Michigan test archive

1997 Michigan State Police Patrol Vehicle Test

The first test since 1986 in the books held here with no Caprice in it — and a Tahoe counted among the police package vehicles.

Read the vehicle list before you read a single number, because the list is the story. Eleven vehicles were tested from September 21 to 23, 1996, and the Caprice, in every test held here since 1986, simply wasn’t among them, and no full-size Chevrolet sedan took its place. What arrived instead was a Chevrolet Tahoe, entered as a police package vehicle rather than a special service one, alongside a Crown Victoria that ran on compressed natural gas and a Volvo 850 Turbo. Of eleven vehicles, five were sport utilities.

The numbers then delivered the year’s real verdict. Michigan’s acceleration bar stood at 10.0, 17.2 and 28.2 seconds. The Ford Crown Victoria — the only conventional full-size police sedan in the test — reached 60 mph in 10.05 seconds. It missed the gate by five hundredths of a second, then missed the other two as well. Against the bulletin’s times, the only vehicles that cleared every gate were the two Camaros and the turbocharged Volvo 850.

The Volvo deserves its own line. It reached 60 in 8.02 seconds, 100 in 20.64, ran 145 mph and lapped in 1:23.41 — quicker around the course than the Crown Victoria, the Tahoe and every Jeep and Explorer in the field. A 2.3-litre turbocharged Volvo had out-run the American police sedans in the test.

The 1997 qualification bar. To qualify, a vehicle had to reach 60 mph within 10.0 seconds, 80 mph within 17.2, and 100 mph within 28.2 — then reach 110 mph within one mile and 120 mph within two miles. On brakes, the standard was an average of 25.0 ft/s² across two impending-skid stops from 60 mph, up from 24.2 two years earlier, plus a panic stop held within the vehicle’s own lane, with fade evaluated. The bulletin prints one set of times for “each vehicle”; the 1996 book had set sport utilities 12.3, 23.1 and 44.0 seconds, and the 1999 book set the Tahoe 32.0 seconds to 100, so whether the sedan times applied to the Tahoe and the special service vehicles in 1997 is not settled.

The police package vehicles

Source: NIJ/NLECTC bulletin, October 1996. Acceleration figures are averages of four runs, two northbound and two southbound to cancel wind. Top speeds are the highest attained within 14 miles of a standing start and are reported by the bulletin in whole miles per hour. Braking is the average deceleration rate over two impending-skid stops, with the stopping distance from 60 mph that the bulletin prints, based on that average. All vehicles had anti-lock brakes. Muted rows: a printed qualification figure missed (see below). The CNG car’s 107 mph equals its 1996 figure, which the 1996 book says was a manufacturer’s preset limit; the bulletin says nothing about limiters.
VehicleEngine0–60 (s)0–100 (s)Top speed (mph)DynamicsBrakes (ft/s²)60–0 (ft)
Ford Crown Victoria4.6L PFI10.0528.991291:25.9728.42136.2
Volvo 850 Turbo2.3L PFI8.0220.641451:23.4127.26142.0
Chevrolet Tahoe (2WD)5.7L SFI9.4228.901211:26.2523.99161.4
Chevrolet Lumina3.1L SFI11.0936.111131:30.0624.96155.1
Ford Crown Victoria (CNG)4.6L PFI12.5137.701071:29.4425.45152.1

Gold row: the only police package vehicle to clear all three acceleration gates. The Crown Victoria missed 0–60 by 0.05 seconds, 0–80 by 0.43 and 0–100 by 0.79. The Tahoe cleared 60 and 80 and was 0.70 seconds outside the bulletin’s 28.2 to 100 (see the box above). Two police package vehicles also fell below the 25.0 ft/s² braking floor, set in the 1996 book — the Tahoe at 23.99, and the Lumina at 24.96, four hundredths short. The CNG car missed all three times and never reached 110 mph. Note the Crown Victoria’s braking, though: 28.42 ft/s² and a 136.2-foot stop, the best figures of the ten vehicles braked.

See the original pages: Tables 4 and 3 in the 1997 bulletin
Scan of Table 4 from the 1997 NIJ bulletin: acceleration times from 0 to 20 through 0 to 100 mph and top speeds for 11 vehicles
Table 4, “Results of acceleration and top-speed testing”, four-run averages in seconds. National Institute of Justice, National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center, Michigan State Police Tests 1997 Patrol Vehicles, October 1996, PDF page 2 (printed page 2). Open full size.
Scan of Table 3 from the 1997 NIJ bulletin: vehicle dynamics average lap times for 11 vehicles
Table 3, “Results of vehicle dynamics testing”, the average of each vehicle’s fastest 12 laps. National Institute of Justice, National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center, Michigan State Police Tests 1997 Patrol Vehicles, October 1996, PDF page 2 (printed page 2). Open full size.

