You see the shape, you check your speed. Even if you're a careful, cautious driver, the silhouette of a Ford Crown Victoria is enough to provoke a quick peek at the speedometer, just to be sure. For more than a decade and a half, the Crown Vic has been the mount of choice for police agencies across Canada – but there are fewer left every year. It's getting too old for this, ahem, stuff.
It's a tough old horse. Body-on-frame construction, solid V-8 power and plenty of trunk space gave the Police Interceptor version of the Crown Victoria a near-monopoly in the market. You could drive it over curbs, stash all kinds of gear in the trunk, fill the roomy back seat with thrashing ne'er-do-wells or spend hours in the cushy seats on surveillance patrol.
It was the perfect tool of the trade for the time. However, now the Crown Vic is something of a liability. While the later years were fitted with side-impact airbags, it's just not up to modern standards in terms of being T-boned in an intersection. If you're an officer rushing to a call and have to proceed through a red-light, you can understand why that would be a concern.
Further, they're just getting too old to be in fleet. RCMP guidelines call for replacement at between 160,000 and 180,000 kilometres, or based on the age of the car. Because the Crown Vic hasn't been made since 2011, many are starting to get near the end of their final shift.
So, the Crown Vic needs to hang up its badge and let some rookie get out there on the mean streets. Problem is, all the hotshot replacement options are having trouble filling the veteran's shoes.
Julie Furlotte, national manager of the RCMP's movable assets, and Andras Casimiri, national manager of the land fleet, are responsible for anything that floats, flies or drives under the banner of the Mounties. That's 11,500 vehicles in all.
"It does get a little harder every year," Furlotte admits. "The cars keep getting smaller inside and more complex, and we have the same challenges as many other emergency agencies: more equipment to carry, budget considerations, fuel-economy concerns."
While police in Vancouver have opted for the Dodge Charger sedan, based on officer feedback and intended need, Toronto Police Service and the RCMP are staying with Ford for the most part. In order to find a replacement for the Crown Vic, a list of minimum requirements was assembled, and then a call put out to manufacturers to tender bids.
Toronto Police Service and most RCMP units are going with the Ford Interceptor, which civilians will recognize as the Taurus. Available with a powerful twin-turbo V-6, the Interceptor has just come out on top in testing by the Michigan State Police and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Both it and the Interceptor Utility (based on the Explorer) posted the quickest acceleration and and fastest average times around the handling course.
Well, that settles it. Cop motor. Cop shocks. Those Duke boys don't stand a chance this time. But hold on: Modern policing isn't about high-speed chases and tackling criminals. It's mostly logistics and paperwork.
To that end, the RCMP offers a variety of main-line patrol cars, as well as a few unique special-purpose vehicles. The Chevy Tahoe is an option for police departments looking for a traditional body-on-frame SUV, perhaps for northern climates, and while the all-wheel-drive version of the Ford Interceptor is the most popular choice, there's also a front-driver for lighter duties.
If the mention of special vehicles had you thinking of white Ferrari Testarossas and pastel sport coats, sorry, this is Canada, not Miami. While the RCMP once sported both Camaros and Mustangs in its highway interceptor fleet, standard patrol cars are the quickest things it has in regular rotation. After all, not even a sport bike can outrun a helicopter and a radio.
The RCMP does have 18 armoured cars of various types across the country, but the specialized vehicles are mostly used in an administrative capacity. When it was thought the Chevy Caprice might be available, the Mounties ordered one for evaluation – it's the only new Caprice in Canada. There's also a fleet of unmarked vehicles for surveillance that operate outside normal government ordering rules.
"The unmarked surveillance cars have to be a little different," Furlotte says. "If they were all the same, the bad guys would catch on pretty quickly."
The Mounties also have a single Nissan Leaf, and there's a Chevy Bolt on order. Both New York and Los Angeles have police departments that use badge-wearing hybrid and electric vehicles, but the Mounties mostly restrict their livery to actual patrol vehicles. There are no plans to put electric vehicles on the beat.
"Until the infrastructure is a little more mature," Furlotte says, "there's always the chance of getting stranded."
But even without moving to alternative powertrains, fleet fuel economy can be improved with new technology. Vancouver's police department uses stop-start technology and efficient LED lightbars to cut down on idling time. A Crown Vic attending the site of a serious collision might have to idle for hours to keep its lights on – officers generally need to carry two sets of keys so they can lock the doors with the car running – where the new cruiser only fires up intermittently.
Safety, comfort, technology: Police buy cars essentially the same way the average person does. Still, there's something pretty cool about a decommissioned Crown Victoria Interceptor, let go from the force but still with a few years yet to run on the odometer. What say we head on down to the docks, and stake out that mysterious tramp steamer? Contraband maple syrup? Counterfeit hockey pucks? The Crown Vic's on the case.
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