When are these stupid lawsuits going to stop?
When anything is hit at the speeds these cars have been hit at, 70+ mph, somethings gonna leak.

It's time to burn the lawyers.

As the owner of a CVPI ('94 P71), I have to say the statistics aren't very convincing to me. You have a vehicle which makes up what, let's say 75% (conservatively) of all Police Service vehicles in the US, which is inherently in far more danger of being hit (parked at side of highway, etc), and 14 have exploded, nationwide?

Put another type of car in that widespread use in such a dangerous field, and I bet you'd have similar problems.

- R

If they're so worried about fires they should drive diesels.

Of course no police department will buy foreign cars.

Of course no police department will buy foreign cars

Vail, Colorado uses SAABs for police cars

My retired '96 Crown Vic police car has been hit twice in the rear and hasn't blown up yet...key word being "yet"

"I'm gonna sue you when i choke on your food. Then I'm gonna get all butt hurt when you refuse to sell me anymore food, I mean, so I can choke on it of course."

Only in Florida. Crown Vic's are one of the few cars I would drive for "safety"

Inherited at 17 a 95 ford crown vic that was 2 years old from a great uncle. Being a rather high milage car (155,000) and owning another vechile I really didn't care what happened to it so I'd do such things as break checking tail gaters and what not. Got rear-ended twice doing this no problems. Just popped on a new bumper and tailights (avialible check from any salvage yard for this vechile.) Now admittedly neither of these instances were the same as sitting still and getting rammed from behing at 65 to 75 mph but we were looking at 20 to 30 mph differences in speed and I was having superficail {misspelled don't care} damage no where near harming, puncturing or rupturing the gass tank. On of these 'accidents' did knock the drivers side power window off track which was a pain to repair and deal with. Car was stolen about 6 months later and got into a high speed chase with CHP was quite funny 1 car being followed by 17 near identical cars right behind it. Anyways car ended up in the side of a house and dude escaped on foot. Car's front end was smashed 2 foot deep. Car was driven home by me from the police impound lot. Sold it to a cop 2 months later not having made repairs. Total bill for both rear endings about $340 in parts and 4 hours worth of my labor. (not counting the window tried twice to fix that couldn't get it right . repair was quoted to me at $440 lame).

So in an admitadly not very scientific study I deem the ford crown vic. 1. reliable 2. able to take a beating and survive 3. realatively cheap to opperate. (low repair costs. easy to upgrade. (same engine as a mustang 5.0 finding performace parts on the cheap is easy gass milage is about 28 mph if you drive reasonably and don't try to see it's 0-60 time at evey traffic light and stopsign.) 4. sturdy. I know for a fact that this car was in 5 wrecks and still on the road with under 1000 dollars in repairs. 3 were relatively minor the two brake check incidences and a deer. the other two were fairly major a person who appearently felt it was his right to merge his elantra into my lane without singaling and so with the side of his car pushed me and my vechile into the concrete divider in oakland (if your reading this which doubt..... ah dude ok so you didn't look before you decided to switch lanes and didn't realize there was a huge gold car with dents on it there. [first clue older large car driver probably isn't going to back down because if it's your fault well he gets a new car or cash] when the two cars touched your divers side into my passenger side [where I was sitting my freind was driving] and their car has 1/3rd more mass than yours stay in your lane. I don't know what the damage bil was for your vechile but for mine it was about 17 bucks sure you dented alot of the body and ripped off both mirrors and I lost a hub cap like I said 17 bucks.

negatives. 1. The car only handles so so. Really mushy suspension even after ti's been upgraded. You have to know how to power turn and fishtale to be effective with this. 2. Fairly crappy city gass milage unless you want the people behind you mad at you. 3. Not all that comfortable. The ergonomics of the front seat are really crappy you can make them comfortable by tilting them back quite a bit but then it's very very tough to drive effectively and the seat have zero lateral support so you slide around on high speed manuverings. rear seats are much better. (decent leg room and seat design) Also for just packing in people it's not bad the stupid car is probably as or more comfortable with 6 in it than 2 because you can't slide all over the place.


The point of all this? I was board and felt like commenting.

The point of sueing over something that happens so rarely no other car not in such widespread use has experianced it enough to know how they fair? got me ask the sherrif.

My feelings though are its a decent car. It probably does stand a decent chance of exploding if rammed from behind at 70 mph though. Most other cars do to. Whould it be safer with the gass tank moved forward a bit? Probably will some explode still? yes. Projectiles weighing thousands of pounds and moving at 70+ miles and hour just screw up cars. This isn't a case of unsafe at any speed this is a case of perhaps it isn't being all that it can be in a specific rare instance thats going to fark stuff up seriously anyways.