Ford 2011 Police Interceptor will be built on a Taurus platform in Chicago and is designed to exceed the durability, safety, performance and fuel economy of the outgoing Ford Crown Victoria. (AP Photo/Ford Motor Co.)
By Nathan
Oliveriz-Giles | The Ford Crown Victoria police car, which
for nearly three decades has been the star of high-speed chases and an
unwelcome sight in rearview mirrors, is being phased out.
Ford’s new patrol car, the 2011 Police Interceptor, will be built at Ford’s
South Side Chicago plant on Torrence Avenue. It was designed to be faster, safer and stronger, and will come packed
with advanced technology, but for some at the unveiling, it was a
nostalgic occasion.
“I’m sad to see the Crown Vic go,” said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Rob Robinson, who has been on the force for 27 years.
For the last 10 years he’s been a driving instructor for the department.
“Everybody knows that car, how to drive it and how to work on it. And the new car is, in a lot of ways, superior, and I’m excited about it.
“But it’s also just new.”
The Crown Victoria police car, which debuted in 1983, will not be going away any time soon. Ford will be making them until late next year — about the same time that Police Interceptors will start coming off the production line.
And it’s uncertain when police departments, feeling budget constraints, will be able to place orders for the new cars.
Ford didn’t disclose prices at the event. The Crown Victoria police car has a base price of about $27,000.
Ford also makes a Crown Victoria model for consumers — it’s also being phased out next year.
The Police Interceptor will be built on the same platform as Ford’s 2010 Taurus.
But company spokesman Said Deep said that about 90% of the Police Interceptor has been engineered specifically for law enforcement use.
“It shares some sheet metal [with the Taurus], but it’s a very different car,” Deep said.
Inside, the seats have cutouts that accommodate police-issue utility belts. They are also narrower to allow officers to get in and out quickly.
The gear shifter is on the steering column to free up space between the front seats for gear.
That space is 9 inches, the same as in the Crown Victoria, so that existing equipment can fit.
The rear door panels swing out 10 degrees farther than on a regular Taurus to make it easier to get detainees in and out.
Also, the police version will have a larger trunk to accommodate equipment.
In another change from the Crown Victoria, the Police Interceptor will have unibody-type construction, in which the frame and body are one piece.
The Crown Victoria is one of the last cars with the body bolted onto the frame.
“When a Crown Vic gets in a wreck, we can easily swap out banged-up body panels,” Robinson said. “The new car has a unibody, with no separate frame, and that’s going to be more expensive to fix after an accident.”
The Police Interceptor will be offered in front- and all-wheel-drive versions.
It will have a V-6 engine that produces 263 horsepower. Ford said it will have 25% better fuel efficiency than the Crown Victoria police car, which has a V-8 engine.
Like the consumer Taurus, which comes in a hot-rod SHO version, there will be a souped-up model available to the police with a 365-horsepower engine.
Switching to a new model is a risk for Ford, which has dominated the law enforcement market since the mid-1990s, when General Motors stopped making its Chevrolet Caprice police car.
The major competitors that remain are Chevy Impala and Dodge Charger police cars.
Robinson, for one, was resigned to the passing of the Crown Victoria.
“It’s a change,” he said, “and I guess it has to happen.”
All wheel drive would be a plus on Chicago side streets.
You would think ford would have a car ready to replce the crown vic before they took it out of service. It seems a little dumb to me . Also in the city I live in the police are going to a dodge car to replace the vic. I think ford is making a big mistake. No wonder the auto makers are losing money.
I thought the Crown Vic was a clunker until I bought one in 04. With a V8 engine I get 24 miles per gallon using regular gas. For a big car this was surprising. It is very comfortable and roomy, and on long drives very smooth. I suppose people who ride in the back of the police cruisers don’t care one way or another. John, right now Ford is the only one making money. They came to their senses when they re-commissioned the Taurus and improved the quality of their other models. Even the focus looks good. As a car for cops to just drive around in they can do so without hogging the road like they do in the Crown vic.
I thought the Crown Vic was a clunker until I bought one in 04. With a V8 engine I get 24 miles per gallon using regular gas. For a big car this was surprising. It is very comfortable and roomy, and on long drives very smooth. I suppose people who ride in the back of the police cruisers don’t care one way or another. John, right now Ford is the only one making money. They came to their senses when they re-commissioned the Taurus and improved the quality of their other models. Even the focus looks good. As a car for cops to just drive around in they can do so without hogging the road like they do in the Crown vic. John I think you missed something. The Crown Vic dies at the same time the Taurus cruisers will be ready for purchase. Most police departments will grandfather their vehicles and purchase new vehicles (if they can afford them) as needed.
sick car
I can see departments favoring the REAR wheel drive 2011 Chevy Caprice PPV over the Front Wheel Drive Taurus.
Why does the front emblem look like the Chevy bow tie?
