You will soon see a new police car on the Vancouver streets.
Officers have been used to driving the traditional Ford Crown Victoria, but they will be replacing those as Ford has discontinued the car.
The department looked at many different vehicles as possibilities, and the winning vehicle was the Dodge Charger. It has a 3.6-litre engine, and features new safety features such as emergency lighting, and a ‘rumbler’ siren, which projects a deep baritone burst that can be used to attract attention at critical times.
The new car also called for a new design of their graphics.
Vancouver Police say the new Dodge fleet will be equipped with an idle-management program to reduce engine idle time while continuing to power the electronics and emergency equipment when the vehicle is on-scene at an emergency.
The switch to the new car means fuel consumption will be reduced by about 25%. Police say it will also reduce patrol fleet emissions by approximately 660 tonnes (32% reduction) per year when the fleet replacement is completed in 2017.
VPD Fleet at a Glance
- the Vancouver Police patrol fleet is composed of 176 vehicles, which are predominantly Ford Crown Victoria Interceptors, both marked and unmarked
- the average age of the patrol fleet is 5.5 years
- the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors were discontinued by Ford in April
- 61 patrol vehicles are due for replacement by end of 2013
- replacement was delayed to take advantage of new, more environmentally friendly, purpose-built technologies
- entire patrol fleet of 176 due for replacement by 2017
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