Michigan test archive

1992 Michigan State Police Patrol Vehicle Test

A Camaro runs 152 mph, the first vehicle in these books over 150, a Jeep Cherokee becomes the first four-wheel-drive vehicle tested in them, and two Caprices carry governors.

Twelve vehicles were tested, and a second, anti-lock Crown Victoria appears in the braking results only. The acceleration, top-speed and braking runs were made at the Chrysler Proving Grounds on 14 September 1991, the dynamics on the 1.635-mile Michigan International Speedway road course, and the book was published that month. Six were police patrol package cars and six special service vehicles. Michigan’s own bid specification names two models, the Chevrolet Caprice and the Ford Crown Victoria, with the engine at the maker’s option, and the book scores the Caprice 5.7 against Ford’s new 4.6-litre Crown Victoria: the Caprice led the weighted score, 4.33 against 4.93 (the lower total is better; the contract goes to the lowest bid after that score is applied, and the book prints no bids). The book scores the two automatic pursuit cars against each other as well, and prints results for the rest; its preface says the report is meant to help other agencies choose their own 1992 cars.

The fastest of them was a Chevrolet Camaro, in the second year of Camaros in the books held here: the 1991 bulletin has two. The 5.7-litre automatic ran 152.0 mph, reached 100 in 17.29 seconds and averaged 1:20.56 around the road course. Every one of those is the best in the books held to that point: the 1991 automatic Camaro had run 150.00 mph, 17.31 seconds and 1:21.08. It is the first vehicle in these books over 150 mph; the 1991 car reached exactly 150. Ed Sanow’s report on the test says the lap average “broke the MSP record set last year”. The 1991 test’s full book is not held, but its results bulletin is, and the best lap average in it, presumably the record Sanow meant, is that Camaro’s 1:21.08. Sanow also says the pursuit-car results were “exactly the opposite from last year”; the bulletin does not show what he meant. The two Special Service Mustangs ran 136.1 and 136.0.

The book also holds two firsts that later pages had placed in other years. The Jeep Cherokee, driven in full-time four-wheel drive at the manufacturer’s request, is the first sport utility and the first four-wheel-drive vehicle in the books held, a year before the 1993 one. (The 1985 file records a Jeep Wagoneer in service at the Wakefield post from 1984, but as a field evaluation, not in the test.) And two Caprices, the 5.0 with the 3.08 axle and the station wagon, had what the preface calls “governors” which “limited the top speeds to what are shown”: 114.0 and 113.0 mph. They are the first individually limited top speeds in the books held here; the next are the five vehicles the 1994 preface says have “electronic limiters”, and the 1995 bulletin is the first to mark electronic limiters in its tables (this book’s own tables already footnote its two governed Caprices).

The 1992 requirements. The purchasing specification (Mich. 3905-0010, July 1991, printed as the book’s pages 1–7) covers a four-door patrol sedan, make Chevrolet Caprice or Ford Crown Victoria, and calls for anti-lock brakes and a driver’s air bag. To qualify, a car had to reach 60 mph within 11.7 seconds, 80 within 20.3 and 100 within 35.1, averaged over four runs, and 110 mph within two miles; the top speed is the highest reached within fourteen miles. Braking was four decelerations from 90 mph at 22 ft/s², then one impending-skid stop from 60; after a four-minute wait the sequence was repeated and followed by a panic stop, checked for fade and for stopping straight within the lane. The two measured stops are averaged. Of the acceleration data sheets, only the Caprice 5.7’s and the Crown Victoria’s fill in the time-requirement column. Every car ran with a clean roof and no spotlights.

