Ohio Highway Patrol Ford Utility & A Question

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Jul 14, 2010
1,639
S.W. Ohio USA
I have been seeing a lot of these lately. Did the State Marines drop the Charger, or are they buying both? BTW, this image was obtained from the Facebook page: Ohio Police Cruiser Data base. If that is a problem with anyone, I would be happy to delete it.

10155220_667001023335472_3828741532375315688_n.jpg
 
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mfpd465

Member
Jul 18, 2010
41
Cartersville, GA
Alot of agencies still use the Chargers, The utilities were just designed specifically by Law Enforcement and will be the only vehicles manufactured specifically for Law Enforcement. Alot of departments are switching to the Chargers, Caprices, Utilities, and the car version of the utilities.
 

ryan

Member
May 20, 2010
2,996
Massillon, Ohio
Osp cancelled their order of 80 chargers end if last year due to maintenance problems arising from their fleet. When dodge was asked to make changes they wouldn't and so Osp has scaled back on their purchases is chargers. I got to play around in one of the new fpiu from Osp. They didn't do much different to them.
 

PJD642

New Member
May 20, 2010
1,543
east of Cleveland
Word from several Troopers I've talked with is OSHP is going to continue transitioning to Chargers for the line guys, and now to the Interceptor SUV for the Sergeants. Supposedly the reason given is so the bosses can carry extra equipment like riot gear & stuff, which doesn't make a lot of sense since they still have to go back to post to change & double up in cars. As far as I know they're sticking with Tahoes for K-9s.
 

LRGJr72

Member
May 29, 2010
790
Detroit, Michigan
I still hate the fact that this agency has gone all-blue on their lightbars after having been red/blue and, before that, all-red. I'm not even crazy about the Michigan State Police's having added a smidge of blue to their mostly red light setups. I guess I'm kind of a stickler for tradition.
 

HILO

Member
May 20, 2010
2,781
Grand Prairie Texas
mfpd465 said:
Alot of agencies still use the Chargers, The utilities were just designed specifically by Law Enforcement and will be the only vehicles manufactured specifically for Law Enforcement. Alot of departments are switching to the Chargers, Caprices, Utilities, and the car version of the utilities.

Uh...what? The Ford interceptor Utility is a Ford Explorer with a few modifications for law enforcement use. The car version of the Utility is the Interceptor sedan, which is a Ford Taurus with a few modifications for law enforcement use. One can purchase either a Taurus or Explorer with the same engines as the PPV's. A Taurus SHO is actually a faster and better handling car than the Taurus PPV. The retail Explorer is a little slower and does not have the handling capability as the PPV Explorer. The Chevrolet Caprice is the only PPV sold currently that has no retail version which means the Caprice is the only vehicle in the US that is manufactured specifically for law enforcement.
 

dawson75

Member
May 20, 2010
336
OHIO
holden is the Caprice retail version ( not sold in the states though)


I have yet to see any of the OSP SUV's here in east central Ohio. They look nice


Dan
 

CHIEFOPS

Member
Jan 24, 2011
1,532
NYC
HILO said:
Uh...what? The Ford interceptor Utility is a Ford Explorer with a few modifications for law enforcement use. The car version of the Utility is the Interceptor sedan, which is a Ford Taurus with a few modifications for law enforcement use. One can purchase either a Taurus or Explorer with the same engines as the PPV's. A Taurus SHO is actually a faster and better handling car than the Taurus PPV. The retail Explorer is a little slower and does not have the handling capability as the PPV Explorer. The Chevrolet Caprice is the only PPV sold currently that has no retail version which means the Caprice is the only vehicle in the US that is manufactured specifically for law enforcement.


I seem to remember that like the 2000 Impala, the NGPI Taurus sedan was designed as a police car first and a retail car second.
 

FireMedic19

Member
May 8, 2012
406
Vermilion, Ohio
dawson75 said:
holden is the Caprice retail version ( not sold in the states though)

I have yet to see any of the OSP SUV's here in east central Ohio. They look nice


Dan

Just happened to see one yesterday here near Cleveland, was very surprised lol. Looks good tho, haven't seen one lit up tho.
 

HILO

Member
May 20, 2010
2,781
Grand Prairie Texas
CHIEFOPS said:
I seem to remember that like the 2000 Impala, the NGPI Taurus sedan was designed as a police car first and a retail car second.

