Staff photo

Back in March, the Fayetteville City Council approved the purchase of six police package Chevrolet Tahoe vehicles to begin phasing out the recently discontinued Ford Crown Victorias in the local fleet.

The first of those vehicles is currently being tested by Fayetteville police, and we snapped a photo of it on Church Street recently.

Police departments all over the country are looking for a replacement for the Ford Crown Victoria, and since Ford has not yet released a certified replacement, fleet managers are being forced to look elsewhere.

Two years ago, the city purchased two Dodge Chargers, but Fayetteville fleet superintendent Dennis Pratt recently told council members that he doesn’t recommend purchasing any more.

Pratt said that the Tahoe actually gets better gas mileage than the Crown Vic, and that he believes the new model will have longer life expectancy, a higher resale value, and lower maintenance costs than both the Crown Vic and the Dodge Charger.

City staff research comparison

Vehicle Avg. Mileage Avg. Cost* Length Width Height Ford Crown Vic 10 MPG $1,209/mo 212″ 78″ 58″ Dodge Charger 13 MPG $1,181/mo 199″ 75″ 58″ Chevy Tahoe 11.5 MPG $976/mo 202″ 79″ 74″

* Maintenance, replacement, overhead, insurance

Flyer staff research comparison

Vehicle City Highway Combined Ford Crown Vic 16 MPG 24 MPG 19 MPG Dodge Charger 18 MPG 27 MPG 21 MPG Chevy Tahoe 15 MPG 21 MPG 17 MPG

* Standard 2011 stats as reported by fueleconomy.gov.

More information about the vehicle, including comparison data and photos are available on the city’s website.