Ford and Dodge ready to fight over police departments
As automakers are moving away from fleet sales, there is one segment they just can't seem to say no to. The relatively high-margin law enforcement vehicle field has been pretty much dominated through the years by large rear-drive domestic sedans. Up until recently, that had meant a Ford Crown Victoria. There weren't many other options, that is until Dodge decided its new Charger/Magnum would look great in black and white. Each of the (formerly known as) Big Three, in fact, is pushing an entry in this field now.
As BusinessWeek points out, law enforcement agencies are purchasing between 65,000 to 70,000 vehicles every year as part of multiyear contracts. And these aren't base-model strippers we're talking about. Dodge's police Charger has an MSRP of $26,825, about five grand more than a base 2.7-liter civilian Charger. Sure it comes with the 3.5-liter V6 and tops out at 150 mph, but that extra five thou represents a considerable profit margin. Right now Ford's Crown Victoria is the undisputed king of the cop car fleet, and pretty much the only reason Ford still makes it. Out of the 63,939 Crown Vics Ford moved in 2005, 50,000 were police versions, according to John Arnone, a manager of Ford's Canadian manufacturing operations.
Dodge began selling police versions of the Charger and Magnum last year, and they are starting to make a dent in Ford sales, but still trail even GM's front-wheel drive Impala and Tahoe in this segment. The newer platforms give a performance advantage over GM and Ford, but the Vic has momentum, loyalty and room on its side.
To see a lineup of what Business Week thinks are the coolest cop cars, click through the read link.
[Source: BusinessWeek]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Automatica 4:02PM (10/16/2006)
Dodge walks in with a simple tagline: Dodge Police Vehicles: Won't Explode On Impact. :)
http://www.crownvictoriasafetyalert.com/designproblem.html
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Sean C 4:06PM (10/16/2006)
I gotta give it up to Dodge though. If I saw this in my rearview mirror it would strike fear in me. That is one mean looking donut driver. And then top it off with a HEMI growl? Hoo-boy.
However a Crown Vic or Impala, yeah, not so much.
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Curtis 4:07PM (10/16/2006)
GM needs to offer a pontiac, or possibly some kind of future variant of the camaro.
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Zetha 4:34PM (10/16/2006)
the look of the dodge charger is perfect for a police car, i mean is sweet with any paint scheme!
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Max 4:16PM (10/16/2006)
Blah blah. People can whine about the gas tank problem all they want. The problem was blown out of proportion by the media and this stupid activist groups. Ford has tested the CV in rear end impacts at 75mph with no problems with the new tank protection. The car is totally safe in any accident senario that would be considered survivable. The fuel tank on the CV is the LEAST of a police officer's safety concerns. When you consider how many CV's there are in service and for how many years they have been used....14 deaths is not significant. It's by no means a leading cause of death among officers.
Getting back on topic, The Charger could be a viable alternative to the CV, but I don't think it will do so until it gains a track record for reliability and durability. The added performance of the Charger is meaningless unless it can withstand the abuse of daily use and pursuits.
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Eminem Sux 4:46PM (10/16/2006)
Charger all the way. The Crown Vic is old and lame. Having a Hemi-powered monster in my rearview mirror would get my attention as much as a siren.
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Jro 4:31PM (10/16/2006)
A) there probably aren't as many problems anymore because Ford changed the gas tanks in police cars only (leaving the general public with explosive CVs). B)death is only one aspect of the problem, how many officers have been set ablaze and lived to deal with the pain? probably alot more than 14 (which i think is very low)
regarding the Charger, it's a mean looking cop car. Sarasota county, Fla. has a bunch of Chargers and Magnums running around.
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DPC car videos 4:41PM (10/16/2006)
I am liking the Dodge, it is more futuristic.
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Edsel 4:55PM (10/16/2006)
Police should be driving Dodge minivans, they hold more apprehensions & police equipment. Besides, police posing as pissed-off "soccer moms" would probably scare the bad guys into surrendering.
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Bill 5:07PM (10/16/2006)
I think the Magnum bodystyle makes sense as a police vehicle.
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Mike from Scarborough 5:18PM (10/16/2006)
It's not all about looks,the Cherger / Magnum has more leg room,cargo,independant rear end,better brakes,and generaly will out hadle anything domestic in it's class.
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Ryan 6:20PM (10/16/2006)
FORD
"Because our profits don't go to Germany"
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Jiminy Cricket 6:31PM (10/16/2006)
Hmmmm, let me think for a moment.........let's say I'm a city manager of a major metropolitan area and I have a choice between a cop car that has EXPLODED 14 times or not........what will I choose, what will I choose.
