[Timothy (in VA)]

I think the Crown Vic's biggest strength is their strength in numbers. Any car being pursued is just one car, but the cops will have an entire fleet of V8 rear wheel drive Crown Vics at their disposal. Furthermore, a Crown Vic interceptor is built for hard driving (heavy-duty shocks, etc.), and the officers are trained for hard driving. Also, once they get going, they keep going - they've got 4000 pounds of momentum behind them after all. The weight also comes in handy if force is necessary to end a pursuit.

All in all, a Ford Crown Victoria with flashing lights is not something you want to see bearing down on you in your rear-view mirror.