Autoblog

Demonstrating that good cop cars can also go bad, Chrysler has announced a recall of Dodge Chargers and Magnums equipped with the police package and column shifter. While the cars aren't exactly taking sides with the villainous, they are having difficulty displaying the proper transmission gearshift position on the dash. This error is leading to more than a few headaches for men and women in uniform, and can be downright dangerous if they're not in the gear they think they are. The recalled cruisers are 2006-2009 models, and they number more than 20,000 strong (including the 150 sold to Kuwait). Dealers will reportedly add a locking mechanism to the gearshift cable to keep the displays honest.

[Source: Good Car Bad Car]

Leave the Saint Bernards at home, honey, we've got something better. The Subaru Mountain Rescue Vehicle was made for the National Ski Patrol -- an organization we had never heard of until we saw this truck. On its tiptoes it has 14 inches of clearance, and the staid passenger car driving compartment is balanced by the diamond plate floor and steel walls in the rear. Its got more flashing lights than K-Mart, and a 9,500-pound winch in case you need to rescue snowcats. And apparently, when ski time is over, you can hop in the toboggan that's mounted on the roof. Or you can put injured people in it. Your choice. Have a look at the mighty mountain rescue ranger vehicle in the gallery of high-res photos below.

It's generally never a good idea to try and outrun the the local constabulary, but that would be particularly true if you happen to be in Italy within the jurisdiction of Prefect Antonio Manganelli. Manganelli heads up the Italian State Police and he just took delivery of the latest police package special from the crew at Lamborghini. This time around the Bolognese automaker added the decals and lights to its new Gallardo LP560-4. Somehow the Lamborghini techs have managed to integrate all the gear that modern police officers regularly use into their diminutive supercar. The car is equipped with a video recording system so officers can record evidence and provide entertainment for the boys in blue back at the station by transmitting it wirelessly in real time. The usual array of gun racks and radio equipment is also supplemented by a cooler in the front compartment that can be used to transport separated body parts to the local emergency room, or that finger you just shot off a "potential" suspect. The Rome police have been using a Gallardo cruiser for the last five years and accumulated 87,000 apparently problem-free miles while the Bologna police have racked up 62,000 miles in another example. You can check out video of their new police Lambo after the jump.


[Source: Lamborghini]

Law enforcement officers have more reasons to be excited with Carbon Motors' release of a few more images and a video of its purpose-built Police car. The E7, as it is currently known, looks to be much more capable than the thousands of Crown Vics, Impalas and Chargers currently roaming our streets due to its rather amazing list of specifications and gadgetry. Included are a diesel engine capable of accelerating to 65 in under 7-seconds, composite body panels attached to an aluminum structure, 360-degree built-in police-duty LED lights, suicide rear doors with hose-out passenger compartment and a separate front compartment with plenty of techno-goodies. Radar, LoJack, an automatic license plate recognition system, radiation and biological threat detectors and Carbon's exclusive On-board Rapid Command Architecture (ORCA) which features a large touch-screen display plus keyboard (see above), are all included. We think that this sucker should get the job done rather nicely. Click here for a short video of the E7 in action.


[Source Fox News Chicago via Jalopnik]

For the 2009 model year, Mitsubishi in Japan has tweaked the Evolution with a slightly revised instrument cluster and center console, along with offering a GSR Premium model that pulls all the right kit from the range-topping MR model.

Included in the package is a set of 18-inch BBS wheels, color-matched fender scoops, fog lamps and Bilstein shocks, while inside a pair of leather swathed Recaros and a Rockford Fosgate sat-nav audio system with nine speakers rounds out the Premium model.

Prices for the GSR Premium are set at 4,798,500 with the five-speed manual, while the Twin-Clutch SST model will set our friends across the Pacific back 5,050,000 yen.