The police patrol package cars

Source: 1992 Police Patrol Vehicle Evaluation and Purchasing Program, summary pages 29–30, dynamics pages 24–25 and brake sheets pages 39–43. Acceleration is the average of four runs at the Chrysler Proving Grounds, 14 September 1991; the quarter mile is time @ mph. Dynamics is the average of the fastest 12 of 16 laps (Caprice 5.7, Crown Victoria) or the fastest 9 of 12 (the others). Brakes is the average deceleration rate of the two measured stops; the 60–0 figure is computed from it with the book’s own formula (page 27). ** = vehicle equipped with a governor, which the preface says limited its top speed to the figure shown: a governed maximum.
Vehicle	Engine	0–60 (s)	0–100 (s)	Top speed	¼ mile	Dynamics	Brakes (ft/s²)	60–0 computed (ft)
Chevrolet Caprice	5.7L TBI	8.92	25.87	133.0	16.89 @ 82.9	1:26.40	21.38	181.1
Ford Crown Victoria	4.6L PFI	9.86	28.58	124.1	17.48 @ 81.3	1:27.63	23.81	162.6
Ford Taurus	3.8L PFI	10.13	30.29	128.0	17.66 @ 78.8	1:27.11	24.62	157.3
Chevrolet Caprice (3.08:1 axle)	5.0L TBI	11.40	35.53	114.0 **	18.44 @ 75.4	1:29.23	—	—
Chevrolet Caprice (2.56:1 axle)	5.0L TBI	11.75	36.40	128.1	18.43 @ 76.7	—	—	—
Chevrolet Lumina	3.1L PFI	12.06	41.87	111.0	18.67 @ 74.1	1:31.78	23.10	167.6
Ford Crown Victoria (ABS)	4.6L PFI	braking results only					26.41	146.6

Gold row: the lower weighted score of the two bid sedans. The Caprice took the dynamics, acceleration, top-speed and ergonomics columns and lost only braking and fuel. Its 133.0 mph is the fastest sedan figure in the books held to that point, three tenths of a mile an hour above the 1978 Plymouth Fury’s 132.7 and three above the 1991 Caprice 5.7’s 130.0, and its 25.87 seconds to 100 is the quickest by a sedan since that 1978 Fury’s 24.78.

Its braking is the other half of the story. With anti-lock brakes, front discs and rear drums, the Caprice averaged 21.38 ft/s², a computed 181.1 feet from 60 mph, the lowest rate of any car in the test but its own station wagon. The Crown Victoria that ran everything else had conventional brakes and four-wheel discs and averaged 23.81, although the specification calls for anti-lock brakes (page 2). A second Crown Victoria, with ABS, appears only in the braking results; it averaged 26.41, and that is the figure the book scores for Ford (page 57). Ed Sanow’s report on the test in Law Enforcement Technology (February 1992) adds that Chevrolet was evaluating rear disc brakes for the Caprice.

Measured against the book’s qualification times of 11.7, 20.3 and 35.1 seconds (page 6), the Caprice 5.7, the Crown Victoria and the Taurus clear all three. The 3.08-axle Caprice misses 80 and 100 mph (21.03 and 35.53), the 2.56-axle car misses 60 and 100 (11.75 and 36.40), and the Lumina misses all three (12.06, 22.61 and 41.87). Page 6 applies the times to all vehicles submitted, and the special service Cherokee misses 80 and 100 too (20.40 and 40.39, page 31). The book names none of them as failing; Ed Sanow’s report says the Caprice 5.0, the Cherokee and the Lumina “failed to meet the MSP requirements for acceleration”. Every vehicle timed reached 110 mph inside two miles; the slowest to do it was the Cherokee, at 1.53.

The two 5.0 Caprices were entered with different axles, 3.08:1 and 2.56:1. The 3.08 car is quicker to 60 and to 100; the tall-geared 2.56 car is quicker at 70 and 80 mph and ran 128.1, but the 3.08 car’s 114.0 is a governed figure, so the comparison of top speeds is not like for like. The 2.56 car was submitted for acceleration and top speed only.

See the original pages: the 1992 book’s summary pages for these cars

Scan of two summary pages from the 1992 Michigan State Police book: acceleration, top speed, quarter mile and braking for the police patrol package cars — “Summary of acceleration, top speed and brake testing” for the police patrol package cars, with the braking figures in the lower half of each page. State of Michigan, Department of State Police, *1992 Police Patrol Vehicle Evaluation and Purchasing Program*, PDF pages 39–40 of the scan (printed pages 29–30). Open full size.

