I was in Battle Creek today and noticed something odd. There'* plenty of taxis and all of them are basically the same. They're all blue. One thing I really noticed is how the Taxis look almost identical to a police car, minus the badging. They even have all the lights except the blue, and they don't flash. The part that'* really wierd is that I pulled up behind one of these Taxis and on the back was a badge on the lower left hand corner that said "Police Interceptor." Now, if it'* a Taxi, why did Ford make them with the Police Interceptor package? Just found that kind of odd that all the taxis around here are essentially police cars minus the lights.

A lot of taxis ARE police cars. The cab companies buy a lot of decommissioned cruisers. They're cheap and the suspensions are beefier than standard which is even more important for a cab than it is for a cruiser.

And they're huge, so you can take an entire family comfortably.

Not to mention vinyl back seats that can be HOSED out if need arises.

I have never been in a cab, never even been in a city that has cabs really. Why is suspension so important? I know it is probably something pretty simple, but I just cant think of it.

My guess is they need hardy suspensions due to crappy, pothole-ridden city streets.

One some Impala taxis here, you can still see the POLICE still embedded in the rear plastic reflector panel across the back of the trunk lid.

Best way to see if a Crown Vic was a previous law enforcement vehicle is to check the fuse box. Otherwise you could order them with the Interceptor package from the factory.

anybody know what the exact differences are between the police interceptor and the regular crown Vic? My mom'* friend'* husband is a police officer ina small town and he said the crown vics are SLOOOOW. they miss the old Caprices. Apparently the police interceptors used by city cops are slow enough that most cars can outrun them pretty easy. nothing outruns the radio though.

Duh! Crown Vics are Ford, Caprices are GM. The math works out...