Pixiq

I saw Jason Schechterle last night on The First 48. He’s in homicide now.

Good timing with this article.

http://www.geekologie.com/2008/11/new_cop_car_designed_for_cops.php

Easy reason. Space.

The car is the patrol officer’s rolling office.

There is even a thriving business out there that refurbishes old Crown vics for police re-use

Sounds like the old Ford Pinto. Of course someone had the sense to recall that, but you think that the car companies would have learned their lesson.

Well, many departments are using the Dodge Chargers now, but it’s true that the Crown Vic is one of the last big sedans out there.

Another reason is that new cars are purchased with taxpayer monies. As long as the typical American continues to throw a conniption fit any time raising taxes is mentioned, replacing these things with the Chargers or something somewhat comparable, like Impalas, is going to take forever.

Lastly, the Ford fix was supposed to correct the problem.

Helluva picture, by the way.

That is a great picture.

It sure beats the typical “have the subject hold the framed photo in its hands” photo.

Rick,

I guess the real question would be, why does Ford insist on producing these models?

Why not just discontinue the model altogether and design one with the gas tank protected by the rear axle, like thousands of other models?

They’ve already dished out millions in settlement fees, so it’s really stupid to continue producing them, even with the “shield”, which obviously hasn’t made a difference.

And some wonder why American car companies are needing to be bailed out.

I think you mean “third degree burns”, first degree burns are characterized by a slight reddening of the skin, ie, the least severe burn.

Michael,

You’re right. I should have actually said fourth-degree burns, which is what it was when I just double-checked.

It’s corrected. Thanks for the heads up.

Edwin

That looks like a cool car and hopefully they’ll start using them.

Here is the company website.

http://carbonmotors.com/

Scott,

Growing up in the 70s, the Pinto was the only car my parents ever drove. Until they switched to buying Japanese cars in the early 80s.

Hey I don’t have anything against the Pinto. I want one myself, I even have the fuzzy dice for the mirror. But you would think that by the turn of the century they wouldn’t have exploding cars anymore.
I also totally agree with Rick. Tax raises aren’t going to kill anybody, and it could save many lives, just by trading in some of these old models.

I wasn’t defending the Pintos. Far from it. Just stating the facts.

You would think Ford would have learned its lesson but obviously it hasn’t. I personally hope they go bankrupt and never see another business day.

Here is what Wikipedia said about the Pinto:

Ford was aware of this design flaw but allegedly refused to pay what was characterized as the minimal expense of a redesign. Instead, it was argued, Ford decided it would be cheaper to pay off possible lawsuits for resulting deaths. Mother Jones magazine obtained the cost-benefit analysis that it said Ford had used to compare the cost of an $11 ($57 today, allowing for inflation) repair against the cost of paying off potential law suits, in what became known as the Ford Pinto memo.

21 incidents in 30 years isn’t that bad, Carlos. Yes it sucks that sometimes they catch on fire. But i have friends that are police that have had the cars catch on fire from going 120MPH, too.

If you can find statistics on a car that has as much space, comfort, and handling capability as a Crown Victoria for about the same price (IE not a lincoln, or a mercury grand marquis) that has, and had as many on the road in continuous use as the crown vic, that had less “vehicle caused deaths” — i’d love to hear about it.

The Chevy Caprice was the old standby, but GM decided to stop making luxury sedans. Oh well.

Every time i see a police vehicle that isn’t a crown vic (especially those dodges); i can tell they’re not going to last.

And to answer “why does ford still make them” – that’s simple… Because the police use them.

and RE: wikipedia article about ford pinto… Fight Club’s main character is one of those cost analysis guys.

Still not much in the local media about this. They are probably afraid of Ford.

Thanks for having the guts to speak the truth!

Would be 1000 times more effecient if they used a base engine and chassis and built them up custom for divisions needs

I see why they want American, too bad they couldn’t beef up v6 accords cause they last forever and are just as fast almost stock, but would
Save gas and
Be just as safe, although would cost more to fix from accidents.

Would be cool to see a late 80′s chevy celebrity with a supercharger scoop, roll cage awd and bolted on Bumper crap like in mad max

Muhahaha

I cant understand the peoples frustration when an officer gets hurt in these type of incidents but this is just an article to bash an American car. 21 similar incidents in 30 years with thousands of the same cars used every day? Come on. when a Crown Vic or any other type of car is on the side of the highway and gets hit by a car traveling that fast, no car is going to withstand that kind of hit very well. A fire just may happen? Anyway These big 5000 pound cars will do better than any other car out their. Crown Victoria’s are one of the best quality cars every built. They can go well of 200k miles on original motors and transmissions. After they are cop cars they then become taxi cabs and then are beat into the ground for years. You will see crown vics as taxi cabs that are well over 15 years old. Anyway, This article does point out some terrible incidents but your overall argument is weak.

Aside from the obvious facts stated previously about vehicle use to tragedy ratio there are other good reasons to use a crown vic. No one else makes one. The chargers are a high maintenance car with little interior space and horrible blind spots among their many faults. Impalas don't hold up to abuse well at all. And with Ford talking about discontinuing the crown vic law enforcement officials in my state are wordering what to do other than buy suv's- and oh boy what an expense that is. I'm a mechanic. I've seen all of these vehicles up close and in the field. We'll miss crown victorias when they're gone.

Oh, and rear axles do NOT protect gas tanks. Rear axles shred gas tanks into tiny pieces just like a baseball bat with nails through it.

They should replace the gas tank with a type used in racing. Not only would it not gush out, it would also prevent sloshing during maneuvers.