The special service vehicles

Source: 1992 Police Patrol Vehicle Evaluation and Purchasing Program, summary pages 31–32, dynamics page 25 and brake sheets pages 44–48. Columns as in the table above, except that dynamics is the average of the fastest 12 of 16 laps for the two automatics, Camaro and Mustang, and of the fastest 9 of 12 for the others. Only one Mustang was brake-tested; the summary prints its figures under the automatic. ** = vehicle equipped with a governor, which the preface says limited its top speed to the figure shown: a governed maximum.
Vehicle	Engine	0–60 (s)	0–100 (s)	Top speed	¼ mile	Dynamics	Brakes (ft/s²)	60–0 computed (ft)
Chevrolet Camaro (automatic)	5.7L PFI	6.55	17.29	152.0	15.10 @ 93.4	1:20.56	26.74	144.8
Chevrolet Camaro (5-speed)	5.0L PFI	7.24	18.40	150.0	15.49 @ 91.8	1:21.56	26.32	147.1
Ford Mustang (automatic)	5.0L PFI-H.O.	8.08	21.92	136.1	16.25 @ 88.2	1:22.54	22.45	172.5
Ford Mustang (5-speed)	5.0L PFI-H.O.	6.78	18.99	136.0	15.41 @ 91.6	1:22.69	—	—
Jeep Cherokee (4WD)	4.0L PFI	10.64	40.39	113.3	17.90 @ 76.3	1:27.79	25.73	150.5
Chevrolet Caprice Station Wagon	5.7L TBI	10.00	31.26	113.0 **	17.52 @ 78.3	1:29.06	20.52	188.7

Gold row: the fastest and quickest vehicle in the test. Its 17.29 seconds to 100, 152.0 mph and 1:20.56 lap average are the best in the books held to that point, against the 1991 automatic Camaro’s 17.31, 150.00 and 1:21.08, and its 15.10-second quarter mile beats the 1990 five-speed Mustang’s 15.22 (the 1978, 1985, 1986, 1989 and 1991 pages have no quarter-mile times). Its 6.55 seconds to 60 is not a record: the 1991 Camaro ran 6.51. It also had the best braking rate in the test, 26.74 ft/s², without anti-lock brakes. Steendam’s 1:19.68 was the quickest single lap printed. The 5.0-litre five-speed Camaro ran 150.0. Scored against each other, the automatic Camaro beat the automatic Mustang 0.45 to 10.30; the Mustang lost on every column except fuel (page 57).

The Cherokee lapped in 1:27.79, 0.16 seconds behind the Crown Victoria and quicker than the 5.0 Caprice, the Lumina and the station wagon. Its 25.73 ft/s² was the fourth-best braking rate of the ten vehicles brake-tested. It was slow in a straight line: 40.39 seconds to 100 and 113.3 mph.

The station wagon averaged 20.52 ft/s², a computed 188.7 feet. Of the braking rates on the archive’s year pages, only the 1978 Ford LTD II’s 19.19 is lower.

See the original pages: the 1992 book’s summary pages for these vehicles

Scan of two summary pages from the 1992 Michigan State Police book: acceleration, top speed, quarter mile and braking for six special service vehicles — “Summary of acceleration, top speed and brake testing” for the special service vehicles, with the braking figures in the lower half of each page. State of Michigan, Department of State Police, *1992 Police Patrol Vehicle Evaluation and Purchasing Program*, PDF pages 41–42 of the scan (printed pages 31–32). Open full size.

