All-New Ford Police Interceptors Challenge Competitors

[Brazen]

The cops must be over the moon now having two great cars to chose from after a decade or so of pretty mediocre police cars.

I like the 18 inch hubcaps...

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Buntz93ED

Yes but if they're selling FWD PD cars all the same... then the cops need to test them too. And Ford haven't released any promo's of those trials.So the FWD's under recommendation or not could be selected as a patrol vehicle. A swaying factor in them doing just that would be cost. As I understand the cops need them to be cheap too. I realise that the Interceptor's have been cut down significantly in spec... and I don't know how much that will cut it's cost from a production SHO. But Holden will be charging $30'995 USD for the Caprice. That's one model, one layout, one engine.

Production SHO 38 grand. So I hope Ford has cut it down enough... where the extra for AWD won't be an issue. But what if they buy the FWD's in bulk because they're cheap... and they have a limited fleet budget?

For Ford's sake... that FWD Interceptor better haul and handle.

You'd have to imagine the interceptors would be pretty bare bones, no need to have climate control, big stereos with multiple speakers and leather seats etc. I'd assume equipment would be bare minimum, maybe air con and cruise control, electric windows etc.

[Ohio XB]

I am sure the AWD vehicles with EcoBoost is what FOrd will want to sell most. They are the most capable and surely the most profitable Interceptors.

I think it is neat that Ford is offering such a variety of Intercpetors for different applications:

FWD + 3.5 V6
AWD + 3.5 V6
AWD + 3.5 EcoBoost
SUV + 3.7 V6 (300 HP Mustang engine) + AWD

A range to fit a cariety of applications and budgets.


Steve

[XC COUPE]

What I always thought was amusing about Police cars was when they had things like Mini's, Toranas and even Cargers and Falcon Coupes. The Chargers and Falcons looked great but bit of a problem getting the baddies in and out of the back of the car especially the tall baddies.

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by Ohio XB

I am sure the AWD vehicles with EcoBoost is what FOrd will want to sell most. They are the most capable and surely the most profitable Interceptors.

I think it is neat that Ford is offering such a variety of Intercpetors for different applications:

FWD + 3.5 V6
AWD + 3.5 V6
AWD + 3.5 EcoBoost
SUV + 3.7 V6 (300 HP Mustang engine) + AWD

A range to fit a cariety of applications and budgets.


Steve

AS opposed to one simple broad range choice. The jury is still out I reckon as to which one sells better.

[Joe5619]

When will we get a clear guide which way most police departments have gone??

[stang65]

Those statesmans look like whales surely they cant really go round corners that good, look how high the rear end is lifting under braking it looks like its going to flip over itself.

[Brazen]

Originally Posted by stang65

Those statesmans look like whales surely they cant really go round corners that good, look how high the rear end is lifting under braking it looks like its going to flip over itself.

From US Police Fleet Managers Magazine

http://www.hendonpub.com/publication...efleetmanager/

We had a chance to drive the near-production Caprice PPV on the famous “Black Lake” at GM’s Milford Proving Ground in Milford, Mich. Just for fun, GM Fleet also provided a new Camaro SS to drive. What GM intended as play, this group of fleet managers treated as serious work. At the end of the day, nearly 90 percent of the drivers preferred the handling and overall performance of the Caprice over the Camaro!

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Buntz93ED

AS opposed to one simple broad range choice. The jury is still out I reckon as to which one sells better.

The jury hasn't even bothered to place an order with Holden,
Deveraux is keeping very quiet re PPV sales speaks volumes....

[Bossxr8]

He has said it will be a slow burn, and the first shipment has already gone, but it was only a few hundred.

It certainly won't be the tens of thousands like they believed it would be.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

He has said it will be a slow burn, and the first shipment has already gone, but it was only a few hundred.

It certainly won't be the tens of thousands like they believed it would be.

Ford knows its police business better than any other manufacturer inside or outside the US,
the 9" police console used in the Crown Victoria also retrofits into the new Gen PIs,
this is a huge advantage as is the commonality of parts and similar handling characteristics.

Holden pitching their PPV at +$30,000 when V8 Charger and EB PI will be less is suicide,
they will get orders but at least they won't bleed losses all over the carpet...

[Racecraft]

iirc Ford offered a police pack Falcon here, dropped it and now have lost a huge market share in that game... (yes I know they didn't sell them at rrp. but the 'built tough enough' for the police was free advertising to the joe blow public

[Brazen]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Ford knows its police business better than any other manufacturer inside or outside the US,
the 9" police console used in the Crown Victoria also retrofits into the new Gen PIs,
this is a huge advantage as is the commonality of parts and similar handling characteristics.

Holden pitching their PPV at +$30,000 when V8 Charger and EB PI will be less is suicide,
they will get orders but at least they won't bleed losses all over the carpet...

The Crown Vic's stuff also fits the Caprice, seen a video where they take out the gear from a Crown vic and put into the holden, they had to bend one of the supports for the computer and get two new brackets for the lightbar - that was it.

