I saw the JPEG on this forum which showed a German A4 (or A6) police car. Does anyone know if Audi makes a police version for USA import? My police department (I'm on their advisory board) is looking for new police vehicles, and I'd like to be able to recommend the Audi w/ Quattro. A requirement is that Audi not void warranty support for vehicles used in police service.<br>

When I use to live in Vail Colorado the police there had Saab Turbo's with the high altitude kits. Not bad. Now, Audi Quattro's would be cool....very cool. Are you in the mountains?<p>Steve S.<br>97 2.8QM<br>

I saw them in NY, but it was a Georgia highway patrol car with 3 BIG troopers in it. It probably had something to do with building a plant down there.

(nt)

Nope, I live/work just north of Seattle. All-wheel drive isn't needed very often, but it's a bummer for the police to not be able to respond in the few cases when it IS needed: Last winter we had snow on the ground for just one day. During that day, however, the repressed moron factor surfaced, and one of the two hills to my house was impassable:<p>The first hill was steeper with no traffic, and I made it easily to the top in my Celica (FWD), to find several fire engines and a car fire blocking the road! (Why do people set their cars on fire only in the winter?) So I had to turn around and proceed back to the hill to the second road to my house.<p>At the foot of the second hill were all kinds of bozos: the road had been made slick by people spinning their wheels, jerks in 4WD vehicles were cutting others off, and kids were sledding in the middle of the street while vehicles tried to avoid them while climbing the hill. The Celica couldn't even get started up the hill with that mess, so I took a third (long) route home.<p>The previous winter we had two feet of snow in one week, and one day I (foolishly) decided to drive a friend's house 2/3 mile away, instead of walk like I had on other snow days: It took an hour and I got stuck twice (each time a 4WD vehicle helped me out).<p>That's what made me decide on some kind of AWD drive vehicle; the police had the same types of problems. Most people here have no idea of how to drive in the snow, and that's what makes AWD necessary. Among other things, people drive in the same wheel tracks as other vehicles; that's dumb for traction for them but makes it easier for those who drive on the resulting unpacked snow on the rest of the roadway, until the snow gets too high.<br>

Actually I was in Undergrad in Tallahassee FL when I saw a Georgia state trooper pull up in an m3 police car. Of course I asked him how that came about. Basically they got them for the olympics. BMW was the car of choice for the game. For example the main car was a special edition 740. To maintain the presence, as well as add an air of character and generally speaking just to look nice, they gave the troopers some m3 BMW. If I'm not mistaken they were grey with some blue, and the light bar on top. Very nice cars.

A police-type-ish A6 is probably pretty comparable in price to a Crown Vic. From what reviews I've read, it's probablly also relatively underpowered.<p>The big detractor is that parts for them could be tough to come by considering that they have to be special-ordered from Germany. I recently cracked my oil pan and discovered that there wasn't a single spare on the entire continent. I'm sure Ford's got spare parts scattered all over the place.<p>I've never ordered a vehicle for a police department... do you have to get a special contract through the manufacturer? If so, that might be another challenge.<p>de Dave Riesz<br>

About 8 or 10 years ago, I read a story in the newspaper (in Seattle) about a police officer in Maine or Mass. who was driving a recently "donated" Audi Quattro by Audi, Germany. He pursued a dirt bike driving fleeing suspect who "fell in amazement" when he turned around in a snow covered pasture to look at what he thought would be a stuck or non-pursuing police car. He Was WRONG. It surprised him that the Audi was still right behind him and he fell off of his motorcycle. Caught.<p>Kirk