If you've been in the habit of keeping an eye out for cops driving Ford's iconic Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, you might want to recalibrate your eagle eyes. Ford recently debuted their next-generation cop car and for the first time in decades, the car won't be based on the popular rear-drive sedan. The new Police Interceptor will be based on the Taurus, the company's popular (and recently redesigned) front- and all-wheel-drive sedan.
“Police nationwide asked for a new kind of weapon in the battle for public safety, and Ford is answering the call with a purpose-built vehicle – engineered and built in America – that’s as dynamic as it is durable,” said Mark Fields, Ford president of The Americas.
The new Taurus-based police car comes on the heels of safety concerns about the old Crown Victoria-based vehicle, which was faulted for its fuel-tank design and location. Law enforcement officials said the cars were to blame for fires resulting from rear-end collisions. Ford later offered a fire suppressions system for their fuel tanks and a protective shell around the trunk itself which prevented items inside from piercing through into the tank. The new Taurus-based model passes a brand-new 75-mph rear-end crash test, something Ford claims no other law enforcement vehicle can do.
Gallery: Ford's New Cop Car In addition to being safer, the new "PI" will be greener by an orchard's worth of trees. Ford will offer law enforcement two different engines, but in a surprise move indicative of the times, no V-8 engine will be offered. Vehicles will be outfitted with either a 3.5-liter V-6 (263 hp) or the 3.5-liter Ecoboost twin-turbo V-6 (365 hp). In keeping with the efficiency theme, the Ecoboost cars come equipped with a six-speed transmission. Current Taurus EPA fuel economy puts the sedan at 18 city / 28 highway, but given the added weight on the police unit, fuel economy will likely drop by a few miles per gallon.
Ford insists their new V-6 engines offer the power of a V-8 with the efficiency of a smaller engine. Letting the numbers tell the story, the V-6 Ecoboost has significantly more power than today's Crown Victoria PI with its modular V-8 engine. The Crown Victoria's V-8 pumped out a comparably smaller 239 horses, a difference of more than 100 hp against the new Ecoboost V-6.
Looks Familiar, But Only Skin Deep
Ford insists the new Taurus-based Police Interceptor shares its skin and some of its powertrain components with the civilian version but little else. As with the past Crown Victoria-based PIs, this new cop car receives significantly upgraded brakes, better cooling and a beefier alternator. Police-specific upgrades continue in the interior as well, with stab-proof seats to protect the driver and her partner, while the rear doors extend an extra 10 degrees to accommodate the wily bad guy.
But retaining some of the civilian's car's charms actually behooves the uniformed officer. Cops will be able to take advantage of the back-up camera, electronic stability control and SYNC infomatic system, features that everyday drivers love.
Ford's current Crown Victoria Police Interceptor goes out of production at the end of 2011; the new PI model picks up production immediately thereafter and should be arriving on the mean streets in early 2012. **********************************
This should be interesting. Doesn't really matter, I can't pick out police cars from a distance anyway. I don't run a radar detector nor do I use a CB radio. I guess I'll have to drive the speed limit. I am glad to see our police get a better car though, never did like the Crown Vics.
Yeah, I read a comparison that pitted the Charger vs the Impala vs the Crown Vic, and they were bashing the Vic hard, and it was loosing in all tests. The Dodge salesmen were eagerly trying to persuade the departments to fill up on Chargers because they knew this new Taurus was coming. The organization that held the test, also held a private test when they had access to a prototype Taurus, and when equipped with AWD and the EcoBoost, there was no contest. I want to say I read all this on Motor Trend middle of last year, when Dodge and Chevy both released their new PI's.
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07:52 PM
Uaana Member
Posts: 6570 From: Robbinsdale MN US Registered: Dec 1999
In my humble opinion, there's a big difference going from a full-perimeter-framed Crown Vic (about as strong as a truck) to a unibody. Don't see much improvement in mileage, and the torque is what gets you up to speed quicker. I'll wager the ecoboost twin turbo version will cost north of $40k, so most departments will opt for the non-turbo version. County sherrifs around here have a lot of Impalas, but no V-8 versions. There goes any torque advantage over the old 4.6 V-8. I'd bet the AWD Chargers (RWD or AWD) would do better in the snow belt, but I see a lot of the 2WD hemi chargers being used by the Iowa State Patrol. FWIW, I got a best of 27 mpg highway out of my 4.6 T-bird with a good economy tune (lean). I had to richen it up a bit to run the cheapo 90/10 gas we get here, so I'm back to 22 mpg but not bad for a V-8.
