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Car Forum / BMW Cars / February 2005E39 Police Cars in London
I recently visited the UK and noticed a number of E39 police cars in Westminster. What's the idea with using these? Are they reserved for pursuit, supervisors, etc.? What model are they? The badges were deleted. Having travled elsewhere in Europe I am familiar with the concept of various grades of vehicles being used as police cars (e.g., Italian Carabineri driving Fiat Pandas on up to nice Alfas), but I wonder if some of the UK readers could weigh in. In the U.S., just about all police departments have just one type of car, the Ford Crown Victoria, which is a large V8 rear-driver, for all personnel and all purposes. > I recently visited the UK and noticed a number of E39 police cars in > Westminster. What's the idea with using these? Are they reserved for [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Italian Carabineri driving Fiat Pandas on up to nice Alfas), but I > wonder if some of the UK readers could weigh in. They use E39s in Glasgow too. I think Durham Police have some E39 540i's for motorway patrol. Highland Constabulary has an X5 now, they used to get Range Rovers (lots of snow up here). Quite a few forces like the 3.0 diesel versions of the 3, 5 and X5 because they're fairly cheap to run but still nice and quick. One force (Brighton?) had an E36 //M3 under cover car. They used to try and get the boy racers to race them, then nick them for racing ;-)  SignatureWho needs a life when you've got Unix? :-) Email: john@unixnerd.demon.co.uk, John G.Burns B.Eng, Bonny Scotland Web : http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk - The Ultimate BMW Homepage! Need Sun or HP Unix kit? http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/unix.html >I think Durham Police have some E39 540i's Correct, they have some E39's. E46's and an X5 I think. Plus a loads of mercs but I don't know much about model numbers im afraid :-) Ash >I recently visited the UK and noticed a number of E39 police cars in > Westminster. What's the idea with using these? Are they reserved for [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Victoria, which is a large V8 rear-driver, for all personnel and all > purposes. Strathclyde police in Scotland, UK, have E39 models, 530d, 525i, 528i. Those are the ones I have seen anyway. Badger. >I recently visited the UK and noticed a number of E39 police cars in > Westminster. What's the idea with using these? Are they reserved for [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Victoria, which is a large V8 rear-driver, for all personnel and all > purposes. they are unbadged 520i's. They are used as area cars - not designated pursuit vehicles. They can be used initially in pursuits, but these are then given over to traffic department officers as soon as practible. Harry. > they are unbadged 520i's. > They are used as area cars - not designated pursuit vehicles. > They can be used initially in pursuits, but these are then given over to > traffic department officers as soon as practible. Not quite sure where you got that from. All Met Police and City of London police 5ers (saloons and tourings) are 530ds, as are ARU's Imola Red 5er saloons. They drive past me on a daily basis, and that isn't the exhaust note of a sweet, oversquare petrol six :). >> they are unbadged 520i's. >> They are used as area cars - not designated pursuit vehicles. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Not quite sure where you got that from. My Job - am a Met Sergeant. One of my closest pals is also an advanced course driving instuctor. All 'Area Cars' are 520's. There may be other models available, but not on 'division' All Met Police and City of > London police 5ers (saloons and tourings) are 530ds, as are ARU's Imola > Red 5er saloons. They drive past me on a daily basis, and that isn't > the exhaust note of a sweet, oversquare petrol six :). > I recently visited the UK and noticed a number of E39 police cars in > Westminster. What's the idea with using these? Are they reserved for > pursuit, supervisors, etc.? What model are they? The ones round here are known as area cars and are 530D autos. They are driven by specially trained drivers as opposed to the smaller Vauxhalls etc. I'll bet the Met got a very special deal on them as they only appeared at the end of E39 production. There are no 'home grown' UK cars of this size now - Ford, Vauxhall and Rover no longer cover this class. Signature*I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message. Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. As you can see from the various answers, BMW police cars are quite common in the UK. They started out for use on motorways, IIRC. Didn't Thames Valley Police pioneer this? (Thames Valley is a region west of London.) Curiously I don't recollect seeing Merc police cars in the UK. Of course in Germany Merc, BMW, Porsche (!) etc are very common.... To address your question about who gets a BMW, pass, ask me another. One of the other correspondents offered a specific answer but it may vary across the police forces. DAS SignatureFor direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- >I recently visited the UK and noticed a number of E39 police cars in > Westminster. What's the idea with using these? Are they reserved for [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Victoria, which is a large V8 rear-driver, for all personnel and all > purposes. > Didn't Thames Valley Police pioneer this? Don't think so. They've been (100%?) Vauxhall for normal cars as long as I can remember. > (Thames Valley