Muscle Cars in Blue – History of Dodge Police Vehicles – Part 2

6 years ago Heritage

 Part TWO: 1976-2005

Less Was More: Down-Sizing and Efficiency Take the Lead

By 1975, the American muscle car era had run its course…at least for the time being. Growing concerns over energy sustainability, air pollution and shaky economic realities triggered a massive shift toward smaller cars. But even though the average horsepower of the typical car was slashed, they were still quite capable of being driven irresponsibly.

Dodge was there with a wide variety of offerings to fit the needs of law enforcement teams small and large. For the first time, the compact A-body Dart (and its cousin the Plymouth Valiant) were up-fitted with the A38 police package. Riding on a 111-inch wheelbase, the Dart was agile and quickly became a favorite on inner-city beats, though top power was restricted to a 360 small block with as much as 220 horsepower.

In the next installment of this three-part series on Dodge police cars, the stars aligned in 2006 with the return of rear-wheel drive, the Dodge Charger and the mighty HEMI® engine. Could anything top the 440 magnum-powered Dodge Monacos of the “good old days”? Tune in and find out!

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