Hah... yeah... Ford is shooting themselves in the foot.
To suggest that somehow a predominantly front-wheel drive D3 platform that was designed back in 1997 is somehow going to revolutionize the police industry is a total joke.
I own a 2002 Crown Victoria LX that I inherited from my grandfather. I was able to get another 50 horsepower out of it simply by swapping out parts from other stock cars. Ford is very slow to move on the Crown Vic... you can blame both the unions for the Crown Vic existing today as it does, and you can blame them for it going away. The reluctance to change anything has to do both with the contracts they signed with the union, as well as their reluctance to kill a cash cow. Basically, the research and development of the car was paid off long ago. The Crown Victoria is not a bad car by any means, but it's not uni-body like all the other cars are. So with respect to crash tests, it doesn't fare as well in side impact. That said, it's the only car that gets tested f/r at 75mph and passes.
Ford doesn't want to spend the money on a new RWD platform to replace the Crown Victoria, but at the same time, they don't want to lose the huge market that they would be giving up either. Unfortunately, Police departments absolutely do NOT want a front wheel drive mid-sized car. The reason why the police officers like the Crown Victoria is because it's rear wheel drive, it's reliable, and it's big. The new Ford Taurus is none of these.
There is currently a run on the existing Police Interceptors right now. The departments are buying them up and have a huge back-order to get as many as possible before 2011 is up (there's talk they may even extend the 2011 production year into early 2012).
I fully expect Dodge to take over the police market. Many of the police departments will probably keep the Crown Victorias for a LONG LONG time. Don't expect them to really dissapear for 10 years. But yeah, I think Dodge will really take the market. The Taurus just doesn't have the kind of chassis that permits certain police actions like pitting, etc.
In a Crown Victoria, you can drive up on curbs, medians, etc... without even the slightest care or concern. You absolutely cannot do that in a Taurus and expect it to last... even less when they order the AWD option.
High speed chases make up less than 1/100th of all police activity... most of the time, they're idling, pulling up on sidewalks, curbs, driving in ditches, side of the road, etc...
The Ford Taurus will be as useful as the front wheel drive Chevy Caprice was...
Dodge has this one in the bag...
quote
Originally posted by 2birds:
In my humble opinion, there's a big difference going from a full-perimeter-framed Crown Vic (about as strong as a truck) to a unibody. Don't see much improvement in mileage, and the torque is what gets you up to speed quicker. I'll wager the ecoboost twin turbo version will cost north of $40k, so most departments will opt for the non-turbo version. County sherrifs around here have a lot of Impalas, but no V-8 versions. There goes any torque advantage over the old 4.6 V-8. I'd bet the AWD Chargers (RWD or AWD) would do better in the snow belt, but I see a lot of the 2WD hemi chargers being used by the Iowa State Patrol. FWIW, I got a best of 27 mpg highway out of my 4.6 T-bird with a good economy tune (lean). I had to richen it up a bit to run the cheapo 90/10 gas we get here, so I'm back to 22 mpg but not bad for a V-8.
I got 28.2 mpg in my Crown Victoria on one trip from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando. But I've got the 2.73:1 gears. The Police Interceptors come with at least 3.27:1 gears, sometimes 3.551.
I drive the current model Crown Vic Police Interceptor. And I have driven these new Taurus' (non police). And I can say hands down the Crown Vic is much better suited for Police work. That being said it is dying for a updates. I have also driven the Police model Dodge Charger, although faster, the quality is just not there. And the interior room isn't quite large enough when the car is fully outfitted with police gear.
I already know that many departments wont buy the Chargers, and have not been pleased with the Taurus option.
Really the only interesting option is going to be the new Chevy Caprice based on the Pontiac G8 that is coming out.
