Police vehicles in the United States and Canada consist of a wide range of police vehicles used by police and law enforcement officials in the United States and in Canada. Most police vehicles in the U.S. and Canada are produced by American automakers, primarily the Big Three, and many vehicle models and fleet norms have been shared by police in both countries. A majority of officially-marketed American and Canadian police vehicles—as in those officially marketed as such by their manufacturer—are classified as pursuit packages, which generally denote vehicle models that are capable of handling a majority of police tasks, primarily regular patrol duties but also, as the name implies, pursuits. Other models are often classified as special service packages, which generally denote specialized vehicles designed to fulfill specific tasks or utility roles, such as transport vans, pickup trucks, SWAT vehicles, and performance cars. Combined, these police fleet offerings are often referred to by manufacturers as police packages. Unlike many other countries, American and Canadian law enforcement agencies are generally not limited by regulations on vehicle models or livery marking designs, meaning that, while there may be varying regulations on emergency vehicle equipment or unmarked police vehicles in each jurisdiction, there is no standardized vehicle livery design, and most agencies have their own unique designs. History The first police car in the world was an electrically-powered wagon, operated by the Akron Police Department in 1899. The $2,400 vehicle was equipped with electric lights, gongs, and a stretcher, and could reach and travel before its battery needed to be recharged. The car's first assignment was to pick up a drunken man at the junction of Main and Exchange streets. Since the 1920s, the New York City Police Department has used vehicles for patrol duties, referred to as "Radio Mounted Patrol" vehicles. Ford's introduction of the flathead V-8 in its Model 18 in 1932—the first low-priced, mass-marketed car with a V8 engine—proved popular amongst police departments and led to strong brand loyalty. In turn, this gave the company a market-capturing edge that lasted until 1968. In the 1940s and 1950s, the "Big Three" (Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler) began to offer specialized police packages with severe duty parts. Foremost amongst these was the Ford package of 1950, which utilized the larger and more powerful Mercury engine in the smaller, lighter Ford. This ended the practice of some state police forces buying larger and