Michigan test archive

1982 Michigan State Police Patrol Vehicle Test

Six V8s in a single class, a K-car curiosity — and a Mustang whose figures the book did not publish.

The 1982 book calls itself “the fourth in a series of publications” presenting police patrol vehicle test results, reproduced by the IACP’s Technology Assessment Program Information Center for interested police departments. Its preface records a twelfth vehicle. “Because of specific interest expressed by a number of police agencies in a smaller ‘pursuit only’ type of car”, and with Ford’s cooperation, a Ford Mustang 302 H.O. with a four-speed manual ran the acceleration and top speed tests. The book did not publish its figures, “Because it was not a ‘police package’ vehicle, and also because of its limited use in most police applications”, and invited readers to call East Lansing for details.

The whole field ran the straight-line tests in a single day — 19 September 1981 at Chrysler’s proving grounds, from a 46 °F morning to a 69 °F afternoon, in westerly winds of 6 to 16 mph. The dynamics laps ran on the 1.635-mile Michigan International Speedway road course: sixteen timed laps per car, four drivers, four laps each. One drama: the Plymouth Gran Fury’s carburetor air filter became oil-soaked mid-evaluation and choked the engine; the filter was replaced and the car re-ran its full timed-lap sequence.

And one thing is missing from this edition, by the book’s own admission: bid prices. Michigan’s bids had not been opened when the report went to print, so no purchase winner appears — only the performance scores.

The 1982 qualification bar. One class this year, on a specification with a 105.5-inch minimum wheelbase — small enough to admit the Fairmont. To stay in the bid, a car had to reach 60 mph in 14.5 seconds or less, 80 mph in 26.0, and 100 mph in 48.5. The brake sequence followed: four controlled stops from 90 mph, an impending-skid stop from 60, and a full four-wheel-lock panic stop, which the book records as observational information only.

V8 results — the full evaluation

Source: Michigan State Police, 1982 Model Year Patrol Vehicle Testing. Acceleration and quarter-mile figures are four-run averages; dynamics is the average of 16 timed laps (four drivers, four laps each — the book’s methodology text still describes the older twelve-lap format).
Car	Engine	0–60 (s)	¼-mile (s @ mph)	0–100 (s)	Top speed (mph)	Miles to 100 mph	Dynamics (s)
Chevrolet Impala	350-4V	12.74	19.40 @ 73.0	45.79	107.8	0.91	92.04
Ford LTD	351 H.O.-VV	12.59	19.15 @ 75.5	42.54	115.8	0.82	91.99
Dodge Diplomat	318-4V	12.19	19.20 @ 75.25	39.95	115.4	0.76	92.57
Plymouth Gran Fury	318-4V	12.24	19.08 @ 76.5	39.36	116.3	0.75	92.63
Chevrolet Malibu	305-4V	13.29	19.53 @ 72.5	49.73	110.1	0.99	92.61
Ford Fairmont	255-2V	13.80	19.88 @ 72.0	57.04	107.0	1.17	94.16

Gold row: highest published total score (see the scoring table below). The Malibu at 49.73 seconds and the Fairmont at 57.04 both exceeded the 48.5-second 0–100 requirement. The book’s text says the LTD’s and Gran Fury’s acceleration curves could not be distinguished on its graph, but its Figure 1 labels the Gran Fury and the Diplomat as the overlapping pair, and the times agree with the figure (0–100 in 39.36 and 39.95 seconds, against the LTD’s 42.54).

See the original page: Table 3 in the 1982 book

Scan of Table 3 from the 1982 Michigan State Police test book: acceleration, top speed and quarter-mile figures for the six V8 cars — Table 3, “Summary of acceleration and top speed testing”, the six V8 cars. Michigan State Police, *1982 Model Year Patrol Vehicle Testing*, PDF page 9 of the scan (printed page 9). Open full size.

Six- and four-cylinder cars — acceleration and top speed only

Source: Michigan State Police, 1982 Model Year Patrol Vehicle Testing. The book counts these five among its “eleven police package cars” but says they “were tested only for acceleration and top speed”; the Technology Assessment Program Information Center gave Michigan “a small contract to help defray the additional cost” of testing them. Timed to 90 mph rather than 100.
Car	Engine	0–60 (s)	¼-mile (s @ mph)	0–90 (s)	Top speed (mph)	Miles to 90 mph	EPA city (mpg)
Ford Fairmont (4-cyl)	140-2V	17.26	21.85 @ 67.5	51.76	103.4	0.88	20.5
Chevrolet Malibu (6-cyl)	229-2V	17.99	21.85 @ 65.25	1:01.80	100.6	1.14	20.8
Ford Fairmont (6-cyl)	200-1V	18.72	22.00 @ 64.75	1:04.02	97.3	1.18	19.7
Dodge Aries (4-cyl)	135-2V	17.58	21.55 @ 66.25	1:16.54	97.5	1.15	25.0
Plymouth Gran Fury (6-cyl)	225-1V	20.36	22.53 @ 62.25	1:23.47	96.2	1.68	17.9

The four-cylinder Fairmont 140 (92 horsepower) reached 90 mph sooner than all three sixes and had the highest top speed of the five, 103.4 mph. The Dodge Aries reached 90 in 1:16.54, the average of three runs; its fourth is printed “N/A”.

