“Looks like the police are here,” my friend in Germany nonchalantly chirped at a weekend car show in Nuremberg a few years ago. I turned around to see a small neon green and blue hatchback slowly entering the car show. My heart rate did not increase a single beat per minute; I barely gave the police a second look; and pretty much nobody bothered to pay attention except the folks to whom the officer was talking (their cars may have been blocking traffic or something). This was in stark contrast to pretty much any experience in the U.S. where a police car was involved, and some of that has to do with the fact that carmakers specifically make their police cars look “sinister.” This should change.
The difference between police in the U.S. and Germany (and other countries) is enormous, and spans far beyond simply the types of cars they drive. There’s a lot of history there that I’m not going to get into, nor am I going to get into any sort of police-bashing. I have tremendous respect for many members of America’s law enforcement, and I thank them for putting their lives on the line to protect everyday citizens. At the same time, there are problems with how our police has historically handled… many things.
I consider myself privileged in plenty of ways, and I’m absolutely a straightedge, law-abiding guy, but even I have had to deal with cops more than I’d like to. Back when I lived in Michigan and drove junky, sub $1000 cars, I got harassed by local police regularly. I once got pulled over for — and I kid you not — “looking suspicious” behind the wheel of my crusty, mud-covered 1992 Jeep Cherokee. I also got pulled over, had flashlights beamed into my face from multiple officers, and was handed an enormous ticket that would have cost me three points on my license had I not got gone to court — for passing a cop while going the speed limit in about an inch of snow. I also once got pulled over for passing an officer who was going 70.0 mph on a freeway where nobody goes under 80 (I-70, for you Michiganders); per my old Jeep’s speedometer I was going 71 mph, which was enough for the cop to enjoy a power trip but not enough for him to be able to ticket me. All of this is to say: I’m used to seeing Dodge Chargers and Ford Explorers in my rearview mirror, and the feeling I get when I see those reds and blues is not what it should be.
[Note: Welcome to Sunday Takes, where I (or occasionally Matt) spit out a hot take about cars for your enjoyment/discussion. This Sunday Takes may be going up on Monday; oops! -DT]
[Second Note: There are obviously much, much bigger problems with the U.S.’s law enforcement than the design of police cars, but this is a car website and this is Sunday Takes, so it’s a quick thought about car design. -DT]
Automakers Design Police Cars To Look ‘Sinister,’ And That Needs To Change
I should not be afraid of the police, and while — again, I’ll reiterate that it’s not just car design that causes this fear — it’s not exactly helping that vehicles like the Dodge Charger Pursuit and Ford Police Interceptor shown below are referred to by their manufacturers as “sinister.” Yes, that’s right; cars meant to serve and protect Americans are being designed to look sinister — a term that translates to evil or threatening. From Dodge’s press release:
Behind its sinister face, the Dodge Charger Pursuit offers an all-new standard E-85 capable 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine with variable-valve timing (VVT) and available legendary 5.7-liter HEMI™ V-8 engine with fuel-saving Multi-displacement System (MDS).
Then there’s this from Ford’s press release for the 2010 Ford Stealth Police Interceptor Concept that the company showed at SEMA; look at all the times Ford uses the term “sinister”:
- Revamped grille, lighting, exhaust and interior provide a sleek, yet slightly sinister look designed to blend muscle with mystery
- Sleek, streamlined and slightly sinister, a specialized stealth concept version of Ford’s Police Interceptor will debut at the SEMA
Check out this quote from that same press release:
“The rim section is stacked to give it the illusion of greater width,” [Ford designer Melvin Betancourt] said. “The center of the wheel is glossy black, and the rim is chrome. So we have that racy, hot rod look, but at the same time we’re building a sinister, stealthy, ‘Don’t mess with me’ feeling.”
Why are automakers making police cars look sinister? Why do we want them to convey the message “don’t mess with me”? Shouldn’t we want them to convey “I’m here for you when you need me. I’m protecting you and other motorists, and that may require me to, on occasion, chase after folks”?
Why It Matters What America’s Police Cars Look Like
To explain why the aesthetics of a police car matters, I’m going to reference a well-known military vehicle designer named Nir Kahn. Back when he worked for Plasan, an Israeli company that designs armored military vehicles, he wrote lots of insightful articles on LinkedIn about the particularities of military vehicle styling. One of my favorite articles, published in 2017, is called “The Aesthetics of Armoured Vehicles.” Here are a few paragraphs from that piece, which discusses how up-armoring military vehicles makes them look aggressive, sometimes sowing distrust among those who see the vehicles, and ultimately make certain peaceful missions more challenging:
But the addition of flat and square-edged panels [of armor] ruins the softer appearance of the Jeep-like vehicles and in many ways, although protecting the occupants, this can make their job harder, especially when working in civilian environments where human interaction can be a positive force, and an aggressive appearance can simply lead to increased violence.
The experiences of modern armies operating amongst civilian populations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and of peacekeeping forces and militaries around the world, has led to increased awareness of how the appearance of their vehicles can affect their ability to conduct their missions. Doctrines like “Hearts & Minds” can favour a less aggressive aesthetic, while other users may prefer to create a “Shock & Awe” impression.
