Ford to build police car in 2011

NYSpeed Automotive
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Ford confirmed today that it will build a new police car to replace its aging Crown Victoria, which ends production in 2011.
“We have heard the repeated requests from the law enforcement community to continue uninterrupted support of the law enforcement community,” Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas, said in a statement.
The new police car, which will be based on the underpinnings of the Taurus, will be available when the last Crown Victoria rolls off the production line. Ford plans to reveal the new model and provide full vehicle specifications in the first quarter of 2010.
Ford said it supplies 75 percent of the market segment, selling about 45,000 police vehicles each year. But competition in that small but profitable segment is heating up. Last month, GM announced it will offer the Chevrolet Caprice PPV – Police Pursuit Vehicle – in 2011.
Also, an Indiana startup company run by former auto industry executives, Carbon Motors Corp., plans to market a diesel-powered police car by 2012. The Carbon Motors E7 is being designed specifically for police use and is not a converted passenger vehicle, according to the company. Carbon says it has received around 10,000 “pre-orders” for the car.
Ford said its new interceptor will offer better fuel economy, quality and durability than the Crown Victoria it will replace. Although the Taurus does not offer a V-8, the 365-hp engine from the high-performance Taurus SHO, which has two turbochargers, would offer high-speed capability as well as a feature not available in other police cars, all-wheel drive.
“Ford has been working closely with the Police Advisory Board on developing the new police interceptor,” said Lt. Brian Moran, fleet manager for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and a member of Ford’s Police Advisory Board. “I am confident that the next-generation Ford police vehicle will meet the future needs of the law enforcement community and will set the new standard.”

So AWD police cars?

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idc what kinda of drivetrain they have, the more stuff ford sells the better for me =p

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In a surprise move, Ford has announced that it will pursue the development of an all-new Police Interceptor model. The move comes on the heels of General Motors’ announcement that it plans to challenge the Crown Victoria’s law enforcement dominance with its own heavy-duty Chevrolet Caprice sedan.

Details are slim, but Ford says the forthcoming PI will arrive in 2011 and it will sport durability, safety, and performance parameters that are superior to that of the Jurassic Panther-platform Crown Vic. Given the relatively tight timeframe and durability targets, we have to assume that the replacement cop car could be based on the rear-drive Australian-market Ford Falcon shown above. The Blue Oval promises that the car will be engineered and built in America, so it could also be an Ecoboost version of the Ford Taurus (as seen in the SHO), but front-drive cars have had trouble meeting the durability and cost requirements of police duty in the past, making this something of an open question. In an official release posted after the jump, Ford says it will disclose full vehicle specs in the first quarter of 2010, which should give enough time for both law enforcement and police vehicle equipment manufacturers to prepare for the changeover.

Ford says it presently shifts about 45,000 of the 60,000 police cars sold in the States each year, so it makes sense that Dearborn would not be willing to cede this market to Chevy’s Caprice and the already established Dodge Charger.

[Source: Ford]

this is the most recent news I have herd.

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ugly, Chevy has the market cornered on new cop cars IMHO

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the chevy will destroy the ford… bigger, better motor

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who cares how fast the cars are if they have god damn radio

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good point. We have all been trapped in the web of police radio’s before

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Cops like to use what they are familiar with, for training and repairs

RWD > AWD
V8 > boosted V6

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not that simple. if they’re outrun and lose sight, they can’t radio ahead where the guy went.

yeah, i can see the boosted v6 being more problematic and expensive with repairs.

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Arnt some of the dodge chargers awd?I cant seem to remember if they are or its just the 300s.

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Yeah RWD and AWD
I believe the police package in RWD

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Interesting.

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IMO GM will be offering whatever any PD needs,all others need not apply.

Caprice PPV,Impala PPV,Tahoe PPV,and starting in 2012 the Caprice will be offerd with a V6 as an option.

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Pull the fuck over bitch

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e103/jinxergt/acsheriff.jpg

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I love my p71, and Im sad that they are killing it.

but the New caprice will murder the new ford, unless it uses the australian falcon with RWD and a V8.

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It’s weird but all these police department auto shops that are currently crown vic based will have a hell of a lot easier time updating them to accomodate the RWD V8 chevy, than the new ford.