It’s time to bring back the powder blue Austin Police Cruiser.
Almost 30 years ago Austin had the best patrol cars, now they are depressingly bland.
When I was a kid the police cars in Austin were distinct from anywhere in the country. They were white and powder blue with the APD badge on the door, and you couldn’t miss them.
The powder blue cars were introduced in the beginning of 1970’s. But before those we had a few other options avaiable to our patrol officers.
Unfortunately, in the early to mid-90s the two-toned blue cars were dumped in favor to the most drab livery I’ve ever seen on a police vehicle. Mainly white with a wimpy blue and gold strip, and ‘Police’ written down the side so large that I presume the decal place got paid based on the letter height.
These lasted until Art Acevedo (in what he called a cost saving measure) changed to the current abysmally boring black & white. The now ubiquitous Ford Interceptor Utility may be a major interior upgrade from the old Crown Vic’s for the officers, but to the public the exterior is lacking.
But Austin is better than this. I have a hard time believing swapping one white-plus-a-single-color-scheme, for another white-plus-a-single-color-scheme is going to substantially change the cost of outfitting these cars and trucks. It’s time we bring back the classic blue and white APD cruiser.
One more photo. There is a guy in Austin named Keith Crippen who bought up an old 1973 Plymouth Fury and restored it down to the metal, and built it back up into a wonderful powder blue APD Cruiser. Have a look, and check out Keiths full build gallery here.
