Isuzu VehiCOPS!
autoblog.com - Posted Sep 21st 2006 3:35PM by Alex Nunez
Filed under: SUVs, Etc., Isuzu

Photo: Chris Belanger - autoblog.com




http://www.autoblog.com/2006/09/21/isuzu-vehicops/

We love seeing interesting police cars, and by "interesting," we mean a car that does not have an available factory police package. With that in mind, you can imagine the smile that crossed our faces when we opened an email from reader/tipster Chris Belanger. Chris saw something parked in Montecito, CA that definitely qualifies as interesting as far as we're concerned.

It would appear that the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's motor pool includes a genuine oddity among the usual fleetmobiles: a full-dress Isuzu VehiCROSS police car.

Powered by a 3.5-liter 215-horsepower, the quirky-cool 2-door VehiCROSS was only available from '99 to '01 in the US. It seems that Americans preferred their SUVs with a second set of doors (no surprise there), more traditional appearance, and spacious interiors . The VehiCROSS was two doors short and a bit too avant-garde-looking for the masses, and it was euthanized in the US after a little more than 4,000 of them were imported over its three-year stay.

Well, we now know the fate of one of them. If you're in Santa Barbara County, you might catch it out and about one of these days, which would certainly be better than it catching you, if you get our drift.

Great tip, Chris!

[Source, photos: Chris Belanger - Autoblog.com]