The police car you see on the roadside – or in your rearview mirror, if luck’s not on your side – might not look like you expected.

The sporty upstart Dodge Charger is aiming to challenge the Ford Crown Victoria as chief of police cars. Chrysler LLC’s full-sized model that debuted in 2006 is no immediate threat to the Crown Vic or Chevrolet Impala, the market’s other major player, but the Charger is gaining momentum in a market that sells 75,000 vehicles a year as national tests cite its speed and handling.

“We’ve been steadily gaining market share and acceptance for the police vehicle since its inception,” said Chrysler LLC spokeswoman Shawn Morgan. “We see that trend continuing.”

It’s a small dent in the automotive industry, which expects to sell about 16 million cars this year. But it’s an important niche for automakers because it gives them a chance to put their products to the test when life – or at least the law – is on the line.

“That vehicle has to accommodate a bunch of requirements – it’s an officer’s first-aid station, comfort area for accident victims, command post for a crime scene. Next thing you know it’s involved in a high-speed run, responding to a heart attack, chasing a criminal,” said Lt. David Halliday, who leads the Michigan State Police’s annual police vehicle tests that serve as a national standard for law enforcement.

“We really ask (the automakers) to do an enduring duty for the public that’s often underestimated,” he said.

Automakers don’t break out data for sales to law enforcement agencies, but overall sales for the full-sized Charger were 97,833, up 1.5 percent for the first 10 months of 2007 compared with last year. The Crown Victoria’s sales were 51,286, down 7.2 percent during the same period. The Impala’s total sales through October were 270,504, up 12.6 percent, according to Autodata Corp.

John Felice, Ford Motor Co.’s director of North American fleet operations, said the decline is due to a drop in retail sales, which accounts for a small percentage of the Crown Victoria’s sales. He said Ford forecasts flat sales this year for police cars and controls about 80 percent of the market.

The latest round of police vehicle tests on 2008 models found the Charger with the 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 engine had the fastest acceleration, highest top speed and among the shortest braking distances.

“Law enforcement has always liked good performance in a vehicle,” Halliday said. “For example, the (5.7-liter) Charger has a top speed of (nearly) 150 mph. If you’re in the market for a vehicle that has that kind of performance, that kind of vehicle will fit the bill.”

Halliday said his testing team doesn’t assign scores to the vehicles or declare winners. It assesses what each vehicle offers and how it can be applied to a department’s mission. The tests also include road racing course times on a two-mile course. The winners: the V-8 versions of the Dodge Charger and Magnum wagon.

Halliday said the Charger also has an advanced stability-control system, which senses when a driver may lose control of the vehicle and automatically applies brakes to individual wheels to help keep it stable and avoid a rollover. He said his team is working with the other automakers on developing such systems for their police vehicles.

Likewise, many agencies opt for the Impala because it has front-wheel drive, which offers additional traction control in slippery conditions, he said.

Halliday believes the Charger might be garnering attention because it offers a new option in the market, long dominated by Ford and General Motors Corp.’s Chevy division.

Chrysler returned to the police car market in 2000 after a 14-year absence, but received what Halliday called a “lukewarm response from law enforcement” to its Dodge Intrepid. The Charger has been much better received, he said.

A state police spokeswoman says the department currently has about 670 Crown Victorias and 10 Chargers.

Ford’s Felice said the Dearborn, Mich., automaker keeps a close eye on competitors but also works closely with law enforcement and is confident it’s continuing its 50-year tradition of making safe, affordable, roomy and reliable vehicles for law enforcement.

“Really when you look at the overall police market. It’s really … not an individual attribute,” Felice said. “It’s who brings the product to the marketplace that meets the collective needs of this customer, the police officer.”

Despite the new cars entering the police segment, Ford remains the dominant player, Felice said.

Gene Taylor, the police chief in the Detroit suburb of Belleville, said his small department has used Ford vehicles for several years, but bought a Charger a year ago and plans to buy another. He said his department, which has five cruisers, sought another option after having major problems with several Crown Victorias and came across the relaunched Charger.

Taylor, who describes himself as “an old Dodge boy,” initially thought Chrysler was using an old nameplate to promote a new product. But he tested all three automakers’ offerings at a Chrysler event and came away impressed with the Charger’s handling and performance.

