Los Angeles and Michigan State Police 2012 police pursuit car tests:
Dodge Charger, Chevrolet Caprice, and Ford Taurus
Dodge Charger police cars - main page • 2011 Model Year Test Results • 2013 model year results
Michigan State Police
The Michigan State Police (MSP) held their eagerly awaited 2012-model-year pursuit car tests in September 2011 at Chrysler's Chelsea Proving Grounds and Gratten Raceway Park. The results were very different from the prior year, to Dodge's benefit. (See Los Angeles testing.)
There were some gaffes from everyone. Chrysler swapped out their front brake calipers before the test day to reflect the latest changes, with approval from the MSP, resulting in one V6 Charger losing its slide bolt at the end of the test; no other car had problems. Ford's car broke two lug bolts and said it was due to preproduction parts. A Caprice lit up its overheat lamp due to air in the cooling system, but didn't overheat. An Impala had a half-shaft axle bar pull out from the CV joint, and GM issued an engineering change to prevent it from happening again. Finally, a Caprice had a loose connector killing ABS and ESC, resulting in a change order at the factory.
Dodge did surprising well in the ergonomics/communications area, where the company had previously suffered. Despite Chevy's special seats in the Caprice, Charger topped the cars with the highest ergonomics/communications score, around 223. Caprice came in second at around 217. Ford came in at around 203, the lowest score of any vehicle tested, including the front-wheel-drive Impala. The top scorer, though, was not a car at all: it was the Chevrolet Tahoe, topping the charts at 236. (Ford's own Explorer came in below 210.) This is a major accomplishment for the Dodge boys.
2012 Police Car Acceleration: Dodge vs Ford vs Chevy
In the V6 acceleration competition, the Charger easily beat the Taurus front-wheel-drive and AWD models, but Caprice beat Charger, thanks largely to its superior six-speed automatic. The Dodge Charger police edition is still not available with the eight-speed automatic, possibly because the five-speed is time-tested and cheaper.
The real performance action is in the V8/turbo arena, and Dodge did surprisingly well there, as well; the 3.06:1 ratio made a difference, allowing the Charger Hemi to beat both Caprice and turbocharged Taurus. In fairness, the difference was usually relatively minor, especially between Caprice and Charger; Taurus had the best 0-50 time, reflecting the ease of launching an all wheel drive car. Caprice had the top speed, by 2 mph.
Dodge Charger, Chevrolet Caprice, and Ford Taurus
Dodge Charger police cars - main page • 2011 Model Year Test Results • 2013 model year results
Michigan State Police
The Michigan State Police (MSP) held their eagerly awaited 2012-model-year pursuit car tests in September 2011 at Chrysler's Chelsea Proving Grounds and Gratten Raceway Park. The results were very different from the prior year, to Dodge's benefit. (See Los Angeles testing.)
There were some gaffes from everyone. Chrysler swapped out their front brake calipers before the test day to reflect the latest changes, with approval from the MSP, resulting in one V6 Charger losing its slide bolt at the end of the test; no other car had problems. Ford's car broke two lug bolts and said it was due to preproduction parts. A Caprice lit up its overheat lamp due to air in the cooling system, but didn't overheat. An Impala had a half-shaft axle bar pull out from the CV joint, and GM issued an engineering change to prevent it from happening again. Finally, a Caprice had a loose connector killing ABS and ESC, resulting in a change order at the factory.
2012 Police Car Acceleration: Dodge vs Ford vs Chevy
In the V6 acceleration competition, the Charger easily beat the Taurus front-wheel-drive and AWD models, but Caprice beat Charger, thanks largely to its superior six-speed automatic. The Dodge Charger police edition is still not available with the eight-speed automatic, possibly because the five-speed is time-tested and cheaper.
The real performance action is in the V8/turbo arena, and Dodge did surprisingly well there, as well; the 3.06:1 ratio made a difference, allowing the Charger Hemi to beat both Caprice and turbocharged Taurus. In fairness, the difference was usually relatively minor, especially between Caprice and Charger; Taurus had the best 0-50 time, reflecting the ease of launching an all wheel drive car. Caprice had the top speed, by 2 mph.
SPEED | Dodge Charger | Chevrolet Caprice | Ford Taurus |
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