Once again, cops get all the good stuff.....

[Eye of the Tiger]

The new Caprice will also have significantly larger interior volume ? 112 cubic feet ? than the Ford Crown Victoria, including ? thanks to the longer wheelbase ? nearly 4 inches more rear legroom to help give handcuffed suspects a much more comfortable experience. The Caprice PPV's long wheelbase also gives it 18 cubic feet of free trunk volume. That's enough room for a full-size spare located under a flat load surface in the trunk storage area and any number of shotguns, RPGs and whatever other riot gear an officer feels like fitting into a trunk.

Need moar room for prisoners to chill out.

[cawimmer430]

Terrible. What a great way to destroy the heritage of the Caprice. The Caprice was always a FULLSIZE car.

To me there will only ever be one true Caprice sedan. The '76. 

[omicron]

I'm partial to the earlier models, too:

[cawimmer430]

I'm partial to the earlier models, too:

[bing_oh]

Terrible. What a great way to destroy the heritage of the Caprice. The Caprice was always a FULLSIZE car.

To me there will only ever be one true Caprice sedan. The '76. 

Well, there's only one caprice of legend in the LE community.



Plenty of room and a Corvette LT1 engine.

[rohan]

Well, there's only one caprice of legend in the LE community.



Plenty of room and a Corvette LT1 engine.

Except that's not it.  Look closer.  

[MX793]

I'm partial to the earlier models, too:

My grandfather has a 65 Impala convertible in that exact same color.

[the Teuton]

My roommate has a Caprice 9C1. Maybe I should tell him that he'll be able to pick up a newer one in a few years. He'll be excited.

[bing_oh]

Except that's not it.  Look closer.  

What did I miss?

[omicron]

My grandfather has a 65 Impala convertible in that exact same color.

He's a man with excellent taste.

[rohan]

What did I miss?

One tailpipe- it's either a v6 or it's a pre-LT1 with the 4 bolt main 350.

But yeah it was a good car.  it wasn't as realiable as the CVPI's (cracking pass side exhaust manifold- heater core issues- overheating when it got a couple years old- low alternator output- rear diff that would go bad at about 80k miles)  and the latest Vic's match it's performance and you had to throw a boat anchor out the window to stop it - but it was a GREAT patrol car.  Even with the stuff the Vic has over it now- similar acceleration- better brakes- better reliability-  it was still a better car. and the exhaust just sounded more cool to.  It was just a badass car.

[bing_oh]

One tailpipe- it's either a v6 or it's a pre-LT1 with the 4 bolt main 350.

But yeah it was a good car.  it wasn't as realiable as the CVPI's (cracking pass side exhaust manifold- heater core issues- overheating when it got a couple years old- low alternator output- rear diff that would go bad at about 80k miles)  and the latest Vic's match it's performance and you had to throw a boat anchor out the window to stop it - but it was a GREAT patrol car.  Even with the stuff the Vic has over it now- similar acceleration- better brakes- better reliability-  it was still a better car. and the exhaust just sounded more cool to.  It was just a badass car.

Ok, I didn't even notice the tailpipes.

The Caprice definitely had its flaws...but so does every other LE vehicle. The biggest was definitely braking. I'm not sure that I can agree that the current CVPI's have similar performance, though. I've always been unimpressed with the CVPI's acceleration, while you could smoke the tires off the line with a Caprice (even after it had been "broken in" with a little patrol time). I'm also not sure that the current CVPI's can match the Caprice's top end speed. The Caprice had alot of pedal...even when you were hauling some serious ass, it seemed the Caprice had more to give.

[Catman]

Ok, I didn't even notice the tailpipes.

The Caprice definitely had its flaws...but so does every other LE vehicle. The biggest was definitely braking. I'm not sure that I can agree that the current CVPI's have similar performance, though. I've always been unimpressed with the CVPI's acceleration, while you could smoke the tires off the line with a Caprice (even after it had been "broken in" with a little patrol time). I'm also not sure that the current CVPI's can match the Caprice's top end speed. The Caprice had alot of pedal...even when you were hauling some serious ass, it seemed the Caprice had more to give.

The Caprice had a better top end.  Ford limits the speed on the CVPI due to drive shaft harmonics or something.  Even the V6 Charger will outrun it.

[MX793]

The Caprice had a better top end.  Ford limits the speed on the CVPI due to drive shaft harmonics or something.  Even the V6 Charger will outrun it.

The V6 Charger (presuming we're talking about the 3.5) has more power than the CV, so I'd expect it to be the faster car whether the Vic was limited or not.

[TurboDan]

LOL. There are still a handful of those last-gen Caprice police cars floating around. My town actually uses them to this day for the Code Enforcement department. Another town around here (80,000 residents, so a larger department) uses them for their "Special Police" which is basically a citizen volunteer force.

[bing_oh]

LOL. There are still a handful of those last-gen Caprice police cars floating around. My town actually uses them to this day for the Code Enforcement department. Another town around here (80,000 residents, so a larger department) uses them for their "Special Police" which is basically a citizen volunteer force.

My department got rid of its last Caprice about 2 years ago. It was long retired from patrol work and was usually used for Code Enforcement or as a daily driver for the officer assigned to our Drug Task Force. You could tell it had a rough career on the street and it was on its last leg when it was sold at auction.