Complete acceleration ladders — every 10-mph increment

Averages of four runs, in seconds, from the summary pages 29–32. ** governed (see above). The book also prints the distance to reach 100 and 110 mph.
0 to…	Caprice 5.7	Crown Vic	Taurus	Caprice 5.0 (3.08)	Caprice 5.0 (2.56)	Lumina	Camaro auto	Camaro 5-spd	Mustang auto	Mustang 5-spd	Cherokee	Wagon 5.7
20 mph	1.90	1.99	2.03	2.23	2.31	2.19	1.55	1.72	1.84	1.79	2.05	1.82
30 mph	3.13	3.65	3.37	3.80	3.99	3.74	2.45	2.66	3.22	2.58	3.57	3.16
40 mph	4.58	5.35	5.14	5.77	5.87	5.83	3.61	4.00	4.65	3.84	5.27	4.93
50 mph	6.57	7.44	7.47	8.41	8.54	8.64	4.94	5.30	6.12	5.12	7.79	7.24
60 mph	8.92	9.86	10.13	11.40	11.75	12.06	6.55	7.24	8.08	6.78	10.64	10.00
70 mph	11.74	12.94	13.62	15.63	15.44	16.36	8.68	9.38	10.49	9.25	14.05	13.69
80 mph	15.68	16.65	18.15	21.03	20.19	22.61	11.14	11.77	13.20	11.77	20.40	18.26
90 mph	20.10	21.84	23.62	27.56	27.68	30.79	13.93	14.82	17.09	14.78	28.50	23.61
100 mph	25.87	28.58	30.29	35.53	36.40	41.87	17.29	18.40	21.92	18.99	40.39	31.26
Top speed	133.0	124.1	128.0	114.0 **	128.1	111.0	152.0	150.0	136.1	136.0	113.3	113.0 **
Miles to 100	0.49	0.53	0.54	0.65	0.66	0.76	0.30	0.32	0.39	0.35	0.74	0.57
Miles to 110	0.76	0.81	0.90	0.97	0.97	1.30	0.44	0.44	0.56	0.49	1.53	0.89

The Mustang five-speed is the odd ladder: quicker than the Camaro five-speed from 30 to 70 mph, level with it at 80, still four hundredths ahead at 90, and then 0.59 seconds behind at 100, 18.99 against 18.40.

Braking — both measured stops for every car

Source: summary pages 29–32 and the brake sheets, pages 39–48. Each stop is an impending-skid stop from about 60 mph after four decelerations from 90 mph at 22 ft/s²; Phase II follows a four-minute wait. The rate is computed from the initial speed and the stopping distance, and every one recomputes. The final column is the stop from exactly 60 mph computed from the average rate. Every car passed the panic stop: no severe fade, straight, within its lane.
Vehicle	Brakes	Phase I speed	Phase I distance (ft)	Phase I rate	Phase II speed	Phase II distance (ft)	Phase II rate	Average rate	60–0 computed (ft)
Chevrolet Camaro (automatic)	conventional	59.5	141.4	26.93	60.2	146.9	26.54	26.74	144.8
Ford Crown Victoria (ABS)	ABS	60.3	145.0	26.97	60.4	151.8	25.85	26.41	146.6
Chevrolet Camaro (5-speed)	conventional	59.9	146.8	26.29	59.6	145.0	26.35	26.32	147.1
Jeep Cherokee (4WD)	ABS	60.8	153.2	25.95	60.9	156.4	25.51	25.73	150.5
Ford Taurus	ABS	60.5	159.5	24.68	59.7	156.1	24.56	24.62	157.3
Ford Crown Victoria	conventional	60.3	162.3	24.10	60.5	167.4	23.52	23.81	162.6
Chevrolet Lumina	conventional	60.1	166.8	23.29	60.6	172.4	22.91	23.10	167.6
Ford Mustang (automatic)	conventional	59.8	171.8	22.39	60.7	176.1	22.50	22.45	172.5
Chevrolet Caprice	ABS	59.3	177.1	21.36	59.6	178.5	21.40	21.38	181.1
Chevrolet Caprice Station Wagon	ABS	60.4	188.6	20.81	60.2	192.8	20.22	20.52	188.7

The two Crown Victorias, the same model with and without anti-lock brakes, averaged 26.41 and 23.81 on the same day, a difference of 16.0 feet in the computed stop. The 1993 bulletin, the 1994 book, the 1995 bulletin and the 1996 book repeat the comparison. The Caprice and its wagon are the two lowest rates in the test.

Vehicle dynamics at Michigan International Speedway — every lap, every driver

Four timed laps per driver over the 1.635-mile road course. The book’s rule is at least twelve timed laps with at least three drivers, scored on the fastest of at least nine; four cars ran with four drivers and were scored on their fastest twelve of sixteen. The 2.56-axle Caprice did not run. The preface records that the Caprice and the Taurus each had a right-front tyre changed for severe chunking, the Caprice after four timed laps and the Taurus after eight.