For no good reason, here is a photo of my current ride.
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09:29 PM
82-T/A [At Work] Member
Posts: 23967 From: Florida USA Registered: Aug 2002
I drive the current model Crown Vic Police Interceptor. And I have driven these new Taurus' (non police). And I can say hands down the Crown Vic is much better suited for Police work. That being said it is dying for a updates. I have also driven the Police model Dodge Charger, although faster, the quality is just not there. And the interior room isn't quite large enough when the car is fully outfitted with police gear.
I already know that many departments wont buy the Chargers, and have not been pleased with the Taurus option.
Really the only interesting option is going to be the new Chevy Caprice based on the Pontiac G8 that is coming out.
For no good reason, here is a photo of my current ride.
Are you own CrownVic.Net? I'm on there as 73 VW Todd.
For no good reason, here are shots of my interior. It took 4 cows to cover all these seats.
Well, the unibody thing isn't an issue anymore since other than the CV, nobody makes a body-on-frame anymore. I read the article with the police interceptors and the AWD Taurus Ecoboost wiped the floor with all the other cars in top speed, acceleration, cornering, and gas mileage. Since it was a prototype, no idea how much it would cost, but the top of the line Taurus SHO with the Ecoboost engine has an MSRP of $37,995.
The 3.5 Ecoboost gets 365 HP @ 5550 rpm and 350 lb-ft of torque from 1500-5250 rpm. (Taurus SHO specs) The regular 3.5 has 263 HP and 249 lb-ft of torque, which is comparable with the P71 CV PI. (CV will have more torque, I'm sure. Couldn't find specs)
The Panther platform is pushing 20 years old. It can't compete anymore. Personally, I'd love to see them update it and keep a traditional RWD V8 body-on-frame car, but I don't see it happening.
The future is here.
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09:54 PM
PFF
System Bot
DeLorean00 Member
Posts: 4251 From: Sacramento, CA / Reno, NV Registered: Aug 2005
Are you own CrownVic.Net? I'm on there as 73 VW Todd.
For no good reason, here are shots of my interior. It took 4 cows to cover all these seats.
I tried to join there and they never approved my account.
Your interior is clean!!
I am currently doing a 2006 Lincoln Town Car center seat mod to mine. I will post so picture here soon when I am done. My interior is almost as clean as yours. As my car only has 15,000 miles. But its all police inside. But it does have carpet which is nice.
[This message has been edited by DeLorean00 (edited 01-18-2011).]
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09:56 PM
Jan 19th, 2011
Ramsespride Member
Posts: 1979 From: Where i am is where i am. Registered: Feb 2010
The Panther platform is pushing 20 years old. It can't compete anymore.
LOL, keep telling yourself that. It cracks me up that you say that and yet the limiting factor ending the sale of these vehicles isn't a lack of customers, its a lack of Ford's willingness to continue building them at the crappy Canadian UAW plant.
Couple of townships around my way already have them (unmarked under-covers but police none the less) .... And they are nasty. I saw one gettin some on the freeway the other day and that thing hauls a$$ and some.
I kinda dont like the Idea. Fom police cars come taxi's than from taxi's come your hood cruiser's rollin on 24's for a couple years than become junk yard material. This is one of the 1st cars that ford has come out with in this new day and age that always turns my head when it goes by. This is just going to make it become your every day taxi/police/fleet vehicle.
[This message has been edited by pontiackid86 (edited 01-19-2011).]
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12:54 AM
Ramsespride Member
Posts: 1979 From: Where i am is where i am. Registered: Feb 2010
Couple of townships around my way already have them.... And they are nasty. I saw one gettin some on the freeway the other day and that thing hauls a$$ and some.
I kinda dont like the Idea. Fom police cars come taxi's than from taxi's come your hood cruiser's rollin on 24's for a couple years than become junk yard material. This is one of the 1st cars that ford has come out with in this new day and age that always turns my head when it goes by. This is just going to make it become your every day taxi/police/fleet vehicle.
