Current State of the Squads

Present and future Dodge police cars

The Dodge Charger was offered with a police package starting with the 2006 model year. Visit our Dodge Charger squad car page, with full testing results by two police testing agencies, and see our big list of Chargers in police use. The Challenger is also used by some agencies, though there is no pursuit option.

The standard 3.5-liter High Output V-6 engine on the Magnum and Charger police package has 250 horsepower and 250 lb-ft. of torque, with 18-inch V-rated tires and steel wheels, heavy-duty police brakes and linings and heavy-duty suspension. The 3.5 liter engine performs roughly as well as the current Ford Police Interceptor V8, while getting an additional 2 mpg on both city and highway, and stopping about ten feet faster from 60 mph. The price of the Charger squad varies from $1,000 to $4,000 above the Ford, but performance is far better even with the 3.5 (where cornering and braking carry the day). The Hemi is also available, with cylinder deactivation; for 2009, as with regular Chargers, horsepower was upgraded to 368 horsepower and 395 lb.-ft. of torque, thanks to variable cam timing and numerous performance and reliability upgrades. 2009 gas mileage was rated at 16 city, 25 highway.

The 2006 Dodge Magnum and Dodge Charger police packages include a certified speedometer, column shifter, emergency rear door lock override, heavy-duty five-link suspension system, heavy-duty alternator, heavy-duty battery, heavy-duty brakes, inoperable rear door locks and rear windows, and special police electrical wiring. Optional equipment includes daytime running lamps, dual spot lamp, police-type heavy-duty front seats with manual lumbar adjustment and full-size spare tire. Pictured above is a prototype version donated to the Auburn Hills police department (with a few others) by Chrysler, presumably for field testing.

One observer wrote:

I spent about 1,000 miles in a Charger R/T [both as driver and passenger] and I'm impressed with the power and the capacity of the brakes. The car I was in was set up as an 'unmarked' and was used as the 'hands on' demo. The car had [a decent number of] miles on it at the time and they'd been very hard miles. The engine was familiar with the rev-limiter in top gear and the anti-lock feature on the brakes had seen its share of use too. Every time the car came back from a road test, the brakes and the cats were stinking. Even with all that abuse, the rotors still looked like mirrors. Looks like the brake issue from the Intrepids has been solved…

The name Dodge Enforcer was making the rounds, but wasn’t used. The last time that name was used was in the Chrysler Enforcer.

Overshadowed by the LX cars are the usual Chrysler suspects, including the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Durango, both of which are in use in various towns and cities as special-service vehicles. Randy Wieckowski sent in a photo of a Warren, Michigan Jeep Liberty.

Mexico City bought 751 Neons for its police department in 2005, and 409 Dodge Stratus patrol cars in 2006. The Federal police in Mexico bought 816 Chargers in 2006. James Hale wrote, “In the 1970s they had the Mexican Super Bees, which were two-door fastback Plymouth Dusters with a 4-bbl 318 V8 coupled to a four-speed manual tranny. In 1977 they had the Mexican version of the Aspen/Volare, namely, Dart and Valiant, with the 360 V8. During the 1980s they had E-cars with turbo engines which were really fast too.”

History of Dodge, Chrysler, Plymouth, and DeSoto police cars

Up to 1989 | 1990 - 2005

Click here for our central squad cars page.

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