The special service vehicles

Source: NIJ/NLECTC bulletin, October 1996. ‡ The bulletin’s braking table carries ten vehicles rather than eleven; the 6-speed Camaro does not appear in it, and the bulletin gives no reason (in 1996 Michigan braked only the automatic, saying the two cars’ brakes were identical). Both Explorers were four-wheel drive. The special service vehicles are not muted and are left unflagged; see the box above. The Explorer 4.0 averaged 24.23 ft/s², below the 25.0 floor, and its 106 mph equals its 1996 figure, which the 1996 book says was a preset limit.
VehicleEngine0–60 (s)0–100 (s)Top speed (mph)DynamicsBrakes (ft/s²)60–0 (ft)
Chevrolet Camaro (6-speed)5.7L SFI6.5116.331571:20.36‡‡
Chevrolet Camaro (automatic)5.7L SFI6.4016.211561:19.7528.18137.4
Jeep Cherokee (2WD)4.0L PFI9.5031.371111:24.8427.21142.3
Jeep Cherokee (4WD)4.0L PFI9.8835.531111:25.9526.02148.8
Ford Explorer 5.0 (4WD)5.0L PFI10.6043.131131:29.3525.63151.1
Ford Explorer 4.0 (4WD)4.0L PFI9.4030.151061:29.4624.23159.8

Gold row: 157 mph — two miles an hour down on the 1996 automatic’s 159, and one of two years in the books held in which the 6-speed out-ran the automatic on top speed; the other is 1994, 153.5 against 152.8. The automatic lapped quicker, at 1:19.75; the 1995 car’s 1:19.20 and the 1996 car’s 1:19.21 were both faster still. And note the two Explorers — the 4.0 was quicker to 60 and to 100 than the 5.0, yet the 5.0 pulled seven miles an hour higher on top. That is how the bulletin prints it.

Complete acceleration data — every 10-mph increment, all eleven vehicles
Averages of four runs, in seconds. Columns follow the bulletin’s alphabetical vehicle order; the bulletin labels every column. Each ladder is internally consistent.
0 to…Camaro autoCamaro 6-spdLuminaTahoe 2WDCherokee 2WDCherokee 4WDCrown VicCrown Vic CNGExplorer 5.0Explorer 4.0Volvo 850T
20 mph1.561.752.211.852.001.982.082.812.201.962.04
30 mph2.512.633.693.133.353.353.514.813.693.393.16
40 mph3.573.685.444.854.834.915.366.835.485.034.37
50 mph4.805.018.086.797.067.237.489.267.896.966.02
60 mph6.406.5111.099.429.509.8810.0512.5110.609.408.02
70 mph8.158.5814.6912.7412.4913.1613.2016.3614.1712.5210.06
80 mph10.2610.7019.7416.5417.4518.5917.6320.8219.3316.2512.88
90 mph13.0913.3126.9521.2923.2824.4822.6627.5825.6522.3216.59
100 mph16.2116.3336.1128.9031.3735.5328.9937.7043.1330.1520.64
Top speed156157113121111111129107113106145

The natural-gas Crown Victoria’s ladder is the one to read slowly. It needed 2.81 seconds just to reach 20 mph — the slowest first increment of any vehicle in the test, sport utilities included — and it never recovered, finishing 2.46 seconds behind its gasoline twin at 60 and 8.71 behind at 100, with a top speed 22 mph lower.

Complete braking data — both phases, ten vehicles
Two impending-skid stops from 60 mph separated by a four-minute cooling period, measured by fifth wheel. The final column is the bulletin’s stopping distance from 60 mph “based on average deceleration rate”. All vehicles had anti-lock brakes.
VehiclePhase I speedPhase I distance (ft)Phase I ratePhase II speedPhase II distance (ft)Phase II rateAverage rate60–0 from average (ft)
Chevrolet Camaro (auto)60.00136.4028.3959.40135.7027.9728.18137.4
Chevrolet Lumina60.70160.0024.7760.90158.7025.1424.96155.1
Chevrolet Tahoe (2WD)60.20163.6023.8460.70164.2024.1423.99161.4
Jeep Cherokee (2WD)60.30142.5027.4560.10144.1026.9627.21142.3
Jeep Cherokee (4WD)60.20146.5026.6159.70150.8025.4226.02148.8
Ford Crown Victoria60.80139.2028.5660.10137.4028.2828.42136.2
Ford Crown Victoria (CNG)60.30151.8025.7660.60157.2025.1325.45152.1
Ford Explorer 5.0 (4WD)60.50155.1025.3860.30151.1025.8825.63151.1
Ford Explorer 4.0 (4WD)60.30163.2023.9660.30159.6024.5024.23159.8
Volvo 850 Turbo60.40144.6027.1460.40143.3027.3827.26142.0

Gold row: best braking of the ten vehicles braked. The Crown Victoria’s second stop, 28.28 ft/s², was harder than eight of the other nine first stops (the Camaro’s second, 27.97, matched that), and its 136.2-foot figure beat the Camaro’s 137.4.

