MSP Cars

Part 7

2000-Present

1998-2002 Ford

The Ford Crown Victoria was redesigned for 1998, now sharing all of its sheet metal with the upscale Mercury Grand Marquis. Ford continued to make improvements to the Interceptor. Retaining the same 4.6 liter engine, improvements to the fuel delivery and ignition systems increased horsepower ratings to 230.

2003 Ford

In 2003 Ford did quite a few modifications to the CVPI including interior upgrades, electrical upgrades, 17" wheels and some minor exterior cosmetic changes.

For 2004, although the Ford CVPI remained virtually unchanged, the State Patrol graphics made another change. The gold stripes changed to a little brighter colored fully reflective material, safety slogans were added to the rear quarter panels and a newly designed deck legend was added.

2001 Chevrolet Impala. The 2000 Impala was developed

New for 2000, the Chevrolet Impala was actually designed from the ground up as a police pursuit vehicle and adapted for public use; quite the opposite of most police vehicles. From 2000-2005, the Impalas were equipped with a 3.8 liter MPFI V-6 with automatic overdrive transaxle. While there were several front wheel drive administrative cars and test cars in the MSP fleet, these were the first front wheel drive units to become part of the regular patrol fleet.

2006-2008 Chevrolet Impala. 3.9 liter SFI V-6 rated at 233 hp @ 5600 rpm and 240ft-lbs @ 4000 rpm, automatic overdrive transaxle with 3.29:1 ratio. The 2006 models were Sport Red. It was a stretch to call them maroon. Shown here is a 2007. 2008 models are only unmarked as no maroon variant is available from Chevrolet this year.

2008 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor

March 27, 2008 – The Minnesota State Patrol unveiled to the public its retro graphics design. The throwback design recalls the white door paint scheme of 1960 through 1991. The idea was to make the units stand out from the crowd. An added benefit is it costs less.

Chevrolet Impalas are used this year solely as unmarked units as GM is unable to offer a suitable maroon paint.

Home