What Kind of Man Drives an Ex-Police Car?

Apart from the obvious case of Jake and Elwood Blues, what kind of person drives an ex-police car around town?  Telstar Logistics has long been curious about this question, in no small part because we've been known to harbor ex-cop car fantasies of our own.

This morning we collected a data point. On Cesar Chavez Bouleavard in San Francisco, we noticed a battered Chevy that was still sporting tell-tale black-and-white paint, as well as spotlights mounted to the A-pillars. The vehicle was stock, but for a slight lowering and a set of aluminum wheels that provided a tasteful (if mismatched) touch of bling.

As we were photographing the car, the owner approached, and we got to talking. The gentleman explained that his ride is a 1996 Chevrolet Caprice, and that it had previously served with the San Bruno, California Police Department. He was friendly and enthusiastic, right up to the moment when he agreed to pose for a photo, at which point he instantly transformed himself into the menacing thug shown here.

Which perhaps tells us something about the kind of person who drives an ex-police car... but we're not sure precisely what.

LINKS:
Tales of a Police Car Hobbyist (Confessional and used police car purchasing tips)

Why Buys a Police Car? (From policecarsunlimited.com, a police car reseller)

Copcar.com (Police car enthusiast website, with lots and lots of photos)

Police cars on eBayMotors (eBay search string)

M Squad (A supplier of vintage police car graphics for restorers and enthusiasts)

Comments

[RobinB]

I'm suprised you haven't included Joaquin - Powder mag's car. :D

[Telstar Logistics]

Thanks Robin! I forgot about Joaquin:

http://www.powdermag.com/features/magazine/barcode-joaquincopcar/

[zee]

My first car was actually a former cop car. 1986 Crown Victoria LTD. Best car ever.

[kris]

My best friend had a retired unmarked Ford Taurus Interceptor in high school. That thing was bad ass, it was fast, had great suspension, and cornered like crazy. And the best part was it still had the A-pillar spotlight. Throw a couple of yellow wig-wags in the back, along with a few HAM radio antennas, and you have yourself a proper looking cop car. (The HAM radio rig mounted on the hump, along with a few strategically placed flashlights added to the authenticity).

We would cruise down the freeway doing just-a-tad-over speed limit in the center lane, and watch cars fly down the left-hand and slam on their brakes as soon as they spotted the car. Hell, he could get people to pull over just by getting in the lane behind them and turning on his headlights. Good times.

Oh, there was also the time when he joined in the presidential motorcade as it headed back to the Salt Lake City International Airport. That probably wasn't the best idea though.

[hamster]

Personally I would never buy one but I know a few people who have, and they love them! A high performance car at auction prices, I guess...

[Bruce]

Note that under the LINKS above, "Why Buys a Police Car? (From policecarsunlimited.com, a police car reseller)" has been plagiarized (read stolen) from my eBay guide site by someone who is obviously too lazy to make their own investigations about these vehicles and/or is uninformed about how they operate and are sold to the public. I have informed him of his slick ways and asked that he remove it immediately. Kind of a shame for someone who professes to be in the used police car business to have to steal someone else's information. Must be he doesn't know squat about the cars.

If you want to find out most everything you really want to know about police vehicles, head on over to eBay and read drcop2u's guides. I've driven and owned them for 40 years and put together some pretty good info; info that's apparently worth stealing by some it seems.