JUNE 2022. Blues Vol 38 No. 6.1

BOSTON’S FINEST Part

BOSTON’S FINEST Part of the reason that police cars are eventually scrapped or sold at auction is due to the hard lives that they lead. Most drivers may have, at some point, noticed that cops don't turn off their cars when they are on duty. Leaving the car running not only allows for quicker response times, but also saves the engine (and starter motor) from having to be started and stopped all the time, which conserves fuel as well as reducing wear and tear. From chasing criminals to daily patrols, police cars are on duty just as much as their drivers, and despite high build qualities, they can only last so long. RUN FLATS This country is lucky enough to have Dodge Chargers being increasingly utilized as police cruisers, but most of the world's police, big Detroit muscle is a ways off. Of course, several countries in the Middle East have also turned to high-end supercars, like Lamborghinis, so that they can catch wealthy speed demons enjoying their otherwise unbeatable supercars and presumably make cops in more average countries jealous. Comparing this compact car that's been abandoned after receiving minor damage in the line of duty to a supercar is a bit ridiculous. After all, it doesn't even have run-flat tires, fancy wheels, or an aero kit. TWO-TONE RUST COLOR Most drivers think that snow and the salt used to melt it are the absolute worst thing for their cars' longevity, but in reality heat is often the bane of a vehicle's existence. Just take a look at any car that's lived its life in the desert, where the sun beats down and cracks plastic parts, ruins rubber trim, oxidizes paint remarkably quickly, and ruins tires in almost no time at all. Compared to the chemicals that most regions use to melt snow, which can be rinsed off at a car wash any time the weather turns terrible, the sun that destroyed this abandoned cruiser is typically a car's consistent adversary. PRE-GHOST CROWN VIC This Crown Victoria is well on its way to wearing a matte black finish, although not in the fashion that many drivers these days would hope to wrap their fancy sports cars. With the popularity of matte wrap jobs, and even gold or chrome wraps, there has also been a rarer segment of the population that wraps their cars in a color scheme to mimic the effects of long years spent in harsh weather. But rather than waste a few thousand bucks to get that faux-rust look, this Crown Vic has simply been left outside for the weeds to grow around it while its black paint slowly fades to a dark brown. RESERVES CAR The fact that so much of the glass on the lights of this abandoned police car remain intact seems like something of a miracle. With rust on just about every surface, flat tires, and chrome pieces that look about to drop right off the body, somehow all those blue and red lenses have weathered the test of time. Imagine being flagged down by a cop car today with an aggressive lighting kit like this, rather than the standard rooftop set. Especially at night, the entire area would be lit up in a kaleidoscope of flashes—perhaps so many lights were necessary in the era before electronic loudspeakers were fitted to every police cruiser. ANOTHER DWI CONTACT The life of a State Trooper in Utah is definitely not easy. With so much of the state barely populated by humans, and long stretches of roadway that see little, if any, traffic on a daily basis, maintaining the constant vigilance necessary to remain safe for an entire day of driving must be a challenge. Hopefully, the driver of this Charger was simply sacrificing his car during the course of duty, otherwise it almost looks like a semi truck may have sideswiped the rear end and caused such catastrophic damage. Dodge Chargers certainly aren’t fragile cars, so something big was definitely involved in this collision. 88 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 89