Why Ford Dominates The Police Vehicle Market

[@discosuitDan]

Current street cop here. The Crown Vic was the best and I miss it dearly. Proud to have spent the first 6 years of my career in one, 2011-17. The Explorers are "eh". What would be minor damage on a Vic is pretty serious on the Explorer.. The Taurus was cramped (even for me at 5'10" 185lbs). I could go on, but this comment is already long enough.

[@crlaw75]

I believe a lot of you officers wish Ford kept making the Crown Vic (made in Talbotville, Ontario, Canada).

[@robertallan4489]

Have a safe shift.

[@loricproject6878]

I just bought a crown vic interceptor. It's fantastic

[@ront769]

Thanks for that perspective. We don't get to hear that much.

[@crlaw75]

I knew an officer over 30 years ago, who's department tried out the Taurus police interceptor, as a way to save on fuel costs. With the amount of equipment he had on, he was cramped in there.

[@mateusgrsilva]

In Brazil, GM currently dominates vehicle sales with the Trailblazer and Spin. Older vehicles such as the Blazer and Verenaio are remembered because of Rota.

[@bryantint1339]

Ford Crown Victoria is best.

[@crlaw75]

Dodge Monaco was the ultimate cop car in the '70's.

[@loricproject6878]

I love mine. Picked it up earlier this year

[@BMoney8600]

Greatest cop car ever made!

[@Scottj2011]

@@crlaw75they used that in the dukes of hazzard along with the Plymouth satellite and one from AMC.

[@mrgurulittle7000]

The Crown Vic and Explorer are iconic.

[@rockymountainjazzfan1822]

None of the current "police" offerings hold up like the old Panther body Crown Vics did. The Dodge Charger, Ram 1500, and Dodge Durango police vehicles have been popular where I live, but they have proven be a maintenance disaster due to the Hemi V8s being prone to early failure because of the Hemi's longevity issues when extended idled, which most law enforcement vehicle do frequently. I've heard some complaints about the Ecoboost Ford engines having longevity issues in police service. One local law enforcement agency that I know now exclusively uses 4WD Ford F-150s with the 5.0 Coyote V8 engine--they really like those.

[@dillonh321]

Police departments near me to seem to really have latched on to the Tahoe with the 5.3 v8. I asked a cop if they have seen a lot of the lifter issues that these trucks seem to have and they said that as far as they know they have not seen it.

[@dillonh321]

I imagine that if ford made an Explorer or Expedition with the 5.0 coyote it would become an ideal police vehicle. And they would become king of police service once again.

[@nathanstroud2223]

I believe I remember seeing something about the 2020 Explorer Interceptor being the quickest of all those police fleet vehicles around the Shenandoah Circuit where they test them back when it was new, which presumably meant it was faster than any Charger. Talk about a sleeper.

[@nlpnt]

One big reason for the Ford-Mopar near-duopoly on cop cars in the '60s and '70s was that GM's *total* market share was over 50% in those years. They didn't begin to compete seriously for the police market until the '80s because before that they didn't have to, and didn't want to compete for such a high-profile public role since GM had a real institutional fear of getting trustbusted.

[@robertallan4489]

I don't doubt you. But, how do you know this? This is the first time I've ever read that GM was afraid of being tagged a trust. I know that during the '60s & '70s their strategy was to create a car line where a buyer would be a GM owner for life from entry level to Cadillac. That's a fairly closed and controlled perspective in marketing.

[@OLDS98]

Thank you Jon. This was quite informative. You forget Chevrolet offered the Caprice PPV based on the Holden Caprice. They are still in use today.

[@crlaw75]

The early 2000's, Dodge had an Intrepid police vehicle, but was very short lived, as the brakes caught fire.

[@Scottj2011]

A very informative video, John. The Ford crown Vic is iconic. I bet the sales to police fleets for the Caprice classic went down when they had that '91 redesign from the very successful prior generation

[@courtneypuzzo2502]

that's true to a point when my dad was a Boston police Officer there were Ford Crown Vic those were retired in 2020 and replacement for sedans were Chevrolet Impala/Caprice and the SUVs include the Bronco and Explorer and also Chevy Tahoe/suburban I've mentioned this previously my dad drove a used 1984 Caprice classic sedan from oct 1993 to May 2000 then a used 1990 Volvo 760 from 2000-2003 granted in its last year the Caprice averaged 19 MPG combined mind you that was with a 4.3 l V8 under hood and the car weighed 4,061 LBs while for ex a 94-96 Impala SS was around 4200 LBs depending on which engine you had the 282 CID 4.3 L or the 350 CID 5.7 L V8

[@allanbrooks3060]

I daily a police crown victoria 2011. The last year. Best car I have ever had

[@benwatkins7600]

Same here!

