[johnb300m]

You know, it would be an absolute fantastic change of pace for Dodge to actually meet (or hopefully beat) a deadline for getting cars to the public. I really hope this is a signal toward that end. Still, why wasn't the 4 door Daytona for sale within weeks of the 2 door?

Regardless, if they show up in time for my lease end in March (or April, I can't remember), a 4 door Charger Sixpack maybe in my future.

Haha....uhh, what scares me though, of them meeting deadlines, is that so far all their cars are late, and they're still half-baked or not finished.
It's just WILD to me, this conglomeration literally forgot how to make cars.

Right now, I feel like FCA.NA is the Titanic, slowly scraping the iceberg. We are at watertight compartment 3, approaching 4.
Will new captain Filosa be able to steer the ship away in time to miss watertight compartment 5?

"She can stay afloat with four compartments full, captain, not five! ....Not five...."

 

[geoff.gariepy]

You really don't want to buy a retired squad car if you like a smooth ride. Their suspensions, the last time I drove one, were like having steel rods instead of shock absorbers. I don't know why, entirely, since some compliance should actually be better on normal roads.

People at that end of the market just need their car to get them where they need to go as cheaply and reliably as possible. They're not buying for looks, interior quality, or NVH management.

Now me? My candy-@$$ doesn't want to get bounced around anymore! LOL!

 

[Dave Z]

People at that end of the market just need their car to get them where they need to go as cheaply and reliably as possible. They're not buying for looks, interior quality, or NVH management.
Now me? My candy-@$$ doesn't want to get bounced around anymore! LOL!

Police cars are a very small part of the used market. This is what I'm saying, you might think you want a police car, but you probably don't...! It's not like in the 1970s when you got thousands of extra welds, heavy duty everything, and so on, but it wasn't really any stiffer than the top-performance variant of the same car. You do get more heavy duty parts but at a severe cost in ride.

If you don't want to be bounced around, you'd be better off in a cheap Corolla than an ex-pursuit car. They're reasonably comfortable. Camry has a longer wheelbase so it's even more comfortable. I've heard nothing but good things about the Wagoneer S ride.

 

[valiant67]

You really don't want to buy a retired squad car if you like a smooth ride. Their suspensions, the last time I drove one, were like having steel rods instead of shock absorbers. I don't know why, entirely, since some compliance should actually be better on normal roads.

I've had lots of old police cars, many used as daily drivers. The B body, R body, and M body police cars were comfortable as daily drivers, especially compared to civilian cars of that time.
The only newer police car I had was a2007 Magnum. It rode way too firm.

 

[Dave Z]

Interesting. I drove one M-body police cars and found it amazingly stiff compared to the normal ones. The older police cars were more "normal." I had a Valiant with the police-tow-taxi package (yay, all one package) and it was stiffer than the normal Valiants, but not so much that you'd be upset by it. I only realized it when I switched to a normal Dart. Might depends on how they optioned them - pursuit or "detective's car."

The modern Charger police car really was like driving a solid block of iron. Smooth roads became rough. (The Prowler had a similar ride!)

 

[valiant67]

Interesting. I drove one M-body police cars and found it amazingly stiff compared to the normal ones. The older police cars were more "normal." I had a Valiant with the police-tow-taxi package (yay, all one package) and it was stiffer than the normal Valiants, but not so much that you'd be upset by it. I only realized it when I switched to a normal Dart. Might depends on how they optioned them - pursuit or "detective's car."

The modern Charger police car really was like driving a solid block of iron. Smooth roads became rough. (The Prowler had a similar ride!)

Yes, the older police cars were stiffer, but not unbearably so.
And it made a difference on how "generous" the fleet order was on the interior. Most of my old ones were Ohio Highway Patrol and they used Diplomat SE upholstered seats so the seats so those M bodies were quite comfortable. The cars with the base HD vinyl seats or low line cloth didn't soak up as much of the bumps.

