This post is NOT about the GM bankruptcy. Well maybe just a little, and only insofar as it relates to our little city and our state in general.
Perhaps you are like me and wonder, "Hey KPD, why don't you institute some good design into your repertoire?" Often as I walk past the City-County building I notice the unsightliness of the current fleet of police vehicles. Not that they are hideous, but they could be sleeker, more aggressive looking, and inspire a bit more of a sense of pride in our community than they currently do.
Current Picture (thank you flickr)
The bulk of the KPD fleet is currently Ford. Let me quickly clarify that I have great respect for the leadership at Ford that was able to turn their problems around and become the last American car company I would buy from. That said, the design is still lacking. The Crown Victoria, though iconic in it's use as a police cruiser, is inefficient in it's gas mileage and jarring in it's looks.
There will come a day, in the not to distant future, that the Knoxville PD will need to look to upgrade it's fleet. The current crop is approaching a decade in age and will soon need to be transferred to every 22 year old who feels the need to have a spotlight attached to their vehicle.
My proposal is to support local industry. Buy product made right here in Tennessee by Tennesseeans. Let's turn all of our Ford cruisers into sleek German/ East Tennessee crime fighting machines.
Artists Rendering (Thanks to Stan for help with the photo.)
VW is opening a plant in our back yard. They build a full size sedan that could serve our purposes and on top of it all we can transition to their TDI models. (Turbo Diesel) Those cars not only get better gas mileage they have more power and acceleration and can run on bio-diesel, another local product.
This sounds like a win win for everybody. We get clean, more fuel efficient, longer lasting, better designed vehicles, that are produced by a company that is supporting our local economy. We can't say that about Ford, GM, or Chrysler.
Knoxville can lead the way to better design for public services, and by also supporting local manufacturing, continue to encourage companies to relocate to TN and provide good jobs.
Thoughts?
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Fight the Dominant Paradigm
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24 comments:
Ford isn't as financially secure as people think. Just because they didn't accept bailout money doesn't mean they are golden. They still have tons of debt, which isn't a good sign.
I like the idea of our police cruising around in sleek VWs because they are sweet rides, but doesn't that defeat the purpose of trying to help the economy as a whole? Sure, it would help our local economy, but it wouldn't help the national economy, since profits would be shipped back to Germany. But since I don't see any American car companies opening factories locally anytime soon, I guess it's as good an idea as there is right now.
viva la revolution!
Has VW said yet what model they plan to produce in Chattanooga? If they're producing Cabriolets or Rabbits, you might not want the KPD cruising in those.
I'd just be happy if their bike patrol started wearing lights at night like the rest of us...
this is just hilarious.
Stan is so amazing and talented!
pol,
to get inside of your brain...
Would each officer be issued their own Fast?
"Let me quickly clarify that I have great respect for the leadership at Ford that was able to turn their problems around and become the last American car company I would buy from."
Is this beautiful sarcasm? Or does "last" mean 'most recent'?
Also, since I own a small portion of GM, I would like to suggest the sleek, sexy pontiac aztec as the newest fleet of law enforcement vehicles. MADE BY AMERICANS (with awful taste) FOR AMERICANS (with awful taste)!
I guess the real question is, can it catch this sucker ?
Heh heh heh.
On a serious note, the wear and tear would be costly. Basic maintenence on a German car is pretty expensive as it is, let alone a cruiser with its elevated usage. All the mechanics at the garage presumably would be need to be trained in those repair and upkeep practices.
The current fleet does suck though. Basic as can be.
Charles
Hey pianoman, what profits?
I say if the Germans can build a car without begging money from USA taxpayers, and they can pay decent wages to local workers, then the responsible economic decision is clear.
A profitable, self-sustainable company is a better bet for long-term, global economic prosperity.
I'm not even going to touch this.
Hey moderngal, here's a link to a Wiki page describing the model to be manufactured in Chattanooga.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_New_Midsize_Sedan
Ahhhh, thanks Jim Clark. I love 'codename NMS.' I guess that would lend itself well to being a cruiser, but having driven a Jetta for a few years I concur with Anonymous Charles ... they aren't cheap to maintain.
I've always thought that the cruisers added to the "cops-love-donuts-and-coffee" stereotype. Also, it's way too grandma for the Popo.
Great post, but.....and I hate to be a negative nellie, but your image is important to me....this sentence contains a big mistake. "That said, the design is still lacking. The Crown Victoria, though iconic in it's use as a police cruiser, is inefficient in it's gas mileage and jarring in it's looks." Each occurrence of "it's" should be "its"--no apostrophe. "It's" is a contraction for "it is" and no appropriate for your meaning hear.
Great post, but.....and I hate to be a negative nellie, but your image is important to me....this sentence contains a big mistake. "That said, the design is still lacking. The Crown Victoria, though iconic in it's use as a police cruiser, is inefficient in it's gas mileage and jarring in it's looks." Each occurrence of "it's" should be "its"--no apostrophe. "It's" is a contraction for "it is" and not appropriate for your meaning here.
Our readers are geniuses. (or is it genuisi)
do the grammar police drive VWs? or is it VW's?
j/k. seriously. I do the its it's thing all the time.
warning! grammar and spelling police!
to/two/too - be careful of that one, too...
VWs or VW's....both are acceptable. :)
it only makes sense that this post would yield comments such as these. pol, YOU'RE insanity is contagious.
oh gosh, beth. i think you are trying to make my head explode. of course, i never capitalize anything - sorry, capitalization nazis!
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