Ford Doesn't Discontinue The Crown Victoria

POD

New Crown Victorias outside of St. Thomas Assembly plant, 2011.

Seeing the profitability of their fleet sales, Ford continues to produce the Crown Victoria only for fleet use until the present. They retool the St. Thomas Ford Assembly plant in 2012, and Crown Victorias continue to be produced their to this day.

Modern Crown Victoria Police Interceptor specs

The 2006–2011 Police Interceptors are equipped standard with an open 3.27:1 rear axle (Axle code Z5), with a trac loc 3.27:1 rear axle (Axle Code X5) optional, and are electronically limited to 140 mph (225 km/h) due to critical driveline speed limitations (The weight of the vehicle with law-enforcement equipment on-board makes it highly unlikely the vehicle could ever reach this figure). An optional 3.55:1 trac loc rear axle ratio with 120 mph speed limiter was also available (Axle code C6). Pre-2006 Police Interceptors equipped with the 3.27:1 rear axle ratio were generally limited to approximately 128 mph (206 km/h).

1/4 mile times for 2011 Crown Victoria PI:

2011 Ford Police Interceptor "3:55" - 16.75

2011 Ford Police Interceptor "3:27" - 16.82

The 2011 model year Ford CVPI (P70, & P72 taxi/commercial and regular civilian model the P74.) received updated larger front headrests to comply with new front crash rating standards.

In 2012 the Crown Victoria PI was revised; the limiter option was removed due to lack of sales, giving the Crown Victoria PI a potential top speed of 155 mph with the 4.6 liter V8, which now could produce 295 hp with

A 2012 Crown Victoria PI undercover police car.

some new performance parts included, such as the standard Ford-licensed MagnumFORCE- Intake Systems Stage-2 Pro 5R cold air intake and dual exhausts, and optional valve timing technology. The variable valve timing system incorporates a vane-type camshaft phaser that changes the angular orientation of the camshaft, thereby adjusting the timing of the intake and exhaust valves to optimize performance and economy, and helping lower emissions. Within its range of operation, it offers infinitely variable valve timing in relation to the crankshaft. The cam phasing creates dual equal valve timing adjustments. In other words, the intake valves and exhaust valves are varied at the same time and at the same rate.

Several airbags were located all over the vehicles, Haldex AWD came as a new option for police interceptor models, A fuel efficient 263 hp 3.5 L Duratec 35 V6 engine is another option, and is also available on the Taurus; touch screen display panel for interior including features like GPS, vehicles settings and radio that one can control by sliding with their finger tips, including a new "pursuit mode" which (on the standard 4.6 liter V8) ups the horsepower to 321 hp when engaged, using the now standard VVT technology, and on the optional 3.5 liter Duratec pursuit mode ups the hp to 297 when engaged. White headlights for enhanced brightness and visibility for the road were made standard to increase safety on rural highways. They also have options like bullet resistant windows or door panels for all windows and doors. All Crown Victoria Police Interceptor speedometers are precisely calibrated from the factory and the cars' tires are balanced twice to ensure safety and low maintenance.

2018 Crown Victoria with optional 2.3 liter Ecoboost specs.

For 2018 the Crown Victoria PI received a facelift that makes it look more like a modern Taurus, and an optional, experimental 2.3 liter 4-cylinder EcoBoost engine is offered, which produces 330 hp and 310 lb-ft of torque while getting 22 mpg city/31 mpg highway (without the option police departments can choose between the standard 4 Valve DOHC 4.6 V8 (365 hp and 330 Ib-ft of torque), the 5.0 Coyote (since 2013, making 425 hp and 450 ft.-ib. torque) or the 3.5 liter Duratec V6 (375 hp and 310 Ib-ft of torque) as these are now standard). RWD is still the norm, although Haldex AWD continues to be an option.

Competition

While the Crown Victoria was the unrivaled police car of choice for 2 decades, competition has began to move in on the police car business, mainly from General Motors and Chrysler.

General Motors

2012 Chevrolet Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicle being tested on a track.

On October 5, 2009, General Motors announced the Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle (PPV). The Caprice comes with the 6.0 L L77 AFM V8 which makes 301 hp and 265 lb-ft of torque, taking 5.2 seconds to get to 60 mph and 13.8 seconds to get through the quarter-mile which was standard in 2011 and has been optional since 2012; or the standard 3.6 L LLT SIDI V6 engine, which needs an extra second to hit the same marks, and became available nine months later. Both engines are E85 ethanol-capable. Updates to the Caprice PPV for 2014 include the interior from the Commodore Evoke with a column shifter to make room for equipment replacing the floor shifter that was in the 2011-2013 models, a full mounting plate for equipment, & the 9C3 unmarked/detective version being discontinued. Updates to the Caprice PPV for 2015 now has the car gaining the same rear vision camera as the civilian WN, Royale, & SS models.

