BREAKING: Ford announces it will build all-new Police Interceptor for 2011
by Chris Paukert on Nov 13th 2009 at 11:40AM 
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]
PRESS RELEASE:
FORD ANNOUNCES DEVELOPMENT OF ALL-NEW POLICE INTERCEPTOR FOR LAW ENFORCMENT USE NATIONWIDE
* Ford confirms development plans of an all-new Ford Police Interceptor and affirms continued commitment to the police and municipal vehicle businesses
* New Police Interceptor's durability, safety and performance will exceed the existing Crown Victoria's law enforcement vehicle lineup
* Ford is the market leader in the law enforcement vehicle segment, selling 45,000 of the 60,000 police vehicles sold in each year in the U.S.
Dearborn, Mich., Nov. 13, 2009 – Ford Motor Company announced today it will produce an all-new purpose-built Police Interceptor specially designed and engineered to replace the Ford Crown Victoria law enforcement vehicle lineup in 2011.
The new Ford Police Interceptor is being developed in conjunction with Ford's Police Advisory Board, which provided input during the past 14 months on key vehicle attributes, such as safety, performance, durability, driver convenience and comfort. The new Police Interceptor will be offered without interruption when production of the Ford Crown Victoria ends in late 2011.
"We have heard the repeated requests from the law enforcement community to continue uninterrupted support of the law enforcement community," said Mark Fields, Ford's president of The Americas. "Ford is answering the call with the new Police Interceptor – engineered and built in America."
Ford – which currently controls approximately 75 percent of the police pursuit vehicle business in the U.S. – has invested significantly in designing the purpose-built new police and municipal vehicles to meet the needs of these crucial customers.
The new Police Interceptor is designed to provide municipalities with reduced ownership costs through improved fuel efficiency, quality and the kind of durability police departments nationwide have come to expect from Ford.
"Ford's commitment to the law enforcement community produced the Crown Victoria, the benchmark police vehicle," said Lt. Brian Moran, fleet manager, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and a member of Ford's Police Advisory Board. "This commitment has continued, and Ford has been working closely with the Police Advisory Board on developing the new Police Interceptor. 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."
Ford plans to reveal the new model and provide full vehicle specifications in the first quarter of 2010 – in time for law enforcement agencies, police equipment manufacturers and upfitters to develop a transition plan from the Crown Victoria to the new product.
Each year, Ford sells approximately 45,000 police vehicles, making the Blue Oval the nation's largest provider of police and municipal vehicles.
"Ford long has supported our public servants with vehicles that work as hard as they do," said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, Marketing, Sales and Service. "We intend to build on this legacy with a new generation of municipal and police vehicles that set even higher standards."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Victor 11:43AM (11/13/2009)
An aussie showdown! It'll be like an ATCC event!
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John P. 11:46AM (11/13/2009)
I was wondering how Ford was going to manage this problem. Sounds like a good plan to me!
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Randy 11:28PM (11/13/2009)
Ya know.. In one of my posts (out of a thousand) I said "Ford needs a purpose built police vehicle that won't conflict with consumer versions so they can retain resale values" e.g. Taxi Cabs, Police Cars etc...
I didn't get a check in the mail though... lol oh well...
Greg Aryous 2:09PM (11/14/2009)
There is only (1) logical platform that fits these rqmts = 4-dr stretched Mustang!
Police are already familar with the Mustang as a chase car, its durable, reliable, fast, RWD solid axle handling and cheap. So a stretched version on the next gen Mustang (due 2012-ish) with the new 5.0 V8 and 6-speed solves the problem and gets a vehicle to market quickly and at the right price.
The Taurus is too expensive, FWD (AWD is expensive), no V8 (EcoBoost is expensive) and as the "flagship" I don't think Ford wants to tarnish the image with a police car package...
The Other Bob 11:49AM (11/13/2009)
It doesn't say it is rwd, but says it will be built in the U.S. , which first told me it would be based off the Taurus and built in Chicago.
Then it says it will be "purpose built" so that is confusing. Not sure what plant would built a rwd car. That said, the Flatrock, MI plant builds Mustangs and Mazda 6 cars on the same line, so who knows.
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angelov.todor 11:50AM (11/13/2009)
What's wrong with the new Taurus!?! Why don't they just use it!?!
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Valik 11:58AM (11/13/2009)
Because front wheel drive cars suck for what Police Interceptors have to do...
Swellman 12:30PM (11/13/2009)
Besides it being fwd, Ford also stated when the new Taurus came out, they weren't going to turn it into a fleet car because that's what killed the last Taurus. They're everywhere. People see that they're dime a dozen, and nobody wants one. They have an awesome Taurus now, and they'd rather let it stand on its own.
Ersin 12:54PM (11/13/2009)
maybe it's because this one had the headlights from audi a6
Matt 3:24PM (11/13/2009)
What's wrong with the Taurus???
The list would be shorter if you said "What's right with the Taurus".
paul34 4:17PM (11/13/2009)
The only people who drive FWD cop cars are "community service officers." Everyone else needs a RWD for various reasons, including durability.
naturalyshocked 5:35PM (11/13/2009)
@Valik
on discovery was a a show where they compared products from both sides of the ocean.
the crown victoria lost the batle against a volvo 850 t5.
the volvo handled better and was faster and lighter(witch surprized the american cop that assited the show).
european cops that assisted the show where surpriced by the crown's relative good handeling, but instantly said, you may keep it.
it's a very slow and log vihicle, ala mastodont.
a FWD is way cheaper than a RWD car and a engine swap is done very fast.
remove both axles, disconnect the exhaust and gear stick, unbolt the subframe, unplug the wires and fuel lines, lift the car and ready to be lowered on to a new engine.
(it's not even needed to work inside of the car and remove parts from interior.)
most FWD axle, accept VAG and some more, are realy easy to exchange, just remove the center bolt from the wheel, disengage the strut, hit a few times on the center of the hub and pull the axle from the gearbox.
two axle are changed in 60 minutes or less.
another perfect example that they have no clue on what they do there on the other side of the ocean.
the typical it's between the ears thing.
: (
but i gues the police there likes to make action movies on the fly.
Lar7789789 10:02PM (11/13/2009)
Why can't they just reengineer the Taurus platform to accept a RWD design?
MFfan310 11:50AM (11/13/2009)
Sorry to dash your Falcon hopes, but I read the words in the press release: "engineered and built in America".
Unless they decide to build a global RWD sedan here, it sounds like a stretch Taurus SHO with EcoBoost to me...
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nrb 11:55AM (11/13/2009)
Nice catch. I know a lot of cops that will disagree, but a police car does not have to be RWD.
matt234 1:10PM (11/13/2009)
Maybe they can get a Trunk Monkey to make up for lack of RWD. But seriously, why not AWD?
Tourian 2:33PM (11/13/2009)
Maybe the could slap a "purpose built" body on the Mustang chassis and build them in the Flint plant.
Samurai Jack 3:11PM (11/13/2009)
AWD would increase maintenance costs too much. That's always a factor when deciding which police vehicle to buy.
nrb 6:44PM (11/13/2009)
Samurai Jack, Agreed. Although, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is going to be an issue no matter what they decide on. That's one area where the Crown Vic is king as a police cruiser. Reliable, durable, easy/inexpensive to repair. That's a hard combination to beat.
t 7:10PM (11/13/2009)
I'll go out on a limb here and predict it will be RWD and IRS *and* body on frame (BOF!).
There is such a platform in house already. It's the Ford Explorer which is due to be redesigned to unibody so the factory is already built. It also already takes the 4.6L engine (and 4.0) so it's a shoe-in!