How The American Police Car Has Change (1930s - Now)

America's most feared car was never built for the police. From an electric wagon in 1899 to the Ford Explorer in your rearview mirror, here's how the American police car really changed, and why it ended up looking exactly like your neighbor's SUV. In this video we go through the full history of American police cars: the 1932 Ford flathead V8 that let cops finally catch bootleggers, the birth of the police package in the 1950s, why cop cars are black and white, Chrysler's 440-powered Dodge Polara and Plymouth Belvedere, the AMC Javelin with a spoiler added just for the lettering, the slow years of the 1970s, the Mustang SSP, the Chevy Caprice 9C1 vs Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, and why SUVs like the Ford Police Interceptor Utility took over. You'll also learn how the Michigan State Police tests decide what your local department drives, why idling matters more than top speed, the startup that tried to build a police car from scratch, and what Dodge's new 2027 Charger police car means for the future. What's the weirdest police car you've ever seen in person? Tell us in the comments.