CapitolFax.com - Latest Comments in Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

SOMEONE!!!!!!! — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:36:09 -0000

omg i'm useing this for my school project on the coolest wutever so yeah thanks who ever!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Andrea — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:19:29 -0000

omg ui love this truck how many mpg does it get?
how much is it?

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Kevin Fanning — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:02:45 -0000

LOL!

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Ahem — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 13:58:07 -0000

Well, VanillaMan, how about "We watch a lot of movies?"

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

VanillaMan — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:08:04 -0000

We are not asking which car you would like to see police driving. We are not asking if police cars should get great gas mileage. We are not asking if police cars should be domestically produced.

We are asking which vehicle does the best police work.

The police are saying the Chevy Tahoe. What is it that you believe you know about police cars that they do not?

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Ahem — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:24:24 -0000

Honda makes a nice portable generator that's quiet and compact. I would imagine that something like that could be adapted to operate as an auxiliary power source. Maybe a US clone (chuckle)?

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Alan McNish — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:43:13 -0000

Streets and Sanitation does a pretty good job of clearing snow in Chicago, so I don't think that's much of an issue.

The squad that the City of Chicago should procure is the Dodge Charger V6. It has more room than the Chevy Impala, yet similar fuel economy. There's really no need for V8 powered squads in the city, since there are very few high speed pursuits.

The NYPD has had Chargers in their fleet for the last couple of years and they have performed well.

In addition, instead of charging a fuel surcharge for taxis in Chicago, taxi companies should be forced to get more fuel efficient cars like the Impala and Charger.

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Wumpus — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 23:37:45 -0000

Also, the shoul dget rid of guns because they leave too much of a carbon footprint and cuffs because they are metal, non recycled metal

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Plutocrat03 — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 22:40:10 -0000

Dear Shelybville

Not that I advocate the Subies, but can you peek over the border toward W. Lafayette, IN? Its a Subie factory.... European cops get along with VW Golf size cars.....

If it has to be an SUV, go for the smaller class. I checked, the 2wd Hybrid Tahoe list for more than 50K (and cannot use E85)

Good points about E85. If they expect 11 mpg from the gasoline use, you can expect a whopping 8.25 mpg on E85

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Shelbyville — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 21:02:59 -0000

If they purchased Subarus then people would be complaining that they weren't built in the US. You can't win. I like the Chevy.

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Larry Mullholland — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:30:32 -0000

Seems like a reasonable proposition. Nice rims...

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Deep Water — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:12:54 -0000

Looks like the Chicago Po Po will be pimpin' with those wheels. If they want to help the cops, let the cops walk the beat. In in winter lease a car from one of Daley's lease companies!!! What a waste of gas.

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

NumbersGuy — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 18:58:06 -0000

Some very good points from North, Little E, Pluto, and Getting too Old.

Fuel costs would clearly be a negative in an SUV-based fleet, as would the repair cost of many components. On the other hand, any "police pursuit" spec sedan is chock full of heavy duty components that cost much more to replace than the civilian version.

Flex-fuel is also something that costs more money, especially in a Tahoe. Straight ethanol drops mileage by 25% according to a recent test by Motor Trend of a 2007 Tahoe.

The cabin and trunk size are also concerns with the Impala/Charger vehicle types, as noted above. There is a large handful of unhappy campers in the ISP since they mandated "safety cages" which take up a lot of cabin space in an Impala. The Impala's trunk will also not hold one of the Trooper's department-issued items if that item is properly stowed. (Not to be cryptic here. but I don't know that the blog world needs to know about this item.)

IMHO, this vehicle debate will be part of a greater discussion Supt. Weis will be having with his rank and file, commanders, and the City Council as he tries to bring change to the CPD.

PS:Aside from the lack of funds, there are reasons why you see a variety of firearms in a CPD rollcall. The CPD does not have the FBI's ability to either train to a standard or remove an officer from duty. Things could get interesting if and when an advanced, high caliber pistol is issued Department-wide.

PPS: If they get new radios, let's hope they fare better than the $100 million POS system that CMS bought for the State Police. Al Ronan-lobbied, it was obsolete before it was turned on and is a legitimate officer safety problem.