[…]
At Plasan we often adjust the styling of our vehicles to the desires of the end user. Sometimes a fine balance needs to be created between projecting a less aggressive image while maintaining a requisite degree of authority. Some customers absolutely want their vehicles to look aggressive; it all depends where they will be operating. The decision about the vehicle’s aesthetic and image is based on a combination of strategic, cultural and political considerations, but most of all it depends on the mission. The needs of a police or paramilitary team are different from the needs of an army, and the needs of an army conducting peace-keeping missions or homeland defence are different from the needs of an army engaged in combat beyond its borders. The Plasan SandCat family has built in design flexibility allowing versions of it to be configured for any of these tasks, whether that means integrating observation or weapons systems, or adopting styling to fit in with the image that the user wants to project.
Making a vehicle look aggressive may make sense for a military trying to intimidate an enemy, but a police force should be considered a peace-keeper, and thus an organization that projects positivity, trust, and community. Police vehicles should not look like hard-core military vehicles.
The Whole Aesthetic Of America’s Police Cars Should Change
I’m not the only one saying this, by the way. It seems, based on a cursory online search, quite a few people agree that American police cars should look a lot friendlier:
Elsewhere around the world, cars do look friendlier. I mean, just check out the police cars in Germany:
And here’s Hong Kong:
I could go on and on, but you can see that visibility is key here. These officers are meant to protect and serve you, so knowing where they are is important. In the U.S., the mentality is sometimes different, as Government-Fleet — a website about fleet vehicles — makes clear when it talks about police vehicle design choices in Colorado (bold mine):
This color scheme was changed to the current color palette for several reasons, said Sgt. John Hahn, Colorado State Police public information officer. At the time, research indicated black, light blue, and gray would give police vehicles a distinctive look, while allowing them to blend with the surrounding environment.
Lighter blue and gray shades also reflect colors used by early Colorado State Police vehicles, Hahn said.
“Our decision was based on the desire to respect the history and background of our agency while still adhering to some smart, tactical strategies,” Hahn said. “We wanted a new, fresh look that adhered to the progressive nature of our agency while staying mindful of the past.”
State police vehicles that can blend into their surrounding environment offer advantages, Hahn said. The Colorado State Police deploys nearly 700 vehicles in its fleet; the majority includes Ford Crown Victoria with some Dodge Charger and Ford Expedition models.
“If we have vehicles partially hidden, it allows us to address motorists who might not be driving legally,” Hahn said.
The mentality of trying to ensure that vehicles are hard to see seems to imply a relationship between police and everyday citizens that is akin to predator and prey, though to be fair, this is not at all the case with many other police departments. The white part of a black-and-white police car is specifically there to help give the cars visibility, and beyond that, in California it is illegal to paint a CHP car all black; contrasting door panels are required to maintain visibility. There are plenty of states that have colorful police cars and not all-black ones; still, those big Explorers and those Chargers are still far from friendly.
The feeling of predator-and-pray is furthered by this USA Today article about LA’s now-defunct, fuel efficient fleet of small BMW i3 police cars:
LOS ANGELES — The sight of a puny, electric-powered BMW police car with flashing red lights isn’t exactly going to instill fear in the hearts of this city’s criminals.
But on Friday, the Los Angeles Police Department showed off the newest member of its fleet, a black-and-white BMW i3, a diminutive electric car meant for tooling around downtowns, not necessarily for a televised high-speed freeway chase.
BMW is loaning the not-so-intimidating police cruiser to the force for a year as part of Mayor Eric Garcetti’s desire to get more electric or plug-in cars into the city’s fleet.
Why is the article seemingly critical of the new police vehicles because they won’t “instill fear” or “intimate” the public? This concept of “Police cars should be scary” is clearly thoroughly engrained into our national psyche, and I understand why; even the names of these police are not great. Most police cars are called the technical term “Police Pursuit Vehicles,” which I’m not a fan of. Just because pursuing criminals is a thing these cars can do, that shouldn’t be these cars’ entire identity. The vast majority of the time police cars aren’t actually in pursuit. What’s more, the Ford “Interceptor” name technically means “a fast aircraft that attacks enemy aircraft” or “Anyone or anything that catches or blocks an object or person in transit, such as a player blocking a pass.” Again, the car’s name is focused on the stopping of people and less so the helping of people.
At least Dodge Chargers are just called Pursuit vehicles and not “Enforcers,” as they’re in Canada. And at the very least, the Ford F-150 has the excellent name “Ford F-150 Police Responder.” There you go, a nice, friendly name that reminds you that police are here for you and not to get you.
Friendly Police Cars Just Make Sense
America’s police is such a loaded topic that I fear a couple thousand words on a Sunday Take could stoke some flames and lead to some heated comments, so I’ll just say that I want to keep the discussion as much about car design as possible.
And on that front, I believe we need more friendly American police cruisers. The BMW i3 above is a great example, and so is the Toyota Prius police vehicle in Hong Kong. There is a very macho, paramilitary-vibe to many American police departments, and I think having officers drive a friendly hatchback instead of a huge, black truck or SUV that frankly looks like a military war machine will knock everyone down a peg and keep them humble and reminded of what their relationship with citizens should be.
