Impalas in Maryland

[Trhopeful]

I have seen that Baltimore City police and a couple of other agencies in Baltimore City and County are converting over from the Crown Vics to the new Chevy Impalas.

I know everybody is talking about the Dodge police cruisers:

But are any other agencies converting to the Impalas?

And LE's that have impalas what do you think of them?

[Bing_Oh]

I can tell you the the Impala has not been very well-received in my area. Departments have discovered that the Impalas lack the room that is perferred in a patrol car and that front-wheel drive just doesn't stand up to strenuous and continuous use like rear-wheel drive (a lesson that was learned long ago, but has been forgotten by some police administrators).

I'd say that the Impala has proven to be another (generally) failed attempt to create a FWD cruiser.

[PhilipCal]

Impalas

Alabama Department of Public Safety has been a pretty much "traditional" Ford department almost "forever". The Crown Vic is still the predominate vehicle. I understand that the department is purchasing some Dodge Chargers this year. I'm interested to see how well they work out.

[S.O.444]

The sheriff's dept. in my county has about 12 Impalas and 20 Crown Vics. They HATE the Impalas. The front wheel drive characteristics are particularly disliked, the understeer has been reported to be much worse than the CV, the interior room is lacking, off-road capabilities are reduced, and "they don't look cool."

[CTR man]

I would have to say that in the area that I currently reside in, Central California, the LEO's here rely exclusively on the Crown Victoria. With exception of the odd SUV which is usually reserved for the watch commander / shift supervisor and K9. The Crown Victoria just has that intimidation factor going for it. The current Impala's don't. It will be interesting to see if any will pick up any of the Chargers or Magnums.

However, the DOD LEO's where I work use the Impala. Granted though, their area of jurisdiction is only about 2 square miles and they are limited to the military base that I work on. So the Impala suits them just fine. They usually don't get into many pursuits on base. They just lock the base down. They don't have the need for a heavy duty police cruiser like the CV. I will have to say though, the Impala is a big improvement over the car it replaced. *cough, cough* Ford Contour.

[SgtScott31]

You mean the sh**pala??

We are a small department and have six vehicles (not including detective, K9, etc). All six were converted from Crown Vics to Impalas.

4 of the Impalas are 2004's and we have 2 2006's. I'm pretty sure we have spent the same amount of money fixing the 2004's over the last 3 years as the actual cost of them ($$$). The 2006's have already had 2 or 3 water pumps replaced since we've had them (less than a year).

Maybe they are ok as a take-home car, but for 24 hr (round the clock) use, they suck, and do not nearly hold up as well as the CV's.

Man I want my Crown Vic back...

[PhilipCal]

Impalas

Some of the smaller agencies around Montgomery have gone to the Impala. The guys don't like em, for all of the reasons previously stated. Alabama DPS,and the City of Montgomery are CV departments. The CV looks like a police car. The Impala doesn't.

[Sabre]

I used to like the Impala, but after driving it more and more, I dislike it more and more.

1) I find that they perform poorly in less-than-ideal traction conditions. If you get on the gas on wet pavement, or snowy roads, one tire breaks loose and just spins and spins while you go nowhere. With the CV, the limited-slip differential allows you to get moving. I've driven the CV on horribly snowy roads, and see no need for front-wheel drive.

2) I don't think they are durable. We have one that has about 55k miles on it, and I think something in the drive train is off. There is a loud *clunk* when you accelerate from a stop. It sounds like some kind of looseness in the drive line due to wear. Shouldn't happen at 55k, especially when this car rarely goes above 25mph.

3) Front-wheel-drive just plain eats it. It produces a horrible under-steer. It also prevents me from hammering the gas while cranking the wheel and doing a "Batman turn", for when you need to get around now. Not that I think an Impala's drive train would stand up to that maneuver, anyway.

It should be noted that power is no longer an issue with the Impala. The 2007 Impala simply flies. No, really. It's fast. The Michigan State Police tested them nearly even with the CV from 0-60, and faster than the CV from 0-100. Car and Driver magazine tested them and found they turn faster lap-times on a road course than the CV. (MSP turned faster times with the CV, however). I've driven one, and it feels way faster than a CV. It still doesn't give that satisfying V8 *roar* when you stomp on it, though.

[bigcop97]

We have a mix of Crown Vics and Impalas for now, our department is going back to all crown vics when we switch cars out... We HATE the impala.

1) It looks like a tinker car instead of a police car.
2) I dont care what they say, it is not as fast as the CV. I dont feel that secure traveling in highspeeds in it.
3) Way to small, my car is my office so give me some room.

They need to bring back the Caprice Classic. Now THAT was a car.... We had a few when I was hired and they were awesome.

[DOAcop38]

sick and sad- I've sen a few local depts use the Impala(Bell Gardens ,Ca PD-Bell ,Ca PD) but most use it as a detectives or U/C car-not for regular patrol.If the city of L.A. goes for Impalas.I'll retire-those things are made for munchkins and don't hold up well on regular driving ,even fro civies who own them.and ,of course the city WON'T get the V-8.........

[AlabamaCop]

I've noticed that they wear out much faster than a CV. They also don't handle well in the rain. The headlights are horrible. The few that my department has have around 80-90K miles on them and they are worn out. Not only do they continuously have problems with the engine, brakes and transmissions, but the interior of them doesn't hold up either. My department bought a few of them one year to test them out and they've been getting CVs since.

[Trhopeful]

Well I guess no-one likes the impala and Dodge is the alternative to the Crown Vic.

[fiero880]

RE: Impala Vs Vic

Well when our department purchased the impalas last year, everyone thought they looked cool,

Well from electrical issues with the charging systems, rear main oil seals,

and just recently we had to go to the driving range to requal, we had a plain jane dodge stratus with a v-6 non patrol vehicle out perform, out run and just handle so so so much better than the impala. Can we say major major body roll on the impala. It got so bad that they hubcap almost touched the payment. (think about it)

We are now going back to all CV's

Oh yeah in the winter time you have to have the engine running higher than 2,000rpms just to get heat.

And yes the good ole clunk when trying to get somewhere quick.

And nnnnnnoooo room.

[lowdrag]

We had them and are now phasing them out. Pretty much every aspect of those cars were junk. The '06's were somewhat redesigned and were a little beter but not much. The only way I would like the idea of driving one again is if Chevy follows through with what they are talking about for the next generation. Looks like they are thinking about rear wheel drive with a V8.

[DOAcop38]

Well I guess no-one likes the impala and Dodge is the alternative to the Crown Vic.

I'm 6'02 and 250lbs- run a 10.5 hr watch while patrolling in full gear in a ford CVequiped with shotgun and susp cage-barely able to get out and often legs go numb.got a chance to ride in one of those impalas-compared to the impala,the CV was made for the NBA players !!!! face it the impala is not the car it was in the 60s or even the 80s/early 90s-this is the mc donalds of cars-consume fast,throw away the wrapper .just bottom line gut filling.( no quality and not meant to last)