with junkyard engine swaps to keep them going past 300k miles.
That was hilarious
I found that incredibly annoying
Just grabbing your junk, and jerking off to authority
If you have to wonder whether a car is a traffic cop or not, your country is doing policing wrong.
Yeah English police are much more welcoming than the US police.
YARRRP
This is a good way to mess with motorist, I like it as a cyclist 😎
If your police are still using these cars, they are severely under budget being that they are usually over budget and have tanks basically.
Supposedly in Australia they use VWs. With the amount of VWs on the roads they must be paranoid all the time.
VW Passats are general purpose, highway patrol in my state use BMWs and Chryslers
yank tank pork tanks
I used to hit the TX state police auctions pretty often. I really liked the 9C1 Caprice basically the car the 1994-1996 Impala was based on. A little bit Cadillac, a little bit Camaro. Iron block and heads version of the LT1 improved reliability/durability. Could take speed bumps at 70 mph without flinching and was a phenomenal highway car especially for TX. Highway Patrol (DPS) cars are issued to specific troopers and not whored out to the whole department on a 24 hour rotation, so they are generally much better looked after.
Anyway I happened to hit one auction that was unique. Before, they put a really crappy paint job on to cover up the black and white paint scheme. After, they cheaped out and just spray painted white squigglies all over the car. I picked up a nice 1995 still black and white 9C1 for $2600.
Rocketing between Houston and Austin at over 100 mph, cars would move over to let me pass. Cops on the other side heading the other way would wave instead of pulling me over. On the rare occasion I did get pulled over, the registration showed previous owner as DPS since I bought directly from them myself. So I always got off with a warning.
Man I miss that car. They quit making them so they could make more SUVs…
Also the DPS Mustangs were stick shift so of course I grabbed one of those too!
It’s got a cop motor, a 440 cubic inch plant, it’s got cop tires, cop suspensions, 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 a cop motor, a 440-cubic-inch plant. It’s got cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks. It’s a model made before the catalytic converter so it’ll run good on regular gas.
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.
Oh, and we’re gonna have to refuel twice on the way.
Hit it.
(crashing sound)
Perfect for going full Mad Max
What is this, a crossover episode?
Needs a new cigarette lighter
Just something I picked up at the mount pleasant city police auction - they were practically giving them away
Mount Prospect*
People who buy these and don’t do anything to make them look less like a cop car are the worst kind of people.
But I understand it. You want something cheap, reliable, and powerful. A retired cop car neatly checks all those boxes. But please, don’t be like my brother and figure out how to reconnect the lights and sirens. Remove the bumper and spotlight, then take the thousands you saved and get some rims and a paint job.
Rollin in that Crown Vic.
Rare to see a vic out in the wild used by the police anymore. Ya’ll driving white explorers though…
