Police Cruiser

Revision as of 00:47, 14 November 2012 by Original Light (talk | contribs) (→‎GTA V: Made it a bit more clear)
Vehicle
Police Cruiser
An LCPD Police Cruiser in GTA IV.
An LCPD Police Cruiser in GTA IV.
(Rear quarter view)
An LCPD Police Cruiser in GTA IV.
Appearance(s) GTA IV
The Lost and Damned
The Ballad of Gay Tony
GTA V
Vehicle type Law enforcement car
Body style 4-door sedan
Capacity 4 (driver and 3 passengers)
Manufacturer Vapid
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The Vapid Police Cruiser is one of the two main police cars used by the Liberty City Police Department in Grand Theft Auto IV, the other being the Police Patrol. The Police Cruiser also refers to a Buffalo-based LCPD police car featured in The Ballad of Gay Tony (see #The Ballad of Gay Tony). The Police Cruiser reappears in Grand Theft Auto V.

GTA IV

Design

Like the Police Patrol, the Police Cruiser can be found at almost any LCPD station, and is dressed in LCPD livery (based on that of the NYPD); the Police Cruiser's chassis is the Vapid Fleet Sedan, which also forms the base of the NOOSE Cruiser and some Taxis. The car also comes equipped with a police computer.

The Police Cruiser is an amalgamation of various Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors, thus probably powered by a tuned V8. Its taillights are similar to those of a 1992-1994 model; the chassis, including: windows, headlights (however upside down, similar to a 1992-1997 Mercury Grand Marquis), and front and rear bumpers resemble those of the 1992-'97 models; and the grille and hood look like those of 1998 and later models. The dashboard instrument cluster is unlike the Ford product, consisting of a tachometer, speedometer, fuel gauge and temperature gauge rather than the Crown Victoria's central speedometer and gauges for fuel, temperature, oil pressure and volts.

The Police Cruiser does not appear as a drivable car in GTA Chinatown Wars (as the Police Patrol is the only police car in the game), but does occasionally surface as an aesthetic element of "busted" sequences, when a pre-rendered depiction of a modified Police Cruiser may be seen.

Performance

The Police Cruiser's high- performance V-8 (Which real life variant is Ford's Police Interceptor V-8 engine) produces an impressive amount of torque off the line, and accelerates well. It has a low rev limit, which can be felt at higher RPMs. Also, the engine feels as if it runs out of steam before the transmission switches gear. It has a higher top speed than the Police Patrol, its Declasse-branded competitor, but will not get there faster than the FIB Buffalo, the latest Bravado offering.

The car's weakness lies in its poor suspension, as the car experiences incredible amounts of body roll and has a tendency to oversteer off throttle. Stability is average at high speeds, but due to its very soft suspension the car does wallow and float about quite a bit. The car does appear to have some decent tires on it, however, which does help with improving the handling quality, if only just a bit.

Crash deformation is also average, and the suspension does not take very long to start meandering one way or the other. The engine is not fragile, but is certainly not the toughest to destroy in the game, although it fares better than the "Buffalo" Police Cruiser.

The Ballad of Gay Tony

In the multiplayer mode of The Ballad of Gay Tony, there exists a Police Buffalo which is also named the "Police Cruiser". Based on a Dodge Charger Police Package, it is a police variant of the Bravado Buffalo comparable to the FIB Buffalo.

Another variant of the Police Cruiser in TBOGT, internally named "policew", oddly exists as a completely wrecked but drivable version of the GTA IV Police Cruiser intended to be featured in the opening cutscene of TBOGT. Depicted with a completely charred bodywork, the policew has no siren, non-functional lights and no radio, and emits a horn sounding like that of the Brickade's. Despite being a wreck, the policew is still vulnerable to damage from collisions and weapons. The vehicle however still has well above average performance, one nearly of that comparable to the Police Buffalo, instead of the regular performance as found in its un-wrecked Vapid counterpart. It has the motor sound of that found in the Police Buffalo, and its acceleration is the equivalent, along with top speed, and handling. The physical motor acts as if nothing is wrong with it, and runs as healthy as any good motor. Aside mods or hacking, the policew is otherwise unobtainable in the game. The car is regarded as a conventional traffic vehicle, and as a result, may also spawn in traffic if the player is driving a policew themselves. And also, when the player has a wanted level and is escaping in a policew, the scanner refers it to as a "gray Bravado sedan", despite normal Police Cruisers being made by Vapid.

GTA V

Police Cruisers are set to reappear in Grand Theft Auto V. The design is slightly different than GTA IV, with a change of livery to match the Los Angeles Police Department, and a Vista styled lightbar, replacing the Vector lightbar from GTA IV. Oddly, the car retains its NYPD style pushbar from GTA IV, even though the LAPD only mount pushbars on traffic units. The police cruiser from the first trailer was only a reskinned model from GTA IV. From new screenshots, the model of the car has been redesigned. The police cruiser this time around is generally based on the 1998-2011 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, while the front of the car is based on a 1994-1996 Chevrolet Impala. The brake lights are similar to that of a Crown Victoria, but the reverse lights have been merged with the brake lights. The rear roof pillars are unlike any Ford Crown Victoria or Chevrolet Impala. The front grille appears to resemble a 1991-1996 Chevrolet Caprice, more so than the 1994-1996 Impala, due to the chrome, rather than the Impala's solid black grille. There is also Sheriff's version of the police cruiser in GTA V, as seen in a new screenshot. This version is mostly identical to the LSPD version, but has a white paint job, and Sheriff markings on the car.


Trivia

  • Like other emergency vehicles with roof-mounted lightbars in GTA IV, the Police Cruiser's siren will malfunction by wailing in random, distorted pitches if the strobe light housing is significantly damaged by gunfire, falling objects, or rolling of the vehicle. The second and third sirens noises are also disabled, leaving the car with only the malfunctioning siren noise.
    • A bug exists where in GTA IV a fixed police car can be driven with a distorted siren, requiring the "repair car cheat", or, in multiplayer, a health kit. However, if the player turns off the siren while it is like this, then turns it back on, it will return to normal.
  • In GTA IV multiplayer, the Police Cruiser, Enforcer, and the Annihilator are the only vehicles used by law enforcement, regardless of one's Wanted level.
  • On the GTA IV DVD case, a Police Cruiser can be seen. However, the Police Cruiser on the case has the headlights and front bumper of a 1998–present era Crown Victoria, when compared to the in-game model. Two sets of red grille lights are also seen, when compared to the in-game model.
  • In multiplayer, the Police Cruiser has a normal radio; the same applies to all other emergency vehicles, and the Securicar.