The following might make it seem like I’ve lived in LA too long, but I’ll just say it: vibes matter. And you cannot look at the NYPD officer above in that Smart Car and tell me those vibes aren’t way, way better than seeing an officer in a huge, blacked-out Ford Explorer. It conjures a whole different feeling, and what a police car’s design communicates to people matters.
Back in 2016, Mercedes Benz of Portland wrote a great article on the New York City Smart Car rollout. It makes a lot of the points I’ve made in this article, including the fact that, while many will make fun of friendly cars because they’re used to cop cars looking scary, the reality is that a happy police car can help police in accomplishing their peace-keeping mission. From that story (bold mine):
In New York City’s tabloid newspapers and on blogs, they have been derided as “clown cars.” The previous police commissioner, William J. Bratton, described the subcompacts as “midget cars,” even as he announced their rollout last year.
But the city cannot seem to get enough of the tiny, bean-shaped vehicles, which look like curiously shrunken cousins of the iconic New York Police Department patrol car and which never fail to draw the attention, and sometimes the affection, of curious passers-by.
[…]
Among the department’s fleet of thousands of vehicles, including Ford Explorers racing to 911 calls and tow trucks clearing traffic lanes during the evening rush, the Smart car is quite possibly the only one that has its picture routinely shared on social media, described as “adorable” or, in the case of one parked in the West Village, “Cuuuuuute.”
“It’s just so approachable,” said Robert S. Martinez, the deputy commissioner for support services, who oversees the department’s vehicles. “People want to take pictures with it. People want to hug it, they want to kiss it. It’s just amazing.”
[…]
“It’s nice to have something to break the ice,” Michael Arad, the architect who designed the Sept. 11 memorial at the World Trade Center, said. One of the Smart cars parked in Lower Manhattan had recently caught his eye, and led him to joke to officers standing near it, wearing armor and carrying long guns, that they probably could not fit inside.
“I don’t think I would have joked with them if the car wasn’t there,” Mr. Arad said. “They thought the car was funny, too. It draws people out in a period of time when there’s so much tension around.”
Vehicles have often played a part in the politics of policing. In recent years, amid roiling racial tensions between minority communities and law enforcement, activists have pointed to the hulking armored vehicles mobilized in protests across the country as symptomatic of the militarization of the police.
To be sure, this whole article you’re reading isn’t meant to offer a solution that’s going to necessarily lead to radical change of police-civilian relations, but it could help a tiny bit, and above all, the story is pointing out the obvious: Because police are here to help us and not hunt us, their cars should be highly visible and they should definitely not be sinister.
I never really thought of this issue, but now that I read about it, I agree. It probably doesn’t serve a purpose to have police cars look scary.
That being said, I personally like the aesthetics of police cars. A lot of the design features (less chrome, less unnecessary trim/ornamentation) look cool. I generally think police versions of vehicles look better than their civilian counterparts.
This also made me think about atypical police vehicles I have seen. My personal favorite is a Smart Fortwo owned by a sheriff’s office in Georgia. I used to see it patrolling a very nice bike trail (the Silver Comet trail). It was the friendliest looking police car I have ever seen. The deputies driving also seemed like they were enjoying their jobs – I presume patrolling a scenic trail is one of the better law enforcement jobs if you can get it.
Here is a link to a picture of that car (assuming this link works?)
https://www.paulding.gov/ImageRepository/Document?documentId=11897
Are the police cars actually less ornamental? Sure, they have less chrome, but it’s just been replaced by “stealth” lights and black shit. To me, that’s just as ornamental (and thus the same amount of stuff), it’s just tacticool now. If anything, out of all the pictures in the article, the American cop cars have the most stuff on them (Smart Car withstanding, but that’s obviously not representative of most American offerings). The only thing they are missing compared to the other cars, is Hong Kong’s windshield and headlight
barricadesguards.I’m referring to how the cars look aside from the lights/police gear. Retired police cars (i.e. those with the decals and lights removed) look cool. I have also seen some vehicles that were built as law enforcement vehicles but never put into service (so lights and decals weren’t added); I also like those.
These vehicles basically look like stripped down/low spec versions of civilian cars. They only look remarkable because, in 2026, it can be hard to find a low spec/base model for sale on a dealer’s lot.
This is a great article and is exactly the points I make when having similar discussions with people. Having lived in the uk for the better part of a decade, the only interaction I had with a cop was being pulled over because I had a brake like go out. And that was “go fix that please” and that was it.
In the states, particularly in Texas where I live and see it regularly (But I bet it’s in a lot of places) almost all police cars have been swapped for the tactical revenue building cars. The monochrome black/brown/grey that are hidden in driveways, on ramps, etc specifically to find people, write tickets, and generate revenue. Some small towns that have 1-2 cars literally only have these and some of those are replaced with non-typical vehicles (local town near me has a single police car and it’s a black jeep gladiator). San Antonio used to have a law, I’m not sure if they still do, that said all the city cops had to have reflective marked cars, so they would have the markings made in reflective vinyl in exactly the same shade as the paint so they were hard to see.