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

pickles!! — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:41:57 -0000

Don't Canadian Mounties use horses? maybe they could work in chicago. Would keep fuel costs down.

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Getting Too Old For This — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:32:30 -0000

I know of several police departments that used Chevy Tahoes in the late 90's as a trial. Results were mixed, but their fuel economy was abysmal, and the departments have since gone to Impalas, Crown Victorias or Hemi Chargers.

Having said that, many police departments use Tahoes, Expeditions, Explorers, and Durangos as canine units, off-road patrol vehicles, or as emergency/disaster response units. If Chicago wants to use an SUV as a beat patrol unit, smaller might be better. Instead of a Tahoe, maybe a Jeep Commander or Ford Explorer would be more fuel-efficient. To those suggesting Subarus, forget it. Outbacks are pushing $35,000 in civilian form and Foresters are too small for the job.

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Plutocrat03 — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 16:28:10 -0000

Clearly a nutter of an idea designed to shock people into accepting the real concept which will be revealed later.

A stunning increase in operating costs. While you may want to consider other vehicles, why not put an Equinox based SUV in the mix.

Newer squad cars, yes, but this is over the top. Hybrid will cost twice what a Crown Vic will cost.

First of all, hot pursuit is from the days of Mad Max. Too many innocents are mowed down by that technique. So let's forget this performance thing. (Don't forget about the increase in rollovers when driving truck based vehicles)

As many of the folks above have noted, the maintenance costs and acquisition costs will be close to an order higher than that of the old fleet. Value of a police used vehicle will be zero anyway,

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Anon — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:57:50 -0000

You guys sure are quick to spend taxpayer funds on this project. Why not just have apolicy to replace the Crown Vics with an SUV, but only when needed, not all at once.

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Northside Bunker — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:55:12 -0000

Rollovers

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Little Egypt — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:28:20 -0000

My experience with a 4WD has not been a good one. The last time I put my Explorer into 4WD, it cost me $600 for a mechanic to get it out. Thus, I just bought a 2WD Jeep Commander. The repair costs of SUV's will quickly surpass that of the Crown Vics. When it's not your own POV, the tendency exists to run the wheels off the vehicle and let the other guy (we taxpayers) pay the bill.

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Dad — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:22:34 -0000

Love those rims in the picture! Will the Chicago PD get spinners for those Tahoes?

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Healthcare Worker — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:19:46 -0000

All the Chevy Tahoes, except the hybrid, are flex-fuel. Using E-85, this would fit the "green city" concept very well.

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Anonymous — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:53:08 -0000

AWD Subarus are a good idea. What is the cost difference between Crown Vic's Subarus and Tahoes?

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

North of I-80 — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:36:54 -0000

Police vehicles idling at crash scenes don't get good mileage anyhow. When responding to 911 calls, it's wide-open, brake, wide open brake then idle for unknown periods running emergency lights, radios, computers. A Consumer Report approach will get you a Ford Taurus or Honda Civic that gets new brakes and alternators monthly, new trans every 6 months and is worth $2200 after 1 year.

Buy 1/4 fleet Ford Crown Vics; 1/4 Tahoes; 1/4 Chevy Impalas & 1/4 something else [SUV]. Keep track of total repair/mileage etc costs and listen to the guys working in them: 6'6" cops don't fit well in new Impalas + might increase workman comp claims + bad attitudes. Small young traffic cops might not like cornering/handling of the SUVs... test & adapt.

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

sparky — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:33:57 -0000

You could get AWD Subarus to get around in winter driving and have better fuel efficiencies. There really is no modern need for high speed vehicles. It's like my dad told me when I started to drive - "you may think your car is fast, but nuthin' outruns a Motorola"

Re: Chicago Police Supt. wants Chevy Tahoes for officers

Beancounter — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 14:28:53 -0000

I know that some police departments, especially on the coasts, drive Subaru Foresters. This cross-over SUV (on a car chassis) is all-wheel drive, takes standard tires, gets 22-28 miles per gallon, and handles like a dream.