Police Charger for retail purchase?

I'm an ARES member, fairly active in Amateur Radio Emergency Services,
and am looking at new '06 Chargers/Magnums to fit my long inseam and
6'3" height. Yeah, I could probably find a 9C1 LT1 or similar Caprice
somewhere, but I'd rather drive something less bulky as I have commute
into a city and parking a whale like a Caprice is unfunny.

The Police edition of the Charger/Magnum has a beefier electrical
system, as well as sturdier suspension and other performance/durability
features I'd like.. so in order to get one, I think I'm looking for a
fleet dealer (forgive me if my terminology is not correct) who'd batch
my purchase (no police livery or MARS bar, of course) in with a
purchase for a law enforcement agency.

 

And you are asking WHAT? P.S. Dealers cannot order Police spec vehicles for
consumers. Only available for Governments, fleet accounts. So, If you do not
have a government fleet code, you are not getting one. Oh, and a dealer
would be in deeeeep Shit if he tried ordering one for a civilian on a
governmet fleet account. Most likely end up in losing his franchise and
fined.

 

Who are you, Jake from the Blue's Brothers? Why do you need cop shocks?

 

Sorry I meant Elwood from the Blues Brothers. Elwood was the one who
bought the used police car with the cop shocks and the cop engine, Jake
was in Joliet when he did it.

 

Uh-huh. And you do what for a living? Are you the fleet sales manager for
a DaimlerChrysler dealership? You're not? Then STFU.

 

Properly wiring your radio equipment in the car shouldn't require you
to upgrade to a police spec model. I have a 50 watt rig in my car that
is powered directly from the battery...I use a relay that is wired into
the accessary line of the CD player. This way, my tranceiver comes on
and off with the car but is still powered directly from the
battery/alternator. This can be done in just about any car and I
imagine a similiar set-up is all that comprises the radio console in
police spec vehicles.

As far as the legality of driving a police spec vehicle, I do believe
that police vehicles that are sold at auction must first undergo
various mechanical modifications. The color and decals on former
police vehicles are the obvious considerations in terms of legality.
The same applies to the color of former school busses. ...Maybe you
should looking into getting one of those?

73.

 

Nope. Having owned several ex-police cars, I can say you are quite
incorrect here. The decals, light bars, 2-way radios and other police
cosmetics and comms equipment are removed, and in Canada the Daytime
Running Lights are hooked back up if they've been disabled, but
mechanically *nothing* is changed.

Nope, it's perfectly legal for a bus used for purposes other than school
transport -- or any other vehicle, for that matter -- to be painted
National School Bus Yellow. It's just that school buses *must* be painted
that color.

DS

 

Because the typical suspension package on a large American car is
roughly equivalent to a bowl of soggy oatmeal? I'm surprised that
anyone would ask that.

Personally, I think there would be a "niche" market for a
police-package vehicle for the general public; I'd certainly be
interested in one. Might improve private sector fleet sales as well; I
would certainly prefer that my company car be so equipped and I'm sure
taxi fleets would be interested as well (they currently seem to buy up
all the used cruisers...) not only do cop cars handle better, but all
the HD options make for better reliability and durability.

nate

 

No I work for DC itself. And I know an individual cannot order this package.
Maybe you should stick to lighting questions Daniel.

 

In what capacity? Lots of people work for DC.
Engineers...designers...secretaries...janitors...

Regardless of what you (think you) "know", it happens all the time.

Lighting is only one of my specialties. Heckling people who say stupid
stuff is another.

 

I'm not sure where you got your law degree from, but I'm going to have
to disagree with that. Check out Title 39, Section 3-77.1 of the New
Jersey Statutes. It states the following:

"No motor vehicle with a capacity of more than 16 passengers shall be
painted National School Bus Chrome, unless it is used to transport
children to or from a school, a summer day camp, or any school
connected activity. When a motor vehicle is no longer used for these
purposes, it shall be repainted a color distinctly different from
National School Bus Chrome."

"National School Bus Chrome" is defined here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_School_Bus_Chrome

Similiar laws include Section 31-20-11 of Rhode Island Statutes and
Section 49-1422 (4) of Idaho Statutes.

 

Our local (Chicago area) suburban mass transit, PACE, uses school busses to
transport commuters to and from the train station. These are the exact same
color as the school busses. The only difference is where the School Bus is
so labeled and visible on the top from the front and rear and on the sides,
these are labeled PACE. From a distance they appear identical.

Note that I'm not trying to say anything about NJ. I am just proving that
Dan was correct and in Illinois, there is no such law.

Bob

 

The suspension on the 300C is a good stiff suspension, it's not at all
like the mushy suspension that you get on cars like Buicks. The
HEMI Charger probably has the same sports suspension as the 300C.

 

Who gives a crap what New Jersey has to say, except people dumb enough to
carry on living there? The law requiring school buses to be painted NSBY
is Federal. There is no corresponding Federal law requiring that
decommissioned school buses be repainted another color *OR* prohibiting
non-schoolbus vehicles being painted NSBY.

DS

 

Even if that is true (I have never driven one) a police package is
still a Good Thing (tm) - it's basically like a handling package and
towing package all rolled into one. Basically all the options that a
car-savvy buyer would want for a car he's planning on keeping a long
time all rolled into one convenient RPO.

nate

 

Not to mention there's tons of used police spec vehicles at the
government auctions all the time.

The governments don't give a shit if a private individual orders a
police spec vehicle, hell if someone wants to get a car that can
outrun a police car, they sure aren't going to be getting a police
spec car. The only people that do give a shit are the automakers,
and only because they want to maintain the charade that there's
something different in them that justifies the fleecing of the
governments that buy them.

Ted

 

There is something different in them. The nut driving them...

just kidding!

HTH