See the original page: Table 4 in the 1982 book

Scan of Table 4 from the 1982 Michigan State Police test book: acceleration, top speed and quarter-mile figures for the five six- and four-cylinder cars — Table 4, “Summary of acceleration and top speed testing”, the five six- and four-cylinder cars, timed to 90 mph. Michigan State Police, *1982 Model Year Patrol Vehicle Testing*, PDF page 10 of the scan (printed page 10). Open full size.

Complete acceleration data — every 10-mph increment, all eleven cars

V8 cars. Four-run averages in seconds, from the book’s tables and Appendix C strip-chart data.
0 to…	Impala 350	LTD 351	Diplomat 318	Gran Fury 318	Malibu 305	Fairmont 255
20 mph	2.78	3.16	3.10	3.04	2.81	3.14
30 mph	4.68	4.95	4.96	5.02	4.85	5.20
40 mph	6.73	6.96	6.78	6.80	7.02	7.32
50 mph	9.37	9.39	9.08	9.20	9.79	10.07
60 mph	12.74	12.59	12.19	12.24	13.29	13.80
70 mph	17.50	16.41	16.17	16.01	17.93	18.58
80 mph	23.31	21.82	21.65	21.19	24.62	25.55
90 mph	31.20	31.01	28.85	28.79	34.03	36.93
100 mph	45.79	42.54	39.95	39.36	49.73	57.04

Six- and four-cylinder cars. Times over one minute shown as m:ss.
0 to…	Fairmont 140	Malibu 229	Fairmont 200	Aries 135	Gran Fury 225
20 mph	3.68	3.80	3.78	4.02	3.74
30 mph	6.24	6.46	6.37	6.50	6.35
40 mph	8.93	9.26	9.27	8.98	9.69
50 mph	12.32	13.01	13.35	12.46	14.36
60 mph	17.26	17.99	18.72	17.58	20.36
70 mph	22.95	24.68	26.50	24.29	29.63
80 mph	33.99	36.85	40.06	42.85	47.00
90 mph	51.76	1:01.80	1:04.02	1:16.54	1:23.47

The book’s own quarter-mile lesson this year: the four-cylinder Fairmont and the six-cylinder Malibu crossed the quarter in an identical 21.85 seconds — but at 67.50 and 65.25 mph respectively, because cars do not accelerate at a uniform rate.

Brakes, fuel economy, ergonomics

Source: Michigan State Police, 1982 Model Year Patrol Vehicle Testing. Each 60–0 stop is an impending-skid stop made immediately after four controlled 90–0 heat-up stops; Phase II repeats the sequence after a four-minute cool-down. All six cars passed the four-wheel-lock panic stop within their own lane. EPA city figures to 0.1 mpg are developed from the EPA Test Car List.
Car	60–0 Phase I (ft)	60–0 Phase II (ft)	Avg decel (ft/s²)	EPA city (mpg)	Ergonomics (pts)
Chevrolet Malibu 305	159.3	159.5	24.62	16.6	201.88
Plymouth Gran Fury 318	167.7	160.9	24.29	13.8	191.36
Chevrolet Impala 350	166.4	159.3	23.99	14.3	210.97
Dodge Diplomat 318	163.5	166.4	23.71	13.8	191.36
Ford Fairmont 255	168.6	171.3	23.17	18.6	180.28
Ford LTD 351	178.4	175.9	22.63	13.9	229.40

The LTD’s 229.40 ergonomics score is the standout of the year — 18 points clear of the next car. The Diplomat and Gran Fury totals are identical as printed; the Table 1 gives the two cars the same length, wheelbase and height.

See the original page: Table 5 in the 1982 book

Scan of Table 5 from the 1982 Michigan State Police test book: Phase I and Phase II brake testing for the six V8 cars — Table 5, “Summary of brake testing”. Michigan State Police, *1982 Model Year Patrol Vehicle Testing*, PDF page 11 of the scan (printed page 12). Open full size.

Hardware: horsepower, axle ratios, test weights

From the book’s Table 1; transmissions from Appendix B. Test weight is Table 1’s “Weight-Test” line; the book does not say what it includes.
Car	HP (SAE net)	Axle ratio	Test weight (lb)	Transmission
Ford LTD 351	165	2.73	4,086	4-sp auto w/ overdrive (AOD)
Chevrolet Impala 350	150	3.08	3,996	3-sp auto (THM350C)
Dodge Diplomat 318	165	2.94	3,875	3-sp auto (A727)
Plymouth Gran Fury 318	165	2.94	3,863	3-sp auto (A727)
Chevrolet Malibu 305	145	2.73	3,672	3-sp auto (THM350C)
Ford Fairmont 255	115	2.73	3,200	3-sp auto (C5)
Plymouth Gran Fury (6-cyl)	90	2.94	3,706	3-sp auto (A904)
Chevrolet Malibu (6-cyl)	110	2.41	3,376	3-sp auto (THM250C)
Ford Fairmont (6-cyl)	87	2.73	3,038	3-sp auto (C5)
Ford Fairmont (4-cyl)	92	3.08	2,926	3-sp auto (C3)
Dodge Aries (4-cyl)	84	2.78	2,444	3-sp auto (A413)

The Chevrolet 350 dropped to 150 horsepower for 1982 — down from the 165 estimated the year before — while the Mopar 318s held 165. The LTD remained the only car with an overdrive automatic.