“It’s lived up to the hype so far,” he said.

Halliday says all three automakers are making vehicles that stand up to the rigors of law enforcement.

“Competition is good for law enforcement,” he said. “It strengthens the industry in making the vehicles capable across the board for a variety of missions.”

General Motors’ all-electric Volt to reach consumers in late 2010

General Motors is quite confident these days. The company recently priced its highly-anticipated full-size hybrid SUVs and showed off a concept version of its full-size hybrid Chevrolet Silverado. GM CEO Rick Wagoner also noted that his company will release one hybrid per quarter for the next four years — lofty goals indeed.

Likewise, the company’s brand new Chevrolet Malibu mid-sized sedan has been generating an overabundance of praise and its new $32,000 second-generation Cadillac CTS just walked away with Motor Trend’s Car of the Year award.

GM is hoping to use this momentum and high level of interest in its vehicles to push the electric motor-powered Chevrolet Volt to customers by the end of 2010.

GM vice chairman Bob Lutz has heard all of the critics who question GM’s aggressive ramp for the Volt, but is still committed to moving forward.

“There is a lot of skepticism within the company about the timeline,” said Lutz. “People are biting their nails, but those of us in a leadership position have said it has to be done.”

GM is hoping to use the Volt as a halo car to further strengthen its brand and its commitment to fuel economy. Dodge used the Viper to enhance its image for performance and styling in the 1990s. Toyota used its Prius at the turn of the century to shroud the entire company with a green image despite the fact that gas guzzlers like the Tundra and Sequoia share the same showroom space.

“When they think of GM, the iconic brand is, unfortunately, the Hummer,” continued Lutz. “That perception needs to change.

The GM Volt features a 1.0 liter, 3-cylinder gasoline engine which is solely used to recharge the onboard lithium-ion battery pack. The battery pack, which will be manufactured by Compact Power and Continental Automotive Systems, powers the Volt’s electric motors for forward propulsion.

GM says that the Volt can travel for up to 40 miles on battery power alone. After the 40 mile threshold has been reached, the gasoline engine kicks back in again to recharge the battery pack.

The entire industry has its eyes on GM and its Volt. Toyota took a big risk with its Prius and it has paid off dearly for the company.

“We have since realized that letting Toyota gain that mantle of green respectability and technology leadership has really cost us dearly in the marketplace,” Lutz added. “We have to reestablish GM’s leadership and the Volt is, frankly, an effort to leapfrog anything that is done by any other competitor.”

Uzbekistan plans to start producing the Chevrolet Lacetti at UzDaewoo Auto by 2009, a source from Uzavtoprom, which unites the country’s vehicle manufacturers, told Interfax.

The government of Uzbekistan has adopted a resolution on organizing commercial production of the Lacetti at UzDaewoo, which approves the implementation of this project, he said.

UzDaewoo Auto and GM DAT signed a contract on September 14 2007 for delivery of the machinerya and equipment required to set up Chevrolet Lacetti production. The project’s feasibility study puts projected capacity for the new conveyer line at 30,000 cars per year. The project is to take 16 months to set up.

The government has given Uzautoprom permission to allocate an interest-free loan equivalent to $47.69 million to UzDaewoo Auto, of which $41.2 million will be used to buy machinery and equipment.

UzDaewoo Auto was established jointly by the Uzbek government and Korea’s Daewoo motor. The company launched construction of an auto plant in Andijan region in 1996 with projected capacity of 200,000 vehicles a year.

Uzbekistan purchased the Daewoo Motor stake in UzDaewoo Auto in October 2005 and Uzautoprom now holds all the shares.

Uzautoprom and General Motors set up the joint venture GM Uzbekistan in October 2007 to produce and sell Chevrolet cars in Uzbekistan on the basis of UzDaewoo Auto. GM owns a 25% stake and Uzbekistan 75% of the joint venture. Projected capacity is 250,000 vehicles annually.

UzDaewoo Auto currently produces seven car models, with commercial production of the Nexia, Matiz and Damas and assembly of the Lacetti, and Chevrolet Captiva, Epica and Tacuma from October 2007.

UzDaewoo Auto produced 140,080 cars in 2006, up 38.7%. The company plans to turn out 170,000 cars in 2007