Yes, the 2000 and 2006 Impala was designed as a PPV first, with retail design after. AS much as I like the Impala, being faster than the CVPI, it was a boring retail car. The 2014 Impala is a great car, because Chevrolet designed it for retail with no plans for a PPV. But the 6th gen Taurus was in productionwell before the PPV (2010 retail/2013 PPV). 2013 provided the Taurus with a face lift, and the PPV was released for sale. Ford really tried to put massive distance between the retail and the PPV Taurus, but very few of us were fooled. Fords thinking was that the 1st and 2nd generation Taurus PPV's were not well liked and the reputation might carry over, but much to a lot of peoples surprise, both the Taurus and the Explorer PPV's are very decent cop cars. While the Caprice is off the Holden platform, and the Chevy SS shares drive train and platform, it is the only sedan or light duty vehicle to be sold new for law enforcement use only. To make it easier, park a NGPI Sedan (or Utility) next to a retail Taurus (or Explorer), and ask a regular person what kind of car they are. You can do the same with Chargers, Impalas, and Tahoes, but not the Caprice, as it stands alone.
 

Iowamedic2013

Member
Feb 14, 2014
278
Bellevue Iowa
FireMedic19 said:
Just happened to see one yesterday here near Cleveland, was very surprised lol. Looks good tho, haven't seen one lit up tho.

The caprices look good lit up I'll see if I can get some pics and vid for you...they are however cramped on the inside IMHO
 

CHIEFOPS

Member
Jan 24, 2011
1,532
NYC
HILO said:
Yes, the 2000 and 2006 Impala was designed as a PPV first, with retail design after.... But the 6th gen Taurus was in productionwell before the PPV (2010 retail/2013 PPV). 2013 provided the Taurus with a face lift, and the PPV was released for sale....

Though they delayed release of the NGPI for several years after the retail release, I believe it was still designed as a police package first, with several years to


1. run out the production clock on the Panther platform and


2. fine tune police performance to be competitive with Dodge and Chevy police packages that were scheduled to be released earlier than the Ford.
 

HILO

Member
May 20, 2010
2,781
Grand Prairie Texas
CHIEFOPS said:
Though they delayed release of the NGPI for several years after the retail release, I believe it was still designed as a police package first, with several years to
1. run out the production clock on the Panther platform and


2. fine tune police performance to be competitive with Dodge and Chevy police packages that were scheduled to be released earlier than the Ford.

That would mean Volvo actually started design on it. The 1998 Volvo S80 first used the D2 platform, when Ford bought Volvo in 1999, they took the D2 and made a few changes to have the D3. The D3 was first used on the 2005 Ford 500 (and then Taurus as a re-baddged 500), then in 2010 the 6th generation Taurus which is the current vehicle. Ford also took the D2 and changed a few things to make the D4 platform, which is the Explorer and Flex. All the D3 and D4 vehicles are built at the same plant in Chicago. The PPV was built off the retail car, with suspension and drive trains from the SHO, and the rest of the PPV specific items built for the PPV. The Impala was built of the W body (Lumina), as a PPV first, and reworked suspension from the Lumina for the retail version. Fun trivia about the Impala, the 1994-96 Impala SS was a 9C1 Caprice, aside from couple of bushings missing, the Impala SS had the same mechanics as the 9C1. The Impala actually handled better (with out the 2 bushings) due to the wheel/tire package, but was equal to the 9C1 in the straight line.
 

Detroit VAP

Member
Jan 16, 2011
24
US Michigan
dawson75 said:
holden is the Caprice retail version ( not sold in the states though)

I have yet to see any of the OSP SUV's here in east central Ohio. They look nice


Dan

Actually the Caprice does have a retail version now. It's called the SS. Both are Holden sedans, which will have production stopping in a few years as GM shuts off Holden production. I've heard that production of Both the Caprice and SS will change to the U.S. once Holden is shut down.
 

lafd55

Member
May 27, 2010
2,393
New York, USA
Detroit VAP said:
Actually the Caprice does have a retail version now. It's called the SS. Both are Holden sedans, which will have production stopping in a few years as GM shuts off Holden production. I've heard that production of Both the Caprice and SS will change to the U.S. once Holden is shut down.

He is technically correct... The Holden Caprice is the retail version of the Chevrolet Caprice, you can not purchase it in the United States though.


Holden - Caprice - Luxury Large Car - Sedan -2014 - Holden.com.au
 

HILO

Member
May 20, 2010
2,781
Grand Prairie Texas
Detroit VAP said:
Actually the Caprice does have a retail version now. It's called the SS. Both are Holden sedans, which will have production stopping in a few years as GM shuts off Holden production. I've heard that production of Both the Caprice and SS will change to the U.S. once Holden is shut down.


Right, but park a Caprice next to an SS, and there is an obvious difference.
 

Studgun

New Member
Sep 15, 2013
13
Australia
HILO said:
Right, but park a Caprice next to an SS, and there is an obvious difference.

This is getting off topic, but the Chevrolet Caprice is a rebadged Holden Caprice, which is a luxury long-wheelbase version of the Holden VE Commodore, which you briefly got rebadged as the Pontiac G8. The VE Commodore has now been replaced by the VF Commodore, which you are getting rebadged as the Chevrolet SS. Not sure what this means for the Caprice.


