Michigan test archive
2000 Michigan State Police Patrol Vehicle Test
A front-drive Impala takes the Caprice’s place, a Volvo whose chassis tuning was developed with the California Highway Patrol runs 153 mph, and a Camaro records 160.
Ten vehicles ran from September 18 to 20, 1999 — eight police package, two special service — and the field had thinned to the bone. The Lumina was discontinued. The Tahoe was withdrawn entirely, offered in neither package for this model year. What Chevrolet brought instead was the Impala: front-wheel drive, a 200-horsepower 3.8-liter V6, four-wheel independent suspension, traction control and a tire pressure monitor, entered as the replacement for the Caprice, which the bulletin says was discontinued after the 1996 model year.
It is easy to file the front-drive Impala as a comedown, and the timing figures encourage it — 8.99 seconds to 60, 124 mph. But on ergonomics and communications the Impala scored 213.75, and the Ford Police Interceptor scored 213.58. Seventeen hundredths of a point separated the new front-driver from the incumbent, and the Impala did it while returning 20 mpg in the city against the Ford’s 16.
The genuine surprise, though, is Swedish. Working with the California Highway Patrol, Volvo’s engineers had developed a new chassis tuning for the police-package cars, and added throttle-based spin control and 16-inch brakes with electronic brake force distribution. The result: the S–70 sedan reached 60 mph in 7.48 seconds, 100 in 17.86, and ran 153 mph — nearly a second and a half quicker to 60 and seven miles an hour faster than the same model a year earlier. Both Volvos out-ran and out-braked every American sedan in the test, and the wagon’s projected stop from 60 mph was 129.5 feet, the shortest under the twelve-stop procedure in the books held here to that point.
And at the top, the automatic Camaro recorded 160 mph — the highest speed in the archive. The bulletin names no test site.
Police package
| Vehicle | 0–60 (s) | 0–100 (s) | Top speed | Dynamics | Brakes (ft/s²) | 60–0 (ft) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet Camaro (automatic) | 5.80 | 13.92 | 160 | 1:20.49 | 28.53 | 135.7 |
| Chevrolet Camaro (6-speed) | 5.77 | 13.57 | 159 | 1:20.56 | ‡ | ‡ |
| Volvo S–70 T5 Sedan | 7.48 | 17.86 | 153 | 1:23.42 | 29.28 | 132.3 |
| Volvo V–70 T5 Wagon | 7.75 | 18.56 | 152 | 1:23.80 | 29.90 | 129.5 |
| Ford Police Interceptor | 8.75 | 26.09 | 129 | 1:25.71 | 27.02 | 143.3 |
| Chevrolet Impala | 8.99 | 24.92 | 124 | 1:25.49 | 27.13 | 142.7 |
| Jeep Cherokee (2WD) | 9.52 | 31.08 | 111 | 1:25.82 | 25.58 | 151.4 |
| Jeep Cherokee (4WD) | 10.24 | 35.32 | 108 | 1:27.58 | 25.23 | 153.5 |
Gold row: 160 mph, the fastest speed in this archive. The two Camaros are separated by three hundredths of a second to 60 mph and seven hundredths of a second a lap — the closest pairing the program has recorded between a manual and an automatic version of the same car.
The line worth staring at is the Impala’s against the Interceptor’s. The front-drive Chevrolet is 0.24 seconds slower to 60 and five miles an hour slower on top — and it is quicker around the road course, 1:25.49 against 1:25.71, and it stops half a foot shorter. On this road course the front-drive car was the quicker of the two. Note too that the Interceptor’s 129 mph may reflect its limiter: the bulletin says the 2000 Police Interceptor “features a 130-mph speed limiter”.
The two Cherokees, both entered in the police category, are muted. The bulletin prints one set of times for “each vehicle”: 10.0 seconds to 60, 17.2 to 80 and 28.2 to 100, then 110 mph within a mile and 120 within two. The two-wheel-drive Cherokee needed 17.41 to 80 and 31.08 to 100 and topped out at 111; the four-wheel-drive car took 10.24 to 60, 19.30 to 80 and 35.32 to 100, and topped out at 108. The 1999 book had set the Cherokees 11.0, 21.0 and 35.0 seconds, so whether the bulletin’s times applied to them is not settled.
See the original pages: Tables 3 and 4 in the 2000 bulletin
The special-service vehicles
| Vehicle | 0–60 (s) | 0–100 (s) | Top speed | Dynamics | Brakes (ft/s²) | 60–0 (ft) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Expedition (4WD) | 10.93 | 37.36 | 106 | ** | 23.07 | 167.8 |
| Ford Explorer (2WD) | 11.55 | 49.02 | 104 | ** | 22.40 | 172.8 |
The Explorer needed 49.02 seconds to reach 100 mph — the slowest figure in the 2000 test by a wide margin, more than eleven seconds behind the Expedition and more than thirty-five seconds behind the quicker Camaro. The 1999 book describes special-service vehicles as ones the manufacturers offer for agencies that need cargo capacity or other attributes “but do not require pursuit capabilities”.