One of the perks of having friends in high places in the EAA is being allowed on the showgrounds after dark and seeign the fun stuff happen. Runway Papa got a decent running from my Jeep and the Interceptor. (not head to head)
From what i could see it did have a nice getty up BUT it topped out early due to the rev limiter. Not sure if that is going to be tuned out when they hit the streets for serious but i see it as a serious lacking in safety and overall power. I mean, what if the crook is getting away in an Corvette? Fat chance of any Charger, Crown Vic or the like catching that bad boy.
One of the perks of having friends in high places in the EAA is being allowed on the showgrounds after dark and seeign the fun stuff happen. Runway Papa got a decent running from my Jeep and the Interceptor. (not head to head)
From what i could see it did have a nice getty up BUT it topped out early due to the rev limiter. Not sure if that is going to be tuned out when they hit the streets for serious but i see it as a serious lacking in safety and overall power. I mean, what if the crook is getting away in an Corvette? Fat chance of any Charger, Crown Vic or the like catching that bad boy.
You would be surprised what thoes chargers can do. Philadelphia Drag racing unit and highway patrol unit (sneaky little pricks) use the dodge charger's with the 5.7, not only that the DRU and HPU have chargers outfitted with nasty supercharger's. I cant tell you how many idiots who go down street racing in philly in mommy and daddy's sports cars that try to make a run for it when the cops come end up getting a nasty little surprise when they find that there cars are not losing these charger's.
PA has always been sneaky like this. the high speed turn pike unit's used to consist of unmarked trans-am's and Camaro's Saw one one time. Thought it was odd when i saw a 98-02 all white Trans-am black tinted windows on base model(V6) wheels and no T-tops (all trans am's of those years had them) Next thing you know up the road he has someone pulled over.
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01:13 AM
Ramsespride Member
Posts: 1979 From: Where i am is where i am. Registered: Feb 2010
You would be surprised what thoes chargers can do. Philadelphia Drag racing unit and highway patrol unit (sneaky little pricks) use the dodge charger's with the 5.7, not only that the DRU and HPU have chargers outfitted with nasty supercharger's. I cant tell you how many idiots who go down street racing in philly in mommy and daddy's sports cars that try to make a run for it when the cops come end up getting a nasty little surprise when they find that there cars are not losing these charger's.
PA has always been sneaky like this. the high speed turn pike unit's used to consist of unmarked trans-am's and Camaro's Saw one one time. Thought it was odd when i saw a 98-02 all white Trans-am black tinted windows on base model(V6) wheels and no T-tops (all trans am's of those years had them) Next thing you know up the road he has someone pulled over.
That's nothing, a small hick-town here has a Challenger interceptor. I saw it a few times once at a stop sign, another at a store investigating a shoplifting incident, and that "OMG heart stopping why am i getting pulled over okay he is just responding to a call"- pass. I want one now almost as bad as a fat kid to a chocolate cake when he is away at fat camp for two weeks.
That's nothing, a small hick-town here has a Challenger interceptor. I saw it a few times once at a stop sign, another at a store investigating a shoplifting incident, and that "OMG heart stopping why am i getting pulled over okay he is just responding to a call"- pass. I want one now almost as bad as a fat kid to a chocolate cake when he is away at fat camp for two weeks.
I remember before they offered the charger as an interceptor package one township around here had (3 i think) retrofitted with an unmarked package. one white one one gold one and one black one. window tint strobe lights ATJ system and you would never know these things were police cars until they got you. The newist thing my township is doing is almost downright cruel I think I'm one of the only ones who knows its a police car. Its a nicely optioned ford F150 that looks like any other 2010 F150 from the outside PA law says that any unmarked police vehical must have as least 2 lights on the front and rear on the outside of the car. They get away with lights on this thing that look like licence plate fastener's on the back and 2 dinky strobes in the grill on the front. I'v seen suckers fly past this thing at 80 in a 40MPH zone and get picked off. Things hella fast to. Another township in my area has an SVT raptor on order as well.
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01:33 AM
blackrams Member
Posts: 32041 From: Covington, TN, USA Registered: Feb 2003
I mean, what if the crook is getting away in an Corvette? Fat chance of any Charger, Crown Vic or the like catching that bad boy.
