he Chevrolet Tahoe was to have been Chicago’s police car of the future, but the city appears to be putting the brakes on plans to replace its aging fleet of Ford Crown Victoria cars with the bulky sport utility vehicle.
In 2008, the Daley administration inked a three-year contract with a Hodgkins auto dealer to provide the police department with up to 2,000 of the SUVs, with a goal of supplanting its existing fleet of aging “Crown Vics,” a popular and less expensive sedan that is stopping production this month.
But as of August, the city had just 611 Tahoes in its patrol fleet and appears to be rethinking a strategy that was backed by former police Supt. Jody Weis, the Better Government Association has learned.
After purchasing 341 Tahoes in 2010, the city bought only 11 this year and has no immediate plans to add more, according to Anthony Pascente, spokesman for the city’s fleet management department. Pascente said via email that the city hasn’t ruled out buying more Tahoes but has no plans now to do so.
So what made the city slam on the brakes? The decision was influenced, in part, by the police department’s operational needs and also the cost, Pascente said.
At a time when gasoline prices are high and the city faces a roughly $635 million budget deficit, the Tahoe gets only 11 mpg on E85, a gas-ethanol blended fuel that’s generally considered better for the environment, and only 15 mpg on traditional gas.
Also, it’s no secret that some beat cops aren’t huge fans of the Tahoe.
No patrol officers have formally complained about the SUV, according to police spokesman. Maureen Biggane. But a police union official said many officers dislike the two-wheel-drive Tahoe, even though it boasts extra legroom, because it performs poorly on snow- and ice-covered streets.
“I don’t see them as being the ultimate pursuit vehicle,” said Bill Dougherty, first vice president of Lodge 7 of the Fraternal Order of Police. “They didn’t handle well in winter, and they’re terrible trying to go down side streets.”
Patrol officers who spoke to the BGA echoed Dougherty. They like the Tahoe’s spacious cabin and higher view of the street but prefer a vehicle that doesn’t skid out on slick roads.
Pascente said one reason the city tapped the Tahoe was because of its performance in an annual test of police vehicles administered by the Michigan State Police. It earned high marks in the 2011 test that measures qualities such as top speed, braking distance and ergonomics.
In an acceleration test, the E85-powered Tahoe went from 0 to 60 mph in an average of 8.24 seconds, besting the gasoline-fueled Crown Victoria’s average time of 8.87 seconds. But the Tahoe lagged behind the Dodge Charger and Chevrolet Caprice.
The Tahoe’s gas mileage in city driving was comparable to the Crown Victoria’s 14 mpg, but it fared worse than the Charger (19 mpg) and the Chevrolet Impala (17 mpg) in the Michigan test.
So was the Tahoe a bad choice?
It’s more expensive than the Crown Vic — $31,926 vs. $28,506, according to Pascente. And it’s more costly to maintain. The Tahoe’s average annual upkeep (at least in the short run) is $260 more than the Crown Vic police sedan, which debuted in 1983 and is a fixture in police fleets across the US, according to Biggane.
The Crown Vic will no longer be in production by later this month, but it was available the last few years when the city stocked up on Tahoes.
It’s worth noting that many of the pricier Tahoes were bought at the time then-Mayor Richard Daley, citing tight finances, allowed the number of street cops to plummet.
The city’s challenge will be to find more a fuel-efficient police vehicle that handles better. Pascente had no information as to what make and model the city may choose, though popular options include the Charger and Caprice.
