Since I know a little about this (lol) I'll set the record straight for everyone here....

1.) Police Department's who purchase the Charger at fleet rates pay around $22-$26k per vehicle depending on model, add-ons and number of units purchased.

2.) DART Police use the Charger's for HOV/Traffic patrol. The officers have to accelerate from a dead stop into a "one lane fast lane" were speeds average over 70 mph.

3.) The safety ratings of the Dodge Charger have been proven superior to the Ford Crown Victoria and Chevrolet Impala police vehicles.

4.) Don't look now, but 80 brand spanking new Dodge Chargers (with 5.7 liter HEMI V8s) just hit the mean streets of Dallas manned by the Dallas Police Department's finest!

Many cities, including Arlington, Fort Worth, Mansfield, Plano, Addison, DFW International Airport DPS, Sachse, Garland, just to name a few, have put the new Chargers into service as well.

Finally, Dallas Police discontinued purchasing Ford Crown Victorias in 2003 (actually, after suing Ford Motor Co. over several fuel tank fires/explosions, Ford still to this day refuses to sell the City of Dallas, and any other city who participated in the lawsuit, Crown Victorias.) For a short time, DPD chose to put Dodge Intrepid's into service, but the vehicles held up poorly (it was also discontinued) and in 2005 they began using Chevrolet Impalas exclusively for regular patrol service (for a short time they purchased Ford Explorer's and Expedition's for K9 and other special units.) Currently Dallas Police have continued purchasing the even newer model Chevrolet Impala's and are now phasing in the Dodge Charger's to the patrol divisions as well.

K9 and SWAT Units are now driving Chevrolet Tahoe's, and there are still a few random Z28 Camaro's, and really old Chevrolet Caprices and Crown Victorias that are still beatin' the mean streets of Dallas, Texas.

And there you have it folks.

[Ed Note: Thanks!]

You guys crack me up. Do any of you research your facts, or just shoot from the hip? The DART cars were purchased off the state contract at under 21000.00 for each car alone. The DPD cars were purchased as V6 models and they currently have no V8 Chargers..........

[Ed Note: Yes, this question has been asked before...]

My source states that the Dodge Charger police package vehicles only cost $24,000 each. The Crown Victoria police package vehicles cost $22,000 each.

Either way, they're still cheaper than the Chargers.

2 more cents,

RC

Unless you're willing to post an invoice showing otherwise, I'll stick with my figure which I obtained by calling a Dodge dealership and asking what they sell them for to the various police departments.

RC

The $50,000 you were quoted...is that for one car, or one car in a fleet that is purchased at one time? Is it for a plain car, or one with all the gear needed on a police car? If you think about it, the lights, the grills, the whatevers, that all costs money to make a car a police car.

Also, it would be nice to know which police departments they claim to have sold $50,000 cars to. Maybe their taxpayers would like to know....

That's fully equipped but the trick here is that they HAVE to be sold fully equipped because stuff like the light bars, etc cannot be recycled off the older models that they're replacing.

Instead of buying a new car and transferring all the police necessities to it, they have to get all new stuff when they buy a Charger.

So, where do all the equipment and the old cars go after they are out of service? Auction? Would be interesting to see what the city gets for them.

Some of the equipment from the older police vehicles can be recycled to the new vehicles, with some modifications. However, I wouldn't be surprised if Dallas PD purchased new LED lightbars for their squads as it provides better warning power than the standard halogen lightbars they have currently.

Depending on where you're dropping people off, I would tend to agree with the original commenter. I've had armed police officers tell me that there are parts of the DART system that make them uncomfortable. They don't feel safe and they're carrying a gun!!

RecentCoin

Yes, DART lots can be dangerous. My friend's car was broken into while we took the "Flyer" from Mockingbird Station to the Cowboys game--in 2001.

Since then, nothing bad has happened.

In the meantime, you can get mugged at Northpark, kidnapped at a 7-11, shot at a nightclub, etc...

Life in the big city is full of danger. It doesn't excuse the lack of safety, but it should be in perspective.

Ever been in D.C. at midnight? Ever been in Philly at 1 a.m.? Ever been on the subway at 5p.m. in NYC?

[Ed Note: I've been to D.C. at midnight! But it's quite a bit scarier during the day when Congress is in session!]