DaimlerChrysler

2017/2018 Dodge Charger Pursuit model.

In early 2006, DaimlerChrysler released a new police version of the Charger. It made its debut at the 2005 New York International Auto Show. Unlike the civilian version, the police version features upgraded heavy-duty brakes, a severe-duty cooling system, police-performance Electronic Stability Program, police performance-tuned steering, and a gear shifter that is mounted on the steering column instead of in the center console. In place of the center console, Dodge has equipped the police edition with an aluminum plate appropriate for mounting radio equipment, computers, and controllers for lights and sirens. The vehicle's electrical system is specifically designed for integration of siren and light controls, and other police vehicle accessories. The Charger is in use with many American, Canadian, and Mexican police organizations.

The 340 hp (254 kW) Hemi V8 is powerful enough to accelerate the car from 0 to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 6.0 seconds and to a top speed of 152 mph (245 km/h). In Michigan State Police testing, the Charger V8 easily outperformed all other pursuit vehicles in acceleration, cornering, and braking (except the Dodge Magnum and V6 Charger, which stopped slightly faster in some tests) in the first five years since its introduction.

Chargers are in use with numerous police agencies in North America as both marked and unmarked patrol cars. Law enforcement agencies outside of the U.S. have also purchased the Charger, including police services in Canada, Mexico, Chile, the Czech Republic, and the Middle East, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates. Both V6 and V8 models are being adopted, with highway patrols favoring the 5.7 L (345 cu in) Hemi V8 engine and cities more likely to purchase the base police package with the 3.5L V6 fuel-efficient engine.

For 2009, the base Charger police car came with the 3.5L V6 and a 5-speed automatic transmission. The rear is slightly updated, moving the "CHARGER" badge to the right, and replacing the left with the badge reading "DODGE." The V8 version uses the Charger Daytona R/T engine, rated 370 horsepower (280 kW) and 395 lb⋅ft (536 N⋅m) of torque.

When the Charger was redesigned for 2011 the police package version was renamed Dodge Charger Pursuit. In mid-2014, All Wheel Drive (with a mandatory 5.7 Hemi V8) became optional, along with a huge BR9 brake package. For 2015, the Dodge Charger has been refreshed like its regular version.

In 2012, Dodge replaced the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor as the #1 police sedan in North America, but then in 2013 they fell to #2 again with the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor soon becoming the #1 selling police vehicle. By 2017, however, the Charger Pursuit and Crown Victoria Police Interceptor essentially shared the sales award, as sales of the ultra high performance AWD Charger rapidly increased.

Volvo

A Volvo S60 T6 Pursuit being tested by US police (2012)

Police specification models came about through Volvo’s extensive work alongside the users of the vehicles and Police Fleet Management departments. As a result, the Police specification vehicles have a striking difference from original showroom model that sometimes the Volvo S60 R design T6 is used as police cars. Firstly the suspension was up-rated to deal with the demands of Police work; this included fitting the front suspension of the D5 model variant (as the suspension was designed to deal with the heavier demands of bumpy North American roads). Nivomat self-levelling suspension was also fitted to the rear to ensure correct geometry of the vehicle, regardless of the weight carried. On early models, the clutch was also replaced with the stronger D5 unit.

A larger specification battery and 110A alternator was also fitted to run all the extra equipment, along with a dedicated Police fuse box in the boot. Extra wiring looms are also fitted specially for the Police radios and other equipment, including CCTV cameras. Additional electrical noise suppression has been added so as not to interfere with the sensitive electronics the police use.

The speedometers in the vehicles are calibrated from the factory and do not require recalibration unless the wheel and overall rolling diameters are changed. The R-Design adds further cosmetic enhancements with a styling kit that includes chrome accents, rear spoiler, black grille, and xenon headlights to help officers see in rural areas.

305 mm (12.0 in) vented front disc brakes were also fitted alongside special brake pads (and wear indicators) specially designed to cope with high-speed pursuits. The engine is a standard 3 liter turbocharged inline 6 producing 325 hp. The R-Design is also gifted with a sport chassis, aggressive body kit, and modified all-wheel drive system to exploit the chassis’ sportiness.

Volvos are rare in North American police fleets, however they are slowly becoming more common. They are mostly used for high speed pursuits due to their unrivaled low end torque and turbocharged engine.