Lap times as printed on pages 24–25. Drivers: Ring, Steendam, Lubahn and Reaves. Every overall average recomputes from the printed laps. One Mustang lap (Ring, lap 3) is printed with a correction over it; it reads 1:22.26.
Vehicle	Driver	Lap 1	Lap 2	Lap 3	Lap 4
Chevrolet Camaro (automatic)		overall average 1:20.56
	Ring	1:20.48	1:21.29	1:20.75	1:21.12
	Steendam	1:19.68	1:20.06	1:20.00	1:20.15
	Lubahn	1:20.05	1:20.98	1:20.95	1:21.29
	Reaves	1:21.82	1:21.23	1:21.80	1:22.08
Chevrolet Camaro (5-speed)		overall average 1:21.56
	Ring	1:21.87	1:21.66	1:22.60	1:21.65
	Steendam	1:21.05	1:20.93	1:21.27	1:21.84
	Reaves	1:21.76	1:22.35	1:22.01	1:22.29
Ford Mustang (automatic)		overall average 1:22.54
	Ring	1:22.25	1:22.81	1:22.26	1:22.26
	Steendam	1:22.34	1:23.04	1:23.61	1:23.75
	Lubahn	1:22.22	1:22.91	1:22.76	1:22.07
	Reaves	1:23.27	1:22.89	1:22.83	1:22.87
Ford Mustang (5-speed)		overall average 1:22.69
	Ring	1:22.24	1:22.06	1:22.76	1:22.75
	Steendam	1:23.48	1:23.20	1:23.09	1:23.27
	Reaves	1:23.43	1:22.76	1:23.08	1:22.24
Chevrolet Caprice		overall average 1:26.40
	Ring	1:26.77	1:26.50	1:27.61	1:27.34
	Steendam	1:24.95	1:26.26	1:27.30	1:26.45
	Lubahn	1:25.87	1:25.90	1:26.92	1:26.97
	Reaves	1:26.55	1:26.94	1:27.02	1:26.67
Ford Taurus		overall average 1:27.11
	Ring	1:26.52	1:27.22	1:27.17	1:27.29
	Steendam	1:26.90	1:26.80	1:27.44	1:28.68
	Reaves	1:27.45	1:27.20	1:27.76	1:27.65
Ford Crown Victoria		overall average 1:27.63
	Ring	1:26.34	1:26.29	1:26.82	1:26.47
	Steendam	1:28.08	1:27.83	1:28.19	1:28.05
	Lubahn	1:28.13	1:28.85	1:28.33	1:29.58
	Reaves	1:28.28	1:28.92	1:28.75	1:29.15
Jeep Cherokee (4WD)		overall average 1:27.79
	Ring	1:28.09	1:27.90	1:28.07	1:27.66
	Steendam	1:28.51	1:27.21	1:27.76	1:28.22
	Reaves	1:28.25	1:27.76	1:27.72	1:27.94
Chevrolet Caprice Station Wagon		overall average 1:29.06
	Ring	1:28.47	1:29.01	1:28.84	1:29.04
	Steendam	1:29.44	1:29.68	1:29.79	1:29.70
	Reaves	1:29.07	1:29.26	1:28.94	1:29.48
Chevrolet Caprice (3.08:1 axle)		overall average 1:29.23
	Ring	1:28.33	1:28.50	1:29.10	1:28.63
	Steendam	1:30.00	1:30.29	1:30.22	1:30.75
	Reaves	1:29.90	1:29.57	1:29.49	1:29.59
Chevrolet Lumina		overall average 1:31.78
	Ring	1:31.37	1:31.49	1:31.29	1:31.80
	Steendam	1:31.61	1:32.31	1:31.81	1:31.95
	Reaves	1:32.81	1:32.81	1:32.68	1:32.41

In the Crown Victoria Ring was more than a second a lap quicker than any of the other three drivers. His four laps average 1:26.48, within a tenth of a second of the Caprice’s overall figure.

See the original pages: the 1992 book’s lap sheets

Scan of the 1992 book's two vehicle dynamics pages: lap times by driver for every car, with each car's overall average — “Vehicle dynamics testing”: four laps per driver, with each car’s overall average, calculated from its best 12 or best 9 laps as footnoted. State of Michigan, Department of State Police, *1992 Police Patrol Vehicle Evaluation and Purchasing Program*, PDF pages 34–35 of the scan (printed pages 24–25). Open full size.

