Ford Phasing Out Crown Victoria, Police Get Taurus Instead?

Terry Olaes

Terry Olaes

I Used to be the [H] News Guy
Joined
Nov 27, 2006
Messages
4,646
Ford is closing the Ontario plant that manufactures the Crown Victoria in 2011. Rumors have it that they’ll replace the Crown Vic with the Taurus as the police cruiser. If this is true, methinks we’ll see more Dodge Charger and similar police cars as a result. Way to go Ford.

Ford has told the CAW that said production at St. Thomas after 2011 isn't an option and has told the CAW that it has already begun marketing other police vehicles. Ford stopped selling the Crown Victoria to consumers in 2007, but it remains the most popular vehicle for police departments.
Click to expand...
 
No thanks to the cops choosing Dodges now for vehicles, I can't stop my heart from beating a few paces faster every time I see a black charger around my vicinity.
 
Freezebyte said:
No thanks to the cops choosing Dodges now for vehicles, I can't stop my heart from beating a few paces faster every time I see a black charger around my vicinity.
Click to expand...

While it sucks making a one off car just for police can't be all that profitable and right now Ford needs to worry about its bottom line before other considerations.
 
Freezebyte said:
No thanks to the cops choosing Dodges now for vehicles, I can't stop my heart from beating a few paces faster every time I see a black charger around my vicinity.
Click to expand...

Seriously. Especially when they have multiple radars located at different corners of the vehicle.
 
I'll be interested to see which motor they're going to put in the rumored Taurus interceptors. Maybe the twin-turbo V6 that is going into the 2010 SHO?
 
I kinda like the look of the new Taurus. The Crown Vic is outdated and oversized.
 
Our local police force has already sold off their crown vics for some nice stealthy dodge chargers


However, their distinctive headlights makes them easier than hell to spot them from a distance, even with the dark grey paint. Plus our police chief said that the Chargers were a few thousand dollars cheaper than their ford counterparts.



Taurus Interceptor.... LOL that makes me giggle, the Taurus is a piece of shit (imo)
 
RadCliffeX said:
Taurus Interceptor.... LOL that makes me giggle, the Taurus is a piece of shit (imo)
Click to expand...

I'd agree with you on the pre-2010 Taurus (ie: the re-badged Ford 500). I really like the styling on the 2010, though. My one worry about a "Taurus Interceptor" is that I'm not sure they have enough weight to force other cars off the road if the need were to arise. The Crown Vic was basically a tank in car's skin, so there were never any worries.
 
This is BAD for taxpayers and the safety of the policemen.

The crown vic is a bulletproof, FULL FRAME car. That is the entire point of them - they can stand up to bouncing over curbs and ramming other cars all day long.

These pansy chargers and Taurus' that they are getting will cost far more in the long run and have to be replaced constantly. Hell, after hitting a curb at 20mph the charger's unibody will look like a slinky bent in half.
 
I personally think the chargers have shitty blindspots.. If I were on patrol id rather have the crown vic.
 
Helmut said:
I'll be interested to see which motor they're going to put in the rumored Taurus interceptors. Maybe the twin-turbo V6 that is going into the 2010 SHO?
Click to expand...

Whatever motor they put in will have additional cooling in place, much like the vics had.

I can't imagine a Taurus taking the abuse like a vic can.

Off the top of my head, the interceptor had:
Larger brakes
Upgraded cooling(oil cooler/electric radiator fans)
Heavy duty springs(also made the car sit a touch higher)
Slightly more aggressive engine tuning.
Slightly tweaked torque converter.
Higher amperage alternator
Steeper gears (standard vic got 2.73 or 3.08, some interceptors came with 3.55's and a t-lok).

I don't see the Taurus being a very able police car.
 
Helmut said:
I'd agree with you on the pre-2010 Taurus (ie: the re-badged Ford 500). I really like the styling on the 2010, though. My one worry about a "Taurus Interceptor" is that I'm not sure they have enough weight to force other cars off the road if the need were to arise. The Crown Vic was basically a tank in car's skin, so there were never any worries.
Click to expand...

Believe it or not, the 2010 Taurus is about 300 pounds heavier than the Crown Vic. It's quite a tank itself.
 
Ford got on the nonsense with the 4.6L that needed more maintainace than the old pushrod powerplant
Also the idea of this comapny is profit not "breakeven" which i feel is the problem in the world today. They would rather close up shop than to just break even and keep workers employed.
 
RadCliffeX said:
Taurus Interceptor.... LOL that makes me giggle, the Taurus is a piece of shit (imo)
Click to expand...

ah youngster, there was a time when the Taurus was king of its segment, and was used as a police car

taurus.jpg


popo1.jpg
 
Good! More departments should be using the Dodge Charger instead.

