[JStrnad]

The L.A. police department could be the first in the nation to add the new "pursuit rated" Ford Police Responder hybrid to its fleet of police vehicles.

http://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-lapd-hybrid-20170409-story.html

 

[jupitermoon]

It's about time police use hybrids or some sort of EV related piece of equipment. It's absolutely idiotic to have cruisers sitting around for hours with their engines running "just so" they are powered up and ready to go.

 

[NinjaVolt]

It's a prestigious contract and the acceptance of hybrids for first responder use will open up public acceptance.
The potential hard service should also lead to better reliability development.
Downside will be the reduction of trunk space (in the Fusion) as it is a requirement for gear and seizures for some ops.
A great step.

 

[BAZINGA]

Well that's one way to improve the breed.

 

[!arry4pyro]

What the hell does "Pursuit Rated" mean? How is the drive train any different than a civilian Fusion?

Kind of like Ford's F150 with "military grade" aluminum. What the hell is that? How can you measure the difference between the two?

I also wondered what "pursuit rated" meant. I think it's just a name for it police package. Here's a link.

http://www.ford.com/fordpoliceinterceptor/ajax/features/performance/

Read in PC Magazine that the powertrain allows both the ICE and electric traction motor to operate together while at maximum output, should make this vehicle pretty quick.

"The new Police Responder Hybrid Sedan has an Atkinson-cycle 2.0-liter engine with an electric motor fed by a lithium-ion battery. It runs in battery-only mode up to 60 mph and has a secret weapon: the ability to automatically switch to "maximum performance — with the engine and battery working at peak acceleration levels — when needed," Ford said. "

 

[Dakster]

It's a prestigious contract and the acceptance of hybrids for first responder use will open up public acceptance.
The potential hard service should also lead to better reliability development.
Downside will be the reduction of trunk space (in the Fusion) as it is a requirement for gear and seizures for some ops.
A great step.

Limited trunk space is a big deal for some departments. It was the one reason the department I retired from resisted replacing Crown Vic's for a very (and too long) a time. One requirement they have is a full size spare. Doughnuts or using squirting liquid foam do not count.

The gear required in my previous department at one point was so extensive, I asked the quartermaster when were we going to get issued a trailer to bring it with us. With just the required gear, I have very little room left in the back of a crown vic. However, times have changed and the required gear has too.

What this will also do, besides the durability testing, is provide a look into the safety of the vehicles. Unfortunately, police officers get into a lot of high speed wrecks with the cars loaded up with lots of gear/weight. If you research it, civillians driving crown vics had very few cases of them exploding in rear end collisions, whereas, police departments had many cases. It was finally discovered that gear in the trunk was getting pushed through the gas tank and the extra electronics in the vehicle were providing an ignition source. Purpose built police vehicles help to minimize this.

There are a multitude of reasons while on duty the police car needs to be on. I agree that law enforcement is a good case to study hybrids. Ran many a police vehicle to over 100k miles on the odometer, but it really translated to over 400k miles if you include idle time to miles formula.

 

[Raymondjram]

The common Fusion Hybrids are programmed to limit maximum output to ensure longer life for the laypersons. The controller is what limits the power to the electric motor. If Ford has done special controller tests to extract much higher power output from the battery to the electric motor, the hybrid can get more HP out, then the motor can keep high torque at higher revolutions. And the gas engine can also get better HP output and a longer torque curve with a better air induction system and exhaust.

But this extra power output will cut shorter the hybrid life, so we may see more used Fusion Hybrid for sale. If the price is right, those that cannot afford a regular hybrid sedan can buy one and save money in gasoline, too.

The NYPD had Chevy Volts for patrols, but not for pursuits. Maybe a future Chevy Impala hybrid can become the GM's equivalent pursuit sedan.

 

[tattoogunman]

Limited trunk space is a big deal for some departments. It was the one reason the department I retired from resisted replacing Crown Vic's for a very (and too long) a time. One requirement they have is a full size spare. Doughnuts or using squirting liquid foam do not count.

The gear required in my previous department at one point was so extensive, I asked the quartermaster when were we going to get issued a trailer to bring it with us. With just the required gear, I have very little room left in the back of a crown vic. However, times have changed and the required gear has too.

What this will also do, besides the durability testing, is provide a look into the safety of the vehicles. Unfortunately, police officers get into a lot of high speed wrecks with the cars loaded up with lots of gear/weight. If you research it, civillians driving crown vics had very few cases of them exploding in rear end collisions, whereas, police departments had many cases. It was finally discovered that gear in the trunk was getting pushed through the gas tank and the extra electronics in the vehicle were providing an ignition source. Purpose built police vehicles help to minimize this.

There are a multitude of reasons while on duty the police car needs to be on. I agree that law enforcement is a good case to study hybrids. Ran many a police vehicle to over 100k miles on the odometer, but it really translated to over 400k miles if you include idle time to miles formula.

Had a similar situation on the last department that I worked for. However, I would argue that most of the garbage they made us carry around was simply not needed - but that's purely in my opinion and I worked in LE for 20 years. Evidence hauling never amounted to much other than weapons and drugs, so space really wasn't an issue. What took up most of the space in my Crown Vic was the spare tire, my file box that held all of the freaking paperwork we had to do (since we were poor and had no computers or anything) and my case files, a duffle bag with our riot gear (accounted for much of the space), and the single hazmat suit we were given. Everything else I kept inside the car since we did not have cages or anything either.

I think going this direction is a good thing, if nothing else for the sheer amount of fuel that we burned through. I usually ended up filling up my Crown Vic twice during a given 10 hour shift and my Impala wasn't too much better. I think servicing could be a significant issue, I know it was on my department. Even a scheduled oil change with our fleet service center could take anywhere from 2-4 weeks to complete (no joke). To give you an idea as to how bad our service department was - right before I quit the department to move back to Texas, my Crown Vic dropped a cylinder. So I dropped it off at fleet rather than return to the depot. A year and a half after I quit, I get a phone call from fleet telling me that my car was finally ready. I can only imagine what would happen if there was a battery pack issue or something like that

 

[Mcgsp]

is a picture of their traffic

The police in NYC has been using the Volt for years for both their Hwy Patrol and some of their traffic cars. Whether they are fitted in the same way as the Ford I couldn't tell you, but LAPD is far from the first to deploy hybrids for their police force.

from gm volt archives

http://gm-volt.com/2011/07/13/new-y...brid-and-ev-adoption-adds-50-chevrolet-volts/

 

[tattoogunman]

Absolutely and I'm all for practical cars. Even overseas many departments use small hatchback type cars and they more than serve the purpose. I blame the American mentality for many of the gas guzzling vehicles we use here (i.e. Crown Vic, Tahoe, etc.). Oh well, what are you going to do right?