The city of Chicago will buy 500 Ford Police Interceptor sedans and utility vehicles, representing the largest commitment to date for The Blue Oval’s new generation of law enforcement products.
The move should come as no surprise, as the Ford Police Interceptor sedan and utility, otherwise available to the public as the Taurus and Explorer, respectively, are manufactured at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant; production of the two vehicles began last month and added 230 manufacturing and support jobs at the plant, with more jobs expected to be added in the future.
It’s important to note, however, that the Police Interceptors aren’t direct rebadges of their civilian counterparts, as the Blue Oval made important design and engineering modifications to the vehicles specifically for police work thanks to input from its Police Advisory Board of law enforcement professionals. As of this writing, it is unclear how many sedans and utilities the city will order out of the 500 total vehicles, but we’re more interested in knowing if other municipalities will follow suit in ordering the replacement vehicles for their police force from Ford, as the Blue Oval touts cost savings (thanks to better fuel economy), increased power, more technology, and added safety of its new offerings while the competition (Chevrolet and Dodge) offer a traditional rear-wheel drive drivetrain.
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