Ergonomics, communications and fuel

Source: pages 50–51 and 53. Totals over 29 attributes graded 1 to 10: 26 scored by at least four officers for comfort, instrumentation, controls and visibility, and three by the Motor Transport Division’s police car preparation section for dashboard, trunk and engine-compartment access. The Caprice, the Camaro and the Mustang are each scored once. EPA city to the nearest tenth is the figure scored; the Crown Victoria and Taurus figures are Ford estimates, not yet approved by the EPA when the book was printed.
Vehicle	Ergonomics & communications	EPA city (mpg)
Chevrolet Caprice	212.12	14.0 (5.7) / 17.4 (5.0)
Chevrolet Caprice Station Wagon	204.76	16.5
Ford Taurus	196.76	17.1
Ford Crown Victoria	189.44	18.5
Jeep Cherokee (4WD)	188.26	14.1
Chevrolet Camaro	177.98	16.8 (auto) / 16.5 (5-speed)
Chevrolet Lumina	169.37	18.6
Ford Mustang	169.17	17.6 (auto) / 16.7 (5-speed)

The largest part of the Caprice’s 22.68-point margin over the Crown Victoria, 9.74 points, is the front seat. The officers gave the Ford 3.57 for bucket seat design, 4.43 for depth and 5.86 for fore-and-aft adjustment, against the Caprice’s 6.86, 6.86 and 8.29, and the preparation section gave its trunk 4.75 against 7.50. The position of the Ford’s automatic door lock switch scored 1.00, the bottom of the scale, which the book defines as “totally unacceptable”. Of the nine front-seat items the Ford won only headroom, 9.14 against 7.86. The two pony cars scored lowest on the rear seat: 2.43 and 2.43 for the Camaro, 2.29 and 2.57 for the Mustang.

Fuel economy went the other way. The Caprice 5.7’s 14.0 mpg city, the lowest in the book and a tenth below the Cherokee’s 14.1, against the Crown Victoria’s estimated 18.5, cost it 2.43 weighted points, more than any other column on either car.

Hardware: horsepower, axle ratios, test weights

From the book’s informational hardware description summary, pages 19–21. Test weight as printed. The summary has one column for the Caprice 5.0, with the 3.08 axle; the 2.56-axle car and the anti-lock Crown Victoria have no column of their own.
Car	HP (SAE net)	Axle ratio	Test weight (lb)	Transmission (model)
Chevrolet Caprice	205	3.42	4,144	Automatic, overdrive (4L60)
Ford Crown Victoria	210	3.27	4,032	Automatic, overdrive (PKC-E)
Ford Taurus	155	3.37	3,339	Automatic, overdrive (PNA-EK)
Chevrolet Caprice (3.08:1 axle)	170	3.08	4,121	Automatic, overdrive (4L60)
Chevrolet Lumina	140	3.33	3,263	Automatic, overdrive (4T60)
Chevrolet Camaro (automatic)	245	3.23	3,458	Automatic, overdrive (4L60)
Chevrolet Camaro (5-speed)	230	3.42	3,390	5-speed (MK6)
Ford Mustang (automatic)	225	2.73	3,221	Automatic, overdrive (PKA-FE)
Ford Mustang (5-speed)	225	3.08	3,183	5-speed (REP-AY)
Jeep Cherokee (4WD)	190	3.55	3,525	Automatic, overdrive (AW3043LE)
Chevrolet Caprice Station Wagon	180	3.23	4,335	Automatic, overdrive (4L60)

On paper Ford’s new 4.6 out-rated the Caprice 5.7, 210 horsepower against 205, in a car 112 lb lighter; the Caprice was still 2.71 seconds quicker to 100. The Camaro 5.7’s 245 is the highest rating in the field and the Lumina’s 140 the lowest. The Cherokee is the only vehicle on the page with four-wheel drive and, at 8.5 inches, the most ground clearance. Tyres, from the printed size and rim rows: the Caprice 5.7 on P235/70R15 102V; the Crown Victoria, the Caprice 5.0, the wagon and the Cherokee on P225/70R15 100H; the Taurus on P215/70R14 96H; the Lumina on P215/65R15 95H, the Mustangs on P215/65R15 95V and the Camaros on P245/50ZR16.

