May 16, 2007

California Highway Patrol Adds Charger as Undercover & Training Vehicles

SACRAMENTO, CA – The California Highway Patrol just added Dodge Charger police sedans to its fleet — as undercover and training vehicles, not as patrol cars — according to the San Jose Mercury newspaper. Spokeswoman Jaime Coffee said the state’s Department of General Service has authorized the CHP to buy 88 Chargers. Of these, 79 will be distributed statewide to be used as undercover vehicles, while the remaining nine will stay at the CHP Academy in Sacramento for training.

The state will pay $1.9 million, or about $21,673 per Charger. The CHP primarily uses the Ford Interceptor. It currently has 2,042 of them as marked units and another 90 as all-white enforcement units. The CHP’s fleet also includes 15 Chevy Camaros, although production on that vehicle ended in August 2002; 151 pickups (Dodge Rams and Chevy Silverados); 150 4x4 SUVs (Chevy Tahoe, Ford Expedition and Dodge Durango); and 532 BMW motorcycles.

Purchases are made via bids by the state Department of General Services. The cars are taken out of service after 100,000 to 125,000 miles of use. After that, the cars are inspected, have their emergency equipment removed and are sold to the public, other agencies, or into private fleets.