[Source: Mitsubishi via Carscoop]

Sheriff Buford T. Justice will now be able to chase your Bandit *** all over the country if he's protecting and serving behind the wheel of a 2009 Dodge Charger police car. The Charger's 368-horsepower HEMI is nearly double what Pontiac was putting underneath the screaming chicken back in '77, and gives the cop-spec Charger the most power of any police car on offer; plenty of snort underfoot when it's time to apprehend individuals devoid of respect for the law. Hot pursuit will last longer, too, with Chrysler's Multi Displacement System switching off half the cylinders in the V8 to conserve 20-percent more fuel. The venerated Ford Panthers were rugged and inexpensive for fleets, but the Charger gives officers a firepower upgrade while also offering a chassis that's far more capable. It's never been advisable to attempt running from the police, but that's now an extremely bad idea with the upgraded Charger on the beat. We discovered this first hand, not when we were arrested, but when Dodge gave us a cop-spec Charger to play with for a week, which you can read about here. Press release after the jump.



[Source: Chrysler]

We haven't heard a peep from Carbon Motors in a very long time, but that doesn't mean the company hasn't been hard at work on its purpose-built E7 police car concept. To prove that it's moving forward, the automaker-to-be has just released two shots of a real E7. What's more, the company will show the car to prospective clients – police officers – at the upcoming 115th Annual International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Conference and Exposition. Unlike curent cop cars driven by these officers, usually police-spec Crown Vic Interceptors, the E7 was specifically designed just to do police duty. Instead of a 4.6-liter Ford V8 engine underhood, the E7 will feature a clean-diesel engine capable of running on biodiesel. With a cockpit derived from jet-fighter technology that includes built-in radar, radiation and biological threat detectors among other techno goodies, the E7 sounds suitably high-tech for real-life crime fighters of the modern era. To further highlight this point, check out the video, along with the press release, after the break.


[Source: Carbon Motors via Jalopnik]

Question: What's more intimidating than a group of Australian Police roaming the streets in search of drunken party-goers? Answer: Aussie Police driving Hummer H3s with the same intent... supposedly. The Hummers in question were provided by the General in all-black before getting custom livery from the authorities, complete with a blue-and-red flashing light bar on top. Police hope to be a bit more conspicuous in the SUVs, which will be prowling the nightclub districts in Melbourne. There may be a few problems with this scheme, as there will only be five such vehicles making the rounds and they are only equipped with the standard five-cylinder powerplant.

We think the Police should have visited another side of the General and raided the Holden parts bin for flat-black Mad Max-style Police cars made from the HSV W427. For added attention, a straight-through set of true duals with Cherry Bombs would surely make these mean machines stand out from the crowd much more than a few Hummers with their measly inline-five engines. Seriously, which would you rather meet in a drunken state after a night out partying?

[Source: Drive.com.au via Next Autos]

Porsche has delivered two customized V6 Cayennes to the Stuttgart fire department, both heading into service with the city's EMS unit. Like the Cayenne emergency vehicles built in the past for use at Porsche facilities, the new EMS trucks have been modified to carry a stretcher and a variety of medical equipment. GPS tracking lets home base know where the trucks are at any given time, while pedestrians and other drivers are told to get the Hell out of the way with a new siren that adds a hiss to the mix, supposedly making it easier for people to determine which direction the truck's coming from. As for the rest, it's your basic ambulance tech: flashing lights all around and high-visibility white-and-orange paint. Plus, if Germany ever decides to host ambulance drags, the Stuttgart team is in good shape right off the bat. (Hey, if it's good enough for news guys...)

[Source: Porsche]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Kuwaiti cop-issue Chargers

Choosing them for their portrayed image of "strength and power," officials in Kuwait have ordered 150 Dodge Chargers to be modified as police vehicles. As the Charger is the leading volume vehicle for Chrysler LLC in the Middle East, the choice doesn't come as much of a surprise. Delivery of the cop cars, however, isn't expected to take place for another couple months. In the meantime, the lot of them are heading to Canfield Equipment Service in Michigan where they'll be fitted for their new Kuwaiti roles in traffic, security, and emergency response. (Here's hoping none of our readers get a chance to check them out from the back seat once they're in service).

[Source: Chrysler]