If you’re the type of person who notices the make and model of the cars around you, then you’re likely to have a few makes and models that you keep an especially scrupulous eye out for in your rearview mirror. Cops used to drive Ford Crown Victorias, but now they could be in a Ford Explorer, Chevrolet Tahoe, Dodge Charger, Dodge Durango, and the list goes on. Generally, though, you expect local governments to buy American cars, right? The water department might drive a Chevrolet Bolt, and public works trucks might be Ford F-150s, but the other day, I saw a vehicle owned by the City of Los Angeles that made me raise an eyebrow.
City governments may choose to equip their employees with electric vehicles as their company cars to create optics that they’re being environmentally responsible, or the opposite depending on where you live. From my observations, there are a set of makes and models of cars that governments, be they local or federal, are likely to use, but sometimes there are some outliers that really make you scratch your head. So then, what’s the weirdest car you’ve seen used by local governments?
My answer is a 22-year-old Honda Civic
The vehicle that I saw that inspired this question was being used as a chase car for my local street sweeper, the one that follows the street sweeper and tickets all the vehicles parked on the wrong side of the street. Usually in my neighborhood these vehicles are Chevrolet Bolts, which makes lots of sense to me as an efficient, affordable, American car, but on this day, it was the first generation of Honda’s Civic Hybrid. It was even a pre-refresh model, so it had to be a 2003 Honda Civic Hybrid, making it a 22-year-old car.
The fact that this particular Civic was still in operation is not the surprise here, I’m sure the car will continue to drive for at least another seven decades, it’s a Civic after all. It surprised me to see that such an old vehicle is kept in public service given its advanced age. I would expect it to be taken out of service after two decades or so, but I suppose it’s good that the city isn’t spending frivolously on new cars. Let us know in the comments what car takes the crown in your eyes as the weirdest car you’ve seen used by local government.
