CRUISER CRUNCH

Cruising down Waynesboro streets, the fleet of Dodge Charger police cars look like asphalt bullies — but maybe they’re not so tough.

Humming behind those frowning headlamps and under the hoods are engines in almost constant need of attention, and which have driven up maintenance costs, according to maintenance records, officers and city mechanics.

Coupled with the decision by Ford to discontinue the Crown Victoria, an iconic and beloved police car, the Waynesboro Police Department confronts a patrol fleet with an uncertain future.

Sorting it out will be harder than ever, police said, because tight budgeting eliminated the department’s fleet manager, who used to travel to get hands-on knowledge of police vehicles and technology.

In an effort to solidify the police fleet, the Waynesboro City Council last month approved $55,000 to buy the city’s final two Crown Vics. They’ll arrive later this year. Until then, officers rely on what they described as undependable Chargers.

“Our Dodge Chargers are a maintenance nightmare,” said Waynesboro police Cpl. Jim Short, former fleet manager. “If I had a choice, I’d keep the Crown Victoria. The Crown Vic is a proven car.”

A News Virginian investigation found the Chargers break down more often and cost the city more money to repair than Crown Vics that are older and which have logged more miles. Charger repairs contribute to maintenance expenses that outpaced anticipated costs in each of the past five years, records show.

The cars roll into the city garage on Essex Avenue so often, that mechanics there said it’s become a joke that they’re so adept with the Charger they should seek dealership jobs.

Car problems

Officer David Layman would normally drive a Charger, but he said he hasn’t for the last month because of a string of mechanical failures.

Rarely do car problems elicit smiles like the one that spread across Layman’s face.

“I don’t mind, because I get to drive this,” he said, pointing to a 2005 Crown Vic with about 160,000 miles on it.

“For your everyday police work, I think the Crown Victoria is a better car,” Layman said. “For a police officer, that’s pretty much our office.”

He noted several disadvantages of the Charger, including less trunk space, a tight squeeze for prisoners getting into the back seat, and the driver’s view.

“The Charger reminds me of the view you’d see sitting inside an army tank,” he said.

Short said 100,000 miles on a patrol car is equivalent to 300,000 miles on a private vehicle. With the extra wear and tear that comes with 24/7 patrolling, the Chargers suffer an inordinate amount of braking and suspension issues, he said.

“Now we’ve got some age on these cars and they’re constantly breaking down,” Short said. “They were tearing up [brake pads] every 3,000 to 5,000 miles.”

City mechanics Josh Roberson and Mike Showalter said patrolling also affects fuel pumps, radiators, computers and batteries.

“They will get up and run, no doubt about it,” Showalter said. “But they don’t run long.”

City police use six Chargers and two Crown Vics. In most cases, four officers share one cruiser, which means one problem can spread frustration.

For three 2006 Dodge Chargers, the city has spent an average of $26,073 in repairs for each car over their four-and-a-half year life spans, city finance records show. The 2007 and 2008 models haven’t fared much better, said Timmy Bennett, city shops fleet manager.

“They all seem to be having most of the same problems,” Bennett said.

In the five-and-a-half year life spans of the two Crown Vics, the city spent $14,882 and $4,901 in repairs, records show.

In an email to The News Virginian, Dodge spokeswoman Kristin Starnes did not address Charger durability questions. She said the company uses police input for improvement and development, but did not describe the nature of feedback. The company is promoting a 2011 model known as the Charger Pursuit.

In each of the past five years, Waynesboro budgeted between $30,000 and $40,000 for patrol car repairs. Actual repair expenses typically exceeded budget by $20,000 to $30,000.

No clear successor

After deciding to discontinue the Crown Vic, Ford began advertising the Interceptor, a sleek new Taurus-based cruiser.

Popularized in the 1990s, two decades of policing with the Crown Vic turned the car into a cultural icon, police said.

Initial reactions to its exit were mixed among Waynesboro officers, who said they knew little of the Interceptor. The loss of a designated police fleet manager is one reason they know so little, officers said.

Short, who acquired a near-encyclopedic knowledge about police cruisers during his decade as police fleet manager, said that since the department eliminated the position, no officer is actively learning about vehicles.

“I used to talk to Ford and Dodge face-to-face,” Short said. “I brought back so much knowledge of the upcoming products it was unreal. And then the budget crunch came in.”

Seton Montgomerie, part-owner of Wild Rose Motors Ltd. in Fullerton, Calif., specializes in stripping down and rebuilding old Crown Vics for police, including the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. Montgomerie said he finds the discontinuation of the Crown Vic unfathomable.

“It’s a vehicle which has been 35 years in development,” he said. “In a manufacturing type situation, that’s how long it takes to get the car right. Anything else that’s coming out is going to be fraught with design flaws and upgrades and recalls.”

Ford spokeswoman Marisa Bradley said the decision to discontinue the Crown Vic came in light of modernization.

“It really comes down to trying to offer the next generation of technology and engineering,” Bradley said.

Short said Ford and Chevy shared the market equally for many years, until 1996, when Chevy discontinued the Caprice. After that, the company never regained their place in the market.

Ford now controls about 70 percent of the police sedan market. To sustain that position, they’ve traveled the country to sell the idea of the company’s new Interceptor, Bradley said.

She said Ford lost no interior space in the switch from the Crown Vic to the Interceptor, and that everything from laptops to prisoner cages will transfer seamlessly between the old and new cars.

A minority of Waynesboro officers said they prefer the Charger to the Crown Vic. Most cited speed and appearance.

Layman shook his head.

“Even 25 years from now, I will not forget how well the Crown Vic has served me in my police career so far,” he said. “They have withstood the test of time and I’m saddened to see Ford stop making them.”