I’ve recently seen some movies, more exactly chase scenes and footage in general in 1980s movies. Especially the ones set in California, I saw so many Caprices used by LAPD, CHP and many other agencies. Was that the period GM took over Ford and Chrysler? I remember there were LTD Crown Vics and Diplomats, but not so many like the Caprices.

Why did they select Caprices over other cars? I found out that wasn’t like today, with Ford dominating the police fleets with the Crown Vics.

GM owned the police market in the 1980's, similar to how Chyrsler/Dodge owned the police market in the 1970's. The Caprice was often considered the superior car to the LTD Crown Victoria and Dodge Diplomat at the time, due to better performance and handling.

 

Although, if you take the more highly evolved 2011 Crown Victoria today and compare it to the 1980's Caprice, the three-decade newer CVPI would outperform the Caprice in most, if not all aspects. While the Crown Victoria used the same platform from 1979 to 2011, you have to consider the wide array of upgrades it received that the Caprice never stayed around long enough to receive itself (being discontinued in 1996). Such as rack and pinion steering, drive by wire, ABS, single overhead cam technology, traction control, side air bags, etc.

 

The Diplomat was discontinued in 1989, they were decent cars but had a lot of body and suspension issues (they were uni-body, which was considered odd for a police car at the time. Both the Caprice and LTD Crown Victoria were body-on-frame). 

 

And now you if compare the new Ford Taurus, Ford Explorer, or Dodge Charger, they out perform the CVPI in most aspects (handling, acceleration, crumple zones). Although, they do not compare to the CVPI in regards to reliability, longevity, repair time, and cost effectiveness. We wont see any cars like that again, since most newer vehicles have a lot of technology packed into them, some of which is federally mandated. For 2018, I believe rear-backup cameras are required for all new vehicles sold in the United States. Pretty soon automatic collision avoidance will be mandated in all new cars sold in the United States. All of this stuff is nice, but when it breaks it's very expensive for the owner to replace. Such is the evolution of automobile technology.

 

So basically, in the 1980's, the Caprice was the right car at the right time. Whichever car excels in the most categories, is the car that will be dominant in the market. For present-day policing, that vehicle is currently the Ford Explorer.  

 

 

21 hours ago, Original Light said:

GM owned the police market in the 1980's, similar to how Chyrsler/Dodge owned the police market in the 1970's. The Caprice was often considered the superior car to the LTD Crown Victoria and Dodge Diplomat at the time, due to better performance and handling.

 

Although, if you take the more highly evolved 2011 Crown Victoria today and compare it to the 1980's Caprice, the three-decade newer CVPI would outperform the Caprice in most, if not all aspects. While the Crown Victoria used the same platform from 1979 to 2011, you have to consider the wide array of upgrades it received that the Caprice never stayed around long enough to receive itself (being discontinued in 1996). Such as rack and pinion steering, drive by wire, ABS, single overhead cam technology, traction control, side air bags, etc.

 

The Diplomat was discontinued in 1989, they were decent cars but had a lot of body and suspension issues (they were uni-body, which was considered odd for a police car at the time. Both the Caprice and LTD Crown Victoria were body-on-frame). 

 

And now you if compare the new Ford Taurus, Ford Explorer, or Dodge Charger, they out perform the CVPI in most aspects (handling, acceleration, crumple zones). Although, they do not compare to the CVPI in regards to reliability, longevity, repair time, and cost effectiveness. We wont see any cars like that again, since most newer vehicles have a lot of technology packed into them, some of which is federally mandated. For 2018, I believe rear-backup cameras are required for all new vehicles sold in the United States. Pretty soon automatic collision avoidance will be mandated in all new cars sold in the United States. All of this stuff is nice, but when it breaks it's very expensive for the owner to replace. Such is the evolution of automobile technology.

 

So basically, in the 1980's, the Caprice was the right car at the right time. Whichever car excels in the most categories, is the car that will be dominant in the market. For present-day policing, that vehicle is currently the Ford Explorer.  

 

 

Furthermore, I looked up about the Chevy Caprice, it was so popular among police agencies and public in general that it was sold even overseas. Especially in the Persian Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia almost everyone had a Caprice. The people who lived the days of its sales, especially cops, said that the Caprice had an authoritarian look that prevented it to go around unseen. In particular, some people who are retired police officers, when they see a Caprice, they remember the days when they used them, and they would exclaim: "Back when cop cars were cop cars!".

Despite they're at least 30 years old, I noticed they still are on the road up to this day. And even people from younger generations love them. In my case, as an European 23 year old guy, I have a 1990 Chevrolet Caprice 9C1, I love my beast!

 

 

PS: I know it's a GTA V in-game picture, but it's just to show you how much I like these American box body cars.

Original Light put it well, and it also depended upon what that department thought about which of the three major police package cars at the time (LTD Crown Vic, Caprice, or Diplomat/Gran Fury) suited them the best, or which they could get for the best price.  The NYPD, for example, ordered Plymouth Gran Furys almost exclusively from the early 1980s up until '89 (except in 1987 when they purchased Caprices).