[sperry]

Originally Posted by Ezdno

Are you sure that car isnt the standard SVO that NHP were issued when the car was commissioned? Two of my close friends both took new SVO Mustangs as their cruisers.

That's certainly not an SVO, no hood scoop for the intercooler:





And the term "five-oh" came from Hawaii 5-0.

And...

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

Also in 1982, the California Highway Patrol asked Ford to produce a capable and lightweight police car due to the bulkyness of current police cars like the Ford Fairmont and LTD/Crown Victoria and the problems incurred with Camaros with their camshafts at pursuit speeds. Taking the Fox 5.0 Mustangs in production at the time, Ford produced the Ford Mustang SSP (Special Service Package) and modified them to suit the needs of the police and law enforcement departments. Nearly 15,000 of these special units were made until their discontinuation in 1993.

Some of the options that came with the car included:

* Engine, 5.0 HO V8 with Sequential Multi Port Injection
* Forged pistons, roller cam (Hypereutectic pistons 1993)
* Engine oil cooler
* Aircraft-type Silicone radiator hoses and clamps
* 5 speed manual or 4 speed AOD transmission
* Auto transmission fluid cooler
* Brakes, power disc front/drum rear with rotor shields
* Stainless steel factory headers
* Dual exhaust system w/stainless tips
* Fuel tank capacity - 15.4 Gallons
* Heavy duty stabilizer bars, front and rear
* Full instrumentation with in-dash tachometer
* 130 Amp heavy duty alternator
* 2 Piece VASCAR speedometer cable
* Certified calibrated Police speedometer 0-160 MPH
* Non operational courtesy lights (safety feature)
* Steering wheel, leather wrapped
* Relocated rear deck release
* Single key locking doors/trunk
* Reinforced floor pans
* Full size spare tire
* 15" X 7" Cast Aluminum Wheels

Depending on which agency bought them, extras like Rollcages (Requested by Oregon State Police) and Power Windows (Requested by New York State Police) made each SSP unique to their respective departments. The small rear seat and manual transmission were generally considered ill-suited for a law enforcement vehicle.

Virtually all of the SSP Mustangs were of the coupe or "notchback" style cars; 5 examples made for the CHP in 1982 were of the Hatchback model.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Mustang

...the Mustang was never intended to be a "squad car"... purely an interceptor. In addition to being crappy duty cars, they were also crappy persuit cars because they were so hard to drive at high speeds due to the lightbar's aero effect (and I would guess the normal handling characteristics of those cars ), according to some interview I remember reading w/ a CHP officer a while back.