Really, those tactics do a discredit to police that are there and need to be there to actually do their job and erode the already shaky trust that is there.
I’d actually love to see the police in my community pull people over for more minor traffic violations to tamp down on out of control and inattentive driving, but only if the results of those stops are less scary and expensive (like your UK interaction). That’s another reason to make the vehicles more friendly–we should be doing everything we can to ensure every traffic stop is a non-event. If every stop carries a risk of a bad outcome for either cop or citizen, then the threshold for pulling people over gets higher.
That’s a really great point. Enforcing actual concerns in a friendlier manner as opposed to just trying to generate revenue and building that trust that there is a reason the interaction exists, not just preparing to defend against the outcome of the interaction.
I’d love to see more driving in the left lane or overt safety issues addressed.
Sadly, traffic stops in the US are inherently engineered as hostile engagements. They’re a large source of arrests for a department, as they often coincidentally pull over a driver with a warrant and add an arrest to their metrics, and officers are actively on the lookout for that. Naturally, someone who knows there’s a warrant out for their arrest might be less than cooperative, and there’s no way to know until they’ve gone over the driver’s license, so officers who’ve been trained with that scenario in mind treat everybody they pull over like Hans Gruber just in case.
The other issue is that officers are encouraged to coax confessions and self-incriminating statements out of people they pull over because they might fight the ticket in court, so they’ll deliver a judgmental lecture to prompt an apology or justification, both of which can count as confessions if recorded on the body cam.
This is in my mind a big factor in why American policing is so ‘competitive’: most countries tend to have one police force for a region/province/city which all police officers are salaried employees of and equipment is purchased collectively, while in the US the fragmentation of the police forces means each department has to raise its own revenue and buy their own vehicles and gear, leading to a profit/competition-driven attitude.
Police cars aren’t need to drive revenue. Basic traffic enforcement like speeding, stop lights, and red lights should be done by cameras so Police can do their real job.
Long past time to get police out into their community doing police work instead of writing tickets.
I agree as long as they aren’t using ai cameras to do it. Speed cameras and red light cameras have been a thing for decades. No reason to not use them really.
ehhhh.
Red light running, sure, but speeding on highways isn’t dangerous. I’ve almost been in tons of accidents, every single one was some idiot not paying attention, failing to use a signal, and changing lanes abruptly. Not one single time can I think of someone speeding AND PAYING ATTENTION, causing a problem on the highway.
Distracted driving is a MUCH bigger problem, and there is basically no enforcement.
I was in the suburbs outside of Austin a couple years ago and had to stop to laugh at a police cruiser that was a Charger painted shiny black with “Sheriff” and the logo written on it in matte black. They’d gone full Spinal Tap with it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds7FRivVMgA
That nonsense is all over the Colorado front range. It had gotten so bad before I moved away last year that it became noteworthy when a police car was actually easily identifiable instead of sort of looking like one until you could get at an angle to see if there was matte lettering hidden within the gloss of the paint. It also seemed to make it a lot easier for folks who owned old cop cars or Chargers to cosplay as cops, since no immediately recognizable markings didn’t mean anything anymore where whip antennas and push bars did.
I was in Georgia a couple years ago and saw some state patrol cars with a similar all black car with matte black graphics scheme. Kind of ridiculous on multiple levels.
its on purpose. its called ghost marking.
Oh I’m sure it’s on purpose, didn’t know they called it that though.
I see a lot of depts here in RI that use that same scheme. It pisses me off.
They’re road pirates out to generate revenue.
If stopping speeding was actually the goal, they’d park a car where it was easily spotted and EVEYONE would slow own, not just the one car pulled over.
First off, let’s get to the biggest issue I have with your article. You call it Sunday Takes but clearly use an image of a banana split in the corner! C’mon, Jack! Can’t you tell the difference between a sundae and a banana split?!?!
Secondly, the angry cop car face is just a symptom of an overarching problem in the US that started in the 80’s(?) when the military was initially allowed to sell surplus to police forces around the country. Since then, the “war on crime” has caused police forces around the country to essentially start an arms race to have the biggest, baddest collection of allegedly crime-fighting weapons that has escalated to damn near every piece of equipment an officer carries. Municipalities really need to crack-down on superfluous armament purchases and justify the departments needs based on actual crime rates and types of crimes. Unfortunately, the big North Hollywood shootout from a few decades ago still has departments using the “it could happen here!!!” FUD to get approval for things they don’t really need.
Isn’t a banana split a type of sundae?
I have confirmed that a banana split is, in fact, a sundae.
All banana splits are sundaes, but not all sundaes are banana splits.
I distinctly remember Banana Splits on Saturday, not Sunday
https://youtu.be/XMl6HnhFFIA
Sorry, but I must request that you show your work!
Per Dairy Queen’s menu, their banana split is in a separate category from their range of sundaes. Ergo, the Queen of Dairy, the Supreme Ruler of Frozen Concoctions, hath declared the banana split as a “Royal Treat” distinct from a mere sundae.
