Imagine you’re on the run from the law in Honolulu. Your getaway driver chose something common yet powerful enough to challenge all the Ford Explorer Hybrids police departments loved. Let’s say it’s a later Dodge Charger R/T with a 5.7 Hemi. You think you’re speeding away scot-free when up behind you comes a New Edge Mustang Mach 1 with flashing blue roof lights. Oh, yes, it’s the cops alright, and you’ve now found yourself on the wrong side of a “Bullitt” reboot.
This scenario is entirely plausible because it’s not odd to see personal vehicles being used as patrol cars in Honolulu. Now, this is interesting because, on the surface, it might seem this policy is in response to absurdly long fleet-replenishment backorders. In 2021, the HPD ordered over 100 new vehicles, but still hadn’t received a single one after a three-year wait. Hawaii News Now quoted Dustin DeRollo, the spokesman for the State of Hawaii Organization of Police Officers, as saying, “Without police cars, our officers cannot be out patrolling our neighborhoods.”
In the meantime, the department’s Police Subsidized Vehicles guidelines under Policy Number 4.14 have been in place since July 2015, long before the backorder delays. This policy isn’t even unique to Honolulu, as Hawaii Police Department officers on the Big Island have used open-bed pickups as subsidized police vehicles since 2023. So, HPD officers certainly can patrol neighborhoods without police cars, unless you want to asterisk this and say that, technically, subsidized personal vehicles only become police cars once the department pops some blue lights on it.
The rules for turning daily drivers into law enforcement vehicles
The Honolulu Police Department’s Police Subsidized Vehicles web page goes over the stipulations required for an officer to use a personal car for police purposes. You can also check out the PDF of the policy to see the full Approved Vehicles list. Want to use a 400-hp Ford Explorer ST? You got it. No Toyota Camry XSEs with a V6, though! What about a Nissan Maxima SV? Totally fine, unless it has a rear window power sunshade, then it’s off limits. Your Dodge Charger R/T would be rad, though, and it’s on the approved list! Oh, wait, it’s a Scat Pack with the 392? Sorry, no 6.4s or 6.2 Hellcats allowed.
There are also some more general restrictions. “The wheelbase shall be no less than 100 inches.” Fine, no C4 Corvettes or AMC AMXs. How about a C6 Corvette Z06 with its 105.7″ wheelbase and 427 cube LS7 V8? “Engines with eight cylinders shall have a maximum displacement of 400 cubic inches.” Well, that’s understandable. The rules say no “Models manufactured and/or marketed as sports cars” anyway, so Corvettes are out.
Maybe you could choose the ultimate modern hot hatchback, a Toyota GR Corolla! It has back seats for perp wrangling, and its turbocharged 3-cylinder rules. “Engines shall have a minimum of four cylinders.” Alright then, maybe you could do a Kia EV6 GT. “Only gasoline engines are acceptable.” So, that’s a no to a Ford F-250 with the 500 hp Powerstroke diesel V8 that has 1,200 lb-ft of torque, too.
“The department dispenses only 89 octane-level gasoline for all subsidized vehicles.” No premium fuel either, huh? Interesting that someone in the department is using an early 2000s Mustang Mach 1, since the owner’s manual recommends 91+ octane.
Let’s see what else we can’t use for our Honolulu patrols
The rest of the rules are straightforward and include requirements such as a minimum of four working sets of seat belts, no political bumper stickers, no convertibles, no cars with reconstruction permits, no car bras, and no vehicles that take longer than 10 seconds to get to 60 mph. Spoilers are ok, but only on approved car models. Unsurprisingly, permitted vehicles also can’t have accident damage, unfinished paint, or rust. Well, actually, those things are allowed, but for no longer than two weeks. Well, really, truly, those things are allowed for more than two weeks if the Chief of Police says it’s ok.
Approval power largely resides with the Chief, and the policy states, “Unless otherwise approved in writing by the Chief of Police, the only authorized subsidized vehicles are those specified on the attached approved vehicles lists.” In other words, the Chief has the ability to veto or approve your vehicle. He can also thumbs-up vehicles that wouldn’t otherwise be acceptable, such as hybrids. Maybe the Chief could flex a little and do like the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office did in 2022 when it seized a C7 Corvette Z06 from a drug dealer.
There are plenty of weird cars you’ve seen used by local government, but Honolulu PD subsidized vehicles are among the more interesting. If you want to check out more daily drivers and grocery getters that have been drafted into the PD’s fleet, check out the Honolulu page on PoliceCarWebsite. There’s the aforementioned Mustang Mach 1, as well as several Toyota 4Runners, a gen-4 Camaro, and a Dodge Durango, among others. So what would you make your police vehicle if you had the choice?