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Ford's Explorer-based Police Interceptor to get 365-hp EcoBoost option

Speeders beware, the police are going to be getting quite a bit faster. Ford has just announced that it will be offering its 3.5-liter, twin-turbocharged, EcoBoost V6 in the Explorer Police Interceptor. The new engine will be joining the existing 3.7-liter V6. The 365-horsepower, 350-pound-foot mill should be familiar to consumers as the powerplant that's found in the Ford Taurus SHO (and its LEO equivalent, the Taurus Police Interceptor) and the Ford Explorer Sport. It should also provide quite a kick in the pants to officers used to the naturally aspirated 3.7 and its 304 ponies and 279 pound-feet of torque.
The move to the more potent powerplant was born out of all the equipment officers need to carry on a day-to-day basis. These days, there's so much stuff that police need on a regular basis, that there's a genuine market for a faster Police Interceptor Utility, as it's known officially. The Explorer-based cruiser has already accounted for 68 percent of Ford's LEO sales in 2013, and that's with just the 3.7, and we'd only expect that number to increase once the twin-turbo, 3.5-liter V6 is available. Ford won't offer up any indication of what the take rate will be on the new engine, but we're guessing it'll be fairly high.
The success of the Explorer PI couldn't have come at a better time for Ford. The decision to end Crown Victoria production was not a popular one with police, and combined with Chevrolet and Dodge diving into the LEO market feet first, Ford hasn't been performing as well as it's wanted to. The Explorer has been helping it turn around, though. And with the inclusion of the EcoBoost, Ford also has a legit competitor for the Chevrolet Tahoe on the big utility side of the police market.

Inside Ford's high-tech climate chamber

There are two ways an automaker can test its vehicles in extreme climates: it can send said vehicle around the world – from Death Valley to the Arctic Circle – in search of the harshest weather, or it can recreate those conditions in an enclosed environment. We're sure that many automakers undertake some combination of both, but in this latest video clip, Ford shows us around inside it's state-of-the-art climate chamber. At its Driveability Test Facility in Allen Park, MI – inaugurated in 2010 just across the street from the Roush Technology Center – Ford can simulate all sorts of extreme conditions. It can drop the temperature down to -40 degrees Fahrenheit or raise it up to 130, and take it up to a simulated 12,000 feet above sea level or drop it down to 280 feet below. blast it with 150-mile-per-hour winds. It can control the level of humidity, approximate the intensity of the sun and even blast the test vehicle with artificial snow, just like your favorite ski resort. The facility strikes us as an engineering feat as impressive as some of the vehicles it's used to test, but don't take our word for it – scope it out for yourself in this brief two-minute video clip, which even includes some helpful tips for winter driving this holiday season and beyond. News Source: Ford via YouTube Plants/Manufacturing Ford Videos Michigan winter

Fitting Retirement: Grand Marquis last Mercury off the line

The signs have come down and retail production ended back in October of 2010. Now, the very last Mercury model has rolled off the assembly line. This last Mercury somewhat fittingly takes the form of a Grand Marquis reporting for fleet duty. It was built at the St. Thomas plant in Ontario, Canada, which is the same facility that continues to produce the Ford Crown Victoria and Lincoln Town Car for fleet and livery duty.
St. Thomas' days are numbered, however, as the factory is slated to close on August 31. When it goes, the Panther platform is likely to follow. So long, and thanks for all the fish memories.
[Source: Autoweek]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments