Ferndale City Council approved the purchase of five new police vehicles during their regular meeting Monday night.

The city will purchase three new Dodge Chargers and two Ford Explorers for the Ferndale Police Department at a total cost of $124,910.29.

The department has used the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor model as its patrol vehicle for the past 10 years, however Ford Motor Company has discontinued that model, Ferndale Police Chief Tim Collins said during the meeting.

Ferndale Police Sgt. Baron Brown was assigned to make the recommendation on the department's next vehicles and spent months researching the models, Collins said, including arranging for all of the models being considered to be inspected and driven by Ferndale police officers.

Two of the Chargers and both Explorers will replace four patrol vehicles, and the other Charger will replace one Crown Victoria administration vehicle.

Collins said these vehicles were chosen with the long-term in mind and will dictate future patrol car purchases as well, since the equipment that will need to be purchased for the interior can be re-used in the same vehicle model.

"This was a big decision," he said, noting that a lot of time and effort went into the research. "We're excited about it."

The state bid price on the Charger is $23,893.43 each and the Explorer SUV bid price is $26,615.00 each, for a total cost of $124,910.29 for the five new vehicles.