How the bid was scored

Source: page 57. Each category is weighted (dynamics 30, acceleration 0–100 20, braking 10, top speed 20, ergonomics 10, fuel 10); a car scores zero in a column it wins and otherwise its shortfall behind the winner, as a fraction of the winner’s figure rounded to three places, times the weight. The lowest total wins. Ford’s braking figure is the ABS Crown Victoria’s. Every figure recomputes.
Vehicle	Weighted dynamics	Weighted acceleration	Weighted braking	Weighted top speed	Weighted ergonomics	Weighted fuel	Total weighted score
Chevrolet Caprice	0	0	1.90	0	0	2.43	4.33
Ford Crown Victoria	0.42	2.10	0	1.34	1.07	0	4.93
Chevrolet Camaro (automatic)	0	0	0	0	0	0.45	0.45
Ford Mustang (automatic)	0.75	5.36	1.60	2.10	0.49	0	10.30

The scores turn into money: 1% of the lowest bid, multiplied by the total, is added to each bid before the cheapest adjusted price wins, though the agency pays the actual bid. The book prints no bid prices. On this copy, figures are handwritten in the printed “actual dollar adj.” column: 54.00 beside the Camaro and 1236.00 beside the Mustang, each its total multiplied by 120.

See the original page: the 1992 book’s competitive evaluation

Scan of the 1992 book's competitive evaluation page: raw scores, deviation factors and total weighted scores for the Caprice and Crown Victoria and for the Camaro and Mustang — “Michigan State Police competitive patrol vehicle evaluation”, two tables. The two figures in the actual dollar adjustment column are handwritten in this copy of the book. State of Michigan, Department of State Police, *1992 Police Patrol Vehicle Evaluation and Purchasing Program*, PDF page 67 of the scan (printed page 57). Open full size.

What else this book records

Who took part. Two pages list the out-of-state participants: state police and highway patrols from Alabama to West Virginia, city and county departments, the U.S. Capitol Police, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Chicago Fire Department, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and several Ontario forces, and Supply and Services Canada.

What it cost. The title page records the printing: 1,800 copies at 95 cents, $1,710, under the authority of Public Act 59 of 1935.

When it began, by its own account. The preface says the clean-roof, no-spotlight approach has been its belief “since we began testing in 1977”. The 1996 book’s “20th annual evaluation” points to a first test of the 1977 model year, which would have been run in 1976, so the preface’s 1977 is most likely the model year. It still offers the programme’s 1988 videotape to anyone who sends a blank VHS cassette.

What 1992 settled

The bid score went to a sedan and the record book to a Camaro. The Caprice led the bid score on speed and comfort, with the poorest brakes of any sedan in the test, while a special service Camaro set new top-speed, 0–100, quarter-mile and lap marks in the books held to that point (only the 1991 Camaro’s 6.51 seconds to 60 stood): the first vehicle in them over 150 mph, and the first under 1:21 around Michigan International Speedway on average.

The rest of the list shows the field widening. A front-drive Taurus ran 128 mph and out-lapped the new Crown Victoria; a four-wheel-drive Cherokee lapped within two tenths of it; and two Caprices arrived with governors, the first limited top speeds in these books. In the 2001 and 2002 books held here, every vehicle’s top speed is marked as limited.

Source. State of Michigan, Department of State Police and Department of Management and Budget: 1992 Police Patrol Vehicle Evaluation and Purchasing Program, prepared by the Michigan State Police Executive Division, Planning and Research Section, September 1991. Acceleration, top speed and braking at the Chrysler Proving Grounds, 14 September 1991; dynamics on the Michigan International Speedway road course. All figures transcribed from the rendered pages of the book. Ed Sanow, “Top Cruisers Pass the Test” (The 1992 MSP Patrol Vehicle Evaluation Program), Law Enforcement Technology, February 1992, pages 34–39, is named wherever it is cited. See how these videos are researched.