Houston Police Department Fleet * Update *
- Thread starter HPD84
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Brother - in - law is a cop in Houston, Went on a ride-a-long when I was down there . Had a good time. At that time it was the baby blue cars with the Whelen edge strobe bars with the half asses install with like 4 feet of bar cable shoved under the bar ..lol
great pics
Dan
great pics
Dan
They look amazing!
The only thing im wondering though is why does that crown vic have stealth graphics and then have a decal on the front windshield?
The only thing im wondering though is why does that crown vic have stealth graphics and then have a decal on the front windshield?
We had a funeral for a deputy's LODD here in north Louisiana earlier this year, and out of the 100+ emergency vehicles in the procession to the cemetery, the Houston PD car with a Freedom lightbar was by far the brightest (especially from the rear and with the multiple colors) and it appeared to be crammed full of lighting in every available space. I wasn't in the procession but was videoing/observing from the roadside curb and made a point to check out all of the vehicles as they passed by. It was unreal how much brighter it was than the other bars. On the other hand, it was really sad when several of the smaller underfunded agency's cars rolled by with Streethawks, MX7000s, and the other dinosaur lighting that was barely noticeable. Do y'all do anything special with the specs on those Houston bars, such as using full populated modules, higher intensities, or something similar? just curious......
Anyone else remember the HPD clean roof Camaro's from the early 90's? Baby blue, with a full size edge mounted in the back hatch from wheel well to wheel well! The front lightson the bar were not hooked up.
that APC is B.A.! :twisted: also, prob. one of the most comprehensive lighting setups i've seen on one (i usually see an old rotator bar or just a pair of red/blue led grills lights)
not a fan of the outer silver ring on the tires on some of the CVPIs and chargers. i prefer the all black charger rims and the all black (cept the silver ford logo in the center) on the CVPIs, but that's just me
not a fan of the outer silver ring on the tires on some of the CVPIs and chargers. i prefer the all black charger rims and the all black (cept the silver ford logo in the center) on the CVPIs, but that's just me
EVT said:
My thoughts exactly. I saw them on COPS one time and loved the set up. IIRC, it's a Freedom with clear strobe end caps, wig-wags, front coner strobes, and a traffic backer to the rear. I also think they turn off the rear lights when they have a big chase.
Couple of questions, first in the pick showing the car hauler - is that last patrol cars wheels resting on the front bumper of the car in front of it? Also, in the 4th pic the slick top charger, what are those par style lights mounted on the pushbumper? Are they warning lights or are they used as a takedown/spotlight.
Nice set ups though.
Nice set ups though.
No, you can just barely see the bracket holding the wheels. And I think the lights are Whelen pioneer spot lights
Mike L. said:
They appear to be Whelen 400 series Lin 12s (6 over 6). those are in the center, they are flanked by the Siren speakers, not lights
I saw an episode of COPS from Houston and what really got me was that the lightbars have clear corner strobes (front and back) in addition to colored LEDs - i'd never seen a Whelen lightbar setup like that... (the closest thing i've seen is clear front corner strobes, and all other strobes red and blue, and no LEDs.)
Sweet RMPs, nice and simple. Didnt go overboard. Me like 
(off topic: we need better smilies, maybe emoticons--thumbs up, dancing bananas etc)
(off topic: we need better smilies, maybe emoticons--thumbs up, dancing bananas etc)I kinda like how the patrol cars have a Whelen Edge LED lightbar, with clear corner strobes. I typically think of white lights without any colored lights of the same type as an utter abomination, but for some reason I like this setup.
How about the Houston Police fork lift?
I saw it the other day while doing a warrant transfer. I enjoy driving around seeing all the cool toys from the big agencies just before I pick up the warrant transfer. This day I spotted this fork lift. I literally laughed out loud when I saw it.
I also saw this HPD car, which I guess is some kind of DWI promotional vehicle.
I saw it the other day while doing a warrant transfer. I enjoy driving around seeing all the cool toys from the big agencies just before I pick up the warrant transfer. This day I spotted this fork lift. I literally laughed out loud when I saw it.
I also saw this HPD car, which I guess is some kind of DWI promotional vehicle.
The back door says, more or less "Choose your ride" - as in, are you gonna take a cab or a cop car?
And I hate to say it, but I much prefer the current strobe/LED combo over the older all-color strobe setup - I think the all-colors-everywhere design kinda sucks - better option would be red/white to the front and blue/amber to the back, or red/white/blue to the front and red/amber/blue to the back.
It totally ruins the purpose of each light - red means stop, blue means police, white is an attention-getter, and amber means caution or slow down - so for that reason I'm picky about where certain colors of lights should go.
And I hate to say it, but I much prefer the current strobe/LED combo over the older all-color strobe setup - I think the all-colors-everywhere design kinda sucks - better option would be red/white to the front and blue/amber to the back, or red/white/blue to the front and red/amber/blue to the back.
It totally ruins the purpose of each light - red means stop, blue means police, white is an attention-getter, and amber means caution or slow down - so for that reason I'm picky about where certain colors of lights should go.
