Ford: Police CV- Dallas rigged the tests!

Setting the Record Straight on Crown Vic Police Cars

DEARBORN, Mich., Sept. 12, 2003 (FCN) -- Ford Motor Company is sending
notification to more than 30,000 law enforcement customers nationally in
response to the manipulated crash tests the city of Dallas conducted this
summer involving Crown Victoria Police Interceptor (CVPI) vehicles.


Crown Victoria Trunk Pack
The notification is aimed at reassuring police departments around the
country
that the Trunk Pack is effective in reducing the risk of fuel tank puncture
following high-speed, high-impact rear crashes.

"Several important facts were not included in Dallas' announcement and the
subsequent media reports," said Sue Cischke, vice president, Environmental &
Safety Engineering, Ford Motor Company.

Dallas officials stated that the Trunk Pack offered by Ford "failed" to
protect
the fuel tank in 75 mph crash tests.

"In conducting the Dallas test, the Trunk Pack was loaded with atypical
items
and police equipment was specially altered and deliberately positioned to
puncture the Trunk Pack," Cischke said. "In short, the test did not simulate
what would happen in the real world."




Dallas crash tests on the Trunk Pack included nonstandard items like a
crowbar
welded to a floor jack and a wrecking bar. As an example, Ford found that a
crowbar was welded onto a 2-ton mechanics floor jack with four high-strength
welds (see photo). The sharp edge of the crowbar was pointed toward the fuel
tank. Additionally, the jack-handle sleeve was welded into the upright
position
and pointed at the fuel tank.

"There is no conceivable functional reason for welding a crowbar to a jack
in
this fashion," Cischke stated.

The Trunk Pack also was loaded with a wrecking bar. Prior to the Trunk Pack
development, the Blue Ribbon Panel and the Arizona Department of Public
Safety
conducted a survey of 80 law enforcement agencies to determine what type of
equipment police officers typically carry in their trunks.

Only one agency out of 80 reported carrying any kind of bar -- in this case
a
pry bar -- in their trunks. Dallas, however, included two bars, a crow bar
and
a wrecking bar, in its tests. The sharp edge of the wrecking bar was pointed
toward the fuel tank.

"Ford Motor Company believes that our law enforcement customers should be
informed about the circumstances of the Dallas Trunk Pack testing," said
Cischke. "We hope this explanation has served this purpose."

Ford conducted both laboratory and 75 mph crash tests with the Trunk Pack
and
representative police equipment determined by the panel's survey. During
that
testing, there was no fuel tank puncture resulting from the trunk equipment.

"Ford stands by its Trunk Pack as an effective tool that reduces the risk of
fuel tank punctures from police equipment," Cischke concluded.


--

Tom
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