Agreed the price will be an issue, Caprice is very expensive for a police car but may still have lower cost of ownership over its lifetime with its simple Rear-wheel-drive and 6 litre V8 setup which can run on 85% ethanol. Another big issue is the lack of column shift which is almost criminal (pardon the pun) for a US Cop car.

Personally I think the Taurus is in no-mans-land. If I wanted a base POS fwd V6 cop car I would buy the much cheaper Impala or go for a RWD V6 Charger. If I wanted more heavy duty, there is no way I would pick a twin-turbo FWD biased AWD with a tranverse mounted V6 and two tonne weight and expect it to be cheap to run over 80,000 miles.

Really for me Taurus wouldnt get a look-in, but then again Im not a police fleet manager. For me I would look at Impala for price, V8 Caprice for heavy-duty and a V6 Charger for somewhere in-between. But if Taurus can be pitched cheap enough Im sure it will do well.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Brazen

Really for me Taurus wouldnt get a look-in, but then again Im not a police fleet manager. For me I would look at Impala for price, V8 Caprice for heavy-duty and a V6 Charger for somewhere in-between. But if Taurus can be pitched cheap enough Im sure it will do well.

I talk with a US fleet dealer for time to time, things have slowed down at the moment but
he tells me a lot of PDs that went to Chrysler are coming back to Ford, unhappy with quality/service.

Anticpates that 3.5 PI AWd and 3.7 PI Ute will be the bulk of his business,
ford is planning to pitch AWD V6s at CV's price, some PDs are mighty impressed.
Forward testing has shown that htere is a lot of slow crawl idle time
with patrol cars, the V6 kills the V8s dead on this score and goes close
to matching them in general driving.

Time will tell..

[Brazen]

Originally Posted by jpd80

I talk with a US fleet dealer for time to time, things have slowed down at the moment but
he tells me a lot of PDs that went to Chrysler are coming back to Ford, unhappy with quality/service.

Anticpates that 3.5 PI AWd and 3.7 PI Ute will be the bulk of his business,
ford is planning to pitch AWD V6s at CV's price, some PDs are mighty impressed.
Forward testing has shown that htere is a lot of slow crawl idle time with patrol cars, the V6 kills the V8s dead on this score and goes close to matching them in general driving.

Time will tell..

Ive also heard (only on police forums) that a lot of police who switched to Chrysler are coming back to Ford. Chrysler purely and simply stuffed up with their durability, a lot of departments took a gamble and got burnt.

In his fleet what kind of mileage do they get before getting rid of them? Curious as to what kind of customer.

I honestly thought the Ford AWD PIs wouldnt be popular due to the low take-up of AWD on the Charger, but maybe the AWD Ford is a more convincing package.

Edit: just noticed you said that AWD V6 Taurus is the same price as a CV, bloody hell they are not messing around!

[jpd80]

Ecoboost/AWD will be less than Charger V8 and Caprice PPV...
The big hook is better snow / sleet driving performance.

Chicago is going to or now running three shifts to keep up with Explorer demand,
if I were a betting man, I'd say that PD sales will be the icing on the cake for D3 production.

[Brazen]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Ecoboost/AWD will be less than Charger V8 and Caprice PPV...
The big hook is better snow / sleet driving performance.

Chicago is going to or now running three shifts to keep up with Explorer demand,
if I were a betting man, I'd say that PD sales will be the icing on the cake for D3 production.

Yeah I think your right, the Ford Interceptors will be popular at the prices you mentioned. For a high-turnover fleet an EcoBoost PI will be very attractive.

Talking out of my **** I think the Ford will do well in the big fleets which have a higher turnover, and the Caprice will do well in the small town purchases which keep their cars 100,000 miles plus.



edit just found the council minutes from a week or two ago for a town in Tenessee with approx 100,000 residents

http://www.murfreesborotn.gov/defaul...menu=70&id=720

March 10, 2011
7:00 P.M., City Council Chambers
City Hall, 111 W. Vine Street, Murfreesboro
PRAYER: Councilmember Madelyn Scales Harris
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE


Consent Agenda
1. A. Consider recommendations of the Assistant City Attorney with regards to First Amendment to Greenway Trail Development Agreement.

B. Consider recommendations of the Chief of Police:

a. Sole Source Purchase of Communication Headsets for Special Operations Unit;
b. Acceptance of Bids for the Purchase of Chevrolet Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicles.

C. Consider recommendations of the Assistant City Manager to approve a Service Contract with Leanne Cox for administering the FasTrack Infrastructure grant for the NHK Seating of America project.

D. Consider recommendations of the City Attorney with regards to Black Fox, Murfree & Oakland Springs Wetlands Ecosystem Restoration Projects.

[Windsor220]

Is it just me or do the wheels on the SUV Interceptor look really small.

[mcnamg]

Explorer PPV has same size wheels as Taurus so fleets can simplfy their spares only need to stock one size spare tyre and rim can be swapped between vehicles very easily

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by mcnamg

Explorer PPV has same size wheels as Taurus so fleets can simplfy their spares only need to stock one size spare tyre and rim can be swapped between vehicles very easily

Rims, tyres, brake and suspension parts, the list of common parts goes on....

