CHICAGO | Ford Motor Co. is passing the torch from the Crown Victoria to its next generation of cop car.
In an event at the Chicago Assembly Plant on Wednesday, Ford showed off the first utility vehicle it is producing for law enforcement agencies and its new police-tailored sedan unveiled earlier this year.
Ford Motor Co. and United Auto Workers officials made presentations touting both vehicles' features and projected they would be industry leaders. Hundreds of plant workers gathered around the presentation area and watched as the vehicle pulled to the front of the presentation area with sirens sounding and lights flashing.
Both vehicles will be produced at the South Side assembly plant in 2011 and production will begin after Ford's St. Thomas Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada, ceases to produce the Crown Victoria police vehicle late next year.
Jan Allman, manager of the Chicago Assembly Plant, said Ford's fleet division accounts for 30 percent of the company's U.S. sales and the police market makes up a "significant" portion of those sales. Allman said Ford's history in making vehicles for law enforcement agencies goes back to 1950 and the Crown Victoria has been the most recent and longstanding offering to police agencies.
"We're here today to unveil another critical product ... to make sure we keep jobs here at the Chicago Assembly Plant," said Allman, who also praised plant workers' hard work and dedication.
Brian Moran, a retired lieutenant at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, is a member of Ford's Police Advisory Board, which provides input to the automaker to determine what features the automaker's police vehicles should have. Moran said one benefit of the vehicles is that since they are built on the same platform, additional training won't be required to teach police officers how to drive in them. Also, having all-wheel drive feature on the newer models will help give police -- especially in inclement weather -- more control while driving.
"I was shocked. It drives 10 times better than a Crown Vic," said Moran, who has been with the board for more than six years. "It instills confidence in the driver."
Both vehicles have passed 75-mph rear-end crash tests and are fitted with protections from side impacts. Fuel economy is expected to improve by at least 20 percent with the new Police Interceptor compared to the Crown Victoria model. The newer vehicles can also run on E85 fuel.
Many law enforcement agencies in Northwest Indiana use the Crown Victoria as their primary vehicles for officers. Hammond Police Chief Brian Miller said the vehicle has been very durable and the department has used Crown Victorias for the last 19 years he has been there. Durability is also important each patrol car the department has can have between 40,000 and 50,000 miles put on it each year.
Porter County Sheriff David Lain said there are many concerns that police consider before making a vehicle purchase. Most of the vehicles in the fleet ranging between 90 and 100 vehicles are Crown Victorias.
"What we have to be concerned with is safety, but a secondary consideration is the fact that police cars are the offices for the officers, and there's a tremendous amount of technology and equipment that needs to be carried," said Porter County Sheriff David Lain.
Lain said even though the department is looking at adding new vehicles to the fleet, budget pressures will make the decision for which car to buy difficult, especially if newer models are more expensive.
Pricing wasn't released for the utility vehicle.