[@Scottj2011]

The one place I always used to see crown vics and caprices used, taxi cabs

[@tjhess2]

Current officer, as well. I've posted on previous videos on the latest generation Explorers and have been vocal on their lack of quality. I will give it credit, my AWD version handles quite well for the brick it is and despite being a 3.3 L 6, it is fairly peppy. Besides that, the seat is ungodly uncomfortable. The thigh bolsters stick up too much and I can't find a seat back position that suits me for some reason. It's jerky, hesitates, and plastic panels fall off of it. It's had two recalls performed, with one being a serious safety item (rear axle bolt failure-when they removed mine, they were surprised it hadn't already let go). We've had so many expensive issues with the Explorers, we are switching over to the Tahoe's. While they aren't a perfect fix, anything in today's market won't hold a candle to the love of my life...the Crown Victoria. Nothing could take a beating like those cars and still run as well as they did. God, I miss the Crown Vic....

[@robertallan4489]

Lovely work, Jon. We all thought you did a great job. The Chrysler products of the 1970's are most memorable to us because where most of us lived these were the police cruisers that were most common. Isn't it interesting that competition does not produce the best, necessarily. Ford has done a fine job in providing excellent vehicles to this purpose.

[@AllCarswithJon]

Thanks. :)

[@theinquisitor3930]

I find it humorous that the first two police vehicles shown are Dodge Durangos. 😆

[@robertallan4489]

Not mentioned was the Ford Taurus which I drove in the late '90s to early 2000's. Our small department bought them off a dealership lot and simply added radio's, light bars, and markings to the all white vehicles. We never used them as pursuit cars because they just weren't built for it. Good, reliable cars though. And, very comfortable for shift long duty.

[@AllCarswithJon]

Also used in RoboCop. :)

[@rollingthunder9087]

When the NSW police were looking at a new highway patrol car, Ford submitted the Mustang but during testing two blew transmissions at high speed and it was determined that the electronics couldn't deal with the in-car tech without an expensive upgrade. They now drive BMWs.

[@mapletouqe]

What I find very interesting is that after the Crown Victoria was discontinued, when they released the Taurus and Explorer interceptors, they never actually said they were a explicit replacement for the Crown Vic. Yes they took it's place in the market, but it's still interesting that ford never said the CV was ever being replaced.

[@petertornabeni602]

Jon, lately I see Durangos EVERYWHERE in law enforcement

[@SkylineFTW97]

They've been spreading. DC just got a bunch more, and Montgomery County, Maryland just introduced them to the fleet not too long ago.

[@triggeredcat120]

My city has Explorers. The Durangos are far cooler.

[@SkylineFTW97]

@@triggeredcat120 Problem is the Durangos are kinda turds. Even the Chargers with the 5.7 suffer from can failure due to the hemi handling extended idling (something all police cars do) very badly

[@tsouryavong13]

Really? Where I live (NH) I have never seen a police Durango

[@dillonh321]

Since the discontinuation of the Crown Vic I mostly see Chargers and Tahoes. Ford Explorers are not popular with departments around me for some reason.

[@robertallan4489]

Interesting. I've seen a few Chargers used as pursuit vehicles out on the highway, but never as patrol iterations. Without a four door model a Charger would not be practical.

[@dillonh321]

@ Previous Charger is 4 door and the new one will be in both 2 door and 4 door.

[@stephaneckes7438]

I'm sure their are more Expeditions than Explorers.

[@JimmyShields-z2h]

Interesting Jon on US police cars, Australia at similar time Holden lead the market with 5.0lt V8 offering n when Holden switch to LS1 then 6.0lt V8 it started heat up with Ford turbocharging F6 which drank as much fuel as the Holden 6.0lt V8, it was neck n neck. But when local production finished, Chrysler SRT 300 n BMW 7 series? replace the locals. Just recently i have seen BMW SUV X5 as highway patrol cars but local cars are Ford Ranger as pig wagon n Toyota camery or similar size other brands as local cars.

