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Ford Motor Co. has introduced the first “pursuit-rated” hybrid patrol car. The Los Angeles Police Department may be one of the first police agencies to use one. LAPD officers together with their chief Charlie Beck are bound to be present at the launch of the new car on Monday, April 10. The new Ford Police Responder Hybrid Sedan was first meant to be developed as a Ford Fusion until engineers upgraded all the necessary features, offering it the law enforcement treatment.
The new hybrid patrol car will be first used by the Los Angeles Police Department
They strengthen the brakes, upgraded the suspension, outfitted it with different tires and wheels, included an anti-stab plate to protect police officers, adjusted the seats to have room for police equipment and added a skid plate. Ford stated that the new vehicle was tested by Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and Michigan State Police and it became the first “pursuit-rated” car in the world.
The new hybrid police car is equipped with a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine which is fueled by gasoline, which is paired with an electric engine powered by an ion battery of 1.4 kilowatts. Ford noted that this powertrain is bound to consume one gallon at every 38 miles, this being twice the fuel economy in Ford’s current police vehicles.
The new Ford Police Responder Hybrid Sedan surpasses teh performance of Crown Victoria Interceptor vehicle
Nevertheless, Ford did not release any specifications regarding the new car’s characteristics. Arie Groeneveld from Ford’s police programs department argued that the new car will reach 60 mph at approximately the same rate as the Crown Victoria-based Interceptor vehicle does. In 2016, that police vehicle received an excellent score in law enforcement testing. During a test, the Interceptor reached 60 mph in only 5.8 seconds, surpassing the performance of Dodge’s Charger police vehicle which registered 6.6 seconds.
Up to this moment, Ford did not announce any pricing. However, specialists argue that hybrid cars tend to be very expensive, more pricey than their internal combustion engine counterparts. Ford executives argued that fuel savings are bound to pay for the higher cost of the car within a year. Kevin Koswick, the director of lease and remarking operation at Ford in North America, argued that many people asked for a solution to diminish the emissions of carbon and costs.
Many police agencies asked for greener pursuit vehicles and environment-friendly police cars. Now they have the opportunity to use the new model.
Image source: wikipedia
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