Fords, Holdens, Chryslers and Mitsubishis: Police cars through the years

Friday, 11 December 2020

Among the first police cars was this 1918 Ford TT van.

From the earliest Fords through to the new Skodas, police cars have been features of New Zealand roads for a century.

Harbingers of vehicle styles and tastes through the years, police cars first appeared in New Zealand around 1919.

The 1950s American made Chevrolet proved to be a popular vehicle among drivers, but they were expensive and hard to obtain.

Cars had first appeared in New Zealand around the turn of the century, and it took almost 20 years before the police purchased a 1918 Ford TT van.

Even then they were initially retained for use by senior officers and routine patrolling remained with the age old (and cheap) horse, bicycle, or size 10 boot.

Historic New Zealand police cars include the Holden EH Special.

Transport Minister Peter Gordon talking to officers lined up beside their new cars outside Ford’s Lower Hutt plant around 1970. (File photo)

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Police Commissioner Rob Robinson, right, and Minister of Police George Hawkins announce new police car deal in 2003. They are sitting in a 1975 Holden HQ Kingswood police car. (File photo)

Historic New Zealand police cars include the 1984 Ford Falcon panel van.

Historic New Zealand police cars include the 1986 Ford Falcon patrol car.

In 1919 the police in Auckland, Wellington (and I believe) Christchurch were each issued with a new Ford Model TT motorised light truck and a restored example exists today with the New Zealand Police Museum collection.

Historic New Zealand police cars include the Mitsubishi V3000 (post merger New Zealand Police and Ministry of Transport Traffic Safety Service 1992).

On August 25, 1920, the first recorded instance of investigating police using a motor car to attend the scene of a crime occurred following the murder (the previous day) of Sydney Seymour Eyre at Tuakau in South Auckland.

Over the next 30 years, police got by on the smell of the proverbial oily rag, having to share the cost of running the vehicles with other Government departments.

The distinctive Holden sedans with their yellow and blue checked paint finishings are a common site on New Zealand roads.

Police had to rely on a succession of unreliable second hand, mismatched examples.

In 1933 a second hand 1930 Austin was acquired at Auckland and when not required for use by the district commander, it was available for general use but only with a nominated full time driver behind the wheel.”

Police have selected Skoda station wagons as their new frontline patrol cars.

The depression of the 1930s saw the purchase of second hand vehicles including a Vauxhall, a Hillman and the first Ford V8, plus some mixed Chevrolet models, raising Auckland’s fleet to ten vehicles.”

Up to the 1950s the acquisition of vehicles continued to be problematic for government agencies. Before World War II the money was simply not available and during the war vehicles were impossible to obtain. For several years following the conflict money remained tight and obtaining new cars remained just a pipedream.

Mixed assortments of cars continued to be the norm, with Vauxhall, Wolseley, Humber and Chrysler models, even a Jeep, obtained when the need was great and the price was right.

The Humber Super Snipe was a huge, fast luxury vehicle in civilian life and was found to be ideal for police use overseas, but in New Zealand it had its problems on our less than perfect roads.

It would be the late 1960s before the New Zealand Police were able to begin standardising the national fleet.

Following a few decades with Ford vehicles in the late 1970s to 1990s, Holdens have largely remained the favoured vehicle for many decades. The use of high performance patrol vehicles became necessary to meet the relentless increase in crime committed by the highly mobile modern criminal.

From very shaky beginnings the New Zealand Police began to develop its fleet from a diverse range of often unreliable early vehicles into the modern fleet of practical and efficient vehicles.

Rumours abounded in the 1970s that Ford had offered to supply the New Zealand Police with Ford patrol cars free of charge on the proviso they be permitted to advertise the fact.

This was declined on the basis the police might be perceived as obligated to Ford and did not want to be seen as receiving a “Gift.”

When General Motors announced the end of the Holden brand and police were forced to hunt for a new preferred vehicle supplier.

They went to the industry with a request for proposals in July this year and on November 25 announced they had selected Czech manufacturer Skoda to supply their new frontline patrol cars.

Police commissioner Andy Coster cited the reduced environmental impact of the Czech cars as one reason they were chosen. Electric and hybrid vehicles were considered but did not make the cut due to performance issues.

“With more than 2000 primary response vehicles currently in action, selecting a new supplier provides an important opportunity to reduce carbon emissions and ensure value for money across our fleet,” he said.

They have chosen station wagons instead of sedans due to their greater flexibility, his statement said.

Two models of Skoda will be deployed, a 162kW two-wheel-drive and a 206kW four-wheel-drive version.

Police expect to deploy the first batch of Skodas in April 2021.

Ken Brewer is a former police officer, historian, and novelist. His first novel The Enfield Conspiracy was published in 2013. An earlier version of his article on the history of police cars was published on the NZ Police Museum’s website.