Ford's cop car website

[Londontaximan]

https://www.ford.com/fordpoliceinterceptor/feature...

Sure beats Hyundai i30 plod over here uses.
365 bhp, ballistic door panels,re-enforced wheels and tyres, trunk vaults for, er, contraband and special equipment.
I like the way they're still comparing it to the legendary crown vic, which a lot of police depts still refuse to let go.

[Matt Harper]

Londontaximan said:

I like the way they're still comparing it to the legendary crown vic, which a lot of police depts still refuse to let go.

Hmmm - not so sure about that. I suspect most US agencies are still running P71's because they don't have the budget to replace them.
They're old and slow and uneconomical compared to modern alternatives.
My local PD is around halfway through replacing all their Crown Vics with R/T Chargers, which are far superior in pretty much all respects. Likewise with FL Highway Patrol - now 95% Mopar.
Today in my area of the US, if it ain't Dodge, it's Chevy Impala or Taurus SHO for cruisers and Explorer or Suburban for utility. All the Crown Vics are worn out and on the way out.

[ftypical]

If you maintain it, the only thing that will take a car off the road is rust or crashing.

So I took a taxi in DFW a few years ago that had a remarkable ability to accelerate - but was apparently heavy on gas.

Ex police 427 Interceptor.

[Matt Harper]

ftypical said:

If you maintain it, the only thing that will take a car off the road is rust or crashing.

So I took a taxi in DFW a few years ago that had a remarkable ability to accelerate - but was apparently heavy on gas.

Ex police 427 Interceptor.

A late 1960's taxi then?

[Roo]

I used to have an export spec P72. I liked it. It was like driving your armchair to work.

[optimal909]

Matt Harper said:

Hmmm - not so sure about that. I suspect most US agencies are still running P71's because they don't have the budget to replace them.
They're old and slow and uneconomical compared to modern alternatives.
My local PD is around halfway through replacing all their Crown Vics with R/T Chargers, which are far superior in pretty much all respects. Likewise with FL Highway Patrol - now 95% Mopar.
Today in my area of the US, if it ain't Dodge, it's Chevy Impala or Taurus SHO for cruisers and Explorer or Suburban for utility. All the Crown Vics are worn out and on the way out.

None of them are as durable as the Crown Vic for obvious reasons, and the Charger don't have as much cabin and trunk space.

I own an old MY2002 P71 as daily driver and love it for what it is.

[Matt Harper]

optimal909 said:

Matt Harper said:

Hmmm - not so sure about that. I suspect most US agencies are still running P71's because they don't have the budget to replace them.
They're old and slow and uneconomical compared to modern alternatives.
My local PD is around halfway through replacing all their Crown Vics with R/T Chargers, which are far superior in pretty much all respects. Likewise with FL Highway Patrol - now 95% Mopar.
Today in my area of the US, if it ain't Dodge, it's Chevy Impala or Taurus SHO for cruisers and Explorer or Suburban for utility. All the Crown Vics are worn out and on the way out.

None of them are as durable as the Crown Vic for obvious reasons, and the Charger don't have as much cabin and trunk space.

I own an old MY2002 P71 as daily driver and love it for what it is.

I wasn't trying to justify the switch out of Crown Vic to other options - more to argue that US police agencies are not using clunker P71's because of affection - but more due to budget constraint. I'd also suggest that all of the more modern replacements are just as 'durable', given the fact that they are very well maintained over the course of their hard lives. Charger, Impala and Taurus are all faster, turn and stop better and are more fuel efficient than the outgoing Crown Vic.
I have lots of law enforcement friends and I recently asked one of them how he felt about the transition from Crown Vic to Dodge Charger. His reply - "Well they can't outrun me in a Honda Civic anymore".

[optimal909]

Matt Harper said:

optimal909 said:

Matt Harper said:

Hmmm - not so sure about that. I suspect most US agencies are still running P71's because they don't have the budget to replace them.
They're old and slow and uneconomical compared to modern alternatives.
My local PD is around halfway through replacing all their Crown Vics with R/T Chargers, which are far superior in pretty much all respects. Likewise with FL Highway Patrol - now 95% Mopar.
Today in my area of the US, if it ain't Dodge, it's Chevy Impala or Taurus SHO for cruisers and Explorer or Suburban for utility. All the Crown Vics are worn out and on the way out.

None of them are as durable as the Crown Vic for obvious reasons, and the Charger don't have as much cabin and trunk space.

I own an old MY2002 P71 as daily driver and love it for what it is.

I wasn't trying to justify the switch out of Crown Vic to other options - more to argue that US police agencies are not using clunker P71's because of affection - but more due to budget constraint. I'd also suggest that all of the more modern replacements are just as 'durable', given the fact that they are very well maintained over the course of their hard lives. Charger, Impala and Taurus are all faster, turn and stop better and are more fuel efficient than the outgoing Crown Vic.
I have lots of law enforcement friends and I recently asked one of them how he felt about the transition from Crown Vic to Dodge Charger. His reply - "Well they can't outrun me in a Honda Civic anymore".

Certainly not as durable and not as easy to repair. Taurus for example needs the engine to be removed for replacing the water pump, which it needs earlier than one would expect. Turbocharged engines and more sophisticated suspensions certainly won't take abuse as well as the agricultural tech the Crown Vic has. And I read lots of complaints about the FCA-quality of the Charger.
Also, the body-on-frame should be easier to repair.

As for it being slow, it is certainly not "V8-fast" and yes, probably not fast enough for a proper highway patrol car, but I'd say it is brisk even though I have the older 225 hp setup.

And when it comes to cabin and trunk size, no other sedan can beat the Vic and therefore -as far as I know- the traditional sedan interceptor market is shrinking fast as officers prefer utilities.

I'm aware these cars have one of the lowest respect in the States, as it is considered an outdated low-rent poverty car with a design only a grandpa would love. But unfortunately it won't take long to burn through the cars on road and in service which is shame given the historic value of the Panther platform.

For me it is refreshingly anti-establishment and I love the ownership experience.
One thing is sure, it easily copes with the low quality roads in my neighborhood and I had never had to ask my wife to leave anything home when travelling with our twin baby girls. And it is more special than -let's say- a Maserati over here.

[Matt Harper]

The fact that you enjoy yours is pleasing to learn - and long may that continue. I am certain that in it's day it was the quintessential cruiser (particularly when GM stopped Caprice production).

Trunk space aside (agreed - nothing has as voluminous a carrying capacity), with a 'perp-screen' installed the Crown Vic is no bigger inside - on the wrong side of the perspex.

I got pretty close to buying a P71 for my daughter - it was an ex watch commander's car, so did not have the really hard life that regular cruisers endure.
There was nothing wrong with it, it was just too numb. Granted, it is a 4000lbs + car - and that's a little too much for the maxed-out modular engine, I think.

My small town police dept (Belle Isle FL) has 6 R/T Chargers and 3 Crown Vics and a couple of Suburbans. Even the older Chargers have 100+ hp more than the old Fords.

They served well, but they have been outgrown - and destined to an afterlife of taxi duty. I stand by my original observation - that police agencies can't afford to ditch them, rather than have an abiding affection for them.

[Efbe]

just went on to the Dodge website.

seems that the only European country they sell to is Azerbaijan... wtf?