Forsyth County, Ga., was the first to begin using the new model for its sheriff’s department. Sheriff Ted Paxton said his department began using one of the new models in May and eventually will change over its entire 175-vehicle fleet to the Caprice.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, also ordered some of the cars for its police department.
GM says the cars are limited to police use and will not be available to the general public. Some dealers, however, already are advertising that they will sell the car to anyone who wants it.
The rear-wheel-drive Caprice has the most interior volume in the police-car segment, GM says. Its only rear-wheel competitor is the Dodge Charger; Ford has discontinued its Crown Victoria police car, which had been the most-relied-on police vehicle since the Caprice was dropped 15 years ago.
GM says the Caprice has 112 cubic feet of interior space, and that its front seats have been “sculpted to allow space for gun belts.”
The Caprice “provides officers the comfort they need during their long hours in their mobile office,” the automaker said.
Two models are available — the regular cruiser and the “Detective” model.
The detective version, with an “undercover” street-appearance package, will be unmarked and won’t have emergency lights and sirens on top like regular patrol cars. Los Angeles cops call these “slickbacks.”
The Caprice gives Chevy two police cars. The other is the Impala, a front-wheel-drive model with either a V-6 or V-8 engine. There also is a Chevy Tahoe SUV tailored for police use.
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