Ever tried to out run a radio? It ain't happening. If they want you, they are gonna catch you. How it ends is totally up to the individual being persued.
A while back, I interviewed for a position that came with a company car. I didn't want to make a big thing of this and sound anxious or greedy but, when the company car option was brought up, I asked what the requirements were. I was told the only requirement was, the car chosen had to have four doors. I immediately thought of the Ford Taurus SHO. It didn't pan out for me though, I finished #2. But, it would have been nice.
Ron
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07:56 AM
82-T/A [At Work] Member
Posts: 23967 From: Florida USA Registered: Aug 2002
Well, the unibody thing isn't an issue anymore since other than the CV, nobody makes a body-on-frame anymore. I read the article with the police interceptors and the AWD Taurus Ecoboost wiped the floor with all the other cars in top speed, acceleration, cornering, and gas mileage. Since it was a prototype, no idea how much it would cost, but the top of the line Taurus SHO with the Ecoboost engine has an MSRP of $37,995.
The 3.5 Ecoboost gets 365 HP @ 5550 rpm and 350 lb-ft of torque from 1500-5250 rpm. (Taurus SHO specs) The regular 3.5 has 263 HP and 249 lb-ft of torque, which is comparable with the P71 CV PI. (CV will have more torque, I'm sure. Couldn't find specs)
The Panther platform is pushing 20 years old. It can't compete anymore. Personally, I'd love to see them update it and keep a traditional RWD V8 body-on-frame car, but I don't see it happening.
The future is here.
Yes, but what does great handling, and top-speed mean to a police officer? It means absolutely nothing... how often are police officers in high speed chases? We only hear about them because they're exciting... but... lets say a Ford Taurus is doing 140mph and matching the speed of a Mercedes 500 series sedan? What exactly is it going to do? Nothing! If you so much as try to pit that Merc with a Taurus, the Taurus will have massive front-end frame damage, and the car will be totalled. With a Crown Victoria, they will simply go in there and slide the rear-end and that Mercedes is done. No frame damage to the police cruiser.
Police cars spend 90% of their time starting / stopping, idling, driving over curbs, in embankments, medians, and other really heavy duty applications. There is NO WAY IN HELL that an AWD vehicle can handle that. Do you think a FWD Pontiac Grand Prix could handle driving over curbs all day long? Not a chance, it would be destroyed before the year is up. A Crown Victoria is really built to be able to do that kind of stuff... unless you've driven something like this, you really can't conceptualize it.
Either way, I know the car is out, but I can tell you right now the Taurus isn't going to pick up the slack... everyone is going to go to the charger (reluctantly). They just came out with a brand new one which is a bit more heavy duty than the 2007+ model they had.
quote
Originally posted by DeLorean00:
I tried to join there and they never approved my account.
Your interior is clean!!
I am currently doing a 2006 Lincoln Town Car center seat mod to mine. I will post so picture here soon when I am done. My interior is almost as clean as yours. As my car only has 15,000 miles. But its all police inside. But it does have carpet which is nice.
Yeah, I've wanted to do that too actually. The Lincoln Town Car center seat is basically a center console that's fixed. I have captains chairs in my Crown Vic (which they call the split bench). It had a seat belt in the center which I removed, but basically the arm rests would go up and that would end up being an extra seat. One of the things you get (however) with the Town Car center seat, is a set of adjustable A/C vents (with extra fan controls) for the back seats. That's something that would be cool.
The only thing is, I have bench seats, so if I wanted to install that center seat console, I'd have to cut up my seats... but... no way I'm doing that to seats like that... wouldn't want to destroy them.
Our state police have started using the Burbans for cruisers here in Maine. I saw one at the gas station when I was filling up last year. Now they are not the interceptors, just the regular cruisers for the interstates and regular roads. That can be tough to get around in a 2 ft snow covered road.
I talked to the trooper filling it up and he liked the comfort and all around go anywhere ability of it. But was not impressed with the mileage. He said he had to fill up twice as often as his old LTD. So he spent more time down and less time patrolling. But he could also carry more emergency gear and still have room for himself and 4 other troopers.
