I have a few friends in the RCMP (Canadian 'State Troopers') and one of them has a co-worker that drives an LS1 Z28 B4C package for work. We actually have quite a few of them up here.

As far as he knows, according to his supervisor, the RCMP would be interested in a B4C packaged Camaro for their dept.

I had heard here before that there would be no B4C car offered. Just wondering if there was anymore news on that.

 

Pretty early to say, but also interesting Jada has it as part of the "Heat Series" with a police package. Given the past use and potential market, it's possible they may make some for law enforcement. Honestly the only time I might be happy to see the State Patrol is when they are driving a Camaro.

 

With a new Impala based on the same underpinnings I really get the feeling there is not going to be a 4BC package.

The Impala will be able to run with the Camaro with the same moter and suspmention for the most part and would have a usable back seat and trunk.

The 4BC was a answer to a time when most sedans would not run much over 120 MPH and handled like a boat. Tha is not much of a problem anymore when even many FWD sedans will even run 140 MPH with only a V6. I think a RWD V8 with 430 HP will more than able do the job the Camaro once did.

The bottom line is unless the Camaro can offer something the Impala can't I would not expect a police package to be available. Just my hunch any how.

 

My guess is that there will be another B4C Camaro, but my guess is that like the SS Mustang, it won't be available till sales start to slip.

Some agencies used late 2nd gen Z28s (which although "heavy duty" weren't specifically police vehicles) to fill the void as sedans became dogs, and the demand gave birth to the Special Service Mustang. Chevy didn't get into this market till 1991.

Much has been made in law enforcement about the 4th gen's quality (or lack thereof). Areas of contention are weak and short life of it's power windows (which are riveted to the door), the high rate of B4C automatic transmission failures. Not quality related was the "drop in & pull yourself out" entry and exit of B4C Camaros, which utility belts and bulletproof vests made difficult and many officers simply could not drive them.

Ultra performance is not an issue with highway law enforcement today as it was in the 60s and 70s. The CHP, TPSD, Arizona and Neveda patrols still will be in the market for Mustangs and Camaros because in some areas, you might have 1 patrol car covering 50 to 100 to even more miles of freeway, and they need to quickly get to the scene of an accident or emergency.

Today what's important is durability and takedown speed, and even today's Crown Vics do the job. Any car that can stay in service 3 shifts per day every day with down time only for maintence means the department saves money. Police agencies (especially highway patrols) are perpetually underfunded, as are most taxpayer funded agencies.


On a slightly different topic, East Palo Alto (of all places) has a batch of Hemi Charger police cars. Black with white doors. Pushbars. Shiny alumunum wheels and chrome tip exhaust. At night the most sinister looking rides around. Other police agencies around here want to get them, but they are expensive (as far as police vehicles go). CHP is likely to end up with a few soon. California has this thing about resale values on retired CHP cars (it was the thing that kept CHP loaded with Mustangs for years) because they refurbish them, repaint (if the car was black & white), perform safety and smog checks before sale (my B4C had new brakes, new tranny, and new bushings all around... courtesy of the CHP!). They have a better rep than most used car dealers.

With 2 & 3 year old used Ford Crown Vics sitting on lots for uncomfortably long times on the lot before going to a taxi company or a Mexican police agency for only $4-5,000 isn't going to play too much longer when spending extra cash on a Charger might mean they'll go for nearly twice that when retired & sold.