June 19. By Dave Vieser. The Cornelius Town Board has approved an installment plan to finance $670,000 for eight new police vehicles for the Cornelius Police Dept. and one pick-up truck for the Cornelius/Lemley Fire Department.

The low bidder was First National Bank of Huntersville. The interest rate is 4.78 percent, with no prepayment penalty.

Remember when almost all police cars were Crown Vics?

Well, no more. The new vehicles include six Dodge Durangos and five Ford F-150 trucks.

Cornelius Police Chief David R. Baucom

Quotable

Cornelius Police Chief David Baucom said there is not one specific fleet vehicle anymore.

“We have a combination of Ford Explorers, Ford F-150 trucks, Dodge Chargers, and Dodge Durangos which we primarily utilize in our patrol division,” the chief said.

Carma

The new vehicles will replace aging ones, keeping the fleet between 50 and 55. Additional unmarked units are used for speed enforcement, undercover surveillance and other details where the use of a marked vehicle could endanger the effectiveness of the operation.