In the early days of the Patrol, cars were painted black, with the State Patrol logo on the front doors. In the 1970s, the cars were repainted white, with the logo on the front doors. By the early 1980s, Patrol vehicles had a light tan color with the Iowa State Patrol logo on the sides of the vehicle. In 1998, the Patrol switched to a black and gold color scheme on their vehicles. Blue warning lights began to appear on vehicles beginning in 1999, also. The vehicle color scheme change was not particularly well received, however, with some critics feeling that the new color scheme had turned Patrol cars into moving advertisements for the University of Iowa's Hawkeye sports teams. The Patrol later switched back to the prior color scheme in 2001; however, the 2007 and newer patrol vehicles have been predominantly colored silver or white. The Patrol has mainly used the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor for a number of years. Prior to Chevrolet eliminating the model, Caprices were used as well quite extensively. Recently the Patrol has begun using the Dodge Charger (LX) Police Pursuit Version as well. For a short time, the Patrol also had motorcycle officers until the early 1980s due to the neglect, and later, lack of interest of a motorcycle division within the Patrol. The Patrol also uses several small airplanes for use as air traffic patrol, and to locate suspects fleeing on foot, into the wooded areas, and farm fields of rural Iowa.