is a region west of London.) Except the bit that's not. Or has someone moved Milton Keynes? > Curiously I don't recollect seeing Merc police cars in the UK. I've seen a ML on the motorway and www.ukpolicecars.co.uk (Google rocks...) suggests Hertfordshire fancied a go in a C and an E. > DAS Anyone ever asked you to not top post Dori? Try it, you'll like it.... Just for you, I'll do it this way, but don't expect me to 'bottom-post' in general... See below. DAS SignatureFor direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- >> Didn't Thames Valley Police pioneer this? > > Don't think so. They've been (100%?) Vauxhall for normal cars as long as I > can remember. DAS: I meant for motorways. >> (Thames Valley is a region west of London.) > > Except the bit that's not. Or has someone moved Milton Keynes? DAS: I don't think the majority of the participants here (LA, Toronto and a few other places in North America) want or need to know about the exact demarcation of Thames Valley and the location of Milton Keynes...(and its cow bushes)... :-) >> Curiously I don't recollect seeing Merc police cars in the UK. > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Anyone ever asked you to not top post Dori? Try it, you'll like it.... > Just for you, I'll do it this way, but don't expect me to > 'bottom-post' in general... Grrr. You talk a lot of sense. I wish you'd see the light. >> Don't think so. They've been (100%?) Vauxhall for normal cars as >> long as I can remember. > > DAS: I meant for motorways. Me too. I still see only Omegas on their M4 patch. > DAS: I don't think the majority of the participants here (LA, > Toronto and a few other places in North America) want or need to know > about the exact demarcation of Thames Valley and the location of > Milton Keynes...(and its cow bushes)... :-) Heh. Why not? We have to put up with their requests for the best garage in Orange County and suchlike :) See below (Grant) DAS SignatureFor direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- >> Just for you, I'll do it this way, but don't expect me to >> 'bottom-post' in general... > > Grrr. You talk a lot of sense. I wish you'd see the light. DAS: I do? That's the nicest thing anybody has said to me all year... >>> Don't think so. They've been (100%?) Vauxhall for normal cars as >>> long as I can remember. >> >> DAS: I meant for motorways. > > Me too. I still see only Omegas on their M4 patch. DAS: It looks like you are right, certainly as regards today. http://www.ukpolicecars.co.uk/ Great website somebody posted earlier in this thread. I just thought I had read about it some time ago. Maybe BMW bikes? >> DAS: I don't think the majority of the participants here (LA, >> Toronto and a few other places in North America) want or need to know [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Heh. Why not? We have to put up with their requests for the best garage in > Orange County and suchlike :) DAS: Again, you're right, so Milton Keynes is approx NNW of London up the M1 motorway... but it still does not pass any so what? test. However, perhaps we can ask about a decent garage in Bletchley, just outside Milton Keynes?.... Don't worry, I top post because it is absolutely stupid to have to scroll down on EVERY reply past all that has been shown before, just to get to the response. KEEP TOP POSTING. We enlightened minority will soon "win" over those that are sheep led by convention! > Just for you, I'll do it this way, but don't expect me to 'bottom-post' in > general... [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] >> >> Anyone ever asked you to not top post Dori? Try it, you'll like it.... I absolutely agree but it does appear to depend on the newsreader and how one views the messages. Through Google it is very different. And the other day I had a very peculiar experience. I found my posts to this (and another similar) NG all over the web in OTHER forums. And there it really can be a little incovenient to read top-posted msgs. However, sod it... DAS SignatureFor direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- > Don't worry, I top post because it is absolutely stupid to have to scroll > down on EVERY reply past all that has been shown before, just to get to > the response. KEEP TOP POSTING. We enlightened minority will soon "win" > over those that are sheep led by convention! [...] > And there it really can be a little incovenient to read top-posted msgs. Trouble is most top posters simply quote the entire post - or more likely the thread that they're commenting on - which is a pain in the wallet for those on a dial up connection. And also don't understand how a decent newsreader follows threading. My rule of thumb is to make sure my entire post is only one page at 800 x 600 which might involve some trimming and re-formatting. So no one has to scroll to follow it. Signature*Modulation in all things * Dave Plowman dave@davenoise.co.uk London SW To e-mail, change noise into sound. >> And there it really can be a little incovenient to read top-posted msgs. > >Trouble is most top posters simply quote the entire post - or more likely >the thread that they're commenting on - which is a pain in the wallet for >those on a dial up connection. And also don't understand how a decent >newsreader follows threading. Fact is for most people - even those on dial-up - the download time for text isn't a real issue. The real issue is just the one related to courtesy and effective communication skills. It's not like you'd write a letter to someone, and then staple the whole correspondence file onto the back of it, is it? Well, maybe some people would. It's