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FOCUS New Patrol Vehicles I New Engine for Caprice PPV...the Camaro's Hot V6 X The Caprice PPV has – by far – the largest rear seat of any police sedan. Larger than the Ford CVPI rear seat, the new Caprice rear seat is larger than the popular 1991-1996 Caprice. W The Caprice has the most comfortable, most supportive, most police duty belt-friendly seats of any police sedan. This has been under development by Cadillac engineers for six years. in the CVPI), the Caprice V6 has no such flat spot. Te Caprice engine pulls hard and steady from the standing start to the top speed of…148 mph. Te Caprice V6 powertrain was originally developed around a numerically higher (3.27:1) axle for a bit more performance. At the later stages of development, before the Caprice went into produc- tion, this rear gear was changed to a numerically lower (2.92:1) axle for the maximum fuel economy – the same axle used in the Caprice V8. Tis change had only a slight effect on performance – the V6- powered Caprice is still faster than the V8-powered Ford CVPI. What's New? For 2012, front-seat knee airbags became standard. From an of- ficer safety standpoint, in modern, airbag-equipped cars, the highest rate of injury is to the hip, pelvis and femur. Tese bones also take the longest to heal, even with extensive rehab. Tese are the areas most protected by knee airbags. For the maximum officer safety, the Caprice comes with two side thorax airbags, two roof-rail curtain airbags, two front airbags, and now two front knee airbags. For 2012, a front-passenger door lock cylinder became standard – a potential officer safety issue. Engine idle and engine hour me- ters are standard. An AutonetMobile WiFi in-car router (making an Internet hotspot) is an option. So is a passenger side spotlight. Also for 2012, the trans oil cooler was repositioned lower in front of the radiator (behind the grille bowtie). Also for 2012, the stability control was further refined for aggres- sive police driving. Te default mode (resets with each key cycle) will remain unchanged. For 2012, performance mode makes more use of the traction control function, i.e., wheelspin will be a bit more limited. Every Category Except One Te Caprice aces the Ford CVPI in every way to measure suitability for police fleet use. In fact, the new Caprice is a better category-by-cat- egory replacement for the out-going Ford CVPI than the Ford CVPI was for the old, out-of-production, mid-1990s Caprice. Te Ford CVPI has been the benchmark of police cars for more than 15 years – it was almost perfect for policing. Almost? For its entire police career, Ford had requests for just a bit more power, a bit faster acceleration from the CVPI. Tat makes today's faster ac- celerating V6 Caprice better than a direct replacement for the CVPI. And now the bad news. No, it is not long order-to-delivery times. Te pipeline is now flowing. Te Caprice PPV in either engine is now available. No, it is not the floor shifter. Te center console ac- commodates all of our police gear. Te 9C1 Patrol version of the Caprice has a 10-inch width between the seats to mount equipment W With the full-size spare factored into the calculation, the Caprice and Ford CVPI have the same trunk volume. With the spare under the load floor, the Caprice space is more user-friendly. 30 Police Fleet Manager Jul-Aug 2012