We have written several times on this blog about the phenomenon of Saab cars in police use in the city of Aspen and the surrounding area. In fact, Saab cars were the choice of many police around the world, from Oman, through the aforementioned Aspen and Finland, all the way to Australia, where the powerful Saab V6 Aero models were interceptors.
These days, the choice of the right car for the police services in Aspen has been updated again, but now there is no Saab as a choice. Most often, the Saab was chosen by the police authorities because it was a reliable car, with fairly good performance, safe in the domain of passive safety, and good passability thanks to its suitable FWD, which was one of the main reasons for choosing Aspen police. It is known that this town is the center of winter sports and skiers during the winter period and that it is known for its heavy snowfall. That is why Saab was their choice.
Now the Aspen police, as a rather alternative, are again choosing one alternative choice – they are looking for Tesla cars, which is not a common case in the USA. In fact, Tesla is used as a police car beyond the United States. These include Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Thailand, which have a few test cars from Tesla for experience in the role of a police car.
Across the United States, police have introduced Tesla Model Y electric cars. In fact, this choice takes into account both the environmental aspect and the economic one. This week, The Aspen Times reported that the Aspen police in Colorado are now asking for $ 311,000 from the Aspen City Council for the purchase of five Tesla Model Y.
The cars that the Aspen police are interested in are LR (Long Range) and they cost 10,000 dollars more than the traditional version of the Model Y. If this budget is approved, it is not unlikely, according to the facility chief of police, that the petrol car fleet will be completely replaced by electric cars. According to police calculations, this time would save them huge amounts of money in Aspen, for example, it would cost the police $ 44,000 a year to operate each Ford Police Interceptor. Not to mention the environmental aspect.
It can be seen from the newspaper’s interview with the Chief of Police’s facilities that the police in Aspen have had enough of being in “strange” police cars and even want to be cool for a change.
In the seventies of the last century, the police in Aspen became “famous” for a special car fleet, but an agreement was made with the Swedish car manufacturer Saab and from approx. 1970 to 2004, the police only drove Saab. Which was considered special. (Swedish Police Also used Saab 900 as Police car)
With this new decision and choice, Officials at the Aspen Police Department have an idea that not only harkens back to the old days of Saab patrol cars, it helps combat climate change.
Well that’s great to hear. Sad they don’t have any Saab EVs to fill the role. I remember way back when Saab was trying to make a transition to EVs how the majority of Saab fans were up in arms saying EVs were a horrible idea. What Saab was doing got me looking into EVs and it quickly became apparent to me that it was the future. Me and a few others tried talking sense into all the petrol heads but they just couldn’t see beyond their outdated views. It may not have changed things but I always wondered what effect the vehement response from the fan base had on the struggling Saab at the time. I find this transition with the Aspen police so interesting because it mirrors my own. To me Tesla is the brand that most closely encapsulates the essence of the Saab spirit. Although it would be an overstatement to say it replaced Saab in my heart I can say that I have fallen head over heels for Tesla. I keep peeking my head into the Saab world from time to time hoping someone in this world will see what an overlooked gem the Saab brand is and bring them back.