Garda Vehicles
Garda patrol cars are mainly white, with two small blue strips and one large fluorescent yellow strip running down the center. The Garda badge is also on the patrol cars. Garda patrol cars are usually identical to civilian vehicles however, higher performance cars are often bought, with Ford vehicles, in particular the Ford Mondeo 2.5 V6 being the mainstay in recent years. Other models that have been introduced include the Renault Laguna, Opel Vectra and Ford Fiesta, inwith the latter being used mainly as the equivalent of a Panda Car. High levels of collision protection are one of the reasons that led to the force to acquire vehicles such as the Saab 9-3, partly due to an increase in ramming cidents involving joyriders. Other less commonly used vehicles are the Isuzu Trooper, Jeep Cherokee and Nissan Navara. Such vehicles are often to be found in rural areas. Many Garda vehicles are unmarked and used by plain-clothed detectives. Such vehicles are usually equipped with dash lights, rear window lights, headlight flashers, bumper LEDs and multiple-function sirens and can also have scrolling message signs.
The Garda Traffic Corps uses similar vehicles to the mainstream force. Traffic Corps vehicles however usually sport battenburg markings as well as "Garda Traffic Corps" markings. This section also employs several models of unmarked vehicles, again mainly including the Ford Mondeo and Ford Focus for traffic duties. Recently the Subaru Forester, BMW 5 Series and BMW 3 Series have been introduced, mainly for motorway patrol.
The Gardaí are also involved in the operation of cars transporting members of Government, Including the Mercedes S-Class, Mercedes E-Class, BMW 7 Series, Audi A6, Audi A8 and Volvo S80