Monday, June 4, 2012

the California Highway Patrol opts for the Ford Explorer as its new interceptor


from the LA Times website:

When Ford announced it would stop making the Crown Victoria sedan, the California Highway Patrol and law enforcement agencies around the country were faced with replacing the iconic cop car.

Some agencies decided to go smaller with police versions of cars like the Chevy Caprice and Dodge Charger sedans.

But the CHP is heading in a different direction.

Officials said Friday that they plan to start phasing in a "Police Interceptor" version of the hulky Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle this fall [autumn].

The SUVs might be hard to miss on the freeway, but officials said they went with the Explorer because traditional sedans available were too small.

CHP Assistant Chief Erik Knudsen said the SUV best fit the agency's needs because it had enough payload capacity to accommodate several adults and all the radio gear and other equipment required.

"The utility is probably going to be our primary vehicle," Knudsen said of the Explorer. "The Crown Vic had a much higher payload capacity than all these new sedans coming out. Unfortunately the design of the new sedans is becoming smaller and lighter."

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