Sophisticated new police interceptors unveiled to replace Crown Vic
After serving police departments across the United States for nearly two decades, the Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser is finally set to be discontinued this year; police departments can look forward to several new models; Ford’s new car is at least 20 percent more fuel efficient than the previous model and offers higher performance; Chevy returns to the market with a powerful new interceptor that boasts a 355-horsepower 6.0-liter V8 engine; a small Indiana based firm will offer the E7 which comes with built-in license plate readers, infrared cameras, and biological threat detectors that will be able to determine the presence of biological, chemical, radiological, or nuclear threats
The venerable Crown Vic goes to pasture // Source: autoloandaily.com
After serving police departments across the United States for nearly two decades, the Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser is finally set to be discontinued this year. Police departments around the country can look forward to several new models from a variety of manufacturers outfitted with sophisticated new technology.
Ford, Chevy, and Carbon Motors have all announced the release of new police cars that feature the latest advancements in fuel efficiency, mechanical innovations, or law enforcement technology. But, not all police departments are sanguine about these new vehicles and are exploring ways to refurbish existing models.
Seton Montgomerie, part owner of Wild Rose Motors Ltd. in California, is a staunch believer in the Crown Victoria. His shop specializes in rebuilding Crown Victoria’s for police departments and security agencies that prefer them to newer models.
“As long as the [Crown Victoria] frame isn’t damaged they are re-buildable more than once,” he said. “Police want to keep using what they spent thirty-five years training with.”
Rather than switching to new police vehicles, Montgomerie believes that refurbishing existing cars will ultimately prove more affordable and allow departments to keep the cars that they have grown to cherish.
He said, with the discontinuation of the Crown Victoria, “[police] had the carpet pulled out from beneath them.”
“From the feedback we’re getting, we’re going to be the busiest guys in the world for a while,” he added.
Mark Fields, Ford’s president of the Americas, when he announced the discontinuation of the Crown Victoria assured law enforcement agencies that the new police interceptor will not only perform at the standards of the previous model, but exceed it.
“We have heard the repeated requests from the law enforcement community to continue uninterrupted support of the law enforcement community. Ford is answering the call with the new Police Interceptor - engineered and built in America.”
Lieutenant Brian Moran, the fleet manager for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and a member of Ford’s Police Advisory Board, shared this confidence in the new Ford police vehicle.
Earlier this month, Ford unveiled its new Police Interceptor designed to replace the Crown Victoria. In particular, the company boasts that the car’s new engine is at least 20 percent more fuel efficient than the previous model and offers higher performance.
The car will use a highly efficient 3.5-liter V-6 engine capable of delivering at least 263 horsepower compared to the existing 4.6-liter V-8 engine that delivers 250 horsepower.
Lisa Teed, Ford Police Interceptor marketing manager, said, “We set out to develop our new Police Interceptors to not only meet the current leader – our own Crown Victoria – but to exceed it and the competition.”
Since Chevrolet discontinued its Caprice police interceptor model in 1996, Ford has had a near monopoly over the law enforcement market, providing 75 percent of all police vehicles and selling approximately 45,000 police cruisers a year.
Chevy is seeking to regain its foothold in the market. Last year it announced that its powerful new interceptor was set to hit the streets in June of 2011. The new car will rely on a 355-horsepower 6.0-liter V8 engine.
The two auto giants will also see competition from Carbon Motors, a small Indiana based auto manufacturer that has designed a sophisticated new police vehicle equipped with the latest technology.
After consulting with 3,500 police departments, Carbon Motors developed its E7 which comes with built-in license plate readers, infrared cameras, heated cup holders, and spotlights controlled by joysticks.
The vehicle will also have biological threat detectors that will be able to determine the presence of biological, chemical, radiological, or nuclear threats.
Stacy Stephens, marketing director for Carbon Motors, says, “It ends up looking a little more like a military-spec vehicle.”
According to Stephens the E7 will cost about as much as other police cruisers on the market.
Whether police departments decide to purchase new vehicles or rely on the existing Crown Victoria, they will have plenty of options to choose from.