I had some arcane and some canonic sources, but as we’ve found, knowledge isn’t power, power is power, and I dare not speak against royalty for fear of having my tongue ripped out and subsequently losing the ability to taste a strawberry cheesecake Blizzard.
At least for rural cops, small town government budgets are run by elected citizens of the small town, and they are probably just as horny for tactical vehicles as the departments.
Edit to add: lots of these purchases are subsidized by federal grants, so the whole thing is an ouroboros
To your point: I grew up in a small college town in Montana, and at some point when I was in college in the aughts I remember there was a big public argument because the local PD was trying to buy an ex military armored personnel carrier (and maybe some other gear). You’re in a town of 30K people that has 0 gang activity and very little violent crime like what on earth sense does it make for them to own this thing. Sadly I don’t remember what happened, but even in those less polarized times Montana was still politically the red side of purple so I’m guessing they got it.
“The police used to watch over the people, now they are watching the people.”
As long as they keep adding military hardware, it won’t matter what sedan or SUV they drive.
Our Star Wars group members usually do the assorted “Night out in America” thing with police open houses. The amount of Cosplaytriot gear they pull out with pride.
Then you had Chevy giving cops was was pretty much a EV Blazer SS just without all the ADAS systems because yes cops need an EV that can go 0-60 in line 3.5 seconds. Though you can actually find these pretty cheap now for like 25k because police departments really didn’t want EV’s.
The Chevrolet Blazer EV PPV sounds interesting , I’ll put that on my list of cars to shop for.
I have a black 2013 Taurus SHO. I did not buy it because it looks like “a cop car”. But you will see on SHO sites dickheads who will put push bars and other crap to make them look like a cop car. On the plus side, my local WM has several parking spaces dedicated to law enforcement vehicles right near the entrance to the store. I don’t, but could, park in those spaces and nobody would even question me. And there are never any LEO vehicles parked in them.
But yes, our police system has shifted from protect and serve to molest and harass over the years. And why do departments need MRAPs?
The “To Serve And Protect” on NYC police cruisers disappeared years ago. Two years ago they removed the “Courtesy, Professionalism, Respect” that had been the most recent replacement. It’s now “Fighting Crime, Protecting The Public”. But that’s on the regular marked cruisers, which by my unofficial reckoning are outnumbered by the stealth predator vehicles.
I lived in a budget friendly part of Jersey City for a spell some years ago while working in NYC, not sure how the cops compare but I though it was pretty wild that one night when they busted someone across the street every single car that showed up (and there was a good handful) was not even stealth, full on undercover cop cars that I assume were civil asset forfeitures. But it just seemed off to me like somehow it feels like when you’re confronted by the police it should be very clear who they are. I get if one or two detectives are in on it but like 4-5 cars?
As long as it’s normal for police to wear wraparound shades, their cars will also look the part.
And don’t forget the thumbheads, shaved bald with thick necks.
This can easily get political, but for many LEAs intimidation and/revenue generation is the point so they’d have no motivation to have friendlier looking vehicles.
I haven’t seen any all black CHP Durangos but I’ve seen a silver and charcoal grey one. That’s likely how they’re getting around the law. For many years I was happy that CHP didn’t have any “road sharks” and all of their vehicles were clearly marked, so I was disappointed when that changed.
Oh, we have the all-black Durangos here in Virginia – The bodywork is gloss and the “Police” logo on the sides are matte.
It’s irritating AF seeing these cosplay bozos driving around trying to be intimidating while texting and eating their donuts.
“Because police are here to help us and not hunt us” this would be news to an awful lot of police.
US policing isn’t about crime prevention, it’s about capture and punishment. Any cop with a thin blue line flag or a Punisher tattoo would like to see crime rates increase, so they can live out their fantasies. Look no further than the new taser gloves.
Also, they really didn’t read those Punisher comics right.
Edited to add : I expect these comments to get spicy this morning.
There are literally cop cars around me that they put the punisher skulls and blue lives matter flags on the back of the squad cars. Anytime I see them I just know that cop is most likely going to be a dick. No idea how or why that would be allowed especially on a town marked cop car.
Punisher hated cops. I always chuckle.
Police in the USA need to do more than just change the look of our police cars. We need to change the mix as well.
There is no reason for police to be driving around in a fleets of 15 mpg Ford Explorers, Tahoes, and Durangos. A 40 mpg Toyota RAV4 will do the job for most of what officers do. Yes, use different cars for highway enforcement. Use vans for transport.
Why does parking enforcement need a vehicle that can pass the Michigan State Police test?
I remember a lot of suburban and city police departments using Taurii and Luminas back in the 90’s. It just made sense – smaller, more nimble, more economical. Save the Impalas and Crown Vics for the highway.
It did make sense. While I get that a dedicated fleet makes service easier I can’t see how that could ever overcome the fuel costs.
I think part of it is budgets too. Police budgets are stretched an inconsistent. Departments don’t know if in 5 or 10 years they will have funds to replace cars and keeping a mixed fleet take more managing to make sure replacements are purchased on time as vehicles exit the fleet. A jack of all trades car gets rid of that risk.
