Vienna officials this year approved the purchase of three new vehicles under the town’s replacement program, but because the vendor received the purchase orders after the manufacturer’s building-date cutoff, those vehicles will end up costing a total of $2,125 more.
The Vienna Town Council on Oct. 25 agreed to pay Sheehy Ford of Richmond $87,951 (up $1,596) for two police interceptors and $46,457 (up $525) for one hybrid sport-utility vehicle.
Council member Steve Potter asked why town police needed supercharged engines capable of 148 mph.
“Isn’t that kind of overkill?” he asked. “They’ll never go that fast.”
“We probably don’t need the 400-horsepower option,” agreed Council member Charles Anderson, noting that the Ford interceptor has three engine choices. “It seems excessive to power up for a once-in-every-10-years chase.”
The town typically keeps police vehicles for five to eight years, then removes the law-enforcement features from them and puts the vehicles up for auction, said Vienna Public Works Director Michael Gallagher.
Vehicles produced for police work typically are “pursuit-rated,” said Vienna Police Chief James Morris. Chevrolet no longer makes police-package vehicles, but Dodge and Ford still do, he said.