 

[Dave Z]

Yes, the older police cars were stiffer, but not unbearably so.
And it made a difference on how "generous" the fleet order was on the interior. Most of my old ones were Ohio Highway Patrol and they used Diplomat SE upholstered seats so the seats so those M bodies were quite comfortable. The cars with the base HD vinyl seats or low line cloth didn't soak up as much of the bumps.

That makes sense. The Valiant had a base HD vinyl seat with extra springs, so at 150,000 miles, it was still hard as a rock. Lots of sliding, not ideal for pursuit driving, I'd think! The Diplomat had the nice luxury dashboard but the interior was vinyl. The Charger was... a Charger.

Thing is, back in the 1960s-1970s, you'd be better off long-term with the police car than a regular one. Best suspension, best brakes, best cooling, best electrical. Everything beefed up! And a thousand or two extra welds for body stiffness and durability.

 

[Adventurer55]

My parents bought a new 79 New Yorker. It had what was then called an Open Road Handling package. Basically a cop car suspension. My father, who never was one to check things out when he ordered a car just opted for the standard 360 2bbl. It had a 904 behind it. Had he opted for the 360 4bbl. It came with the 727. Which would've been Basically a cop car with a black tuxedo and red shirt.

 

[Dave Z]

Would it have had the auxiliary transmission cooler, biggest possible radiator, and bigger alternator, though? not to mention the extra welds!!

Making police cars: who and what was involved?

Mopar police cars of 1980: St. Regis/Gran Fury, Aspen/Volare, B-Van

 

[Adventurer55]

Would it have had the auxiliary transmission cooler, biggest possible radiator, and bigger alternator, though? not to mention the extra welds!!

Making police cars: who and what was involved?

Mopar police cars of 1980: St. Regis/Gran Fury, Aspen/Volare, B-Van

I do remember that cop cars had reinforced roofs where the light bar went. Certified speedometers, etc.

 

[Dave Z]

I do remember that cop cars had reinforced roofs where the light bar went. Certified speedometers, etc.

I'd forgotten those. Lots of extra power outlets.

 

[valiant67]

Would it have had the auxiliary transmission cooler, biggest possible radiator, and bigger alternator, though? not to mention the extra welds!!

Making police cars: who and what was involved?

Mopar police cars of 1980: St. Regis/Gran Fury, Aspen/Volare, B-Van

No you have to get the HD trailer assist which is the closest to a civilian police car there was.
It would have the HD electrical, HD suspension, HD cooling. But still no extra body welds.
That's what my 1979 Cordoba has, 360-4 E58 (police motor), 727, 9.25" rear axle, etc. The only things missing between it and a police car are: no extra body welds, no rear sway bar (Chrysler started omitting them on cars built for towing and I recall Richard E. pointing out that was good), and no firm feel steering box (though it has a PS cooler).

 

[Dave Z]

Sounds about right. You don't miss the firm-feel police box until it's gone Big difference.
They were serious about police cars.

 

[Marantzer]

It did not matter how many extra welds etc the R bodies had, they were simply put, dog crap cop cars. The CHP despised them.....not just for being slow (they were) but they just fell apart under use. Transmissions, engines, suspensions, door seals, all were huge problems.

The later Diplomats were fine in most respects except for the stupidly complicated transverse torsion bar front suspension that would not hold an alignment.

The cops in my family now liked the Chargers ok, but far prefer the SUVs like the Explorer and Tahoes after using them. Easier to get in and out of for both them and the perps. The SUVs are fast enough and handle well enough for probably 90% of what is needed in a cruiser.....but are a lot more useful than a sedan 100% of the time.