We have mustangs for interceptors on the highway, with the BIG engines.
More departments are going with multiple vehicles that are more specialized. One chase type vehicle, smaller faster. One for just bad weather, and we have more than our share of that. One for transport of prisoners.
Didn’t one of the southern states use TA’s a few years back?
Now I can tell you that years ago a friend who also had a police scanner called me and said turn it on. There is a pursuit mustang on the highway chasing a lambo at over 160 MPH on the highway. 5 min later the trooper came on the radio and said to send someone with gas can. He ran out of gas and lost the lambo. Our SWAT team snipers drive 4 wheel drive pickup with hard bed covers that lock and carry all his bullet proof gears and sniper rifles. We had one buy a golden retriever from us and he showed me the bed. Dam scary actually. He had enough firepower in the bed of that truck to take down a tank. Steve
------------------ Technology is great when it works, and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't. Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.
[This message has been edited by 84fiero123 (edited 01-19-2011).]
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09:00 AM
tutnkmn Member
Posts: 3426 From: York, England, U.K. Living in Ohio Registered: May 2006
Our state police have started using the Burbans for cruisers here in Maine. I saw one at the gas station when I was filling up last year. Now they are not the interceptors, just the regular cruisers for the interstates and regular roads. That can be tough to get around in a 2 ft snow covered road.
I talked to the trooper filling it up and he liked the comfort and all around go anywhere ability of it. But was not impressed with the mileage. He said he had to fill up twice as often as his old LTD. So he spent more time down and less time patrolling. But he could also carry more emergency gear and still have room for himself and 4 other troopers.
We have mustangs for interceptors on the highway, with the BIG engines.
More departments are going with multiple vehicles that are more specialized. One chase type vehicle, smaller faster. One for just bad weather, and we have more than our share of that. One for transport of prisoners.
Didn’t one of the southern states use TA’s a few years back?
Now I can tell you that years ago a friend who also had a police scanner called me and said turn it on. There is a pursuit mustang on the highway chasing a lambo at over 160 MPH on the highway. 5 min later the trooper came on the radio and said to send someone with gas can. He ran out of gas and lost the lambo. Our SWAT team snipers drive 4 wheel drive pickup with hard bed covers that lock and carry all his bullet proof gears and sniper rifles. We had one buy a golden retriever from us and he showed me the bed. Dam scary actually. He had enough firepower in the bed of that truck to take down a tank. Steve
I have seen the local Sheriff's department and the Ohio Highway Patrol both using SUV type vehicles lately as well. The OHP also seems to be keeping their old Crown Victorias in service as long as possible.
Sadly things will change though. The politicians will make sure America adopts the European type eco-friendly small police cars:
These things work in Europe because there is hardly any free motorway with which to develop speed. Anyone tried getting to 140 mph on the M1 lately? Usually it's tail backs for 10 miles. They say the Autobahn is also becoming a car-park (especially in and around the larger cities). Congestion! Over population.
[This message has been edited by tutnkmn (edited 01-19-2011).]
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09:44 AM
ARFiero Member
Posts: 1262 From: Savannah, GA Registered: May 2008
Don't forget that Chevy is in the game as well with the Police Only 2011 Chevy Caprice. Essentially it is a G8 with a Chevy front end. It will be offered with the 6.0 V8 or 3.6 V6 with rear wheel drive.
Gotta wonder why they didnt use the 3.7 from the Mustang for the base model. (305 HP)
.....................or a 400+ hp 302.
Wonder how many of those they plan on chasing anyone with. I can outrun a Taurus based one in my stretch limo, lol. Around here all the cops are going to 6.1 SRT Chargers.
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02:28 PM
Pyrthian Member
Posts: 29569 From: Detroit, MI Registered: Jul 2002
one of the keys to a succesful police car is to not be the "look" of what people are looking for. most of us by now have sharps eyes for the crown vic & the charger. any black charger.
In the Nashville/Metro area, they moved to Impalas several years back. They've gone through two generations of the things already. Outlying county sheriff's and some municipal police departments have moved to Chargers or modified Magnums as cruisers.