I am surprised the industry is not looking to deploy hybrid or plug in electric technology in new designs. given the fact that these vehicles are typically just sitting around most of the time or at best in stop and go situations, I would expect that they could reap substantial cost efficiencies from these technologies… I suppose change comes pretty slowly with this buyer.
I think they are smart to stick with Ford. Ford is far superior these days to GM or Chrysler products. And, this is coming from an owner of a 2008 Chrysler 300. I wish I had bought a Ford. They are the only American car company on point today. And also, today’s V6 is as powerful or better than the Vic’s V8 from 5-10 years ago
“Chris”: THAT is a blue Ford “oval”, not a Chevy “bowtie”.
Time for a new eyeglasses or an updated monitor, eh?
What–no Toyota’s?
Itasca uses a turbo Subaru Impreza as a patrol car. Nobody outruns that car.
Fix
Or
Replace
Daily
Hey Trib,times had this story 5 days ago…….great going!
Didn’t you see the Crown Vic goes away at the same time the new interceptor comes into production?
Hybrid doesn’t work with patrol cars. Too high electrical power demands. The batteries would drain ASAP. Does anyone think before they post?
This was in the Times of NW Indiana a couple of days ago. Apparently it was more important to persons in The Region than to Chicago.
The rear wheel drive Caprice PPV is comming. GM Introduced the Lumina 9C1 and it was a failure in sales. BTW, I saw a Il State Trooper Caprice 9C1 not too long ago…LT1 still kickin 14 years later.
NICE CAR, I ALAYS LOVED THE TAUSUS, THE CROWN VICTORIA HAS ALWAYS MADE GREAT POLICE CRUISERS AS THE PLYMOUTH & DODOGE MODELS ONCE DID.
@flossmore, that is so out-dated. I agree Ford has done its homework and makes the best cars today compared to the Chrysler and General Motors. Ford was the only American company that was not and still is not in Financial trouble like General Motors and Chrysler. Ford had to do better in order to survive and it did so OUT with the old saying of Fix-Or-Replace-Daily. That does not apply today anymore. Flossmore, don’t live in the past. The future is just the beginning. Using the Taurus SHO will be a smart move for law enforcement. It has great performance and better gas mileage compared to the old Crown Vic.
I think that this is a big mistake for Ford. When chevy went from the caprice to the impala money was lost do to things like front wheel drive and a unibody base. Now Ford is doing the same thing when chevy is bringing back the caprice. Chevy will be the leader instead of ford because the caprice will be body over frame built with rear wheel drive, and the taurus will not.
I love Ford Motor Company, and I like GM, and Chrysler. It sure seems like they are making a comeback; this is such great news for the USA, and particularly for Chicago and the great Midwest, the true production center of the country.
Thanks for the memories, Worlds Greatest Newspaper.I was a kid once and I worked for Freddie, Herald Examiner, he drove a small pickup (standard for the Herald). I had 2 newspaper stands, one out at the airport and later one at the end of a streetcar line, in front of a small cafe on a corner. Thats where I learned which way to face when you stepped off a moving street car platform, with a bundle of newspapers under your arm, to prevent falling ******* your butt when your feet hit the street. I only did that once, and every motorman and conductor on that line knew about it. Too late for me, several of them stopped on their way into the cafe for coffee, took me under their wing and explained how it was that they did it all the time as gracefully as the man on the flying trapeze. That was about 1931 and I was about ten years old. At the end of the day Freddie would speed up to the corner laying on his horn. I had to scoop up my leftover Heralds, run to the truck, throw my papers on the back and hop onto the truck bed. Sometimes just as I started my hop onto the truck, Freddie would start up and I would fall on my face. He constantly warned me not to be selling Trib’s on the stand,and asked me if I was. I constantly denied it. Truth is, the Trib driver had this deal with me and the owner of the cafe. He dropped off Trib’s from their great big two and a half ton trucks, and I would get them and put them on the shelfs in my stand. I think both papers were around three cents each. When it was near going home time, I would hustle the left over Trib’s and the pennies for the ones I sold, inside to the cafe owner. I was raised in the 63d street and Stoney Island Ave
neighborhood, Walter Scott grammer school; Hyde Park HS for about a year and went to San Diego with family relatives about 1936/7. Retired US Army, DOB 25 Aug 1921.
I love Ford Motor Company, and I like GM, and Chrysler. It sure seems like they are making a comeback; this is such great news for the USA, and particularly for Chicago and the great Midwest, the true production center of the country.
V^ good I hope they come down south so I can blow there **** to the wind like I have in the past what a joke just the pigs who drive then me I better than everyone else come on boy I got a 69 chevelle with a 396 that will but you down
I think you need your eyes checked. All of teh emplems I’ve seen is a blue oval, not a blue or gold trapazoid
How did you wire up that monster? Looks like a lot of work on that single phase motor.
My dad bought a 2006 Ford Mustang, for about $19,000. It has about 200 HP, and is really fun to drive and mod. It also has about 20 mpg. There’s also tons of aftermarket parts if you love that kind of stuff. Check it out.