[@haweater1555]

The end of the Crown Vic was obvious. Police gravitated to it as the last ideal patrol sedan. But civilian sales tanked as people "didn't want to be seen driving around a police car."

[@dillonh321]

Civilian sales tanked because it eventually became fleet sales only.

[@haweater1555]

@dillonh321 And fleet sales are not enough to sustain an entire auto plant. Trivia: the Crown Vic was not American built, it was Canadian.

[@haweater1555]

@@dillonh321 And police were told it was the final year so there was a rush of orders for fleets before it's too late.

[@nlpnt]

It would've been gone before 2000 if it weren't for police and taxi fleet sales. It was just too big for the amount of interior space it had, and didn't perform well enough for the gas mileage, for a typical retail buyer whose use pattern doesn't tax the abilities of a V6 FWD unibody.

[@D4RKxHOR1ZoN]

Here in Colorado a majority are Chevy. Our highway patrol has Subaru STI

[@knuckles1206]

I think toyota missed a huge opertunity for a camry police package, maybe even a 4runner package, think of the commercials!

[@robertallan4489]

You are right. But, where Toyota missed was in the engines. No V6 can compete with a strong V8. Toyota's V8 was never made for this purpose nor well supported to it.

[@Australiaisupsidedown]

​@@robertallan4489 lol, like that matters today 🤣

[@knuckles1206]

@@robertallan4489 ford v6s as mentioned in the video, frequently outperformed v8s.

[@99whitequickstang]

Hawaii uses unmarked Toyota 4Runners

[@tylermacconnell217]

American taxpayers should be buying American police vehicles, not foreign ones. And Toyota is hardly the best choice.

[@ponyboycurtis007]

That has GOT to be an Ottawa, Ontario police cruiser @ 0:07. Color me surprised.

[@Skittleman2341]

I would say, the only BMW products I see in the US used by police departments are the BMW RTP-Police Motorcycles. I know that is a motorcycle but I know BMW was mentioned in this video. It's not to mention that Honda will be entering the police fleet line with a Honda motorcycle outfitted for police duty.

[@rogermoore8977]

I thought this was about always having an extra pair hands available in the rear seat to help push on the bumper.

[@triggeredcat120]

My city had Crown Vics before they all switched to the Explorers. I’ve seen a few ghost vehicles like an F-150, Sienna, and Ram here.

[@robertallan4489]

Sienna? What purpose would that be for? Carry K-9's? I can never recall EVER seeing a miniVan used in police work.

[@manasseh7]

@@robertallan4489maybe meant Sierra. GMC

[@triggeredcat120]

@@manasseh7 No I actually do mean a Toyota Sienna. We legitimately have them as ghost cars.

[@manasseh7]

@@triggeredcat120 o wow thats unheard of

[@triggeredcat120]

@@manasseh7 I know. I’ve only seen it a handful of times. I seen it behind a car that the officer pulled over. We also have the Expedition, Dodge Ram, and F-150’s in marked an unmarked cars.

[@freddyhollingsworth5945]

04:40 also offered factory optioned "fire suppression system"

[@LukeMauerman]

Got to sit in a brand new Interceptor last year. There may have been some smoochin' going on

[@RipRoaringGarage]

Heres why. 1- You got the brand loyalty aspect. The Crown Vic was legendary. I drove them briefly on patrol as a cop. (I say them, but it was just one in our dept). Compared to the Imapals (junk) and the Stratus (bigger junk), it was no contest. Ive also driven Panthers since I first began driving, with my first car being a Grand Marquis, and have had one continuously since then. I have three Panther now. 2-GM dropped the Caprice/RWD Imapala. Dodge was being ...Dodge. While The Charger was faster, its unibody. Up to 2015, the Crown Vic was still being used, as new units were pulled out of storage (that big sales spike in 2011 for cars to be used for the following 10 years like with CHP and LAPD iirc). Only after 2015 did Dodge get their stuff back in order, with the refreshed Charger, that kicked butt (I have a 2022 WB and its abeast, granted a Scat Pack, with the 6.4 not the 5.7, but even the smaller Hemi finally showed its new gen versus the modular). Aaaaand just like that, Stellantis cancels the Charger (the new thing shall not be mentioned. Its a joke in every aspect). So only the Durango remains, which is now the fastest police car, except for perhaps the Mustang, which as of this comment, is not a PPV, with I believe NC getting them for their troopers, due to no more Charger Hemis being available. So Ford is the only thing left. 3-They are cheaper. Not just in price, but cheaper in every other aspect. PDs are finding the costs of the Ecoboosts the hard way. At least the Hemi cars, even when developing the cam roller tick, are not that expensive to repair, and still retain a lot of value when sold off. Nobody is lining up for a used PD Explorer, except for wackers. 4-Ford does have some tech fancy stuff in cars, and the rear end collision testing is great, but I suspect that in the near future, Toyota will offer something that will take the spot of the Crown Vic. Also I have to give some push back on the idea of consumer tastes. The Charger Challenger show the appetite for cars, not SUVs. Between focus groups that will deliberately weight heavy on some demographics (soccer moms, married or not) over other demographics, as well as the companies having higher revenue from an SUV even if it may cost exactly the same as another sedan, you end up with this luxoboxes, fooling their buyers of getting "more" just because you sit higher, or whatever SUV owners say to justify its betterness.

