One of the three cruisers purchased by the town to replace its aging fleet of Crown Victorias is ready for the road.

THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL / Bob Breidenbach

NORTH PROVIDENCE — Move out of the way, Crown Victoria, your days are numbered. After years of being the cruiser of choice for the Police Department, you’re being replaced by the Dodge Charger.

Indeed, two of the 2007 Chargers are already on the road and there’s one more that’s about to be, once department mechanic Christopher Lesiuk finishes installing the special lights and bumpers, and doing all the other custom work that will help to make it readily identifiable as a North Providence police cruiser.

With a 349 horsepower engine, 100 horsepower more than the department’s other cruisers, it looks a bit meaner, and presumably will have more of what it takes to pursue fleeing bad guys. But Lesiuk says it’s not the size of the engine that caused the town to make the switch.

“There are two reasons actually,” he said. “One is the warranty. With the Fords, we had the standard 36 month/30,000 miles warranty. These Chargers have a three-year/100,000 mile warranty. Considering that our cars go through 90,000 miles in three years and usually go through one or two transmissions and possibly a motor in that lifespan, the warranty alone will save us big bucks. A transmission can cost you $2,000 and a motor can go for $9,000.”

The other reason: miles per gallon. Although the car will run on all 8 cylinders when in a pursuit situation, it automatically shifts to 4 cylinders when the car is idling, saving a tremendous amount of gas.

“We haven’t computed the gas mileage yet, but the officers on patrol say they are filling up a lot less with the Charger,” says Lesiuk. “With the other cars they might fill up with 7 to 9 gallons per shift. With these cars, it’s more like 4 or 5. That’s a tremendous savings.”

With 55 vehicles to take care of — including four cars assigned to the mayor and Town Hall – and 51 police vehicles, Lesiuk, who ran his own auto repair shop in Chepachet before becoming the town’s full-time police mechanic three years ago, has a busy job.

He says he arrives for work on Monday never knowing what to expect. “You find all these mysterious dents, maybe from officers hitting a curb that they shouldn’t, or from backing into a pole. And the brakes on our cruisers never last long. A normal set of front pads should last 30,000 miles. Ours last 8,000. Our tires last 12,000 miles instead of a normal 50,000.”

The police cruisers — particularly the 15 pursuit vehicles that constitute the front line — get a thorough workout, running 24 hours a day for four days straight before getting two days off for upkeep and maintenance.

Because the cruiser becomes their home away from home, officers especially appreciate the fact that the new Chargers are far more comfortable and user-friendly than the old Victorias, Lesiuk says.

The old cars have a whole series of buttons that an officer has to push to control each light. On the Charger the number of switches is reduced to three: one to turn on the lights on the rear, another to turn on all the lights, and a third to turn on the lights and siren. “It keeps the officer where he wants to be, looking straight. It makes it a lot of easier.”

All the vehicles are equipped with laptop computers that were upgraded last year with a federal grant, and feature puncture proof plastic seats, specially shaped to allow prisoners to sit comfortably with their hands handcuffed behind them. With the new models, the prisoners also have a bit more legroom.

Police Chief Ernest Spaziano said that since the first of the cruisers have gone on the road, they’ve gotten rave reviews.

“The car handles a lot better. It has more power, brakes better, corners and maneuvers better and the doors open wide so it’s easier to get in and out of, which is important when you have a gun and all the other things on your belt. Even the prisoners have more room for their feet.”

The chief said the only “negative thing” he’s heard so far is that the top of the windshield is relatively low, so that if officers pull up close to a traffic signal they cannot see the light without bending their heads.

The cars were purchased from Bald Hill Dodge in Warwick for $32,000 a piece, with money derived from drug dealers whose property has been confiscated by law enforcement agencies.

Although the town received two other bids — one each from Ford and Chevrolet dealers from out of state — officials decided to go with the Charger, even though it was $3,000 more, because of the savings they expect to achieve over the long run from the better gas mileage and extended warranty.

“As far as performance goes, California has done a lot of testing, and this car has broken all sorts of records,” Lesiuk said.

Before being put on the road, there was a big debate between former Mayor A. Ralph Mollis, his chief of staff and Chief Spaziano on whether to change the colors of the cruiser back to what they once were, black and white. Spaziano said that if a change were to occur, all the cruisers would have to be changed, which would have cost $150,000. The idea was dropped. Instead, except for the basic blue that the cars came with, Lesiuk has done all the striping and detailing himself.

And where will the old cruisers go as they are replaced? It depends on the wear and tear. As the 15 Crown Victorias that have been serving as pursuit vehicles go off-line, they will be used for other more routine police details or assigned to undercover detectives. The ones that are in not-go-good shape may go the Department of Public Works, which may try to fix them so they can be used or auctioned off.

rdujardi@projo.com