Just don’t allow Ace Ventura to drive one. He is nuts! You may also not want Det. McNulty to drive one either from the fantastic show The Wire, he tends to have a drinking problem!
So the next time you are speeding in your brand new sports car, you might find that the police are more than a match for you. Ford is planning to manufacture a customized version of their police pursuit vehicle in the form of hybrid fusion sedan in the midsize segment. After receiving requests from different cities across the country for a hybrid, Ford has decided to honor these requests.
Why not? It pays to listen to your customer!
Specs
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A new 2 liter four cylinder engine with 1.4 kilowatt lithium-ion battery has been launched that is capable of providing up to 38 miles per gallon on average for city and highway driving. The Taurus police interceptor, the current iteration of the car that police are using is capable of churning out a meager 18 miles per gallon. That's an improvement of 20 mpg which is nothing short of impressive.
That is a serious increase! So when the police are chasing some gangster or illegal alien that some soft on crime judge put back on the street, the police will stand a better chance of catching this nefarious individual so they are not a public threat! Det. Riggs would be OK with that!
On the downside, the new hybrids are not going to be as fast as the Taurus interceptor. The latter comes installed with a 3.7 liter turbocharged v6 engine, however; Ford is confident that the new hybrid is going to be fast enough to warrant a pursuit rating from the LA County Sheriff's Department and Michigan State Police Department. The new hybrid will be tested later this year and if successful, will be the first ever hybrid to earn this honor.
And it looks pretty sharp too!
Criteria
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So what are the criteria for earning this prestigious badge? Well, the hybrid car will have to perform well in handling, acceleration, ergonomics, braking, and top speed categories. Seeing that Ford already has a lot of experience in the field and they are looking pretty confident about their hybrid, it is safe to assume that they will pull it off, and that too with flying colors.
The hybrid will automatically kick into pursuit mode if the throttle is held for five or more seconds. That's a nice touch. In order to achieve max performance, the car will make use of both electric and gas engine. Needless to say, the hybrid car will have to be tough and durable to survive in the line of duty.
Most of the time, though, police cars stay idle on the side of the roads waiting for things to go down. This is exactly where the hybrid will outshine its competition. When idle, the gas engine will shut off saving valuable fuel in the process, and use electric engine to keep the vehicle alive and kicking. Radios, flashers, and other gadgets will also use battery power.
The Cost
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Gas is currently priced at $2.5 per gallon, and Ford claims that the hybrid will easily save up to $3,877 per year per vehicle to the police department. The price of the hybrid has not been revealed yet, but will be announced later this year.
It is not only the big police departments that will benefit from this new type of car, but smaller departments are also looking forward to the hybrid. Thomas Korabik, the chief of North Muskegon in Michigan, a 10-police officer department, says that they are currently spending about $22,000 per year on gasoline that powers four cruisers. The hybrid will help them cut this cost in half.