Charger is newest Orange County NY Police tool

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http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/.../NEWS/610090322

One more police car not to speed past

Charger is newest police tool

Times Herald-Record

Set aside the 340-horsepower engine, just for a second. Same for the advanced traction and fuel-saving technology.

Step back and take a quick look at this snub-nosed beast of a police car, the 2006 Dodge Charger.

It looks so sweet, even the kids dig it.

"Everybody wants to talk about the car," said James Coleman of the Florida Police Department, which picked up a Charger about six weeks ago.

"A kid came up the other day and said, 'Oh, man, nice whip!'" Huh? Whip? Nice whip?

The word baffled the 33-year-old Coleman.

"I'm talking about the car, man," the kid said.

Police departments in the Hudson Valley have been buying Chargers in ones and twos during the past six months. The initial, informal feedback on the new breed of cop car is that they're safe, they look good and they're fast.

"Very, very fast," said Chief Thomas McGovern of the Warwick police, which has one Charger. "Maybe even too fast."

The Charger isn't that much speedier than the other police force workhorses, the Ford Crown Victoria or the Chevy Impala. Its the acceleration that's impressed officers: 0-60 mph in 6.52 seconds.

The New York Police Department picked up 15 and the New York State Police have two they'll be testing out over the next few weeks.

Around here, smaller Orange County departments, such as Florida and Greenwood Lake, are looking to replace the whole fleet — all three or four cars.

"Being a small department, we can change pretty easily," Coleman said. Of thirteen cops, he's the only full-timer patrolling the 2-square-mile village of 25 mph speed zones.

You can feel the V-8, 340-horsepower engine do its muscle magic when he guns it. It pins you to the seat.

"It doesn't feel like you're going 60 mph, does it?" Coleman asked, seconds later.

The advantage, cops say, is to catch up to speeders quickly, particularly from a dead stop.

Chargers — without lights, radios or other add-ons — cost departments about $19,500 through a state contract, about $1,000 more than the Crown Victoria.

The Charger has less appeal to some larger departments because it can be costly to maintain and stock spare parts for two types of cars.

Uniformity has a safety divided as well.

"If something happens and an officer jumps into another patrol car, the switches are the same, the radio is the same, everything's the same," said Lt. Mike Faricellia of the New Windsor police, which has a fleet of 20 cars, mostly Crown Victorias that they'll stick with.

Chiefs are impressed with the Charger's safety and gas-saving features. For instance, if the car is idling, the V-8 can drop down to six or four cylinders, then punch back up if needed. The Charger's Electronic Stability Program improves traction of the rear-wheel-drive car to keep it from fishtailing.

Chiefs don't know yet how much it will cost to fix those high-tech features. The cars are still in trial periods at the half dozen departments that have them.

Coleman sums up the view from cops so far: "Everything's awesome when its brand new."

Edited October 9, 2006 by ace84