Ford, which has dominated the police fleet market with its Crown Victoria, announced the replacement for that model. The new Police Interceptor is based on the Ford Taurus, and will be available next year.
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1961 Ford Police Interceptor advertisement
Ford has been using the Police Interceptor model name for decades, as this 1961 advertisement attests. The text of the ad describes a variety of equipment suitable for a patrol car.
The earliest police cars differed little from the production cars on which they were based, although the police two-way radio had been available from Motorola since 1940.
By the 1970s, lighting equipment and sirens evolved into an integrated light bar, a modular unit which could easily be fitted to a number of different car models.
Chevy's Caprice model proved a very popular sedan for police car use due to its workhorse nature. For the same reason, it became a popular car for taxi companies.
With the Chevy Caprice out of the way, the Ford Police Interceptor, based on the Crown Victoria, had no competition, and came to dominate the law enforcement fleet vehicle market.
Recently, the police vehicle market has been heating up. Dodge introduced this Charger-based police car in 2009.
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2011 Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle
GM makes a return to the police car market with a new Caprice Patrol car in 2011. Reviving its rear-wheel-drive architecture, the car will be available with either a V-6 or V-8 engine.
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The future of the police car?
Police cars have been marked by powerful engines, allowing for the pursuit of suspects, but as communities become more urbanized and oil grows scarce, officers may find themselves patrolling public spaces in electric vehicles.
