1998 Model Year Patrol Vehicle Testing

• NCJ Number: 168616
• Date Published: October 1997
• Length: 8 pages
• Grant Number(s): 1996-MU-MU-K011
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Test/Measurement; Best Practice/State-of-the-Art Review; Program/Project Evaluation

Annotation

The Michigan State Police (MSP), which tests new patrol vehicles as part of its procurement policy, presents a summary of its testing methodology and findings for 1998 models of nine special service package cars and six police patrol package cars.

Abstract

The vehicles tested were the Chevrolet Camaro (automatic), Chevrolet Camaro (6-speed manual); Chevrolet Lumina; Chevrolet Tahoe (2-wheel drive); Chrysler Jeep Cherokee (2-wheel drive); Chrysler Jeep Cherokee (4-wheel drive); Ford Crown Victoria; Ford Crown Victoria (CNG); Ford Expedition (2-wheel drive); Ford Explorer (2-wheel drive); Ford Explorer (all-wheel drive); Subaru Legacy Outback Wagon (all-wheel drive); Subaru Sport Utility Sedan (all-wheel drive); Volvo S-70 T5 Sedan; and Volvo V-70 T5 Wagon. Each vehicle was tested and scored for vehicle dynamics (30 points), acceleration (20 points), top speed (15 points), braking (20 points), ergonomics and communications (10 points), and fuel economy (5 points). Each vehicle was subjected to these six major tests and evaluations. The results were weighted to reflect the relative importance of each attribute as related to MSP operational requirements. The objective and methodology for each of the six tests are noted. 7 tables and summaries of new publications by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center