The Ford Crown Victoria Beats Most Modern Police Cars

Why is the industry going backwards?

Most people don’t think much about police cars, but we know from speaking with them that cops absolutely have thoughts on them. Many aren’t fans of the newer models, in particular the SUVs which have come to dominate quite a few departments. They feel the old Ford Crown Victorias were far superior for pursuits and other law enforcement duties, something we think might puzzle the general public.

Watch police try to ambush a stolen Dodge Charger Hellcat here.

Then we ran across this chase video compilation edited together by MidwestSafety and uploaded to YouTube. It shows about a dozen different police officers pursuing armed robbery suspects who are in an Audi crossover. That might not sound horribly exciting, but being a German luxury vehicle the Audi is made for going fast (like on the Autobahn). That’s a problem, but there’s one police car standing out as a star in the chase: a Ford Crown Victoria that’s thankfully still in service.

That’s right, a 10-year-old Crown Vic showed up all those other cruisers in the pursuit. Watching the other cars try to keep up with the Audi, which severely outgunned the police in this chase, is just so embarrassing.

Ultimately, the officer driving the Crown Vic was able to keep pressure on the suspects. Others deployed Stop Sticks, with one deflating both driver’s side tires, slowing the pursuit down. Catching the suspects was a team effort, even though one officer almost hit the tires on the Crown Vic and not the Audi. Without the old Ford, the capture of these suspects might not have come together.

Now and then we still see a police Crown Vic and it takes us back to a time when all cops weren’t rolling around in mommy mobiles (Tahoes and Explorers). This is one of many examples where supposed progress actually seems to be the industry going backwards and society paying a price as a result.

We remember when these new police vehicles were first revealed. The press releases and other marketing materials concentrated heavily on how eco-friendly they supposedly are, or in other words how little fuel they consume. While we get how that can be a good thing, when it comes to situations like this where police are chasing armed and dangerous suspects in a vehicle that’s actually fast, getting better fuel economy doesn’t count for jack squat.

This is what troubles us about the end of Dodge Charger Scat Packs, which have shown themselves to be tremendous pursuit vehicles in the hands of police. One of those would’ve ended this chase quickly.

 While quite a few departments have no-chase policies, others might be forced to essentially cut chases short because these gutless wonder cruisers just can’t keep up with criminals who are driving a real car.