I hope no one tells that to the drivers in the European racing leagues. Or to the drivers in the import/tuner classes in NHRA and IHRA.
Not true. Ford subsidises the dealers bids on fleet sales. You can take this from someone formally in the business of servicing and BIDDING government fleet vehicles. Two years in a row the purchasing manager I consulted to in the department I worked had to get letters, for the purchasing boards, from the local GM and Chrysler dealers stating why they declined to bid on new vehicles. Their letters stated the subsidies from Ford.
The two smaller V6
Very few government bids consider residual cost, only initial cost. If it is a significant dollar figure and the purchasing people are made aware of it then it can be considered as a qualifier. By law, it has to be done in a certain manner, to protect the taxpayer, or it can't be allowed.
No police department worth its salt uses FWD vehicle for
Why then are you seeing them more and more? Do you remember the Ford Taurus that had the HighPerformance Police Special 3.8L engine in it and was used for patrol work by many departments? I think that was the first I saw in the mid 90's. Now GM makes the Impala with Police Package and I think Chryco offers the Intrepid also.
The PA State Police even ban unmarked FWD cars from
Many factors could be involved in this other than the sole factor of the vehicle being FWD. Many state officers wreck their cars in chases and the chances of getting killed may be greater in a FWD due to it being smaller. My sympathies to any officer killed in the line of duty, and their families, no matter what the circumstances. I talked to an patrolman once who drove a Taurus 3.8L Police Special. He stated it would out-accelerate any of the RWD police vehicles he had ever driven. He declined my offer to substantuate this for him. :-) davidj92