Click here to download the catalog as a PDF file. To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. CArS AND CrASHeS suZI HuNTINGTON A Real-Life Fantasy S suRVIVING IN YOuR MOBIlE OFFICE. Isn’t she lovely? The Carbon Motors E7 — a real police car. And check out the suicide doors! hopping for police cars can be a pretty mundane task for the bean counters, or a giggle-filled thrill ride for the cops who get to “test-drive” the new cars. During my career, and later as an EVOC instructor, I was exposed to several different police models from Chevy and Ford; old stand-bys like the Fairmount, Crown Victoria, The prisoner seat has easy-to-use seat belts and the whole area is sealed off from the LTD II, Caprice, Impala Finally, front seats made to accommodate front compartment so prisoner-yuck can’t and Malibu. I also worked your duty gear. Note the logically placed sneak forward. There are drain holes in the in other atypical vehicles shotgun and rifle mounts. floor to make hosing it out a breeze. transformed to look like police vehicles; F-150, Bronco and Blazer to name a few. On more than one occaI had an academy classmate who was seven-feet tall if sion I found myself scratching my head wondering, “Who he was an inch, and he’d stuff himself into one of those tiny the hell’s idea was it to call this a police car?” LTD IIs — it reminded me of a circus clown-car. I think the only people those little cars were made for were OompaLoompas, even I felt claustrophobic in them. Their one redeeming quality was they were really fast and fun to drive — until I crashed it. can’t exactly With Fords, I learned the “police package” was nothing say Carbon more than a bigger alternator and beefed-up suspension (gee, Motors is wow), the same “package” used for taxis. I’m not sure what “new” to the the police package is for Chevy or Dodge, but I do realize the field of car manupolice market is a very small portion of any of the Big-3 aufacturing considertomaker’s sales. They make cars for the masses and they’re ing everyone innot going to spend a boatload of money making something volved with making special for us. Is there anybody out there who will specificalthis law enforcely design and manufacture a vehicle for police? Enter Carbon It looks a little like an airplane ment-specific veMotors Corporation (golf-clap please). cockpit, but all the switches and hicle have lengthy levers are centrally located in backgrounds in the center console. If you look the automotive carefully, you’ll see the most industry. It would important feature of the E7 — be more apt to say ince the E7 is built solely for law enforcement, it’ll come the variable-sized cup holder. they’re in a class completely equipped, from the factory (in Connersville, IN) all their own. They’ve spent a lot of time researching our with no need for you to finish the project. No more add-on needs. They’ve conducted focus groups with hundreds light bars, prisoner cages, push bumpers, sirens, etc. Veof street cops, picking their brains about what they love hicles purchased from the other guys are delivered to your agency or hate with the average police car. From there, Carbon ready to tour the city as a passenger car. Then your auto mainteMotors built a genuine police car. nance crew has to strip out all the stuff not appropriate for police The E7 is the answer to every cop’s prayers and every cars and install all the police gear. And all this stuff is bought afteradministrator’s and bean counter’s shopping lists. While market and usually at a premium. only the prototype is currently available, Carbon Motors When an E7 is at the end of the road your agency can either sell is taking orders for the production model, which is due to it to another agency or Carbon Motors will buy it back to recondiroll out in 2012. This may seem like an eternity to wait, tion it or part it out and recycle as much of it as they can. Once a but this dream car didn’t just happen overnight. standard police car’s come to the end of its career your mechanics Who? I $ $aving$ — real & GreeN Continued on page 63 32 WWW.AMERICANCOPMAGAZINE.COM • NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009