Police officers nationwide called on Ford to design an environment-friendly vehicle for their use and the company delivered. Ahead of Monday's New York Auto Show, the multinational car firm unveiled the fruit of their efforts: a hybrid police car for high-speed chases.
This hybrid police car from Ford is "pursuit rated." It means that cops' new sweet ride would be able to chase down lawbreakers at high speeds and ride on curbs without compromising safety. And they will also be saving money to boot.
Dubbed the Ford Police Responder, the hybrid police car is a midsize sedan capable of running up to 60 miles per hour on the lithium-ion battery alone. It is also rated at 38 miles per gallon, a number that is more than twofold the Ford Police Interceptor that is outfitted with a 3.7-liter V-6 engine. Because of its higher mileage rating, the hybrid police car will have a significant drop in emissions, according to USA Today.
The sedan will not be available for use until next year, Fortune writes. However, it does not stop law enforcement officials from envisioning the money their departments would save. For every standard-issue vehicle replaced with a hybrid police car, police departments would save almost $3,900 for every $2.50 gallon of gas.
But aside from being a money-saver, this hybrid police car will also cause less harm to the environment. Since a police vehicle is rarely turned off during an entire shift, it burns a lot of fuel and the engine also suffers considerably. Ford's greener auto can switch to its lithium battery engine for that. At the same time, it can also power any electric device attached to the squad car.
Response from police officers has been positive, according to Ford. After test drives, their concerns regarding driving a hybrid police vehicle were addressed. One department, especially, cannot wait to switch to the greener tech. That is the Los Angeles Police Department. The arrival of the Responder in the city would help a lot in enforcing the law, in helping the environment and in saving money at the same time.
Aside from the hybrid police car, Ford is also redeveloping other models to become more environmentally efficient. The company invested $4.5 billion in a push towards a greener fleet, per Forbes. Among those that will by hybridized are the Mustang and the F-150. These models will join others in a growing electric vehicle market by 2020.