Complete acceleration ladders — every 10-mph increment, all ten vehicles
| 0 to… | Camaro auto | Camaro 6-spd | Impala | Cherokee 2WD | Cherokee 4WD | Interceptor | Expedition | Explorer | Volvo S–70 | Volvo V–70 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 mph | 1.49 | 1.62 | 2.05 | 1.97 | 2.07 | 1.81 | 2.06 | 2.10 | 2.34 | 2.43 |
| 30 mph | 2.38 | 2.48 | 3.28 | 3.31 | 3.49 | 3.04 | 3.76 | 3.73 | 3.33 | 3.43 |
| 40 mph | 3.29 | 3.39 | 4.65 | 4.79 | 5.03 | 4.69 | 5.56 | 5.78 | 4.39 | 4.55 |
| 50 mph | 4.38 | 4.56 | 6.59 | 7.07 | 7.56 | 6.50 | 7.73 | 8.31 | 5.75 | 5.98 |
| 60 mph | 5.80 | 5.77 | 8.99 | 9.52 | 10.24 | 8.75 | 10.93 | 11.55 | 7.48 | 7.75 |
| 70 mph | 7.29 | 7.40 | 11.63 | 12.61 | 13.70 | 11.68 | 14.35 | 15.59 | 9.33 | 9.64 |
| 80 mph | 8.97 | 9.06 | 14.85 | 17.41 | 19.30 | 15.33 | 18.81 | 21.99 | 11.54 | 12.06 |
| 90 mph | 11.30 | 11.07 | 19.40 | 23.26 | 25.94 | 19.89 | 27.17 | 30.49 | 14.63 | 15.23 |
| 100 mph | 13.92 | 13.57 | 24.92 | 31.08 | 35.32 | 26.09 | 37.36 | 49.02 | 17.86 | 18.56 |
| Top speed | 160 | 159 | 124 | 111 | 108 | 129 | 106 | 104 | 153 | 152 |
The Impala’s ladder repays a slow read. It trades places with the Police Interceptor through the lower gears — behind at 20, 30, 50 and 60 mph, ahead at 40 and 70 — and from 80 mph on it stays ahead: 24.92 seconds to 100 against 26.09. A 3.8-liter V6 driving the front wheels beat a 4.6-liter V8 driving the rears to 100 mph, in a police test, in 1999.
Complete braking data — both phases, nine vehicles
| Vehicle | Phase I speed | Phase I distance (ft) | Phase I rate | Phase II speed | Phase II distance (ft) | Phase II rate | Average rate | 60–0 projected (ft) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Volvo V–70 T5 Wagon | 60.4 | 132.32 | 29.69 | 60.4 | 130.47 | 30.11 | 29.90 | 129.5 |
| Volvo S–70 T5 Sedan | 60.2 | 133.17 | 29.26 | 60.1 | 132.78 | 29.29 | 29.28 | 132.3 |
| Chevrolet Camaro (auto) | 60.3 | 138.28 | 28.25 | 60.4 | 136.27 | 28.82 | 28.53 | 135.7 |
| Chevrolet Impala | 60.4 | 144.20 | 27.17 | 60.2 | 143.97 | 27.09 | 27.13 | 142.7 |
| Ford Police Interceptor | 60.4 | 144.63 | 27.17 | 60.5 | 146.73 | 26.87 | 27.02 | 143.3 |
| Jeep Cherokee (2WD) | 60.3 | 153.77 | 25.44 | 60.2 | 151.48 | 25.73 | 25.58 | 151.4 |
| Jeep Cherokee (4WD) | 60.3 | 154.30 | 25.32 | 60.3 | 155.70 | 25.15 | 25.23 | 153.5 |
| Ford Expedition (4WD) | 60.3 | 168.80 | 23.20 | 60.4 | 170.85 | 22.95 | 23.07 | 167.8 |
| Ford Explorer (2WD) | 60.5 | 185.10 | 21.32 | 60.3 | 166.65 | 23.49 | 22.40 | 172.8 |
Gold row: the shortest stop under the twelve-stop procedure in the books held here to that point. The Volvo wagon stopped harder in its second phase than in its first, 30.11 ft/s² against 29.69, as did the Volvo sedan, the Camaro, the two-wheel-drive Cherokee and the Explorer. Volvo’s engineers had fitted 16-inch brakes with electronic brake force distribution for this model year, and the two Volvos took the top two places by a clear margin over everything American.
At the other end, the Explorer’s phases disagree violently: 185.10 feet in Phase I, 166.65 in Phase II — an 18-foot improvement, like the previous year’s, when the 1999 book noted that the Explorer’s and Expedition’s brakes had not been burnished by the manufacturer. The 2000 bulletin says nothing about burnishing.