customary in correspondence to introduce the a summary of the subject matter in order for the reader to know what the f.ck you're talking about. Of course, stapling the whole file to the back of the letter works as well, it just takes longer to read it all to figure out what the f.ck the twat is talking about. It's just another social skill. Not everyone has social skills. SignatureDan Drake >> Curiously I don't recollect seeing Merc police cars in the UK. > > I've seen a ML on the motorway and www.ukpolicecars.co.uk (Google > rocks...) > suggests Hertfordshire fancied a go in a C and an E. Strathclyde have a fleet of marked Merc C280 Kompressor saloons doing Traffic police duties, most of which (if not all) have tiptronic type gearboxes. They also have a fleet of ML320 4X4's mainly doing motorway patrol work, and again, I believe all are autos. Additionally, they have a large number of marked 5er's (probably outnumbering the Merc's by 2/1) - almost all are 530's but in both Petrol and Diesel and both Manual and Tiptronic Automatic flavours (although the manual cars are being phased out and are disappearing fast). As far as I'm aware, the 2000 year model ('W' Plate) unmarked 528i's in use here have been replaced, one of which was definately replaced by a Skoda Superb...and apparently the Skoda's now doing a roaring trade, scalping speeders all across Ayrshire! Cheers BigBazza LoL. As it happens I plan to spend a few days in Skoda-Land next week... DAS SignatureFor direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- [...] > As far as I'm aware, the 2000 year model ('W' Plate) unmarked 528i's > in use here have been replaced, one of which was definately replaced [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > BigBazza "Dori A Schmetterling" <ng@nospam.co.uk> haute in die Tasten: > LoL. As it happens I plan to spend a few days in Skoda-Land next > week... Do you go there by car? If so I would recommend travelling the road from Bayerisch Eisenstein (Bavarian border) to Plzen (Pilsen - where the famous beer is made). And you should not come back without a crate of original Pilsener Urquell beer, which tastes different than the stuff you can buy elsewhere under that brand name. The advantage of that road is, that there is a bridge with only 3.40 m max. headroom, so big trucks cannot pass and do not use this road. Very nice also for convertibles in the summertime. Frank Signatureplease replace spam-muelleimer with fk-newsgroups for e-mail contact Citroen - Made in Trance It would take two days to get there by car (have done it before) and I am only there for about three days, so it has to be by (probably) an Airbus Industries product at five hundred miles per hour... Plus the weather is rotten now. FYI it takes me about 10 h to drive from London to the Frankfurt area via the below-water Shuttle, or 9 h if I don't put in sufficient stops. It is about 430 miles (not counting the miles sitting on the train). Actually, I prefer (Czech) Budweiser to Pilsner Urquell... both of which are readily available in UK supermarkets. Are you telling me that there is more than one formulation of each? Actually, from what I remember from my previous trip, admittedly soon after the 'Velvet Revolution' (1991) before the western companies had started buying up local firms and changing their production methods, the Budweiser on draft in Prague bars was, indeed, different to the bottled stuff. It was weaker... DAS SignatureFor direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- > "Dori A Schmetterling" <ng@nospam.co.uk> haute in die Tasten: > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Frank "Dori A Schmetterling" <ng@nospam.co.uk> haute in die Tasten: > Are you telling me that there is more > than one formulation of each? I would not bet my virginity on it;-) But I bought some Pilsener Urquell in the Czech republic and had the impression that it tasted somewhat different. Budweiser js a totally different thing, as most Budweiser beer is made in the USA, and this is for sure a different formulation;-) But if you do not go there by car, a crate of beer will probably not be accepted as cabin luggage;-) Frank Signatureplease replace spam-muelleimer with fk-newsgroups for e-mail contact Citroen - Made in Trance Yes, of course, it is not a Pilsener (or "pils", as we say in the UK). That's why I prefer it; less bitter. And, as I said, I am talking Bohemian ('proper') Budweiser (from Budweis). I could always put a crate in the hold, but last time I tried something similar with wine the airline -- BA in Verona -- practically forced me to take it into the cabin. Luckily it was much less than a case. DAS For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- [...] > Budweiser js a totally different thing, as most Budweiser beer > is made in the USA, and this is for sure a different formulation;-) > > But if you do not go there by car, a crate of beer will probably not be > accepted as cabin luggage;-) [...] > Curiously I don't recollect seeing Merc police cars in the UK. They use Mercs in Glasgow, not sure what type. SignatureWho needs a life when you've got Unix? :-) Email: john@unixnerd.demon.co.uk, John G.Burns B.Eng, Bonny Scotland Web : http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk - The Ultimate BMW Homepage! Need Sun or HP Unix kit? http://www.unixnerd.demon.co.uk/unix.html [...] > Curiously I don't recollect seeing Merc police cars in the UK. Lothian and Borders, Fife and Grampian all use Mercs, including E430. A Also re John Burns's comment: I don't get north of the border that much. However, maybe my powers of observation/recall are