The scoring — and why the fastest car did not score highest

The weighting held at 25% dynamics, 25% fuel economy, 15% acceleration (0–100 time), 15% top speed, 10% brakes, and 10% ergonomics. With no bid prices in this edition, the total weighted score is the nearest thing to a verdict the book prints. Of the cars whose figures it publishes, the Gran Fury had the highest top speed and the quickest time to 100 mph, with the Diplomat close behind; both had negative totals. The Impala — with the lowest V8 top speed except the Fairmont — took the highest published total, because among the four cars Michigan scored it was second on dynamics, brakes and ergonomics and first on fuel economy. (Count the Malibu and Fairmont, which were not scored, and it drops to third on brakes and fuel.) The book’s scoring text repeats the 1981 sentence that the bid adjustment “did not alter the vehicle selection”, although its preface says the bids had not been opened.

Source: Michigan State Police, 1982 Model Year Patrol Vehicle Testing, competitive evaluation tables. Raw category scores with the published total weighted score.
Car	Dynamics (s)	0–100 (s)	Brakes (ft/s²)	Top speed (mph)	Ergonomics (pts)	EPA city (mpg)	Total weighted score
Chevrolet Impala 350	92.04	45.79	23.99	107.8	210.97	14.3	+0.251
Ford LTD 351	91.99	42.54	22.63	115.8	229.40	13.9	+0.243
Plymouth Gran Fury 318	92.63	39.36	24.29	116.3	191.36	13.8	−0.189
Dodge Diplomat 318	92.57	39.95	23.71	115.4	191.36	13.8	−0.304
Chevrolet Malibu 305	92.61	49.73	24.62	110.1	201.88	16.6	not scored
Ford Fairmont 255	94.16	57.04	23.17	107.0	180.28	18.6	not scored

The Malibu and Fairmont have raw category scores in the book’s Table 8 but no row in Table 9, where the weighted totals are computed: both failed the 0–100 requirement, and Michigan did not score them.

See the original page: Table 9 in the 1982 book

Scan of Table 9 from the 1982 Michigan State Police test book: competitive evaluation of the four scored cars, with raw scores, weighted scores and total weighted deviation — Table 9, “Michigan State Police Competitive Patrol Vehicle Evaluation”, the four scored cars; the bid columns are blank in the book. The raw scores for the Malibu and Fairmont are in the book’s Table 8. Michigan State Police, *1982 Model Year Patrol Vehicle Testing*, PDF page 17 of the scan (printed page 20). Open full size.

What Michigan’s specification called for

The September 1981 bid specification (Mich. 3905-0010) collapsed the old two-class system into one: a four-door sedan on a 105.5-inch minimum wheelbase. It called for the ⅛-inch steel roof plate, ten inches wide, welded under the roof panel, with a hole drilled roughly 19 inches back from the windshield and at least three stranded wires run down the corner post. Unity #225-6 six-inch spotlights with aircraft landing lamps, left- and right-hand, on the “A” pillar or another approved mount, individually fused. A limited-slip differential, the largest cooling system available, an 80-amp alternator with 45 amps at curb idle, and a battery of at least 455 cold-cranking amps.

Inside: a heavy-duty split bench — 60-40 preferred — in cloth or cloth and vinyl (blue), all-vinyl explicitly not acceptable, heavy rubber floor mats front, rear and trunk, armrests without ash trays or with the ash trays made inoperable, and factory power door locks. Paint to Dulux 93-032, on Goodyear police radials to Michigan specification 5260-S1. Locks keyed alike within each car, four keys supplied, a different key for every car. If you’re checking whether a survivor is genuine, this is the equipment list to check it against — see how to identify a genuine police package car and the police package option codes guide.

What 1982 settled

Of the cars whose figures the book publishes, the Gran Fury had the highest top speed, 116.3 mph, and the quickest time to 100, with the Diplomat close behind on both. Michigan’s scoring put the Chevrolet Impala first, 8.5 mph slower on top but ahead of the Gran Fury on dynamics, ergonomics and fuel economy.

The book also tested a Mustang 302 H.O. and did not publish its figures; the first Mustang figures in these books are in the 1983 book.

Source. Michigan State Police, 1982 Model Year Patrol Vehicle Testing, East Lansing, Michigan; reprinted by the Technology Assessment Program Information Center, International Association of Chiefs of Police, March 1982. All figures transcribed directly from the book. Read the official record at the DOJ virtual library, and see how these videos are researched.