[Tave]

Terrible. What a great way to destroy the heritage of the Caprice. The Caprice was always a FULLSIZE car.

As is this new one.

[93JC]

One tailpipe- it's either a v6 or it's a pre-LT1 with the 4 bolt main 350.

No such thing as a V6 Caprice of that vintage. The only available engines were the 350, 305 and 4.3 L V8.

[the Teuton]

Are we at the point where I need to test drive and review my roommate's LT1 Caprice 9C1?

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

No such thing as a V6 Caprice of that vintage. The only available engines were the 350, 305 and 4.3 L V8.

Yep.

[bing_oh]

Are we at the point where I need to test drive and review my roommate's LT1 Caprice 9C1?

Unless it's in pristine condition, I can't imagine that it retains the power that the LT1 Caprices had back in their hayday. The ones at the end of their fleet life just weren't the same vehicles they once were.

[rohan]

Ok, I didn't even notice the tailpipes.

I was raggin on ya.  Just pointing out that one in the picture didn't have LT-1.

The Caprice definitely had its flaws...but so does every other LE vehicle. The biggest was definitely braking. I'm not sure that I can agree that the current CVPI's have similar performance, though. I've always been unimpressed with the CVPI's acceleration, while you could smoke the tires off the line with a Caprice (even after it had been "broken in" with a little patrol time). I'm also not sure that the current CVPI's can match the Caprice's top end speed. The Caprice had alot of pedal...even when you were hauling some serious ass, it seemed the Caprice had more to give.

I had to dig back into my notes to find it but the 04 LT-1 9C1 tested by MSP was
0-60
High  8.4
Low  8.1
Avg  8.25
top speed 143 but most agencies chose to buy the governor which put it about 125 if I remember right.

08 CVPI
0-60
High 8.76
Low 8.59
Avg 8.63
Ford governs them to 130 I think so who knows what it'll really do.  Maybe 140?

That's pretty close.  You're right it doesn't match the numbers but you gotta admit that's pretty insignificant.  the standard for stopping was different then they had to stop within 160 feet and the testing was completely different than now - easier and not nearly as hard on the brakes.  the old 9C1 wouldn't come close to passing the new standard on the brake testing but that wouldn't be a fair test because none of them would from then.

I'm not advertising for the Crown Vic- you all know my feelings on it.  But it's not the dog everyone thinks it is. Well it is but it's not that much slower than the 9C1 LT-1 was.   Slower yes I was wrong about it matching but it's not that much slower.

No such thing as a V6 Caprice of that vintage. The only available engines were the 350, 305 and 4.3 L V8.

hmmm.  Interesting I didn't know they even made a 4.3 v8 I always assumed it was the 4.3 v6.  Learn something new everyday.  Why even bother to make the 2 engines that were identical in power at 200 hp and about the same torque of  240 ish ??  doesn't even make sense to me.

[MX793]

hmmm.  Interesting I didn't know they even made a 4.3 v8 I always assumed it was the 4.3 v6.  Learn something new everyday.  Why even bother to make the 2 engines that were identical in power at 200 hp and about the same torque of  240 ish ??  doesn't even make sense to me.

The old 305 was only offered up to 1993.  The 4.3L L99 V8 replaced the 305 as the base engine in '94 (the L99 being a newer, GenII small block motor compared to the older GenI 305).

[the Teuton]

Unless it's in pristine condition, I can't imagine that it retains the power that the LT1 Caprices had back in their hayday. The ones at the end of their fleet life just weren't the same vehicles they once were.

It only has 73,000 original miles, but I'd imagine you're right. The car looks like it's seen better days.

[MX793]

It only has 73,000 original miles, but I'd imagine you're right. The car looks like it's seen better days.

If it was formerly in police service, those were likely very hard miles (and a lot of idling).

[the Teuton]

If it was formerly in police service, those were likely very hard miles (and a lot of idling).

It was. The rear seat is vinyl, it has car numbers on the dash, and it still has the bull bars and spotlight on the front. Oh yeah, the rear doors only open from the outside, too.

I wouldn't doubt it being a rougher experience on a car than what most rental cars go through.

[bing_oh]

It was. The rear seat is vinyl, it has car numbers on the dash, and it still has the bull bars and spotlight on the front. Oh yeah, the rear doors only open from the outside, too.

I wouldn't doubt it being a rougher experience on a car than what most rental cars go through.

Yea, I'd say it's probably had a rough life, though 73,000 miles on a cruiser is actually relatively low. It's not unusual for many cruisers to still be in service at 100,000+ miles, though major repair work is a common thing at that point.

[TurboDan]

By the way, those Impala police cars don't seem to hold up well at all. My town bought a fleet of them a few years ago and they've pretty much all been replaced, with the ones remaining looking like they're falling apart. And my town, for the record, is only 20 blocks long and three blocks wide, as it's on an island. The highest speed limit is 35, and there's no real crime to speak of. So it's not like these cars are being put through the ringer.

In one humorous situation this summer, an officer was hiding out behind the "Welcome to Surf City" sign to catch speeders and he perched the car on a grassy, tree-lined median in between two lanes of traffic. Well, an hour later, the car refused to start, and what looked like the whole department was milling around the car with the hood open. They actually decided, in the end, to just leave the car for a couple weeks as a dummy car to slow people down on their way into town.