racing towards decrepitude as in 2003 I spent five days in Glasgow and don't remember the police cars. Even drove there up the west coast and home via Jedburgh down the east coast. DAS SignatureFor direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- > [...] > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > A > Also re John Burns's comment: I don't get north of the border that much. > However, maybe my powers of observation/recall are racing towards [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > DAS Strathclyde cops took 2 of them across to the isle of mull last october to help police the tour of mull rally, a 525 and a 530d. Badger. sapereaude@earthlink.net wrote in news:1106672363.482887.214570 @z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com: > The badges were > deleted. Having travled elsewhere in Europe I am familiar with the > concept of various grades of vehicles being used as police cars (e.g., > Italian Carabineri driving Fiat Pandas on up to nice Alfas), And then some ... http://www.motoring.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=751&fArticleId=2353201 SignatureLordy >I recently visited the UK and noticed a number of E39 police cars in > Westminster. What's the idea with using these? Are they reserved for > pursuit, supervisors, etc.? What model are they? The badges were > deleted. I live in the South West of Scotland, and our local police use e39s, a Mercedes C Class and Volvo V70s for traffic police duty. They tend to use the BMW X5, the Mercedes M Class and most commonly, the Ford Focus, for local police work. Well, would you expect European police to drive Crown Victorias...?... Just because they see them on TV...?... DAS Signature-- For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- [..] > deleted. Having travled elsewhere in Europe I am familiar with the > concept of various grades of vehicles being used as police cars (e.g., [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Victoria, which is a large V8 rear-driver, for all personnel and all > purposes. [top posting fixed] > [..] > > deleted. Having travled elsewhere in Europe I am familiar with the [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Victoria, which is a large V8 rear-driver, for all personnel and all > > purposes. > Well, would you expect European police to drive Crown Victorias...?... Just > because they see them on TV...?... > > DAS uhhh...I think the point was that in the US there is less variety in the types of vehices used by the Police, than is the case in the UK. [Bottom-posting style improved] Joke! DAS SignatureFor direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- [...] > uhhh...I think the point was that in the US there is less variety in the > types of vehices used by the Police, than is the case in the UK. > Well, would you expect European police to drive Crown Victorias...?... Just > because they see them on TV...?... [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling > --- No. Especially having driven one a few times! My point is only that in a number of European countries, the police seem to diversify their fleets more broadly than in the US and Canada, an interesting practice to some of us on this side of the pond. Here such a suggestion would likely be met by incredulous stares from the fleet manager who likes to stock one size of tire, one weight of oil, etc. > [..] > > deleted. Having travled elsewhere in Europe I am familiar with the [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Victoria, which is a large V8 rear-driver, for all personnel and all > > purposes. sapereaude@earthlink.net haute in die Tasten: > No. Especially having driven one a few times! My point is only > that in a number of European countries, the police seem to [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > the fleet manager who likes to stock one size of tire, one weight > of oil, etc. I think that US Police cars are more customized to the needs of police duty than, say, in Germany. Here they recently started leasing their police cars instead of buying them. For that reason the exterior colour has changed. In former times most german police cars were white with green doors and green hoods. Now they are silver and wear green or silver decials made out of plastic film. At the end of the lease the police equipment is de-installed, the decials are removed, and some lucky guy gets a beaten-to-death BMW touring with a nice colour;-) This is how german police cars looked some years ago http://www.blaulichtfahrzeuge.de/polizei/hamburg1/ford-414-12.html and this is how they look now: http://www.blaulichtfahrzeuge.de/polizei/hamburg1/merceklasse-digi- 030310-02.html (Note, how they managed to install the lights/siren section into the sunroof gap) As a rule of thumb, german police does not use cars from foreign manufacturers, with rare exceptions. So I have seen some Land Rover Discovery in the colours of the Bavarian police on duty in the Berchtesgaden County near the Alps. http://cameltrophy.wz.cz/Images/fotky/dis12c.JPG This seemed odd to me, because there are many Mercedes G models on duty for various police departments and special operations groups. When the Deutschmark was exchanged against the Euro, one could also see some armoured money transport trucks (very impressve 8x8 vehicles, which can run more than 100 mph). They usually were accompanied by armoured BMW E38 or by armoured Toyota Landcruiser (all painted in police colours) Frank Signatureplease replace spam-muelleimer with fk-newsgroups for e-mail contact Citroen - Made in Trance |
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