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.
To paraphrase the words of the immortal Elwood Blues to his recently emancipated brother, Jake; "It's got a cop motor, cop tires, cop suspension, and cop shocks." There was a time when Dodge was a major player in the field of supplying vehicles to the police agencies of America. In the early '70s, the black and white Dodge Monaco as exemplified in the Blues Brothers film was a common sight patrolling the streets of this country. As the '80s faded into the '90s, Chrysler dropped out of the cop car market as its entire lineup went front-wheel drive.
Earlier this decade, rear-wheel-drive cars returned to the PentaStar range and the Ford Crown Victoria faced a new competitor in the form of the Dodge Magnum and Charger. When Autoblog asked Chrysler for a chance to spend some time behind the wheel of a Charger police special, the car-maker turned over a demo unit in black and white regalia complete with a full light kit and "Dodge City" police markings all over the sides. In spite of the prominent "Out of Service" markings across the windshield and trunk, the look proved to be a little too authentic for some. In true Autoblog fashion, however, we were "On a mission" of some kind and went the extra mile for you our loyal readers.