Only the state police (highway patrol) and smaller cities still use Crown Vics anymore - I got blue-lighted by a trooper going the other direction on the interstate once. He turned around in the median and caught up to me 4 miles down the road. At that point, I was already at my exit and was turning into a gas station... he still ticketed me but I went to court for it. The exchange in front of the judge was one for the record books:
quote
"It took me forever to catch up to you- I almost thought you were going to run."
Me: "if I wanted to run, you never would've caught me."
"What?"
Me: "HP Cruisers are governed at 113 in this state - my car will keep pulling until it comes apart. Thing is, radios are a lot quicker than my car is and I'm not stupid enough to try. Wouldn't have bothered me a bit if you missed the exit, though."
This was after the judge had agreed to lower the charges to something I could nullify with traffic school. He was laughing pretty hard at that last bit. (Which is true - that's the main reason they have moved away from them in most areas)
[This message has been edited by skuzzbomer (edited 01-19-2011).]
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06:00 PM
Finally_Mine_86_GT Member
Posts: 4809 From: Hyde Park, New York Registered: Sep 2006
I'd have to say that it really doesn't matter what any of us think unless you're a LEO driving one of those patrol cars. But, I would like to hear from them on the topic. I know which I'd rather drive but then, I'm not jumping curbs or pitting bad guys.
Ron
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09:17 PM
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
The new Charger isn't a body-on-frame car, IIRC. It has no real strength advantage over any other unibody or subframe car. Body on frame dies with the Panther.
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09:21 PM
PFF
System Bot
Jan 20th, 2011
proff Member
Posts: 7393 From: The bottom of the world Registered: Oct 2004
You guys have it all wrong. This is what the future of police vehicles is going to be:
hahahahahahahahahaha if i saw that here, I would laugh in the cops face or pul up next to it in my diesel 4x4 and say , "catch me if you can", i know you can't
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03:00 AM
Formula88 Member
Posts: 53788 From: Raleigh NC Registered: Jan 2001
hahahahahahahahahaha if i saw that here, I would laugh in the cops face or pul up next to it in my diesel 4x4 and say , "catch me if you can", i know you can't
Is your Diesel 4x4 faster than a bullet?
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10:11 AM
Mickey_Moose Member
Posts: 7538 From: Edmonton, AB, Canada Registered: May 2001
Law enforcement officials said the cars were to blame for fires resulting from rear-end collisions. Ford later offered a fire suppressions system for their fuel tanks and a protective shell around the trunk itself which prevented items inside from piercing through into the tank.
...yea, I heard those things burst into flames...
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10:15 AM
82-T/A [At Work] Member
Posts: 23967 From: Florida USA Registered: Aug 2002
The new Charger isn't a body-on-frame car, IIRC. It has no real strength advantage over any other unibody or subframe car. Body on frame dies with the Panther.
Body on Frame is only good for pitting...
But the Charger doesn't have any half-shafts in the front... which will get completely torn-up on the Taurus if they try using it for daily police duty like the Crown Vic is used to.
I have a few friends who are police officers, two of whom I talk to regularly. One is an FHP officer who has had three different patrol cars now. The first few cars were Crown Vics, the second one was the last generation Z-28 Camaro that the state ordered in 2002. He went back to a Crown Victoria because he said the ride in the Camaro was really hurting his back day in and day out... but he switched to a Charger a couple of years ago. He says the Charger is way faster than the Vic, but it's spent a lot of time in the shop where it has to be sent to the Dodge Dealership. The Crown Vics get repaired in their own shop run by the state and are apparently significantly more reliable.
I think the Taurus will work very well for highway patrol since most of the time they spend on the side of the road, or in highway driving.
The thing is, the Taurus has big shoes to fill... the Crown Victoria has a seperate cooler for every single component that uses fluid. There's a seperate one for the transmission (not just the radiator built-in one), one for the steering, etc. It's also got nearly 20-years of refinement on it to work out any bugs that might have existed.
The Crown Victorias often start off as Police Cars, then they get sold after 60-70k miles to smaller police departments. They then use them for another 40-50k miles (or more). It then ends up in the hands of livery or taxi cab companies where they go another 100-150 thousand miles.
