This is part of an ongoing series answering “Why is that?” questions about Salem and the Mid-Valley.
The question: Why is there a “car lot” full of Dodge Chargers and Durangos on Madrona Avenue SE? We have the answer. But first, a little history about the site.
The Oregon Business Registry shows the 1.79-acre property at 2255 Madrona Ave. SE is owned by MGL Holdings, LLC. The company’s principal place of business is listed as 2249 Madrona, the same address as Ram Steelco, which is located next door but not owned by MGL.
The “car lot” is on the north side of Madrona at the corner of 22nd Street SE in an industrial area, with a Lineage cold storage facility across the street and Oregon Fruit Company to the east.
No signage identifies the current use of the premises, but a small white sign in front of the chain link fence is a reminder of its former use.
It once was home to a truck shop for NORPAC, the largest fruit and vegetable processor in Oregon with plants in Salem, Brooks and Stayton. The nearly century-old, farmer-owned cooperative declared bankruptcy in 2019 and was sold piecemeal.
Today, the property is leased by Roberson Motors.
But this is not the kind of car lot where you go to pick out your next vehicle. It is locked down 24/7 and the options are limited, with just a couple of makes and models available and pretty much only one color to choose from.
Roberson uses it as an overflow lot for its Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership.
Recent photographs show about 100 cars parked in rows on the gravel lot, mostly silver Chargers and Durangos. The Chargers line the perimeter and are most visible to passersby.
To the observant, it looks like a collection of unmarked police cars, like the ones used by Oregon State Police.
Why is there a lot full of silver Dodge Chargers and Durangos
Oregon State Police confirmed it owns many of the vehicles on the property. Roberson is the dealership that supplies patrol cars for the agency and manages excess inventory that can’t fit on OSP’s existing property.
The agency stocked up on Chargers because Dodge ended production in 2023. Staying consistent with a primary model maximized parts and labor savings. OSP reuses functional equipment from decommissioned vehicles, and its fleet builders and mechanics are familiar with maintaining Chargers.
The Charger Pursuit, a specially engineered model used by OSP, was once the best-selling law enforcement sedan on the road.
Pursuit-rated vehicles are designed to withstand the rigors of police duties — built for high-speed chases and hard braking — and are not available to the general public.
OSP officials normally try to order vehicles annually to mitigate excess on the lot waiting to be outfitted but made an exception in this case due to the discontinuing model.
Budget documents for 2021-23 noted that the Patrol Division faced 172 Chargers nearing the end of their life cycle and requiring replacement. A Charger patrol vehicle lifespan is about 140,000 miles, or 5-6 years for the average user.
The agency requested to purchase additional patrol vehicles so that troopers would not have to share vehicles and instead could take a patrol vehicle home when off duty.
A 1:1 vehicle-to-trooper ratio can reduce delays in response time and improves officer efficiency, particularly in rural areas. It also enables the agency to field more troopers during large-scale events. If each trooper is equipped with a vehicle, they spend less time in offices and more time in the field, serving as a visible deterrent to crime and hazardous driving behavior that can lead to crashes, OSP said.
Today, every sworn officer in the patrol division has an agency vehicle. OSP has the largest number of sworn members in that department with 474 authorized positions, including troopers, sergeants, lieutenants and capitains. Each patrol office around the state also has a few spares in case a vehicle is damaged or undergoing routine maintence.
The bulk of OSP’s vehicles in the Madrona lot were ordered in 2022 and delivered in 2023. The Chargers are 2023 models, and their official color is “Triple Nickel.” The volume on the lot has ebbed and flowed as new patrol vehicles have been needed.
Of the 100 Chargers ordered, 38 have been placed into service.
Roberson indicated other vehicles coming and going from the property have been stock inventory for the dealership or fleet vehicles for other state agencies.
OSP regularly pulls batches of its vehicles from the lot and moves them into the build queue. It takes approximately 7-10 business days to outfit a new vehicle with specialized law enforcement equipment, complete quality assurance and IT checks, and be issued to a sworn member.
Patrol vehicles are equipped with partitioned areas for persons in custody, in-car camera systems, radio, emergency lighting and siren equipment/controls, specialty consoles, adjustable mounts for computers, printers, secure weapons storage, radar, and assorted emergency supplies to assist with medical incidents, crashes and stranded motorists.
Oh, by the way
Here are a few other things to know about Oregon State Police and its cars:
The fleet services division is responsible for procuring and maintaining more than 1,000 department vehicles statewide with a replacement value of more than $36 million, according to its latest adopted budget.
The current patrol vehicle logo was unveiled in 2017 and selected by OSP staff. It features a star on the driver and passenger doors with a logo promoting OSP’s five values: honor, loyalty, dedication, compassion and integrity. Silver was chosen to be more visible on roadways. The old design was dark blue with gold markings and had been on the road since 2000.
OSP officials have selected the Dodge Durango Pursuit as the primary patrol vehicle platform moving forward, although it will continue to reevaluate options as the emergency vehicle industry evolves. The fleet purchase price for a Durango ordered in 2022 was $42,300, compared with $36,400 for a Charger.
Dodge apparently is reintroducing an all-new Charger in 2025, but it is not known whether there will be a police-spec version. The “Next-Gen Charger” is being billed as the world’s only electric muscle car.
Could an agency responsible for patrolling 7,000 miles of state highways operate with an electric fleet? Perhaps that is a question to be answered in a future story.
Capi Lynn is a senior reporter for the Statesman Journal. Email your “Why is that” questions to her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Salem lot has dozens of Oregon State Police vehicles. Why?
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