See the original page: Table 5 in the 1997 bulletin
Scan of Table 5 from the 1997 NIJ bulletin: Phase I and Phase II stopping distances and deceleration rates for 10 vehicles
Table 5, “Results of braking test”. National Institute of Justice, National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center, Michigan State Police Tests 1997 Patrol Vehicles, October 1996, PDF page 3 (printed page 3). Open full size.

Ergonomics, communications and fuel

Source: NIJ/NLECTC bulletin, October 1996. Ergonomics and communications scores are totals over an unestablished number of attributes, and this is now settled as far as the documents allow. The federal results bulletins say 29 — in the same sentence, with the same three examples, from one bulletin to the next. Six of them have been read for this note: the NIJ TAP bulletin of September 1994 and the NIJ/NLECTC bulletins of October 1996, October 1997, October 1999, December 2002 and January 2004, for model years 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004. Not one prints the attribute list, so the figure cannot be checked against anything. The full reports, which do print the table, count 28 scored rows — counted directly in 1994, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2005 (the October 1993 bulletin for the 1994 test says 29 beside a book that prints 28), and in the 2005 report eight of the ten columns sum exactly to their printed totals (the two Tahoe PPV columns add up to 211.90 against a printed 210.40). A number repeated in boilerplate from one bulletin to the next is not a reading of any year’s table, so no bulletin’s 29 is quoted here — including this year’s own, which has been read. Scores are graded 1 to 10 by at least four officers, with the communications portion assessed by the Motor Transport Division’s Police Car Prep Section. One vehicle per model was scored. Fuel figures are EPA city estimates from manufacturer-supplied data; the CNG figure is a gasoline equivalent.
VehicleErgonomics & communicationsEPA city (mpg)
Chevrolet Tahoe218.1613.5
Ford Explorer193.3713.5 (5.0) / 15.1 (4.0)
Ford Crown Victoria190.5616.2
Ford Crown Victoria (CNG)187.5317.3
Chevrolet Lumina184.0319.6
Jeep Cherokee181.8915.5 (2WD) / 14.9 (4WD)
Volvo 850 Turbo162.9119.2
Chevrolet Camaro157.6717.0 (auto) / 16.4 (6-speed)

The Tahoe scored 218.16 on the combined ergonomics and communications sheet — 27.60 points clear of the Crown Victoria and the best result in the test by a wide margin — while having the worst brakes of the ten braked. The Volvo, so quick on the track, finished second-to-last on the same sheet.

What the bulletin doesn’t hold

This page is built from the NIJ/NLECTC bulletin of October 1996 — the four-page synopsis. The full 1997 report is not held; the 1996 and 1999 full books print per-lap dynamics data, vehicle specifications and fuller test sheets that the bulletin leaves out.

One internal contradiction is worth recording, because it belongs to the source and not to me: the bulletin’s methodology on page 1 says the final score is “the average of the fastest of at least 9 timed laps”, while the footnote beneath the results table on page 2 says “Average time for fastest 12 laps”. The 1996 book scored some vehicles on their fastest twelve laps and some on nine; the 1999 book averages each vehicle’s fastest twelve.

What 1997 settled

The police sedan lost its bench. For a decade Michigan’s tables had been an argument between big American sedans, with the pony cars off to one side as specialists. In 1997 the argument had few participants: one Caprice-shaped hole, one Crown Victoria that missed the acceleration times, one front-drive Lumina, one natural-gas Crown Victoria that took nearly three seconds to reach 20 mph, and a Volvo that out-accelerated and out-lapped them all. Besides the two Camaros, everything else in the test was a sport utility.

And the Tahoe split the sheet. It was 0.70 seconds outside the bulletin’s time to 100 and stopped worse than anything else braked, then scored 218.16 on ergonomics and communications — the highest mark of the test. Michigan’s tables had spent twenty years measuring how fast a police car could go. The vehicle that led the ergonomics and communications sheet was a sport utility that could not keep up.

Related: how the Crown Victoria outlasted the Caprice is the story these tests tell, year by year. The last B-body Caprice in these books is in the 1996 test; the nameplate returns in 2011.

Source. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice, National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center: Michigan State Police Tests 1997 Patrol Vehicles, October 1996. Vehicles tested September 21–23, 1996. All figures transcribed directly from the bulletin; the margins between them are this page’s arithmetic. Read the original bulletin (PDF) or the abstract at the DOJ virtual library, and see how these videos are researched.