When I go to the junkyard, I rarely see a Crown Victoria in there with less than 180,000 miles...
So, I guess the question I have is... do we really expect that the Ford Taurus is going to be AS reliable and dependable? I'm a big Ford fan, so there's no doubt in my mind that it's a cool car, it handles well, and that it's quick. But I just don't see them lasting that long.
Maybe they don't need to be?
Anyway, I don't see the Taurus doing well as an in-city / suburbia type police cruiser. The smaller front-wheel drive vehicles have always had a poor track record. The old Chevy Impala that was used (front wheel drive one) turned out to be an epic failure for most of the departments down here. The police officers I've talked to, they say their departments are stocking up on Crown Victorias while they can. The others are going to the Dodge Charger, and they're picking up quite a few more SUVs... in particular the Ford Expedition and to some extent, the Ford Explorers. The Federal guys down here all seem to be buying suburbans.
Well, the real question is how the Taurus will compare to the current offerings from GM and Chrysler. The Taurus may not be well suited to city duty. I don't know what kind of upgrades it has over the regular version. The CV is substantially upgraded for police duty. If Ford is as thorough with the Taurus, maybe it will do the job.
The Taurus is no Crown Vic is no 85 Chevy Caprice is no 76 Plymouth Fury, etc., etc., etc.
I have a '92 Grand Marquis that I inherited from my father. I'm tempted to find a totaled CVPI and transfer all the heavy duty stuff that will fit over to it.
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11:30 AM
rogergarrison Member
Posts: 49601 From: A Western Caribbean Island/ Columbus, Ohio Registered: Apr 99
Local municipalities here tried out the old K-Car back in the day. They were FWD and great gas mileage. They were worn out in a year or two. You couldnt catch crooks on a bicycle in one. Theres still a few left. The police they put on duty in high schools drive them between the station and the school. They also tried the FWD Chevies when they came out. They totalled at least one week in high speed crashes because they lost control. They ran out of those real fast and went back to CVs. The K9 cars were replaced with Magnums, but now theyve been discontinued leaving only the Charger. My Magnum with the Hemi had no problem outrunning my two Corvettes and my car show buddies Corvettes. Took corners at higher speeds too. Chargers are built on the identical platform. I do see a lot of them now adding Tahoes and Explorers.
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11:57 AM
87antuzzi Member
Posts: 11151 From: Surrounded by corn. Registered: Feb 2009
Well, the real question is how the Taurus will compare to the current offerings from GM and Chrysler. The Taurus may not be well suited to city duty. I don't know what kind of upgrades it has over the regular version. The CV is substantially upgraded for police duty. If Ford is as thorough with the Taurus, maybe it will do the job.
The Taurus is no Crown Vic is no 85 Chevy Caprice is no 76 Plymouth Fury, etc., etc., etc.
I have a '92 Grand Marquis that I inherited from my father. I'm tempted to find a totaled CVPI and transfer all the heavy duty stuff that will fit over to it.
Anything from 2002 and older will fit your car.
That said, there is a huge difference in performance from a 1992 Grand Marquis to the 96-2000 CVs, and then again from 2001-2002. The 2001 has the PI engine (Performance Improved), which comes stock with 239hp in stock dual exhaust form, with . With the newer MAF / Air Box / Air Tube from the 2004+ cars, you'll get 255hp on the same engine.
255hp doesn't sound like a lot, but 80% of the peak torque comes in at 2,600 rpms, and it's peak is at 3,200rpms, and stays totally flat all the way until 4,600 rpms... but the torque continues to be relatively flat all the way to redline, where the HP also continues to build through redline.
Or... you could just go buy a 5.4 2V and drop it in. The 5.4 2V is pretty much like the 3.4 swap for Fiero owners. The difference is, instead of dealing with starter relocation, the 5.4 guys have to deal with intake choices to clear the stock hood. The cargo-van one works, but then you end up with only 20 more hp over stock... but 50+ more foot pounds of torque.
I am glad to see our police get a better car though, never did like the Crown Vics.
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