I gotta' say the Charger looks pretty good dressed in police uniform. Good move by the Daimler folks. Never understood why Ford didn't bolt on a few new fenders on the old Crown Vic and call it something else. Doh!
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AZMike 6:35PM (10/16/2006)
"high-margin law enforcement field?" I think not.
for those not familiar, ALL vehciles like this are purchased on a "bid" basis...and the MSRP has nothing to do with the price that is paid.
I have a good friend who does a lot of state bid vehicles. the average manufacturer's 'concession' is around $8,000 per car. and that number is from dead invoice (minus holdback, advertising, everything). I would venture to say that a police Charger with a V-6 would be in the $18,000 range, and a Hemi somewhere around $21,000.
the exploding Crown Victoria issue is still quite a problem. as a matter of fact, Ford will not sell a single police Crown Victoria to any agency that will not sign a hold-harmless agreement to not hold Ford responsible for a fire from the exploding gas tank.
this problem has also extended to Lincoln Town Cars in limousine and livery use, too. there have been thousands of people who have either died or were severely burned from these defective fuel tanks.
Mike
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Michael Karesh 6:51PM (10/16/2006)
Durability is the main question mark in my mind. As cabs and livery cars the big Fords regularly top the half-million mile mark. It's hard to imagine a Chrysler doing that. The transmission in my wife's PT Cruiser fell 448,000 miles short, and she doesn't perform too many high-speed pursuits.
Though if they aim for that sort of longevity to serve this market all of us could benefit.
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Snot 7:38PM (10/16/2006)
Max said "Ford has tested the CV in rear end impacts at 75mph with no problems with the new tank protection."
Two problems with that statement: One, Ford conducting the test proves nothing. Two, "new tank protection" means there was a defect, which may or may not have been fixed by the retrofit since the only testing performed was by the guilty party.
Max also said "14 deaths is not significant. It's by no means a leading cause of death among officers." which is completely ignorant. It's 14 more cops than SHOULD be dead. Getting killed by a perp in the line of duty is one thing, getting killed by a POS car because of a design defect the automaker would rather cover-up than fix is bullshit.
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Snot 7:38PM (10/16/2006)
"Durability is the main question mark in my mind. As cabs and livery cars the big Fords regularly top the half-million mile mark. It's hard to imagine a Chrysler doing that. The transmission in my wife's PT Cruiser fell 448,000 miles short, and she doesn't perform too many high-speed pursuits."
Michael, any Dodge will be perfectly capable of doing a million miles if you replace the driveline every 100,000 miles as they do on the Clown Vics and the Caprices before them. There is some question whether a unibody like the Charger can take the pounding as well as the body-on-frame of it's predecessors, but even that won't be a factor for the cops, as they will have sold them to the cabbies long before that becomes relevant.
Your wife's PT Cruiser is also has a wrong-wheel-drive POS transmission in it. Not comparing apples-to-apples.
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Snot 7:40PM (10/16/2006)
Ryan spewed:
FORD "Because our profits don't go to Germany"
Ryan, are you suggesting we should put cops in inferior products just because the profits go to an American company? That is the most ignorant thing I have read today.
If you were joking, that was funny.
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AZMike 7:58PM (10/16/2006)
Mr. Karesh,
in that 52,000 miles, how many times did you change the transmission fluid? if it gets maintained (and changed every 25,000 miles) it will last virtually forever. it's just a lot easier to complain, isn't it?
looks like typical domestic vehicle bashing to me. funny, Consumer Reports ("the small timer's bible") is pretty quiet about any transmission issues.
I decided to keep my 1997 Dodge pickup a little longer than usual, all the way up to 604,000 miles. never once had the transmission replaced (those 25,000 mile fluid changes), or any major engine work at all.
Chrysler has placed a 450,000 mile expectancy on the Hemi in heavy-duty use. this is not something they picked out of the air, but a number they have achieved thru exhaustive testing, both by Chrysler and outside police agencies. for those who think the Ford drivetrain is durable, you might want to ask someone in the law enforcement, taxi, or livery business. it isn't that durable; parts are just common and cheap.
Mike
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offroadwarrior03 9:19PM (10/16/2006)
i wish that cops had th eslowest pos when they r trying to pull me over so that i can make two turns and get away. but they should be driving near super cars when they have to be patrolling for everyone else. on a more serious note: the dodge po cars r a good idea, nearly 20 mph top speed boost and a car that can turn slightly better. very good idea plus they look itimidating
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