Lots of places use small cars for parking and code enforcement. IE, not far from me in the very conservative bastion of Utah: https://slcgreenblog.slc.gov/2018/08/16/compliance-bolts/
If you aren’t transporting arrestees, you don’t need a car with a cage.
I’m a big fan of “match the tool to the job.” UHP drives fairly obvious Dodge Durangos and Dodge Chargers which exude blandness more than anything (they’re painted all-white). The state park LE vehicle is a Toyota Tacoma with a lightbar.
A lot of states have agreements in which a small muni can coast off of a state-approved list of vendors, so the town of Hamlet, population 1000, doesn’t have to go out to bid when it needs to purchase two new police vehicles; it can simply buy something for which an open / prix fixe contract exists through the state and know it’s getting something approved/endorsed/negotiated (and you see this with everything from software to maintenance vehicles to shovels); I suspect that might be why you see some ludicrously out-of-place vehicles at times.
When the Crown Vic went out of production, I half-seriously suggested that should be it, no new police cars ever. Just hire some Cuban mechanics and make the pre-2011 models last, forever if needed.
Now I think strict size limits – 13′ max length, 5′ max height, 2500lb max weight excluding batteries and equipment – would not only benefit the cops’ public image but create a steady baseline of demand for new subcompact cars that would ensure continuous availability of them to the general car-buying public.
NYPD has some Smart and Toyota IQ patrol cars, but they drive them on the sidewalks sometimes. They used to have Cushmans, I don’t know if that’s a size increase or decrease. Oh, and Vespas. When I lived in the east village a flying wedge of twenty cops in riot gear on Vespas would make you check your egress options.
It’s quotes like this that give away the game when it comes to the US perception of police and their relation to the populace.
Are there hardened, career criminals out there? Sure. But 99% of the interactions police have with the public aren’t with hardened career criminals, and even those that are, the people on the other side are still human beings. This isn’t some Batman super-villain shit where cops are out hunting the “bad guys”, but we sure seem to love that concept as a society.
Anyway, I mostly came here to vote for the bright blue cars with the gumball flasher on the roof that Michigan State Police use. When I was there I was annoyed to see more and more State Police vehicles ditch the gumball and try to be “stealthier.”
Terrific article. Design of the things around us sets the tone of our interactions, and I don’t think it helps anyone (police and regular citizens alike) when the vibe of police vehicles and uniforms is a mix of Batman and Black Ops. The question of why police departments feel a “sinister” look helps them serve the community probably is worth some examination but I suspect they think it helps with recruiting and retention and one wonders if that actually skews the recruit pool in unhelpful ways. It’s not disrespectful to the police to ask whether they can be doing things better–far from it.
It might be worth revisiting some other assumptions about public service vehicle design. Fire vehicles in the US for example are absolute covered with very high intensity lights (which firefighter loooooove, flashing lights are awesome!) but my recollection for a decade or so ago is that research actually showed that more lights actually reduced safety as they tended to cause sober drivers to panic and intoxicated drivers to fixate on them and drive straight at them.
My thoughts exactly- Police want tough, cool, sinister cars because they think of themselves as tough, cool, sinister guys and would feel emasculated in brightly colored commuter cars like are used in Europe.
But as it turns out, that type of personality isn’t the best for positive policing outcomes.
This is very true. I even found myself a little hesitant asking one a question about parking at a C&C last year when pulling into one with my youngest. The police officers were very chests puffed, dark sunglasses on, standing cross armed in front of their murdered out Charger with the cherries and berries on.
No commentary other to say that I am the demo that should be least afraid of police officers, and if I had a little pit in my stomach rolling down the window and asking a question at such a benign community event, it says something about something.
Before I start sharing my very much asked-for opinions about law enforcement, I have a couple editorial comments:
Ford’s comment about the rim section is included both in the bullet list and out of it after the photo
I remember a past Autopian article talked about editing an ad out of a screenshot, and I support that idea. For consistency, I’d have liked to see the Carfax ad edited out from the Reddit screenshot as well. They didn’t pay The Autopian for an ad slot in this article, and they shouldn’t get a free one.
I think the more amusing thing is that David cruises Reddit on a desktop and without an adblocker on. I’ll go ahead and zap that ad. 🙂
Browsing on a desktop without adblocker is actually a lower standard of living than shower spaghetti.
My son ate ramen in the bathtub yesterday; he’s on his way!
^Can staff get COTD?
I agree, they need to change their uniforms as well. If you gear up like you are going to a warzone, then that mindset sticks with you.
I’m not sure where I’ve seen it, but there’s the concept of the old “revolver and baton” version of policing where that was basically all an officer carried (and hand cuffs).
It’s obviously not a perfect setup, but it’s a good contrast to the current “standard” equipment.
I’m Canadian, but the ever increasing presence of undercover units up here drives me insane. Subterfuge is NOT how community policing should be.
The RCMP doing actual undercover stings? Absolutely.
But I am all for local PD adopting the Euro police livery. Visibility, general presence, and the appearance of “we’re here to help” along with community efforts go a LONG way for good will.
