Hello fellow spirited drivers: Today I saw a fully painted black and white DODGE CHALLENGER, 4 DOOR Cruising on I-580. Eyes open and memorize that front grill pattern. This one was a slick top btw. Happy driving.
Yup, they are in the field. Both Hemi and V6 versions. Most are B&W with few all white SEUs in the mix to throw you off. Played with one of the Hemi versions-pretty quick. Doubtful the CHP will be using them fleet wide as there are space constraints and a few other problems with them. Still a Camaro in service in one area that I'm aware of, too.
I've seen them in Southern California. The LAPD is using them too. The sneaky ones though are the all white Crown Vics with no "HIGHWAY PATROL" gold lettering on the back. The only have the star on the door. I've been seeing more of those on the road lately. And everytime I see one, some hapless driver goes flying past them and they get nailed.
Remember the 5.0 Mustangs they drove back in the 90s? Those had major space constraints, but I saw lots of them on Route 5.
Unfortunately, because of the financial crisis in California, the CHP is going to have to make some vehicle cutbacks. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I certainly do-brought one of the first ones to southern California and spent many hours in them. One of the most miserable devices to ever wear the star. Toyota tried desperately to get the state to select a fleet of Camrys-even going so far as to "sell" them to the state for 1.00. They were unreliable as hell, the officers hated them(I believe there were 10 or 12 used in a trial program), slow and poor handling to boot.
Didn't the Mustang and Camaro programs get canceled due to the high rate of crashes? Officers couldn't handle the power. I knew someone who worked for a SoCal Sheriff dept, and he said most officers were poorly prepared for such duty. I find one of the more effective visual techniques is to look for any type of car on the inner or outer shoulder. Practice looking way down the road when possible - a good habit to have no matter what. Our area often finds them hiding in the shadow of overpasses.
Can't speak for the Sheriff's, but, the CHP has a pretty decent EVOC training. The programs weren't cancelled due to crashes. As the standard cruisers got faster, it made more sense to use those. Space for gear and occupants was another problem. Stuffing a perp into a Mustang is no fun. Plus, they were rarely allowed to work the graveyard shifts.
Vraiment, wasn't that a Charger police car in Petaluma? He seemed to want to have a go with you when he pulled up beside you and looked to be saying something to you before he pegged it.
Now that I think back on that event, I think you may be right -- first time I ever had an officer showboat for me! He nailed it pretty hard once he had my attention.
Yup, the white ones are sneaky. I used to fear this B&W Z28 in my youth. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
The Mustangs were hilarious, after they crammed all the gear inside the cop often wouldn't fit inside. Thy always looked exhausted just getting in or out of the car.
It was indeed, a charger. Just watched the video of it for conformation. That, initially was a pretty uncomfortable situation, that actually turned out to be funny in the end.
Thanks for the heads up about the new CHP cruisers. I also remember those CHP Mustangs and Camaros, but there were other versions that were even tighter quarters for perps! Image Unavailable, Please Login
Word on the streets is that Corte Madera Police are trying to buy a few of these. http://www.carbonmotors.com/machine straight outa robocop: Image Unavailable, Please Login
Sooo driving out of the Scottish Games in Pleasanton a few weeks ago, there was a car pulled over on the 680 onramp shoulder by an all white Chrysler Town & Country minivan with black tint windows. We did a doubletake as the officer looked to have a well equiped bullet proof vest & the van was equiped with a full set of strobes in the lights. No official markings at all I remember, just the lights & officer to give it away. VERY stealthy! Cheers, JB
...on the drive home I saw an 'unmarked' Charger. No light bar. All white but get this... the cleverly hidden additional red and blue lights were in the location where the driving lights would go. Eyes open fellas !