[outback_ute]

Originally Posted by stang65

Those statesmans look like whales surely they cant really go round corners that good, look how high the rear end is lifting under braking it looks like its going to flip over itself.

Have you seen a pic of a V8Supercar under heavy braking? Same thing, can't get away from physics.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Racecraft

iirc Ford offered a police pack Falcon here, dropped it and now have lost a huge market share in that game... (yes I know they didn't sell them at rrp. but the 'built tough enough' for the police was free advertising to the joe blow public

Ford still sell police vehicles and even put oil coolers, brembos and FPV 18's on turbo highway patrol vehicles.

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Ford knows its police business better than any other manufacturer inside or outside the US,
the 9" police console used in the Crown Victoria also retrofits into the new Gen PIs,
this is a huge advantage as is the commonality of parts and similar handling characteristics.

Holden pitching their PPV at +$30,000 when V8 Charger and EB PI will be less is suicide,
they will get orders but at least they won't bleed losses all over the carpet...

I have a feeling the Charger's will be cheaper because they will be classic Chrysler (repulsive). But I don't see how the Taurus PI in EB AWD will be cheaper. It's a Taurus SHO with less bits... but more bits. So I wouldn't be surprised at it coming up 5k more than the Caprice at most. Which will enable departments to buy six caprices for every five Interceptors. Or save thirty grand. And in America's current economic climate... saving money means heaps.

Originally Posted by jpd80

The jury hasn't even bothered to place an order with Holden,
Deveraux is keeping very quiet re PPV sales speaks volumes....

There haven't really been any sales yet. End of year is when they replace the Crown Vic's.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Buntz93ED

I have a feeling the Charger's will be cheaper because they will be classic Chrysler (repulsive). But I don't see how the Taurus PI in EB AWD will be cheaper. It's a Taurus SHO with less bits... but more bits. So I wouldn't be surprised at it coming up 5k more than the Caprice at most. Which will enable departments to buy six caprices for every five Interceptors. Or save thirty grand. And in America's current economic climate... saving money means heaps.

V6 Charger with State pricing = USD$18,000

There haven't really been any sales yet. End of year is when they replace the Crown Vic's.

Deveraux has said first order is on the water and only a few hundred vehicles,
Holden is having a tough time converting interest into orders.

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by jpd80

V6 Charger with State pricing = USD$18,000


Deveraux has said first order is on the water and only a few hundred vehicles,
Holden is having a tough time converting interest into orders.

18 grand for a V6 charger. I just wouldn't feel safe in that thing.

No Ford Taurus Interceptor quote jp? Don't fail on me now!

The official word from Holden, and others is... Cops aren't rushing to make up their mind. Still lots of testing going on. The Crown Vic hasn't even finished production for goodness sake. Can't be called at this stage. But I think Ford will shift a fair few.

[Bobman]

The steel wheels on them look similar to the VE Commodore ones here.

I hate to say it but I think the Caprice will prove more popular as it's more roomy inside and that enables better comfort as well as proper fit-out for the rear cage.

[2011G6E]

You have to remember that police department won't be paying retail caryard price for an SS or an FPV like you or I would walking in off the street. I'd bet they pick up one of them for about the same as you or I pay for a standard base model Falcon or Commodore Omega...possibly less.

American car prices? Hell, for example, in the USA the Chrysler 300C is just a normal family car...they even do a base model V6 one for about $20,000 US (about the same in our dollars). It's only protectionist tarriffs, import duties, other assorted taxes, and the fact we are one of the very few places in the world where you can't freely drive a car with the steering wheel on the wrong side that make it have to be sold as a "premium luxury" model with a matching price tag to cover costs.

[bobthebilda]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Deveraux has said first order is on the water and only a few hundred vehicles,
Holden is having a tough time converting interest into orders.

Havent heard Deveraux say that. But if he has, he may have a major recall on his hand. One of the suppliers who makes certain parts for the chevy police car, hasnt sent enough parts to Holden this year to make that many.
Must be a cost saving initiative.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by bobthebilda

Havent heard Deveraux say that. But if he has, he may have a major recall on his hand. One of the suppliers who makes certain parts for the chevy police car, hasnt sent enough parts to Holden this year to make that many.
Must be a cost saving initiative.

Oh dear...

Bob, I can assure you that Devereaux confirmed the first deliveries had left
and that they were a few hundred vehicles...
Someone may have the link, he also said that the market was tough and would take years to develop...

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by jpd80

Oh dear...

Bob, I can assure you that Devereaux confirmed the first deliveries had left
and that they were a few hundred vehicles...
Someone may have the link, he also said that the market was tough and would take years to develop...

That's a given. Like I said, current service Crown Victoria's are still being manufactured. This whole testing alternatives is a pre-emptive sale for decisions that don't need to be made yet. Ford, Chrysler and GM will only be snapping up departments looking to replace a small number of vehicles now... and decide to opt out of staying with the tried and true Crown Vic.