Police Fleet Manager

JAN-FEB 2013

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p Door-only and roof-only vinyl wraps are now available on the PI Sedan and PI Utility. The SHERIFF wrap is now available in addition to the POLICE wrap for both PI Sedan and PI Utility. F ord���s Police Advisory Board met in conjunction with October���s Los Angeles County Sheriff vehicle testing. Certainly the talk of the town was the new 305 hp 3.7L V6 now in the Police Interceptor Sedan. The 3.7L V6 is teamed with Ford���s All-Wheel Drive drivetrain. The first news was the introduction of Ron Anderson, State and Local Government Sales Manager. He replaces the retiring Kevin Fitzpatrick, one of Ford Fleet���s greatest assets over the past few decades. So far, over 80 percent of the Sedan PIs and 97 percent of the Utility PIs have been AWD. Of the PI Sedans, 85 percent have had the base V6 engine, while 15 percent have had the EcoBoost turbo V6. The current sales mix is 60:40, PI Sedan: PI Utility. When sales of the PI Sedan and the PI Utility are combined���and to do this obviously makes sense���Ford remains the nation���s number-one police vehicle automaker. Both police package vehicles are made at the Chicago Assembly Plant and have the highest Made-in-U.S. content of any police vehicles. The PI Sedan and PI Utility share common service parts including tires, wheels, oil, oil filter, brake pads and brake rotors. Other common components include the battery, alternator, brake calipers, rear differential unit, and seats. 3.7L V6 in PI Sedan The results from the Michigan State Police tests were briefly reviewed. This did not take up much meeting time since the Base Sedans from all the makes performed about the same. As did the HighSpeed Sedans. As did the Utilities. A great deal of time was devoted to the (exciting) new powerplant for the PI Sedan. The base 288 hp 3.5L V6 produces perfectly acceptable performance in the PI Sedan. Based on the vehicle tests run by the Michigan State Police and the Los Angeles County Sheriff, the 305 hp 3.7L V6 produces exceptional performance. The 3.7L V6 PI Sedan comes standard with the AWD drivetrain. A delete for credit FWD drivetrain is not available. This 3.7L V6 is exactly the same engine as in the PI Utility���a commonality of maintenance and service for fleets running each. The 3.7L engine is clearly the best, competitive powertrain for the PI Sedan���definitely worth a look. The AWD Advantage The PI Sedan and PI Utility feature fulltime All Wheel Drive. The AWD system for the PI Sedan and PI Utility is a continuously variable system that optimizes for efficiency by biasing torque to the front wheels during normal, retail-like driving. The AWD system distributes torque before wheel slip to ensure seam- less acceleration on-demand in all driving conditions. When the system identifies wheel slip, additional torque can be commanded by the system to the appropriate tire(s). For traction on slippery surfaces like snow or rain covered streets, all available torque can be directed to the front or rear axle. Paired with AdvanceTrac��� electronic stability control, the systems work in harmony to transfer torque front-torear and control wheel slip from side to side. This AWD system can accommodate varying tire wear patterns. One of the FAQs on the PI Sedan and PI Utility concerns the durability and reliability of the All-Wheel Drive system. The AWD on the retail vehicles is quite proven with a bit of DNA from both Volvo and Land Rover. More to the point, however, is the police package version of this sophisticated AWD system. The durability testing on police package vehicles is twice that of a retail vehicle. The police vehicle is put through the retail battery of proving ground and developmental tests twice. The PI Sedan and PI Utility have already undergone more durability testing than the venerable Ford CVPI. AWD Durability The police version of AWD has three unique features to improve durability during severe use. First, the front houswww.pfmmag.com 55

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