Ford Police Interceptor (PICTURES): New Police Car Bears Down on Competition
DEARBORN, Mich. (CBS/AP) Ford Motor Co. wants to remain the top gun in the U.S. police car market with its new cruiser, Ford Police Interceptor, due next year.
PICTURES: Ford Police Interceptor
Ford revealed its new sedan Friday. The car, based on the Ford Taurus, will replace the Crown Victoria-based cruiser at the end of 2011.
The Police Interceptor has anti-stab plates built into the front seats to protect occupants from attacks, vinyl rear seats and floors that can be hosed down and available bulletproof doors. It's built to
withstand a 75-mile-per-hour rear crash.
PICTURES: Ford Police Interceptor
Ford, which sells 70 percent of all U.S. police cars, wants to retain its 15-year dominance in the market, which sees average sales of 50,000 vehicles per year.
But Ford's competitors are in hot pursuit. Chrysler's Dodge Charger-based police car grabbed 18 percent of sales last year, up from 14 percent in 2007. In reports to the California Police Chiefs Association, some officers preferred the aggressive looks, faster acceleration and handling of the Charger.
Later this year, General Motors Co. will relaunch the Chevrolet Caprice police car after a 15-year absence from the U.S. market. GM also sells a police car based on the Impala. Carbon Motors Corp., a new company based in Indiana, plans to build police cars to departments' exact specifications starting in 2012. Even the Toyota Prius hybrid has been modified for police work in Seattle and other cities.
PICTURES: Ford Police Interceptor
Ford said the new cruiser will save taxpayers money because it gets 25 percent better fuel economy than the Crown Victoria, which gets 15 miles per gallon in the city and 23 on the highway.
Unlike the Crown Victoria, which has a 250-horsepower V-8 engine, the new Police Interceptor will have two V-6 options: a standard engine with 263 horsepower and one with EcoBoost technology that gets 363 horsepower. That will bring the Interceptor in the range of the Charger, whose 362-horsepower Hemi V-8 is now the most powerful in the segment.
Ford also hopes to stand out with exclusive features, like carved front seats to accommodate officers' holsters and rear doors that open 71 degrees -- 10 degrees wider than usual -- to make it easier to put people in the back.