Police Cruiser Tradition

[BlueSky]

The subject of retro came up with a police officer I know. He said, "I have a buddy with the Michigan State Police. They have Chargers but still have the old 'bubble gum' roof light." Figured it had to be BS, but it's not:

Here's one with no roof lights but a throwback "hood light" (also visible in pic above, vehicle facing camera on left). These date from the days when the cruisers had no red lights and a trooper would pull over a vehicle by coming up next to it and waving at the driver. The hood light sign was used at night. That answers my question about why it's mounted front to back.

Pretty cool all in all. There's something to be said for tradition I suppose.

[GriffinM6]

That's pretty cool. I think a more modern font would make the hood ornament not so out of place, because the car itself looks sleek. However, that shade of blue is what makes the car really great.

[nash61]

Not quite as radical as yours, but the Hamilton Police recently went back to their roots

BEFORE:

AFTER:

INSPIRATION

Would have been cool if they had brought back at least one yellow one (we don't have yellow cabs)

[BlueSky]

Nice job by Hamilton. Looks sharp.

Agree on the Michigan State Police blue, but in today's budget-squeezed environment, I'm surprised they're willing to pay for that much customization. There seems to be a trend with the Georgia State Patrol moving away from this...

...and more towards factory colors with the fluorescent orange markings. Has to cost a lot less than custom paint.

[JayJaxon]

Wow, GSP moving away from the blue cars huh? I haven't been back there in a couple of years, but that is something I always remembered about the cars over there. City was usually black and white, our county was brown, and GSP was blue with silver.

[CS85]

I've been pulled over by one of those michigan cops. It's as goofy as it looks.

[aci]

I guess the Georgia ones are good for sneaking up on people. It's debatable whether or not that is a good thing; I like to think that seeing police cars driving around on a regular basis is more of a deterrant than being pulled over by a cop driving a car that blends in.

Example: A taxi company (conveniently called '5-0 Taxi') in Niagara has cars that look like this:

Niagara Regional Police's cars look like this:

I think it's an effective strategy; everytime someone sees a cab, they're inclined to slow down because it just might be a cop car. This is even moreso now that the police cars have low-profile lights on the roof.

With the Michigan ones, I think they threw functionality out the window for the sake of retro. That sign on the front just looks dumb; it has no real positive effect, and probably cost quite a bit to add on. I'm indifferent to the bubble light, considering it actually performs a function, but it's not the most aesthetic light/siren system in the world, that's for sure.

As far as Hamilton goes, I like the new black-and-whites. They really stand out. People might confuse them with the OPP's highway patrol cars, but that's not really a bad thing. A cop's a cop, right?

[e15725]

Not quite as radical as yours, but the Hamilton Police recently went back to their roots

BEFORE:

AFTER:

INSPIRATION

Would have been cool if they had brought back at least one yellow one (we don't have yellow cabs)

Proud to say I've driven 3 out of 4 of those cruisers throughout the years

[nash61]

Not quite as radical as yours, but the Hamilton Police recently went back to their roots

Proud to say I've driven 3 out of 4 of those cruisers throughout the years

Dare I ask which ones?

Also, here's what the Michigan State cars look like in action.

[Drew22]

Where I am from has changed styles recently. Seem to be more standard than before because I've seen other county's sheriff offices have similar cars.

OLD (Still used, but no longer purchased/painted in this style)

NEW

[nash61]

Where I am from has changed styles recently. Seem to be more standard than before because I've seen other county's sheriff offices have similar cars.

NEW

All that black and vegas gold makes me think Penguins.

[BlueSky]

Where I am from has changed styles recently. Seem to be more standard than before because I've seen other county's sheriff offices have similar cars.

OLD (Still used, but no longer purchased/painted in this style)

NEW

I live in Cherokee as well. The new black ones are okay but I think the black lettering overlayed on the gold stripes is harder to read than the gold-on-white was, and that lettering on stripes looks more cluttered in general.

