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March 2003
We're not sure why The Committee wants to be so serious
all of a sudden. Maybe it's the hate mail we've been getting deriding us
for our sense of humor, which some apparently don't find humorous. So that
being said and not really having anything funny to say:
copcar
dot com presents: Sales Pitch
From "Ford Times" September 1961
"The Lawman Takes a Ford"
More than half of all the police cars in the country including
those of states, turnpikes, and major cities, are Fords.
By: Melvin Beckore
Recently we received a card for a
reader who recalled that in our issue of September, 1956, there was a
story about the predominance of state police forces using Ford cars. He
wanted to know how that figure stands today.
His request coincided with the results of an annual police car survey
which went farther than state police fleets. It expanded to include the
fleets of the fifty largest cities of the country, from New York City to
Dayton, Ohio, and five major turnpike authorities.
The results of this across-the-land survey showed
that about 55 percent of all law-enforcing vehicles are Fords. This is
interesting in view of the fact that the remaining percentage is divided
between not only all other United States car makers, but also a few
imports. |
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This Kansas City City, Missouri
, police car rushes to the scene of accidents.
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In the public mind the ability to go
fast is the criterion for a police car. If that were the only measure,
Ford could easily build an all-out race car. The "hot" 330hp
V8 Interceptor takes care of even unreasonable speed requirements. But
the fact is that extremely high speed is a very minor police car
requirement. Most police work calls for long, grueling hours of driving
at ordinary city street speeds.
Of far more importance in a police car is its ability to stand up under
hard, around-the-clock use. In cruising, the policeman is operating his
vehicle as a private owner would, and at approximately the same expense.
If the police cruiser is a 1961 Ford, oil need be changed only every
4,000 miles.
Lubrication is necessary only at 30,000-mile intervals. If the cruiser
is an earlier model Ford, the 4,000-mile oil change interval still
stands.
Some of the characteristics that put Fords on the right side of the law
are
the takes-care-of-itself features that make it appealing to the everyday
driver. Through the incorporation of a special ratchet mechanism, Ford
brakes adjust
themselves whenever they are applied to stop backward motion,
eliminating
manual servicing during the life-time of the linings. And, being thicker
this year, the linings last even longer.
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| Connecticut state troopers
patrol some of the nation's busiest superhighways. |
The '61 Ford guards its own muffler
from rust through an aluminum coating
on the inside parts and a zinc outer coating. Important underbody
structural members are given longer life with a zinc coating.
A Ford-developed body enamel that resists "blooming" or chalking, enables
the '61 Ford to protect its own body finish without the need of waxing.
There are varying degrees of requirements for police cars, ranging from
the
high speeds sometimes needed on rural roads, highways, and turnpikes, to
the slow speeds that suffice for patrolling duties, such as night
checking of
commercial premises. In between are more moderate speeds necessary in
metropolitan areas.
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| Here an Indiana state trooper
gives road information to a traveler. |
Ford police cars are tailored to meet
these and other specific police
needs, as revealed by the major models listed below.
1. The Police Interceptor V-8, powered by the 330 hp Interceptor
engine and
designed and built like a fighter plane, is the top performer. This is
designed for the most rugged and demanding situations where only
absolute
peak power will do the job.
2. The Ford Cruiser V-8, designed for duties which do not quite
call for
Interceptor power, is powered by the high performance 300 hp Thunderbird
390 Special V-8.
3. Ford Guardian V-8, built for general patrol work and city or
county
cruising, is powered by the 220 hp Thunderbird 352 V-8 Special V-8
engine.
4. Ford Sentinel V-8, featuring the 175 hp Thunderbird 292
engine, fills
the bill where economy is a consideration, but where V-8 pep is still a
necessity.
5. Ford Police Utility Six, with the economical 135 hp Mileage
Maker Six is
ideal for day in, day out low rpm cruising, neighborhood work, and
traffic handling. |
| Massachusetts state policeman's
daily routine has its quiet moments too. |
A Ford first made history in the
police service when a Model T was equipped
with radio for the Detroit Police Department in 1921. Fords were used in
police work before 1921, of course-probably as early as 1908, when the
first Model T's appeared. If any reader knows the earliest date of a
Ford as a police car, we'd like to hear about it.
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Thanks to Buz Bowling for finding these old artifacts.
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