Police Cars Around The World

Commonly known names to describe police cars are (police) cruiser, squad car, panda car, area car and patrol car. Depending on the configuration of the emergency lights, a police car may also be called a marked unit. In some places a police car may also be informally known as a cop car, a black and white, a cherry top, a gumball machine, or a jam sandwich. In Los Angeles CA, from the early 1950s until the late 1970s, the lights on police cars were different from cars in most other areas. LAPD units had two forward-facing stationary red lights, with amber flashing lights facing rearward, inside of black metal housings mounted to the roof of the car. This configuration gave the Los Angeles police car the nickname tin can.