I enjoyed the strobe bars with R/A/W/B on both the front and the back. I enjoyed it so much that I purchased one. I added clear endcaps though. So it really stands out better. They were a neat bar during their hay day. I enjoy seeing them but the new LED ones are freaking AWESOME. I have seen several HPD cars recently with Libertys too. Looked like they went all or partial ambers on the back for an arrow stick. I have also seen some newer HPD cars with the Freedoms with the lower level being amber and the top being regular r/b.
chono said:
Cause you cant really see the front window graphics when the car is sitting shooting radar!
In addition on the "stealth graphics". When you are driving like an idiot you are less likely to notice the graphics on the sides, and when the unit gets behind you and turns into a red and blue christmas tree, you know its HPD behind you.... ;-)
Dennis
resQyou
Dennis
resQyou
D
Boy you're gonna beat that "red means stop" horse untill its a bottle of elmers arnt ya?
The car is a TEXAS car and in TEXAS we run basically whatever the hell we wanna run whereever we wanna run it. Its been effective for decades why change it. Houston chose those color schemes for a reason. The RWAB to the front and rear is damned effective. You want a trip? Garland, TX fd is using all 5 safety colors RWBAG on their trucks and medics. With RWBG to the front RGAB to the rear and sides and you know what? It works. The general public is stupid. They don't care what color is where they (generally) see lights behind them and think "oh that's a big fire truck maybe I should move" or "hmmm that is a car with flashing lights its a cop that wants me to pull over" not "well its a big fire truck but he has blue so it must not be a fire truck". Generally, at least here, and most everywhere else, people see a flashing light and it triggers a response. Be it RWBAG.
nerdly_dood said:
Boy you're gonna beat that "red means stop" horse untill its a bottle of elmers arnt ya?
The car is a TEXAS car and in TEXAS we run basically whatever the hell we wanna run whereever we wanna run it. Its been effective for decades why change it. Houston chose those color schemes for a reason. The RWAB to the front and rear is damned effective. You want a trip? Garland, TX fd is using all 5 safety colors RWBAG on their trucks and medics. With RWBG to the front RGAB to the rear and sides and you know what? It works. The general public is stupid. They don't care what color is where they (generally) see lights behind them and think "oh that's a big fire truck maybe I should move" or "hmmm that is a car with flashing lights its a cop that wants me to pull over" not "well its a big fire truck but he has blue so it must not be a fire truck". Generally, at least here, and most everywhere else, people see a flashing light and it triggers a response. Be it RWBAG.
The rear amber is a mute point by now. More and more HPD fleet is all LED now. Very few full strobe bars now days. So most of the fleet doesnt have amber in the front anyways anymore. As time goes on it will go away completely.....thus, its really a mute point.
I have never had a problem with it in the past though...
My partener changed the lenses on our strobe bar years ago. switched the rear clear to the front and the front amber to the rear.
It Ended up being:
Front: R/W/W/B
Rear: R/A/A/B
I have never had a problem with it in the past though...
My partener changed the lenses on our strobe bar years ago. switched the rear clear to the front and the front amber to the rear.
It Ended up being:
Front: R/W/W/B
Rear: R/A/A/B
I know it's been some years,about time to bring it back alive! If you have any HPD Pics,please post them here.
HPD84 said:I know it's been some years,about time to bring it back alive! If you have any HPD Pics,please post them here.
Holy purple blob batman... looks just like the purple blob HPD motorcycle video I took:
How about some pics of the new b&w scheme to bring the thread back to life too
Nice looking vehicles. I think I liked that marked slicktop on the car-hauler the best for some reason.
I visited Texas for the first time in February of 2012. I always try to take pictures of police vehicles wherever I go but only the opportunity to grab three my entire trip, one being a Houston PD car:
I like how they tint their cars, must help in that Texas heat. However, at least clean up where the old bumper-stickers used to be! It's just my opinion that bumper-stickers look like crap on police cars...
I visited Texas for the first time in February of 2012. I always try to take pictures of police vehicles wherever I go but only the opportunity to grab three my entire trip, one being a Houston PD car:
I like how they tint their cars, must help in that Texas heat. However, at least clean up where the old bumper-stickers used to be! It's just my opinion that bumper-stickers look like crap on police cars...
Major update on my thread. We have now went to B/W Scheme. We have a variety of models, most of the new fleet is Tahoe but we do have the new interceptor, utility, and very few charger and caprice. Depending on what fiscal year budget they were purchased with some have all new equipment and some have recycled light bars from crown vics on the tahoes.
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Don't forget this little guy:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qW7-ZCd4Pp8/TrE6Cm_ztgI/AAAAAAAAEI4/8ODtXjNT6iA/s1600/camaro.jpg
What are those lights on each side of the license plate on the Tahoe/Explorer?
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qW7-ZCd4Pp8/TrE6Cm_ztgI/AAAAAAAAEI4/8ODtXjNT6iA/s1600/camaro.jpg
What are those lights on each side of the license plate on the Tahoe/Explorer?