[tBBP]

The subject of retro came up with a police officer I know. He said, "I have a buddy with the Michigan State Police. They have Chargers but still have the old 'bubble gum' roof light." Figured it had to be BS, but it's not:

Here's one with no roof lights but a throwback "hood light" (also visible in pic above, vehicle facing camera on left). These date from the days when the cruisers had no red lights and a trooper would pull over a vehicle by coming up next to it and waving at the driver. The hood light sign was used at night. That answers my question about why it's mounted front to back.

Pretty cool all in all. There's something to be said for tradition I suppose.

As I'm sure you can imagine, I encountered many a blue cruiser while Peterbilting through "pure" Michigan. (Can one of y'all Michiganders tell me what that whole "Pure" thing is about, by the way?) I imagine the troopers themselves might actually be half-embarrassed to drive those super-sleek dark blue Chargers--with a giant bulky red bulb stuck to the top of it. And each and every single time I go through there and see one of those Chargers, they never cease to make me crack up to myself.

I've been pulled over by one of those michigan cops. It's as goofy as it looks.

Basically, that. (Though I will say: even with that bulky light up there, MI 5-0 is VERY GOOD at hiding in the shadows. And they hate them some big trucks. One of the two worst states I've been through as far as state police stalking goes, the other being Georgia.)

[tBBP]

And actually, this is an interesting topic here, as I often found myself comparing trooper cars from one state to another. I don't think I've identified a favorite yet, but I do think I have a two nominees for the ugliest:

The top one is Tennessee; the bottom I'm sure CS85 recognizes. (It's Illinois.) And I nominate those, even though Florida's aren't much better than either:

Then, there's Massachusetts state boys, who either must've stolen their designs from the Anne Arundel County (MD) county police, or the other way around:

I will say, though, that I do like the simple of effective "forward triangle effect" shared by Arkansas (the ONLY thing I like about that state), and Idaho, the latter of which has been like that forever, according to the locals up that way--and still to this day the only state in which I've seen them use Magnums (the wagon variant of the Charger):

And then, there's my single favorite squad car look of all I've seen--though it's also the LAST one I want to see in my rearview mirror:

I think it was back in '06 that the Virginia State Police started going with this design. And anyone who's had the honor and pleasure of being pulled over and issued a citation in Virginia knows why that's the last cruiser you want to see flashing lights at your rearview.

[slapshot]

Mass State Police has been using that navy w/light blue doors design for many years now, at least as far back as the Crown Vic days.

[BigBubba]

Not quite as radical as yours, but the Hamilton Police recently went back to their roots

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I think that was done for all OPP Cruisers, but I could very well be wrong. I'm certain that at least some other parts of Ontario did that, though.

[nash61]

Not quite as radical as yours, but the Hamilton Police recently went back to their roots

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I think that was done for all OPP Cruisers, but I could very well be wrong. I'm certain that at least some other parts of Ontario did that, though.

It was done for OPP cruisers, too, but Hamilton Police isn't part of the OPP.

[BigBubba]

Whoops. I was confusing "Police in Ontario" with "Ontario Police".

[theSLVRBCK]

Here are some of the ones I have to deal with daily ...

the new 2011 Chargers in FHP guise:

the FHP Marauders:

I still really would like to know the story behind the paintjob. They have used it forever, I know that. But why, I have no idea.

As for the local boys...

Jacksonville Sherriff's Office made the jump to Chevys a few years back. They just don't have the same oomph as the Dodges do:

If it all goes down how it should, I hopefully will be driving one of these in the very near future:

[theSLVRBCK]

Well .. a quick wikipedia search gives me this as the reason for the paint job on the FHP cars:

"The black-and-cream paint scheme is actually camouflage to help the vehicle blend in with the road surface (black) and parched grass medians (cream). The paint adds $657 to the purchase of each vehicle. Prior to sale, the patrol defaces the cars so that they cannot be misconstrued as official law enforcement vehicles. The defaced, two-tone paint deflates each car's resale value by approximately $400."