The chief of police cars

You have all been missing a major point. The police departments are not buying Crown Vics. The unions are boycotting them. The police (and limo version) have a habit of catching on fire when rear ended at more than 70 MPH. Even with Ford denying it, they lost when they came out with the retrofit modification for them. Since then, the police depts have not been buying them. The police depts also don't want to buy Chevys since Chevy lost the court battle for their brakes failing after being in high speed chases. What is left?

bullshit!! the crown vic is the largest selling police car. no unions here are boycotting them, and most of the cops here have already said they will not drive anything but the crown vic. the fleet versions DO NOT have any more of a habit of catching fire in a rear end collision than any other car, and are safer than most other cars in a rear end collision. .

Do you even know what you're talking about?? There is nothing special about a "police car". They are "family cars" with specific options like light bar wiring, heavy duty cooling and alternators, etc. You can buy a police package for your own use. Reliable means XX people said something broke. If another vehicle has XX-10 people that said something broke, it is more "reliable" than the first.

Maybe 2 years ago. And of course being practically the only game in town for years, the Ford will have greater numbers in the field. But ANY business publication reports the same thing: The Charger has been gaining market share STEADILY and the Ford has been losing market share STEADILY for the last 2 years. None of the companies publish police sales however, so the actual numbers are not known. Overall for last year Chargers were up 2% and Fords down 8%.

hahaha where the hel did you hear that???

what do the police officers want to drive... honda civics?

I like it when the fuzz keep using Crown Vics simply because my eyes are trained to spot them off in the distance. I rarely exceed the speed limit by

10 MPH but I like to know when one is present.

That's one reason why the Massachusetts State Police are so keen on their new fleet of Chargers...

/daytripper (retuning the ol' eyeball for Mopar Cop Cars ;-)

I am hardly a Ford Apologist, but you're full of it here - Name me all the production large automobiles on the market today that can take a 70-MPH rear impact without catching on fire and/or the occupants being killed or seriously hurt from the impact. Use as much blank space as necessary for your answer...

You could build a specialized car for Law Enforcement work that would meet all the criteria you could think of in speed and handling, durability and crashworthiness - but it would be very expensive and very uncomfortable for cops with all their gear on to drive - they're wearing their flak vests 24/7 if they;re smart.

Have to start with a full Nascar roll cage chassis with door beams and a bladder fuel cell. Racing bucket seats, welded shut doors - yeah, I can see Sheriff Buford T, Justice climbing in and out the window 20 times a day... Hi-Po engine that lopes at idle, race-built tranny that shifts rock hard, full race brakes, fire bottle system.

No AM/FM radio or air conditioning, or fiberglass prisoner-ready back seat conversion (or even a back seat at all) that's too much weight.

And the rank and file officers drive what the're given, or they quit and go to work for another department. I can see why they would avoid a certain car make or model, but when everything else is already out on patrol or out of service, you drive it.

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My guess is that the rear bumpers on the japmobiles would end up somewhere in front of the firewall.

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Do a search for "Crown victoria police fire rear ended". I came up with over 20,000 articles. About 30 people have died since 1981 when the first office in Michigan first went up. The police/limo version (CVPI) has a different suspension and it collapes into the gas tank when rear ended in excess of 70 MPH. The state highway unions have been saying it for years. The end was suppose to happen when Ford admited to knowing the "fuel bladder" were known to split when hit, came out with a TSB in Oct 2001, paid off the lawsuits, and came out with a retro fit for them which puts a plate between the axle and the gas tank. However even with the retrofit, they have still caught fire.

Ford even has a video on their OWN web site that shows Vics catching on fire when rear ended.

click on Fire Suppression Test Video

Some other links:

Pics of a CVPI that caught fire after the shield was installed.

Or this one where Illinois courts rulled that Ford faked their rear end crash test.

Oh by the way, how many of you know that Ford announced and DOES block sale of the CVPI to cities/states who have sued them or has taken action against CVPIs. (No more CVPIs to New York, Arizonia, Illinois.)

You are a moron. If you *read* the page you are citing: "This video is of a Fire Suppression System test conducted in March 2004. The system was activated by a fixed time trigger, not cessation of vehicle motion. There was no leak of fuel from the vehicle and no punctures of the fuel tank. Fuel for the fire, as well as the ignition source, were deliberately introduced as described in the Robust Test Procedure section."

Ford *made* the car catch fire to show how the fire suppression system works. Grab a clue before opening your mouth next time.