 

[sickboy]

For fun, I considered building a pursuit, for a winter car. I would have sourced an interior from a donor. I could source suspension, but if it’s as simple as swapping struts, no big deal.
About the charger loosing out on interior, the new one has acres. Having a separate passenger compartment from the trunk isn’t an advantage anymore due to the hatch.
I do believe the 4 door will be a success

 

[valiant67]

It did not matter how many extra welds etc the R bodies had, they were simply put, dog crap cop cars. The CHP despised them.....not just for being slow (they were) but they just fell apart under use. Transmissions, engines, suspensions, door seals, all were huge problems.

The later Diplomats were fine in most respects except for the stupidly complicated transverse torsion bar front suspension that would not hold an alignment.

The cops in my family now liked the Chargers ok, but far prefer the SUVs like the Explorer and Tahoes after using them. Easier to get in and out of for both them and the perps. The SUVs are fast enough and handle well enough for probably 90% of what is needed in a cruiser.....but are a lot more useful than a sedan 100% of the time.

But yet the R bodies were rated tops on surveys of officers in the 1990s. The CHP hatred of these cars is simply exaggerated. They were the fastest car tested by the CHP in 1980.
The local department where I lived kept the old 1980 and 1981 Gran Fury models in service for an incredibly long time.

 

[Adventurer55]

It did not matter how many extra welds etc the R bodies had, they were simply put, dog crap cop cars. The CHP despised them.....not just for being slow (they were) but they just fell apart under use. Transmissions, engines, suspensions, door seals, all were huge problems.

The later Diplomats were fine in most respects except for the stupidly complicated transverse torsion bar front suspension that would not hold an alignment.

The cops in my family now liked the Chargers ok, but far prefer the SUVs like the Explorer and Tahoes after using them. Easier to get in and out of for both them and the perps. The SUVs are fast enough and handle well enough for probably 90% of what is needed in a cruiser.....but are a lot more useful than a sedan 100% of the time.

That is your opinion. Did you ever own one?

 

[Dave Z]

FWIW, the R bodies were, according to (retired officer)Curtis Redgap, as described on allpar, quality disasters but among the best handling, nicest riding police cars. The Diplomat was tougher but not as nice, or so he said - and the same in that book about police cars. I would guess most of the problems were in 1979, and 1980-81 series were just fine.

 

[Marantzer]

But yet the R bodies were rated tops on surveys of officers in the 1990s. The CHP hatred of these cars is simply exaggerated. They were the fastest car tested by the CHP in 1980.
The local department where I lived kept the old 1980 and 1981 Gran Fury models in service for an incredibly long time.

I would love to see them. Like you have pointed out before, ALL of the cop cars of the time were slow. Slow was not the problem, lack of quality was.

I was a young car nut and my dad arranged for me to watch the 1980 tests at McClellan AFB. The testing officers knew they were slow but it was just the way it was. By late in the year after thousands of seat hours they started to despise the St Regis'. (I was there to hear how much CHP officers hated them, no exaggeration) They simply did not hold up. Many people started making noises about corruption at the state buying practices. Not a lot came of it, since the Diplomats were so much better.

There were a lot of fine Mopar police cars in the 60s, 70s and 80s. The R bodies simply were not in the same class.

 

[Adventurer55]

I would love to see them. Like you have pointed out before, ALL of the cop cars of the time were slow. Slow was not the problem, lack of quality was.

I was a young car nut and my dad arranged for me to watch the 1980 tests at McClellan AFB. The testing officers knew they were slow but it was just the way it was. By late in the year after thousands of seat hours they started to despise the St Regis'. (I was there to hear how much CHP officers hated them, no exaggeration) They simply did not hold up. Many people started making noises about corruption at the state buying practices. Not a lot came of it, since the Diplomats were so much better.

There were a lot of fine Mopar police cars in the 60s, 70s and 80s. The R bodies simply were not in the same class.

I thought so, you were just a kid. We actually owned one. They were as good as their competitors at the time. They weren't around long enough to really leave behind much of a record. Iacocca kneecapped them after 80 doing away with the 360. They should've canned the M bodies and kept the R bodies. Much more room and much more comparable to the Caprice and Crown Vic size wise.