605423188_a8a23faf61_m.jpg


Photo is of an Oklahoma Highway Patrol unit.
 
computerpro3 said:
This is BAD for taxpayers and the safety of the policemen.

The crown vic is a bulletproof, FULL FRAME car. That is the entire point of them - they can stand up to bouncing over curbs and ramming other cars all day long.

These pansy chargers and Taurus' that they are getting will cost far more in the long run and have to be replaced constantly. Hell, after hitting a curb at 20mph the charger's unibody will look like a slinky bent in half.
Click to expand...
This.

I don't think most people understand what type abuse most police cars go through. You need a _fucking tank_ for a car. I can just see someone in a Taurus trying a pit maneuver on a Ford F-250 running from the law, rofl. Or like you said, hit a curb and you're done. I've hit a curb at ~15mph in a unibody before and the thing never steered straight again, even after all the repairs.

The police need a full frame vehicle that has a little bit of weight to it, and also has beefed up suspension/engine/brake components. You don't need something that can outrun a lambo, but you need something that can ram other vehicles and go through medians and curbs in emergency situations.
 
dR.Jester said:
Good! More departments should be using the Dodge Charger instead.

605423188_a8a23faf61_m.jpg


Photo is of an Oklahoma Highway Patrol unit.
Click to expand...
Our police department uses them too. They're garbage. More pieces fall off of them than any other police car they've had.. They've gone through I don't know how many transmissions at the expense of the taxpayer.
 
d50man said:
Ford got on the nonsense with the 4.6L that needed more maintainace than the old pushrod powerplant
Also the idea of this comapny is profit not "breakeven" which i feel is the problem in the world today. They would rather close up shop than to just break even and keep workers employed.
Click to expand...

The idea of "this company"? What planet are you from?
 
w1retap said:
This.

I don't think most people understand what type abuse most police cars go through. You need a _fucking tank_ for a car. I can just see someone in a Taurus trying a pit maneuver on a Ford F-250 running from the law, rofl. Or like you said, hit a curb and you're done. I've hit a curb at ~15mph in a unibody before and the thing never steered straight again, even after all the repairs.

The police need a full frame vehicle that has a little bit of weight to it, and also has beefed up suspension/engine/brake components. You don't need something that can outrun a lambo, but you need something that can ram other vehicles and go through medians and curbs in emergency situations.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you should quit your dayjob and join the police/city commitee that makes these decisions cause you seem to know everything and they don't :rolleyes:
 
I actually feel kind of bad hearing this. I've taked to quite a few officers who prefer the Crown Vic for sheer comfort alone. I know I would not want to sit in an Impala or charger all day long. I'm sure many cab divers would agree
 
I don't think he ever said they didn't know this and in fact the PD around my house knows this as well. He's just pointing out what a police car needs to have to be an effective intercepter.
 
You know as much as like Charger over the Taurus. I'd rather have Ford win out on this one. If only for the fact that they chose not to take any government bailout money. Good actions should always be rewarded.
 
Anyone scoffing at the prospect of the police driving a 2010 Ford Taurus has no idea what the hell they're talking about. Ford has been producing all sorts of win these days.

User 86 5.0L knows what's up. The twin turboed V6 SHO edition will be one hell of a quick ride and touts an AWD system to top it all off.

Even in my Jeep, I can lose a Charger in a snowstorm.
 
I remember reading an article a couple of years ago when the Chargers were first coming out, there was one police department that got a couple. Officers initially flocked to them but they were quickly abandoned once the constrained visibility (compared to a Crown Vic, or even better, the even older Caprice) became apparent. I'll see if I can turn up the article, it made for good reading.
 
The new Taures is pretty nice, why keep that old platform when you can create a better and more efficient platform.

IMO, the police should buy cheap cars, half the time the departments cant even keep budget on the cruiser maintenance and replacement programs.
 
Keiichi said:
You know as much as like Charger over the Taurus. I'd rather have Ford win out on this one. If only for the fact that they chose not to take any government bailout money. Good actions should always be rewarded.
Click to expand...

except in government and american business.
 
I like Crown Vics simply because identifying them has become second nature to me. Don't some states use random unidentified cars of different make and model as police vehicles or was that just a nightmare I had once?
 
gtg465x said:
I like Crown Vics simply because identifying them has become second nature to me. Don't some states use random unidentified cars of different make and model as police vehicles or was that just a nightmare I had once?
Click to expand...

Florida does. here in orlando i've seen all types of cars fitted with police lights. I forget the make of one, but it had like 19" chrome rims on it, never expected it to be a cop until i saw the lights go off. They don't seem to be interested in catching speeders though, unless you're going really fast.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top