By Dennis Box

The Courier-Herald

If a new Charger is in the rear view mirror it might be a good idea to slow down a little. It's probably not the No. 9 Dodge Enumclaw's Kasey Kahne guides into victory lane.

More likely it's the black and white muscle car recently purchased by the Bonney Lake Police Department.

The department's newest addition is a police package Charger R/T that will be driven by Sgt. Kelly Maras, very similar to the red and white No. 9 Charger Kahne drives.

Maras brought the car to Robin Kahne, owner of RK Graphics in Enumclaw to have the police graphics applied - a good choice, since Robin Kahne is Kasey's uncle.

The charger is loaded with performance and safety features to make everyone happy, including Kahne fans.

The vehicle is the first Dodge the department has purchased in many years, according to interim Police Chief Buster McGehee.

McGehee said the car was purchased for solid economic reasons, not because it's cool to drive a version of Kahne's No. 9.

&#8220One of the big reasons was we didn't have to wait three or four months,” McGehee said. &#8220We were able to get it in a week because it was already in stock.”

With the state contract, the vehicle cost the city about $21,000. The sticker price for an off-the-street customer is more than $30,000

The city had been driving Ford Crown Victorias, but McGehee said the department was looking at three more Dodge Chargers for the future.

One of the reasons is McGehee likes the Chargers' fuel efficiency. The Charger has a multi-displacement engine that runs on four cylinders when cruising and jumps to eight when more power is needed.

The car is equipped with a Hemi V-8 engine that cranks out 340 horsepower at 5000 rpm and jump from zero to 60 mph in six seconds, according to DaimlerChrysler Corporation.

Maras said he loves how the car handles. &#8220It stops quicker, it's faster and turns in a tighter circle,” he said. Also, it's a cool-looking car and Maras is a &#8220Kasey Kahne fan” all the way.

McGehee said the Charger replaces the last squad car with 100,000 miles.

The chief said the cars the city tried to &#8220retrofit and drive past 100,000 miles” were a constant problem. The plan now is to replace a police car once it hits 90,000 to 100,000 miles.

Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@courierherald.com.