Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Last edited:
Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Used ones are already showing up on the market and some desperate dealers are putting a few miles on theirs and selling them that way.

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1093409_reader-ride-kevin-sullivans-chevy-caprice-ppv-lsx-9c1

One of the local dealers bought a bunch of them thinking they would be more popular than they were and ended up fire-saling them to a local department a year later for 1/2 to 2/3rds off. Said department has since discovered they paid way too much (first year PPVs were badly laid out for cop car use and made for hideously expensive upfitting and very cramped front seats) even so and will probably be dumping them as soon as the budget allows.
 
Last edited:
Buying a used caprice PPV means you're stuck with an interior designed to have police equipment in it. Crown Vic's are easy to fix because they were also sold for civilians. An SS or retired Taurus police car would be a better option.
 
Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

The SS would be a bad choice for that same reason - they sold what, 2500 of them last year? They sold quite a lot more PPVs.

Also, that was the problem with the early Caprice PPVs - they *didn't* have an interior suitable for police equipment!
 
The ebay ads I looked at had interiors that looked like this one:

4e23a8d2-e36d-44aa-9c88-98ee3440bdbd.jpg
 
Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

The ebay ads I looked at had interiors that looked like this one:

4e23a8d2-e36d-44aa-9c88-98ee3440bdbd.jpg

It may have been *intended* for police gear, but it turned out not to be *suitable* for it. First, the console shifter means there has to be dead space to the rear and right of it so you can operate it. Second, that panel is a non standard size and no existing police gear would fit on it. Manufacturers would have to make new gear for it and departments would have to purchase all new gear to fit it. Eventually some made adapters but they didn't work all that well. Mostly they ended up putting the radio rack back at or behind the driver's elbow. Cop cars that aren't actual stripped down dedicated interceptor vehicles need to be column shift.

In the end, GM (or an associate company) made an add on armrest and cup holders, which should take care of missing features. The 2015s feature a column shifter and a more compatible center plate area.
 
Last edited:
Damn, you can't even get a charger for that price anymore.
 
Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

Dogshit. It's a horrible Mitsubishi derived motor and dealers can't get rid of them around here.

You're better off with the 3.5l mini van engine.
 
Last edited:
Dogshit. It's a horrible Mitsubishi derived motor and dealers can't get rid of them around here.

You're better off with the 3.5l mini van engine.

Actually the 2.7 is homegrown: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysler_LH_engine

But beyond that, your spot on, it's a awful choice.

Its slow, and you have to ensure that the previous owner was fastidious with oil changes...even on time changes weren't enough to prevent sludging in some cases.

I know that the 3.5 was planned to go into the 01 - 07 minivans but for some reason that never panned out. I have always wondered why.

Hell even the current gen kept the 3.3 and 3.8 (with the relatively rare 4.0L as a premium option) until the Pentastar arrived.
 
I've driven a grand Cherokee and wrangler with the pentastar. It's more than adequate for the wrangler and ok in the grand Cherokee.
 
How's the 2.7 V6 in the LX Charger? Was looking on mobile.de and the cars aren't horribly expensive.
Its horribly slow. Don't bother trying to race a Prius, the Prius will win by a significant margin. It ranks as one of the slowest vehicles I've ever driven, something like 12+ seconds to do 0-60. Right with the Jetta 2.0L and the Mitsubishi Mirage.
 
Today i saw two fiat coupes, a panda onehundo a 106 rallye and an fj cruiser thing, which looks cool.
As well as a tvr wedge and astra vxr nurburgring, a focus rs mk1 a green mk2.
 
Last edited:
Went for a little cruise yesterday with a buddy of mine, we took route 23 from Jersey to 97 (NY) and made it pretty much halfway up to the end of it before we realized how far we have come. Gotta love fun windy roads with beautiful scenery. I won't disclose the speeds that were achieved but I will say that once the road opened up and we could have some proper fun the motorcycles behind us couldn't catch up till we hit next patch of tourist traffic.
 
Went for a little cruise yesterday with a buddy of mine, we took route 23 from Jersey to 97 (NY) and made it pretty much halfway up to the end of it before we realized how far we have come. Gotta love fun windy roads with beautiful scenery. I won't disclose the speeds that were achieved but I will say that once the road opened up and we could have some proper fun the motorcycles behind us couldn't catch up till we hit next patch of tourist traffic.

So, those would have been Harleys then, not real motorcycles. :p

- - - Updated - - -

I know that the 3.5 was planned to go into the 01 - 07 minivans but for some reason that never panned out. I have always wondered why.

The intake runners didn't fit, IIRC, and when they designed some that did the power was way down so it wasn't worth doing.

- - - Updated - - -

How many miles are on them, averageish?

Somewhere around 100K.

- - - Updated - - -

How's the 2.7 V6 in the LX Charger? Was looking on mobile.de and the cars aren't horribly expensive.

Absolutely terrible.

- - - Updated - - -

Dogshit. It's a horrible Mitsubishi derived motor and dealers can't get rid of them around here.

You're better off with the 3.5l mini van engine.

The 3.5 was actually developed for the LH cars, not the minivans. As rick pointed out, the 2.7 wasn't a Mitsu motor but it was bad enough that it could have been.
 
So, those would have been Harleys then, not real motorcycles. :p
One was a cafe racer looking cruiser, honestly couldn't tell you what it was but it was very stripped down but lean angles suggest it was not HD. The other two guys were on some crotch rockets but I kind of got the feeling they weren't too comfortable with them.
 
Top