I remember in the 90s, the local PD used to sponsor things like Bicycle Safety events for kids. Showing how to stay safe when riding. They used to work WITH the local FD for fire safety events.
Hell, even just showing up to a car meet, popping the cruiser hood, and then just walking around and talking to people, NOT to find ticketable offences, helps a ton.
I see a few departments in my county still doing this sort of thing still, but 100% agree.
I thought the mounted police only rode on mooses? And sipped on Tim Hortons coffee sweetened by only the best Canadian maple syrup. Have I been lied to my entire life?
You forgot aboot sipping the coffee while watching ice hockey played on the naturally-frozen ponds in the back yard!
Damn your right I forgot all NHL games up there are played on people’s back yards.
Though I wish that was a thing I would love to go to our nothernly neighbors and watch a Blackhawks game in someone’s back yard haha
Getting drunk and staring at water is like, 90% of Canadian pass times.
Be it a lake, river, pool, or frozen water in the form of hockey, we love just drinking and looking at water.
We have a lot in common.
Hey, I’m from West Michigan; “the lake” is my entire life plan from age 50-dead. You won’t hear any complaints from me about loving the water!
I DEFINITELY didn’t waste company time this morning looking at lake properties within an hour of my work.
They ride horses, and although it’s mostly ceremonial now, there’s a troop of 32 of them that ride horses
ALL RCMP horses come from one specific breeder that’s like 20 minutes from my house.
Yeah would assume any that are “mounted” any more are for events or places where motor vehicles would be a pain.
Also cool to know about the breeder being near you.
The rest of them are only mounted when they go to the taxidermist
You’ve got one kinky taxidermist.
A bigger issue may be the ‘ghost’ liveries many local departments use on their vehicles. Hidden light bars and few obvious visual tells at a glance for that ‘Gotcha!’ moment. Police cars were readily identifiable when I was a child, heck the local cops in our town drove V6 Celebrites.
Yeah, I was also going to say that while I approve of making police cars look more friendly, an important first step is making police cars look like police cars.
More should be like the Michigan state police vehicles with the giant single light on the middle.
PA State Troopers had those in the 80’s as well on their Crown Vics.
I ran into one of these the other day. Was a Fjord explorer just in a dark blue but no markings at all (but no roof rack) but I noticed the lights on the grill and the antennas on the back. Thought it might just be a retired car but nope the Christmas tree lit up when he saw another po-po on the side of the road behind a vehicle (not sure in the car was broken down or getting a ticket). But yeah f those unmarked “undercover” cars that are used for anything besides undercover work.
You can get pulled over by anything here in Florida. I saw a guy get pulled over by a Sonata once. But the actual marked cars recently started driving around with the berries on steady. They say it’s for visibility, and it works. You can spot a Sherriff’s Office Tahoe or F150 from a half mile away.
Police vehicles in Hawaii are often privately owned so they can be any vehicle but they all have an illuminated blue light on the roof so you can easily tell.
Oh yeah when I used to go to school in Chicago for a few semesters I saw all type of vehicles that were cop cars. Saw a plain jane white Hyundai (think was also a sonata) just flying past people with its lights on. Hell a suburb I lived around got a Viper in a (think drug bust) and of course they plastered it all up with they local cop logoing to parade it around.
I miss the days when you could tell a cop at night because of the Crown Vic (and later, to a lesser degree, Impala) headlights.
This is a fantastic article on a sensitive subject. Well said and put, thank you.
I ama fan of the bright Euro designs, myself. In CT, they have very hidden cars, and I’m not a big fan.
That said, I just had a lady tell me I had a Sim card inside me, but she didn’t know where it was, and that I should go to the sim card doctor to find out. I wish the police were better at helping people like her.
If the police cars look friendly, how are they going to recruit high school bullies on a power trip to serve?
The cars are a symptom of the American obsession with aggression, reinforced by politics, media, and entertainment.
I think we could recruit high school bullies much more efficiently if we started issuing daggers with eagle cross-guards and Hugo Boss uniforms with skull brooches.
Is that why Jeeps sell, and why those people put angry eyes on them?
I don’t find that any of the American cars are actually sinister looking. Those just look like marketing terms for the people in charge who actually buy these things. It is already hard enough in the US to find people who want to be police, and offering a neon Prius isn’t going to help.
It might! Shoot, you promise me one of those i3s and I might volunteer!
If someone’s interest in serving their community is contingent on looking badass, their motivations are suspect and they shouldn’t be trusted with authority.
Like Chronometric said above, “If the police cars look friendly, how are they going to recruit high school bullies on a power trip to serve?”
The Crown Vics never looked intimidating to me, regardless of livery, probably because they had soft, rounded edges. I think the overall shape of the vehicle plays more of a role than anything. And considering even my plain ole 2025 Chevy Trax is cosplaying “serious and angry,” I don’t think this will ever improve until car design philosophy as a whole moves away from its grimdark Christopher Nolan phase.