See the original page: Table 5 in the 2000 bulletin
Ergonomics, communications and fuel
| Vehicle | Ergonomics & communications | City | Highway | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chevrolet Impala | 213.75 | 20 | 29 | 23 |
| Ford Police Interceptor | 213.58 | 16 | 21 | 18 |
| Ford Expedition | 208.36 | 12 | 16 | 14 |
| Ford Explorer | 199.78 | 16 | 21 | 18 |
| Volvo S–70 T5 Sedan | 176.92 | 19 | 27 | 22 |
| Volvo V–70 T5 Wagon | 176.63 | 19 | 27 | 22 |
| Jeep Cherokee | 173.56 | 16 (2WD) / 16 (4WD) | 22 (2WD) / 21 (4WD) | 18 (2WD) / 18 (4WD) |
| Chevrolet Camaro | 159.35 | 17 (auto) / 18 (6-speed) | 27 (auto) / 29 (6-speed) | 20 (auto) / 22 (6-speed) |
Gold row, by 0.17 points. With the Tahoe absent this is the first year since 1996 that a sedan tops the ergonomics table, and the sedan that does it is a front-driver on a 110.5-inch wheelbase — 4.2 inches shorter than the Police Interceptor, with 104.7 cubic feet of interior against the Ford’s 109.3 (the bulletin’s Table 6a), and it still scored higher. Add four miles a gallon in the city and a combined figure of 23 mpg, and the case for the Impala starts to look less like a compromise and more like arithmetic.
What the manufacturers changed for 2000
Chevrolet discontinued both the Lumina and the Tahoe police packages and introduced the Impala as the Caprice’s replacement — front-wheel drive, GM’s 200-horsepower 3.8-liter V6 carried over from the Lumina police car, four-wheel independent suspension, four-wheel ABS disc brakes, traction control and a tire pressure monitoring system. The bulletin calls the front-drive layout a significant departure from police-package tradition; Chevrolet’s engineers stated they had spent considerable time on durability and performance. The Tahoe was offered in neither package for 2000, with a possible return as special service for 2001. The Camaro carried over unchanged.
Ford gave the Police Interceptor an aluminium metal-matrix driveshaft to improve top speed and acceleration, improved rear springs, a 130-mph speed limiter, and a standard one-touch driver’s window. It also removed a feature: in response to repeated requests from the law enforcement community on officer-safety grounds, Ford eliminated the “auto-off” parking brake that released automatically when the car was shifted out of park. A headliner without the built-in front map light became optional. Ford declined to test the commercially available CNG Police Interceptor this year, so the natural-gas car disappears from the tables after four appearances, 1996 to 1999; it returns in 2001.
DaimlerChrysler Jeep fitted the Cherokee with a larger 124-amp alternator, engine refinements for fuel economy, and higher-metallic brake pads that Jeep’s engineers said would improve braking. Against the 1999 book, under the same twelve-stop procedure, the average rates rose from 24.17 to 25.58 ft/s² (two-wheel drive) and from 22.34 to 25.23 (four-wheel drive).
Volvo made the year’s most consequential changes: a new chassis tuning for the police-package cars developed jointly with the California Highway Patrol, “high-performance spin control” that trims throttle to match engine torque to available grip, and 16-inch brakes with electronic brake force distribution intended to hold the car stable when braking into a turn.
Two notes on the source
A contradiction closes. For years these bulletins described the dynamics score two different ways on the same page — “the fastest of at least 9 timed laps” in the methodology and “fastest 12 laps” in the table footnote. The 2000 bulletin states it once and cleanly: sixteen timed laps by four drivers, and the score is the average of the twelve fastest. That matches the arithmetic of the published 1999 lap times exactly. Other years differ: the 1994 and 1996 books scored some vehicles on nine laps, and from the 2003 test the documents score twenty of thirty-two.
A contradiction that hasn’t closed. The bulletin’s top-speed section still describes the competitive objective as the actual top speed attained “up to 150 mph” — wording that is also in the 1998 bulletin, the year drivers were told not to exceed 150 mph “due to the limitations of the test track”. Four vehicles in this same bulletin are credited with more than 150. The cap is stale text, not a live limit, but I am noting it rather than silently correcting it.
This page is built from the eight-page NLECTC bulletin. The full report it offers is not held; the 1999 and 2001 books print per-lap dynamics data, vehicle specifications and fuller test sheets that the bulletin leaves out.
What 2000 settled
The Caprice had been discontinued after 1996, the Lumina was discontinued, the Tahoe was not offered, and the American sedans in the test were one rear-drive Ford and one front-wheel-drive Chevrolet. The Impala beat the Police Interceptor around the road course, to 100 mph, on fuel and — by seventeen hundredths of a point — on the ergonomics and communications score.
And the fastest sedan in the test was a Volvo: the S–70, with its chassis tuning developed with the CHP and a 2.3-litre turbocharged engine, ran 153 mph, reached 60 in 7.48 seconds, and stopped shorter than either American sedan. The quickest police-package sedan in the test was not American.