Ford introduces patrol car to replace Crown Victoria

Ford's new police car can endure a rear-end crash at 75 m.p.h., easily jump curbs and accelerate twice as fast as Ford's outgoing iconic Crown Victoria Police Interceptor.

"We hope that you will agree that Ford has succeeded in delivering the ultimate new police interceptor," Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas, said as he introduced the new car to a group of law enforcement officials in Las Vegas on Friday.

The new car even comes with "stab plates" to protect the driver and front-seat passenger. Police departments can order optional ballistic door panels.

"So you can see this is not a civilian product by any means," Fields said.

The new Interceptor will be built on the same structure as the Ford Taurus sedan at the company's Chicago assembly plant after production of the Crown Victoria ends in late 2011 at Ford's St. Thomas, Ontario, plant, which is to close.

Ford also said it is developing a new SUV-based police vehicle. Ford said it will provide additional details about that vehicle by the end of September.

Ken Czubay, Ford's vice president of U.S. sales and marketing, said Ford expects to maintain its market share in the police vehicle business even though competition is increasing.

Introduced in 1983, the Crown Victoria has long dominated police car sales and accounts for about 75% of the police car market with annual sales of 40,000 to 50,000.

"We are very optimistic that with this vehicle ... we could even gain on that" level of market share, Czubay said.

General Motors, Chrysler and Connersville, Ind.-based Carbon Motors plan to increase their market share or launch new police cars.

Chrysler has set a goal of expanding its police car market share from 17% to 40% in the next 12 to 18 months with its rear-wheel drive Dodge Charger patrol car.

And, in October, GM announced plans to introduce the Chevrolet Caprice police car in 2011. GM said the new Caprice will offer V8 or V6 engines.

Ford also is offering two engine options: A 3.5-liter V6 engine with 263 horsepower and a 3.5-liter direct-injection turbocharged EcoBoost engine with 365 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque.

Ford's Crown Victoria Police Interceptor has been popular with police departments because of its rigid, full-frame construction and rear-wheel drive transmission, all for a relatively low price, said Jim Hall, managing director of 2953 Analytics in Birmingham.

"The bottom line is they have a police car that defines the American police car," Hall said. "Police departments love it for a million reasons, including its durability."

Ford executives said the new vehicle is more durable and performs better than the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor.

"We routinely run over 8-inch curbs at 40 m.p.h. to validate suspension strength," said Scott Tobin, Ford's vehicle line director for product development.

Fields also said the new vehicle is the only police car on the market that can withstand a rear-end collision at 75 m.p.h. The seats have areas cut out to accommodate utility belts, and the interior has space for standard police equipment.