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California Wants To Force You To Own an EV, but When It Chose a Special New Police Vehicle For the California Highway Patrol, It Chose A Big Honkin’ Gas-Gulper

Raise your hand if you are surprised by the hypocrisy, but when the Golden State chose its newest special undercover California Highway Patrol Cruiser, it picked a huge three-row gas-guzzling SUV, not a battery-electric vehicle. 
California Highway Patrol's new gas-gulping V8-powered patrol car is shown

"Do as we say, not as we do." That seems to be the government of California’s mantra. When the California Highway Patrol chose a new low-profile undercover-sort-of highway patrol vehicle to search for bad guys driving aggressively, it picked a big three-row SUV with a HEMI V8 gasoline engine. 

“The new vehicles give our officers an important advantage,” said CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee. “They will allow us to identify and stop drivers who are putting others at risk, while still showing a professional and visible presence once enforcement action is needed.”

The Dodge Durango CHP chose a fantastic vehicle. We’ve tested it many times, and we love every version of the Durango. CHP could have opted for a relatively fuel-efficient V6, but, according to the Desert Sun, opted for the V8, just like we would do if we were buying one. 2024 Durangos with the V8 have EPA-Estimated Combined fuel efficiency ratings as low as 13 MPG, depending on the specific V8 selected. 

California’s Highway Patrol really loves its gas-burning vehicles. Here’s what they published in a document about them: 

These 100 Dodge Durangos—paired with our existing high-performance fleet, which
includes Dodge Chargers and Ford Explorers—blend into traffic just enough to
observe the most reckless and dangerous behaviors without immediate detection.
Once enforcement begins, their markings serve as a clear reminder that safety is the
CHP’s top priority.

Image of Rivian R1S SUV courtesy of Rivian media page.

SUVs the size of the Durango used by California’s Highway Patrol have been on sale in America now for ten years. Three companies build battery-electric SUVs this size in America. Rivian’s R1S is built in Normal, Illinois. The R1S is capable of a 0-60 MPH launch of just 2.9 seconds. The thing is a rocket, and would have no trouble with the role of a pursuit vehicle. Tesla has been making a three-row all-electric SUV called the Model X for about ten years now, and it is as fast or faster than the Rivian. Guess where this American company builds that SUV? Fremont, California, of all places. Go figure.

Image of EV9 courtesy of Kia media page.

Kia also makes a three-row SUV in America. The EV9 has earned high praise from reviewers. It’s built in Georgia. 

Image shows an Instagram post by California Highway patrol

We could keep on harping about the abject hypocrisy of California forcing EVs down the throats of its residents and those who live in states that adopt CARB’s mandates, minimums, and more, but you get the picture. When California wanted a car for itself, it chose a gig whomping SUV with a gas-gulping V8 engine in it. Just like one you might want. Right?

Here's what California says about EVs and your mandate to own one: "Governor Newsom’s 2020 Executive Order N-79-20 requires all new passenger vehicles sold in California to be zero emissions by 2035."

How do you feel about California pushing EVs on citizens while still buying V8-powered gas gulpers? Tell us in the comments below.

Psst: Did you know that Ford makes fuel-efficient hybrid SUVs just for police duty? We drove one. Here's the Story. 

John Goreham is a credentialed New England Motor Press Association member and expert vehicle tester. John completed an engineering program with a focus on electric vehicles, followed by two decades of work in high-tech, biopharma, and the automotive supply chain before becoming a news contributor. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE int). In addition to his eleven years of work at Torque News, John has published thousands of articles and reviews at American news outlets. He is known for offering unfiltered opinions on vehicle topics. You can connect with John on Linkedin and follow his work on his personal X channel or on our X channel. Please note that stories carrying John's by-line are never AI-generated, but he does employ grammar and punctuation software when proofreading and he also uses image generation tools. 

California Highway Patrol's new gas-gulping V8-powered patrol car shown at top of page courtesy of the public Facebook page of the California Highway Patrol. The second image shows an Instagram post by the California Highway Patrol. Image of Rivian R1S SUV courtesy of Rivian media page. Image of EV9 courtesy of Kia media page. 

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Comments

Bruce Bergdahl (not verified)    May 11, 2025 - 8:50AM

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While the tone of the article is clearly written for one purpose, and even if the author rightly points out how many EVs built in America and even locally are veritable dragsters, he loses his mind by arguing an EV of any current design is acceptable as a HIGHWAY pursuit vehicle. To suggest it's a superior alternative to CHP's proper choice is altogether ludicrous. I know this will be painful, EV fanboys, but your favorite technology Elon Skunk DIDN'T invent still has a long way to go before it's superior to ICE. I'll illustrate one small problem for you.

CHP pursuits may be measured in hours and go for hundreds of miles. Based on current range limits, yeah the EV "rocketship" is about as useful as a tricycle. And those range figures, let's see how far they drop when you dyno that rocketship at, say 100 mph for 120 minutes. If the rocketship is still rocketing along.

Will EV get there, yes I'm sure it will. But right now it's mired in attention whores with more money than brains or self-esteem. I mean ffs, there's an "article" about a guy who has to ensure going from his son's baseball team "cheering" his truck as they drove in (yeah...) and all laughed at his precious space cluck when it had to be towed! I see this all the time, cyberflunk owners crying over something like "it's been on the lot for THREE MONTHS!! No WAY will I take delivery!!" and other assorted poopy diaper whining. 3 months, these things have a shelf life? Just because one or two owners has problems with their toys built in January, suddenly all the fanboys in the chatrooms are chicken little. Tesla is doomed if their customers don't grow up, eliminate the Elon preening, fanboy drooling and butt-hurtery at criticism, and tell their man to put up and shut up or get the f**k out of the way. Don's not gonna be able to drag the competition down for you for ever.

John Goreham    May 12, 2025 - 9:32PM

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Thank you for your impassioned comment, Bruce. I do wish to point out that I don't think any EV is a good police vehicle for any application other than city parking ticket distribution. A small EV, like a Bolt, may be good for that. For highway or general patrol use, I'd pick a Ford Interceptor with its custom-designed 70 MPH rear impact structure, steel rims, ballistic panel doors, and seats designed to accommodate battle rattle vests and belts. My story was intended to point out that California wants to force individual owners to buy EVs, despite the fact that they may not be good in all applications. When the state itself is forced to decide between the best ICE vehicle and an EV that is not as good, it chooses the ICE vehicle, as demonstrated by this recent purchase. Sorry to have led you to think I lost my mind. I was pointing out the U.S.-made EV alternatives to make the point that they are available. Certainly not the overall best. Please keep commenting. We love your style.