Michigan test archive

Police car tests of the 2000s

Front-wheel drive, Grattan, and the HEMI. 10 Michigan State Police vehicle tests, transcribed from the original reports.

A front-wheel-drive Impala replaces the Caprice in 2000 and promptly beats the Police Interceptor around the road course. The tests move to Grattan Raceway in 2001, where an AM General Hummer is entered in the police category and needs 18.55 seconds to reach 60 mph. Chrysler returns in 2002 after thirteen years away, and by 2006 a HEMI Charger is running 150 mph and taking every record worth having.

The decade also brings the first motorcycles, in 2007 — and a BMW that out-accelerates every car the programme has ever tested.

The tests

Each year links to the full results: acceleration ladders, top speeds, braking, lap times, ergonomics and fuel economy, with the source report cited on the page.
Model yearWhat happened
2000A front-drive Impala replaces the Caprice; a Volvo tuned with the CHP runs 153 mph
2001The tests move to Grattan Raceway — and an AM General Hummer runs in the police category
2002Mopar returns with the Intrepid, the pursuit Camaro leaves, two new cars miss on braking
2003The Interceptor is rebuilt from the frame up; the lap-scoring method changes
2004Two Interceptors, one axle ratio apart — and three cars within 0.11 seconds over two miles
2005The Tahoe returns pursuit-rated, and an E85 patrol vehicle appears for the first time
2006The HEMI Charger takes the top-speed record the Caprice had held for a decade
2007Motorcycles enter the programme, and a BMW out-accelerates every car ever tested
2008E85 across the whole category — identical performance, a third less range
2009The field collapses to eight vehicles, and a Charger breaks six seconds to 60
About these tests. Michigan has evaluated patrol vehicles every autumn since 1976 and published the results ever since. The scoring converts performance into a dollar figure that is added to each manufacturer’s bid, which is why the numbers are trustworthy — the department has to buy the car it publishes figures about. The full explanation, and the complete list of years, is on the archive index. See how this site is researched and corrections.