Despite challenges from rival automakers, the head of Ford Motor Co.'s police program is confident her company will continue to dominate the market because Ford is giving its customers what they want, reports the Detroit News. What police departments now want is not one, but two pursuit-rated vehicles. This year, Ford unveiled its Police Interceptor. Based on the same platform as its new flagship Taurus sedan, it will replace the aging Crown Victoria when production ends next year.
Some police departments were unhappy about the decision to change the venerable patrol car, which accounts for about 70 percent of all U.S. police vehicles. Ford appears to be winning over some skeptics with an array of new technologies designed to make its replacement safer, faster, and greener. The company is readying a police utility vehicle based on the same platform as the new Ford Explorer, which the automaker plans to reveal later this year. "When you own 70 percent of the market and you understand your customers, they tell you what their needs are," said Lisa Teed, brand marketing manager for Ford's police vehicle program. "They need flexibility, and that's what this second vehicle brings."
