i just read the article arguing some very valid points that ford needs a powerful v8 sedan.

we havent seen anything since the marauder in my opinion. i have never been impressed by the sho, though it has great specs it is just to small.

if ford wants to compete with the charger however they should not call it the falcon. falcons were never impressive. bring back the gran torino name and build it to compete with the charger.

 

I agree with you. It would be nice if they would offer a robust rear wheel drive full sized sedan with a V8. Ford scratched their rear wondering why sales of the Crown Vic and Grand Marquis declined over the years yet did pretty much nothing for 10+ years to update them. The 5.0l out of the Mustang would be a shoe in for a full sized sedan.

Ford has demonstrated that they are going to primary front wheel drive unibody cars with smaller engines.(like ecoboost) They axed the Falcon in Australia. Axed the Crown Vic and I don't see them ever going back to them.

It seems pretty unanimous that when you talk to law enforcement that they had more room in the old Crown Vics vs the newer Taurus. The room in the charger cruisers is not very good either. I would hate to have to sit in either of these vehicles with plate carriers, radios and duty belts full of stuff. The back seat room is even worse.

Ford wants to make cheaper to manufacture spot welded together fwd cars with little turd engines. To keep power up they throw on a couple little snails. They can have them as far as I am concerned. As of now Ford only makes 2 or 3 models in their lineup I would even consider when buying a new or used vehicle. I don't suspect that will change for the good. .Gov laid the law down shortly after the current idiot in chief took the throne and the car companies just say Yessir.

 

i am LE and yes the Taurus is too small, the SC AWD will go though. the chargers are better for room and fast too, but the older ones fell apart. jury still out on newer ones.

i dont have any experience w the new caprice but have heard guys say they like it better than the Taurus.

but alot of departments are switching over to SUVs now. Explorers and Tahoes.

 

I'm way late to the party but I have a couple questions / comments.

1. How big does a police cruiser need to be?

2. Why does a PD need a V-8 cruiser?

The current gen of CVPI's are now serving in smaller less well funded PD's or as taxis. The state PD's run them for 100K miles or so then sell them off. Should the larger V-8 sedan be here just to serve the aftermarket?

The AWD Taurus must be nice to have in the snow belt and no doubt the Taurus is safer than the amazing CV and likely more fuel efficient.

It seems that PD's are frowning on high speed chases these days. A V-6 is plenty IMHO.

 

Honestly, we carry a lot of gear these day....SUV's are the best when it comes to having a lot of gear on hand...fire extinguishers, some med gear, blankets, jackets, flares, reflective vests, AED, maybe a halogen tool, rifle, shotgun.....most guys these days and a lot of depts. are switching to SUV cuz of all the gear we need room for.


Doesn't have to be a V8, but speed helps, yes sadly pursuits are frowned upon, but forcible felonies are still pursued...armed bank robbery, murder suspects and so on will get chased.

 

I'm really, REALLY late to the party here, but I'll still throw my two cents in...

Sadly, the big sedan market is dying, and there are rumors that the Taurus won't be available for the consumer market in a few years. Ford hasn't really done much lately to try and keep it alive or popular.

As a squad, I've heard nothing but good things about the Taurus. My dad works with local law enforcement with radio communications, and has heard his share of comments about the Charger, Caprice, and Taurus.

The only thing the Charger has going for it is speed on dry, even pavement. Here in Wisconsin, very few Chargers are used for interceptor use, because RWD is obviously terrible in snow and ice. They're also apparently very expensive to repair and maintain.
As a regular sedan, I'm sure it's great, but it seems like interceptor use was a complete afterthought.

The Caprice is also not a great squad. It seems like there is nothing decent about it. It's slow, outdated, RWD, and unreliable. The body panels are also not rigid at all, and my dad has been able to create a shallow dent in the fender by pushing it in with his finger. Great fender design, especially during an arrest...
After this year, the Caprice will be dead.

The Taurus seems to be the best choice for a squad sedan. It's AWD, reliable, and has the best 0-60 time, even compared the the 5.7L Charger. It's more fuel-efficient, lower cost to maintain, and seems to be very rigid and reliable. It seems like local law enforcement loves it.

The Explorer is also the best-selling squad, with the Taurus coming in 2nd.