U.S. Police Departments Still Looking for Fuel-Cutting Cars

A lot of our gas problems could be solved if we didn't make and market cars to civilians that go 100 - 160 miles an hour. You do not have a "right" to a fast car. The government needs to limit the speed on civilian cars with engines that can only do 85 MPH, and tax the hell out of rich people who bring faster imports in from overseas. We need to control our consumption of oil and gas and get a grip on this "fast car frenzy" lunacy.

There is no practical reason for Joe Boxer to be running around with a car capable of doing 140 MPH when the highest speed limit you can legally go is 70-80 MPH. But since the Big 3 and Big Oil are making their money no one will do anything except either get rich or bitch.

This has been argued for decades..Unless your town is very small or you police a college campus there is no substitute for using Ford CVPIs, Chevy Impalas/Tahoes, or Dodge Chargers. These cars (Esp the Ford) are tried and true and built for this type of job and the demands placed on them not only for speed and handling, but also for room for equipment and prisoners and saftey of officers driving them for 8-12 hours a day.

This police chief that is ordering the Pontiac Vibe is putting dollars in front of his officers safety. And that is just disgraceful and he should rethink this descision

They won't stop making fast cars and government won't stop them. No fast scars+ no speeding tickets or speed cameras= NO REVENUE.

Reference Tombstone comment "Unless your town is very small or you police a college campus there is no substitute for using Ford CVPIs, Chevy Impalas/Tahoes, or Dodge Chargers." I work on a University campus and on a daily basis we have 38,000. plus people on campus and I think they all drive here. Today, colleges and universities are a small city within a city. Besides when other agencies need help, we are happy to get off campus and lend a hand. In the late 80's early 90's we kad "K" cars but it didn't take too long to destroy the front ends from speed bumps and always making turns in parking areas. We have used crown vics since the mid to late 90's and the repair cost have drop to half of what it was and the in service time of the vehicle doubled.

It's ashame that any police officer would be put into a less safe car at work. I won't even drive a Pontiac Vibe at home to transport my family. Green is good, but I think everybody has forgotten about safety. I'll keep my big SUV !!!

Yea let's have the government tell us what type of cars we drive and how fast they can go. Then they can tell us where we can and can not live, then what we do for a living. Hey let's let the government tell us how many children we have too, of course our government would be second with that one, China has being doing that for years. Steven ever hear of a little thing called Freedom.

I don't think the Chief was going to outfit the entire fleet just one and see how that worked out. I remember back in the 70's a local Dept tried out a Chevy Chevette. Nice try but It didn't hold up.

Use vehicles that are engineered to take the everyday pounding and 24-7 patrols, comfortable for 8 to 12 hours, and sip gas like a hummingbird is a dream!

Locally Depts are using better mileage vehicles for Admin and Detectives that also do not scream out " Unmarked Police car ". Just a thought.

Police need vehicles made for especially for Police Work. The Crown Vic and Caprice were probably the best police vehicles ever made. Rear wheel drive, V-8, Roomy, and handled very well. The Charger is the fastest police car I have driven since the 1999 Chevrolet Caprice. One Problem with the Charger too many blind spots while driving. The Gas-mizer cars should be used for detectives, internal affairs, Media Relations, Admin. Positions, etc. Leave the real Police Cars for the working guys and gals on the street.
I do not reccommend you restrict the speed by Car Companies, you still have aftermarket products you can install to make your car go above the manufactured speed. The last thing everyone wants is another non-enforcable law.

We just started using the taurus, AWD for the snow conditions. The gas mileage is good and it gets up and goes. They have cages that fit, works well for our winter/ice wonderlands we often get year to year.

I don't think there is that big of a problem with people speeding that terribly fast. I also believe that we have more than enough laws to enforce and that penalties are by and large strong enough to deal with the VAST majority of citizens. Useless regulation in our FREE country is the last thing we need.

Alternative cars are something that can and should be explored for Police service and even other Municipal functions. Ultimately when a good platform is found it will do well because even with cheap gas an Agency Admistrator is going to look for ways to save money for other functions in the budget.

As far as a Pontiac Vibe being unsafe, who is to say that. I have seen plenty of accidents involving newer small cars and they hold up well.

Just my two cents. By the way Steve, lay of the Marx and Engels.