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This probably isn't the best time for Dodge to tease its new police cars

The updated Charger and Durango Pursuit models are coming this fall.

Steven Ewing Former managing editor
Steven Ewing spent his childhood reading car magazines, making his career as an automotive journalist an absolute dream job. After getting his foot in the door at Automobile while he was still a teenager, Ewing found homes on the mastheads at Winding Road magazine, Autoblog and Motor1.com before joining the CNET team in 2018. He has also served on the World Car Awards jury. Ewing grew up ingrained in the car culture of Detroit -- the Motor City -- before eventually moving to Los Angeles. In his free time, Ewing loves to cook, binge trash TV and play the drums.
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Steven Ewing
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2021 Dodge Police Cars

The updated Charger and Durango Pursuit models will be available this fall.

 Dodge

Despite having the lion's share of the police vehicle market here in the United States, it isn't the only player in this space. Dodge offers police-spec versions of its sedan and SUV, and according to a teaser image posted to Instagram on Monday, these cruisers are getting a few updates for the 2021 model year.

It's unclear exactly what's in store for these new police cars. The Durango's updates might be similar to those found on the civilian-spec 2021 model, but that's just our best guess. We expect both the Charger and Durango will continue to be available with V6 and V8 engine options, as well as specially tuned suspensions.

Of course, there's no overlooking the fact that the timing of this teaser is kind of awkward, to say the least. Police departments around the country -- and indeed, the world -- are facing increased scrutiny over misconduct and instances of racially charged brutality, especially following the killing of George Floyd in May. The Black Lives Matter movement is doing a lot to bring this to the forefront of society in the hopes of much-needed change.

Police vehicles are a hot topic at crosstown rival Ford, too, where some employees recently called for the company to stop building and selling its Police Interceptor models.

Obviously, Dodge isn't trying to throw coals on any sort of fire by teasing its new police cars; the automaker has a business imperative to make municipalities aware of these new models and their features. Police cruisers remain an important part of Dodge's bottom line, and the 2021 models are coming, ready or not. That said, it's not really the best time to be promoting the latest and greatest in police vehicles, so hopefully the automaker can do so in a way that acknowledges America's current social climate. We've reached out to Dodge about this, but did not immediately receive a response to our request for comment.

The 2021 Charger and Durango Pursuit models will be available to order beginning in September.

Watch this: Black Lives Matter: How you can take action today