I just saw the new Ford TAURUS police car. Yes, I said Taurus. I am a little disappointed with Ford. It appears that they will be offering two engines which consist of V6’s. When the Taurus is all decked out with the police equipment, it looks dead on the new Chevy Caprice…except, the Caprice comes with the 6.0 V8. I really don’t know what to think. I feel kind of let down. I hope my agency which is completely a Interceptor department switch’s over to the Caprice or Charger with the V8’s. And yes, there is talk of a SHO model with twin turbos. I really don’t see our fleet services working on turbos and I am sure the price is scary compared to the CVPI. A front wheel drive car will be a huge change for the cops when driving them hard thru corners. I might be a little hard on them right now because I was so excited to see the new cruiser offering and then this.
Front wheel drive…really? Come on Ford, you probably just lost most of the State Police’s loyalty for a highway cruiser.
Thoughts anyone,…
Report I read said that at least one version of the Taurus police car will actually put out more power than the GM V8. This is an ongoing trend in the performance market btw. My 2004 Audi S4 features a V8 that gives me something in the low teens for mpg. The 2010 S4 features slightly less hp but a little more torque from a supercharged V6 that actually results in slightly better performance, and a better mpg return. I believe BMW is moving to a twin turbo or some other forced induction V8 on the new M5, instead of the current V10 used in that vehicle. Going with the V6 gives Ford a presumably lighter car and better mpg, which in this day and age is a concern for any law enforcement agency operating on a budget. As for FWD vs RWD, I would argue that when you look at the police population on a whole, FWD probably wins out in terms of getting more interior room in the car. Of course there is no debate that a rwd vehicle will out-handle a similarly spec’d fwd, but again, budgetary constraints result in a more comprehensive thought process when creating a fleet of vehicles for cash strapped law enforcement agencies. And frankly, I’m not so sure a rwd trumps a fwd drive for police use on a highway. I’d be more concerned if I were looking for a vehicle that could accelerate hard and handle well within the confines of a city. On the highway, torque steer and handling wouldn’t seem to me to be that big of a concern, considering you’re typically looking at straight line acceleration and moderate twisties.
Most police I have dealings with do not. They might do it once a year or so, but some have never had their lights on in pursuit for more than 5 minutes, you will hear the same story about chasing someone in a car for years at a time.
Different parts of the country, didn’t think about zapping through some tight streets etc.
I may be wrong but I think the police Taurus comes with torque steer which helps you fighting the wheel under acceleration and potholes etc. Talked to one of the mechanics here at the agency and he overheard the head wrench turners talking about this subject. It all comes down to which one is going to warranty their product the longest 30k, 60k miles and pricing.
As far as the V6 issue, he says that from the numbers he is guessing it will run like a raped ape and the turbo isn’t out of the question…if the price is right. (imagine that). He claims that they are going to Michigan in september to watch all the cars go round and round and chat with the reps from each. So to summarize, nobody will know a thing till pricing, and warranties are in stone from each manufacture.
IMO a rear wheel drive car is easier to handle under aggressive driving conditions. i’d rather deal with oversteer than the understeer you get from FWD
All guys are born thinking they can naturally shoot, drive, fight and… you get the idea (Grant told me that one I think).
As an LEO, I’d rather have Front or All-wheel drive for overall safer driving. By this I mean inclement weather and less than ideal road/track conditions being taken into consideration. Sure rear-wheel drive is vaunted for best performance on a race track considering weight transfer and vehicle dynamics, but most LEOs simply do not have the driving skills they think they do (probably parallels the average LEO’s shooting ability in some ways unfortunately) and far from the skills to be able to fully leverage the “advantage” of rear-wheel drive in hard driving.
I’d rather have the car predictably understeer under hard cornering (front-wheel drive) than oversteer because I think it is generally safer for most drivers and others on the road. Crown Vics can have the rear break away and get squirrely fairly easily with slick pavement because of rain, leaves, ice or snow and that’s not from running as hard as a pursuit.
If your a Bob Bondurant driving school graduate or were born with the natural ability to drive like a demon and do it as safely as possible, bless your heart. Most LEOs I am aware of have little exposure to and training with that level of performance. Factor in the adrenalin and road conditions and that tips the scale for me to front-wheel drive.
I work with other LEOs who disagree, but that is my $.02.
Personally for me, RWD (or AWD) is a must for any high horsepower vehicle. AWD is nice but very expensive. I have driven Crown Vics, Impalas, and Chargers. High horsepower in FWD can lead to unpredictably in the way of torque steer and understeer (Acura and Audi might be considered exceptions but are again, expensive). Traffic cops and troopers that work the highway need horsepower, hence RWD. For the regular beat cop V6’s are the way to go because in general; they are less expensive to buy and get better gas mileage than V8’s. I did not much like the Impalas (FWD) handling wise, but as a skilled driver like myself :D, I was able to run circles around Crown Vics at the track. Prior to LE I used to road race a RWD vehicle.
Having said all that. The V6 Chargers (while looking very cool) are complete dogs and are terrible to drive. The Charger was made to have the Hemi in it.
If Ford presents a cheap package in FWD many agencies will probably go after it.