It’s difficult for anything capable of actually pursuing a suspect to not look intimidating when so many USDM cars are designed to be intimidating from the start. Every Kia looks like it wants to eat your face. Lexus grilles are big enough to consume you whole. Trucks and BOF vehicles get taller and more imposing every generation. Even the Miata is angry now.
Stuff like the E39 5 Series, GMT400/800, early Cadillac Art & Science, 90’s Lexii… They all had this aura that said “I’m here and I mean business, but I’m not super pissed about it.” Cars went from looking like 007 to The Predator. Everything is brimming with rage and malice.
Now a car with a 120hp 3 cylinder and a CVT has more fake vents than race cars have functional ones. Everything is squinty with odd, jagged features and scary cyberpunk lightning signatures. Even if they painted the PD’s Tahoe’s pink with glittery purple metal flake like a Barbie Power-Wheels, they’d still be gargantuan vehicles with angry, unsettling faces.
The angry-ification of car design in general is a problem. My bigger issue is the fact that automakers market these cars being “sinister.” It’s utterly absurd to me.
We are becoming a more and more fragmented and angry society.
As someone who recently took ownership of a classic Mini, it’s wild how much a “friend shaped” car changes the mood of the general public around you.
We need more happy car design.
I feel like this is more the automakers doing what the PD’s want and using the appropriate buzzwords to sell cars. While I agree with you for the most part, I don’t think the problem is strictly the automakers. They just wanna make what sells and they use appropriate verbiage to get there. If the police were asking for brightly colored cars with reflective strips, the PR’s would be full of terms like “visibility” instead of “sinister”. Sure, Dodge could bring a hi-viz Charger to SEMA and say some things about how visible it is and how the palette was chosen specifically to instill a sense of calm and security to those around it, but you know as well as I do how many of those they would move.
Oh absolutely. I shouldn’t have said “the bigger issue.” These are all symptoms, if we’re being real.
Great thought-provoking article, David. I’m sure the automakers marketing these cars as being “sinister” is giving the police departments what they are asking for in discussions, surveys, and focus groups. It’s utterly absurd to me too, just like the general public trends of angry eye grilles on Wranglers, massive “I can drive over anything/anyone” vehicles, and the increasing uncivil behavior toward fellow citizens in general.
That’s the de facto standard for how to sell a pickup truck or SUV in America these days.
It’s all anger, all the time. Just look at half the Jeeps, and most of the Silverados.
I never viewed the ND Miata as angry. The big grill looks like a laughing mouth, the headlights as eyes squinting with laughter, and the indentations to the left and right of the grill are dimples. But that’s just me.
This is a positive way to look at it. Well done.
Kinda evil laughter, though… Especially when compared to the NC or the early 20-teens Mazda design language.
My ’14 Mazda5 looked downright giddy lol.
I think the ND’s expression is less evil villainy and more youthful mischief. It looks like a child that landed a solid water balloon throw, not a mustache-twirling bandit who just tied a damsel to a train track.
Very valid, and either the cartoon bandit or the mischievous kid is still preferable to “Predator here to eat your family” face
Just the other day, I was saying that Maryland should bring back the yellow livery that state police cars used in the 1970’s and early 80’s. Not only was it a more friendly, approachable look, it was likely a safety improvement as it made the cars more visible when responding to roadside emergencies.
I’m all for it!
Our Ford explorer looks sinister?
The design of police vehicles in the US is one of the many reasons why I do not have the same sense of respect or trust for the police as David does. Too many police officers seem content to harass and intimidate civilians rather than protect them, and who they are harassing and protecting has been shown to be divided sharply across racial and socio-economic lines. This is why I am of the opinion that even if you join the police force because of ostensibly altruistic reasons, you most likely won’t have the effect you hope, because it’s the culture of American policing itself that is the problem, not necessarily individual cops. It’s why I don’t believe the “it’s just one bad apple” line, unless they’re referring to the rest of the phrase: “a bad apple spoils the bunch”. And this intimidating, aggressive, stealthy design of police vehicles is a symbol of said culture. Would redesigning police cars to be more like Europe’s hi-vis units help? It would be a start, sure. But just a start.
I am friends with the local PD Lieutenant and he is a great guy who doesn’t like the attitudes of a lot of his fellow officers. He feels that he is more of a “Customer Service” officer (his words!). I am fortunate to live in a town that doesn’t own a bunch of military gear, which is really intimidating.
I grew up in an Army family, so it’s sorta engrained in me to show respect to folks who serve/put their lives in jeopardy for our safety. But I totally understand your viewpoint.
Firetrucks and ambulances don’t look sinister. Police cars shouldn’t either, since these are all ostensibly fields focused around public safety.
American policing needs a lot of reforms. “Defunding” (or more accurately, reallocating or reprioritizing) should absolutely be a part of that conversation. You’re kind of asking for it here, DT. “You want new cop cars? You have to buy ones that are neon blue and yellow and friendly looking.”
I have removed the line about “defunding,” primarily because, if I’m honest, I’m clearly not well versed on the issue. And it’s not the point of the article.
American cop cars look like Decepticons because they are driven by American cops, so it’s perfectly on brand.
To Punish and Enslave