[@viperBSG]

Thank You I like your video. I own a 2014 Ford Explorer Police Interceptor Utility. A very basic SUV but it has it where it counts. Ride is good, Economy is good for an SUV. I average 20 MPG. Power is exceptional for a civilian. Mine has the 3.7L but I had the chance for the 3.5 Twin Turbo model. I thought working on it would be to expensive. Mine runs and runs. It really has been turn key and go for the past 2 years. other than oil changes and a new set of tires. I would consider another to replace this one when the time comes. a lot of room and comfortable inside.Oh!, not that i need them but there are steel plates in the back of the front seats. cool!.

[@green41011]

I police department by me is getting rid of the Dodge fleet because they can't get parts

[@raymond_sycamore]

I know several cops, they hate the Ford Exploder. They vastly prefer the Durango with the HEMI

[@robertallan4489]

Where were the Durango Hemi used? Have never seen this configuration where in the 80's Dodge cruisers were common.

[@timsimmons5190]

Ive been seeing many many tahoes here in south carolina. Some counties are only using tahoes . I think they are liked better than the explorer

[@eterrnnoly1]

Is there really a direct competitor for the Tahoe?

[@Rebel9668]

You'd never know that around here, lol. Most of the police cars here are Dodge Chargers.

[@timsimmons5190]

Ive gotten pulled over by a kia optima before 😂

[@BadDriversOfNorthCarolina]

Departments that went from the Charger to Durangos are fools. They will break so easily and will most likely be moved to Mexico.

[@larry648]

Ford has it because it actively goes after it. Dodge had a good thing going with the Charger, but they stopped making it. The Durango has a very bad reputation for reliability. GM only markets expensive full size SUVs and trucks

[@nlpnt]

People in the comments are talking about the Crown Vic and Charger as though they weren't absolutely ancient, some of the oldest new cars on the market when they finally went out of production. That's why nobody but fleets was buying them (the Vic was fleet-only the last few years but Fomoco was making a real effort to market the Mercury Grand Marquis to retail buyers as part of a last-ditch effort to save the Mercury brand).

[@robertallan4489]

Also the Meteor. But, by its end Mercury was too much simply a rebranded division. Rebranding had run its course by then.

[@GermanCarGuyMN]

The Crown Vic being ancient was one of the most appealing things about them. They were extremely durable and reliable while also spacious and comfortable.

[@NealStampley]

Awesome

[@simoneleles5209]

I guess you have to follow the money...🤷🏻‍♀️

[@johnnymason2460]

Most of the police cars that I see are Dodge Chargers. The only Ford police vehicles that I have seen are Ford Explorers.

[@sunnohh]

Awful, lazy broken cars that break too soon, it just speaks to their souls

[@ivoryjohnson4662]

Crown Vic had plenty of space in the trunk and it was easy to get perp in back seat. Nothing beats the charger for pursuit but longevity. Suburban/Tahoe is great for outlying area. Explorers meh

[@NealStampley]

FORD

[@SteveninTune]

Ford sux

[@texandy89]

New Jersey state police have a Crown Vic with a Cobra Jet engine in it also they have also 2013 Chevy Caprice Chevy Tahoe Ford Explorer's and F-150s and Taurus. I'm from Texas and moved to New Jersey in 2003

[@haweater1555]

Carbon Motors was started by entrepreneurs to manufacture a purpose built unique police car. Failed to make financing. kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2OUaZyJZ7Rpg7s