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C2 - The Oakville Beaver, W e d n e s d a y June 5, 2002 II n T IVII EE L S II i k l l L L E Intrepid Police Pursuit toughest, meanest Chrysler It's available only to police departments for S25.765 (Cdn.), but it has to be the toughest, meanest, best handling Chrysler I've driven in years. It is the 2002 Chrysler (Dodge in the U S) Intrepid Police Pursuit, the first police cruiser in 12 years from the firm that between the 1960s to early 1980s owned up to 60 per cent of the police fleet business in North America. In my formative years, if you saw a Plymouth Fury I or Dodge Diplomat in green or tan with little chrome caps over the wheelhubs. you just knew it was the cops. Toody and Muldoon drove a DeSoto on 'Car 54 Where Are You?' while Martin Milner and his Plymouth Satellite were syn onymous with 'Adam 12'. And Jim Robinson who will ever forget those Blues Brothers with their seemingly indestructible Dodge Monaco. Here's a little trivia question - what other police vehicle was used on 'Adam 12' and what relation does it have to the DaimlerChrysler plant in Bramalea where the 2002 Pursuit is built? Answer at the bottom of the story. When Chrysler went away from V8 engines and rear drive to front-drive platforms. Ford and Chev capitalized on the police segment with the rear-driv en Crown Victoria and Caprice. When the Caprice got killed oft', it left the Crown Vicky, (produced only in St. Thomas. Ont.) as the darling of the Men in Blue. Recently, through hard bargaining and attractive pricing for those tendering their fleets. GM has made a major return to the market with a very tough version of the front-drive Impala. While most of the police officers I knew didn't like the idea of front-drive. they have started to develop a gnidging respect for it. Chrysler too. did shop around a police-oriented Intrepid a few years ago. but it. like the front-drive Volvo police car that would have been produced in Halifax, just did not kindle any fires. That may have changed with this week's test car, a full-dress Intrepid patrol car that will be built in Bramalea only. "After conducting extensive one-on-one research with police officers throughout North American. Chrysler created a police vehicle that specifically answers their calls for ride, handling, performance, space and comfort." said DaimlerChrylser Canada brand manager Pearl Davies. In terms of space and comfort, that is no problem as the Intrepid with a passenger volume of 2,959 litres (104.5- cu. ft.) is one of the most capacious fiveseater (six optional ) sedans for sale on the continent. The Police Pursuit is based on the 2002 Chrysler Intrepid R/T with the same high-output 3.5-litre, SOHC V6 producing 242 hp and 248 lb/ft of torque. To this are added external coolers for the engine oil. transmission fluid and power steering. It also is equipped with a radiator that looks like it comes out of a transport truck. It's part of the "severe duty" cool ing system for running at high speeds for long dis tances. The transmission is also beefed up and a shift lever is mounted on the steering column instead of on the transmission tunnel where the AutoStick sequen tial shifter normally would be found. This area is taken up by the controls for the lightbar, siren/alarm system, and PA. To power all this, a 160-amp alterna tor and 100-amp batter)' are required. One of the weaknesses noted by police earlier about the Intrepid was brakes. The ones fitted to the new cruiser (rumored to be from the upcoming Pacifica) are heavy duty four-wheel discs with nil u t m a antilock. They fill up the NASCAR-style gloss black ^XTinch (Special Services Group) steel wheels. The tires are Goodyear P225/60R16 performance specials. And, yes. little bright chrome hub covers are fitted instead of wheelcovers that could fly off in the heat of pursuit. On the inside, except for the electrics box, it s pret ty much an Intrepid R/T right down to the premium cloth bucket seats and the white-face primary gauges. The exception is a speedometer reading to 240 kmh. The back seat is heavy vinyl and the only way to open the back doors is by pull-tabs buried inside the B-pillar door jam where the bad guys can't reach it to escape. Turn the key. select Drive, and the immediate sen sation is one of solidity. I didn't have time to see what Chrysler had done to make this car so rigid, but it felt like a Mercedes - honest. It wasn't just my opinion either. On the rutted and gravel roads around Orangeville, I let Quebec journalist Louis Butcher take the wheel and he could not believe how this thing just sailed over extended potholes without los ing its composure or having the rear end start to wag on the gravel as front-drivers can do when pushed. But it was the brakes that surprised. At almost two tons, this is one big car and the amount of friction needed to haul something like this down from 100 kmh can defeat most disc brakes even with ABS. But the Police Pursuit showed no detectable fade. Now I didn't use extreme emergency stopping or drive to destruction as police evaluators no doubt will, but I think the R/T Intrepid you and I buy would be an even better car with these binders fitted. Along with a base price of $25,765. the $2,310 police package included Welbar sirens and lights. This is an amazing piece of engineering, letting the officer select one or three emergency tones or all three at once. There were several different light bar modes from just rear strobes to the whole works at once -talk about a light show. There is also a "stealth" mode that turns off all the interior lights and dims the PRNDL' gear indication lights so you can cruise along in the slow lane and the idiots doing 160 kmh Above: Chrysler, once the dom inant supplier of police vehicles in North America is making a comeback with the 2002 Intrepid Police Pursuit. Right: The front seat area is much like the Intrepid R/T the Pursuit is based on with the exception of the transmission tunnel mounted controls for sirens, lights and PA systems. in the outside lane don't see you until the radar locks on and gives a reading. Topping it all off were two hand-operated spotlights with a PA system and Big Rig style airhom built in. I've got to admit 1 took the car back early - because 1was enjoying it too much. On one occasion, I entered the freeway as some Nissan Pathfinder driver, tailgating the guy in front with flash-to-pass lights in full fury went roaring by at a good 1 50.1hit the gas and the cruiser responded as the Goodyears really dug in. In a few minutes I was closing up from behind the Pathfinder. To the driver's horror, he must have noticed the police vehicle behind just as he bullied one more innocent commuter out of his way. He pulled into the centre lane, no doubt fearing the worst. I just dropped back for a kilometre and turned off. I hope I made his day. I didn't turn on the lightbar or sound the siren, although I was sorely tempted, but didn't want to impersonate a police officer. As a real police officer, however. I can imagine the ability to make your pres ence known just by driving down the street is a deter rent. I commend the amount of restraint they must exercise not pulling over every offender they see. What I learned from this experience was why police favour such big cars. With the computer and electrics systems between the front seats, there's isn't much hip room left. With a three to four-inch deep w ire barrier separating the front and rear seats, every inch of leg and head room you can get is a bonus. When police evaluators test a car. they really pun ish it. Going up against its Ford and Chevy rivals. Chrysler hopes they've got the right stuff to form part of the thin blue line. 1hope when the municipal bean counters are buy ing their next fleet of police cars, they'll look at the Police Pursuit and say 'Book it Danno'. Answer to the trivia question: Adam 12's Milner also drove an AM C Matador. 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