Attached is a photo of our new VF Commodore traffic car. Crappy photo, sorry.


ImageUploadedByTapatalk1397743940.190170.jpg


And some of the other traffic cars. The blue one on the left is the new VF Commodore, the other 4 are the older VE.


aimg.tapatalk.com_d_14_04_17_ja4eqyde.jpg
 

HILO

Member
May 20, 2010
2,781
Grand Prairie Texas
AZEMT said:
The SS currently exists in retail production for a very specific purpose. :)

afile.kelleybluebookimages.com_kbb_images_content_editorial_sla325c44d0ce3d1b532df2fcf3044af1b.jpg

Correct. According to NASCAR rules, a name plate used for a race car must have a retail version. Which is why they did not do a Caprice NASCAR. The desire for a NASCAR aside, the reason GM brought back the SS was consumer demand. The GTO and G8 were popular cars, just not enough to save Pontiac. When the Caprice was announced, and regulated to Fleet/LE sales only, many people contacted Chevy begging for a retail version. Instead of a retail Caprice, Chevy decided on a different look and name, thus the Chevy SS. The SS is not a re-badged Caprice, the SS wheel base is shorter, it is lighter, and has more horse power.
 
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canonninja

Member
Aug 27, 2013
141
Houston, Tx
HILO said:
One can purchase either a Taurus or Explorer with the same engines as the PPV's. A Taurus SHO is actually a faster and better handling car than the Taurus PPV.

Ecoboost sure, but the 3.7L in the PPV is not the same as the retail version at all, closer to the F150 and Lincoln MKV motor.

HILO said:
The retail Explorer is a little slower and does not have the handling capability as the PPV Explorer. .

That's because it sits even lower than the Sport with different shocks, stability, TCS, and AWD/transmission programming than retail.

HILO said:
The Chevrolet Caprice is the only PPV sold currently that has no retail version which means the Caprice is the only vehicle in the US that is manufactured specifically for law enforcement.

Yes, they do. Its called the Chevrolet SS. Different layout, same car underneath.


ETA: oops, shitty acient computer didnt load the above posts, didnt mean to sound crass HL. Im not a GM fan at all anymore, and while the tahoe has done infinitely better being designed for a specific purpose and ford left the Expedition alone, I still think the move to push the Ford PPVs to big city PDs was a smart move. Smaller vehicles to perform the same job as the aging Tahoes and Chargers, with 95% of the capability. I'm excited to see that Chevy does with a pursuit-rated 4x4, but I'm not holding my breath and cant stand the look of the new Tahoe
 
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HILO

Member
May 20, 2010
2,781
Grand Prairie Texas
canonninja said:
Yes, they do. Its called the Chevrolet SS. Different layout, same car underneath.

No sir, the Chevy SS has a shorter wheelbase.


Chevy SS=Holden VF Commodore


Caprice=Holden Statesman/Caprice.


Yes, both are on the Zeta platform, but so is the Camaro. The Pontiac G8 is now the Chevy SS, while the Caprice was and stil is a stand alone vehicle in North America. The 4th generation Pontiac GTO was built on the old V platform, which the pre Zeta Caprice was built. The V platform also brought us the ill fated Cadillac Catera. Do the research, the Caprice and the Chevy SS are not the same car.
 

canonninja

Member
Aug 27, 2013
141
Houston, Tx
HILO said:
No sir, the Chevy SS has a shorter wheelbase.

Chevy SS=Holden VF Commodore


Caprice=Holden Statesman/Caprice.


Yes, both are on the Zeta platform, but so is the Camaro. The Pontiac G8 is now the Chevy SS, while the Caprice was and stil is a stand alone vehicle in North America. The 4th generation Pontiac GTO was built on the old V platform, which the pre Zeta Caprice was built. The V platform also brought us the ill fated Cadillac Catera. Do the research, the Caprice and the Chevy SS are not the same car.


:bonk:


Wont matter in 2 years anyway, Holden is leaving Australia and no telling what GM will do with the Holden/Vauxhall/Opel holdings.... maybe we'll finally get more of the cool production cars from Ford and Holden that never make it this far across the Pacific
 

HILO

Member
May 20, 2010
2,781
Grand Prairie Texas
The Zeta platform will cease production in 2016. The Camaro, which is a Zeta car, is built in Canada, and will move to the Alpha platform, with the Chevy SS rumored to follow. Epsilion II is rumored to be the platform for the next Caprice.
 

cse04

Member
May 25, 2010
305
Cincinnati, Oh
We work with the Ford dealership that has the Ohio state bid for the FPIU and earlier this year we were told that OSP bought 150 of the Non-ECO Boost FPIU's.
 
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