FORD POISED TO LOSE A HUGE SHARE OF COP CAR MARKET
[Get the latest “Truth With Speedzzter here]
Once there was a market dominated by Ford Motor Company. Ford’s product had anvil-like reliability. Parts were cheap. Tooling was amortized. Ford made minimal revisions as its competitors introduced newer, more powerful and stylish vehicles. Ford rationalized its stubborn hubris, claiming that it produced what its customers really needed. And as the model years rolled by, Ford lost its once-dominant place in the market.
The title of this blog entry suggests that the story above is a summary of Ford’s recent performance in the police and taxi fleet markets.
The storied Police Interceptor/Crown Victoria (PI/CV) is an icon of the fleet markets. Its rugged full-frame construction, rear wheel drive, and study beam axle are unmatched for resistance to damage, low maintenance costs, ease of repair, and dependable service.
But Ford’s Glass House Gang have been trying its best to starve the Panther platform upon which the PI/CV is based to death for nearly a decade. No restyling since 1998. No improvements to the suspension or brakes in since the days of the sadly underpowered and conservative Mercury Marauder. Minimal improvements to address concerns about fuel tank fires. No promotion to speak of. No love.
But most importantly, no increases in power to match or beat the newer unibody Dodge Charger or the upcoming unibody GM/Holden Zeta-based RWD police vehicle (formally announced this week as the Chevrolet Caprice PPV).
Both the Hemi Dodge and the 6.0 LS Chevrolet handily outpower and out-torque the weak two-valve SOHC PI. In fact, Dodge even touts that its standard six beats FoMoCo’s neglected and underdeveloped V8! Despite having a modestly deep shelf of better V8s to offer in the Panther, the stubborn hubris of the Panther-haters in the Glass House has kept the PI standing pat with less power and torque than even a 1996 “Shamu” 9C1 Caprice!
Gravely myopic sorts approved the Volvo-derived D3 platform, despite its inability to accept the FWD-compromised Modular V8. It flopped, of course. These same folks now seem to believe that the company who brought Americans the low-cost V8 can survive without them – blinded by a haze of EcoBoost promises and rationalizations.
They’ve undoubtedly deluded themselves to believe that some sort of cheap, unitized AWD six-cylinder “Police Interceptor” will fill in for the legendary Panther when the expensive Canadians who assemble Town Cars, Mercury Grand Marquises, and “the last of the [real] Interceptors” are canned as “centrally-planned” in the next couple of years.
These are the sorts of “steady Eddie” bureaucrats and bean-counters who, armed with charts and reams of “market research,” convinced everyone that the lack-luster Edsel would succeed. They are the know-it-all “no” brigade. They perennially seem to think that “just good enough” to snag some “market share” (thereby justifying their continued employment)is the only goal.
They're the “appliance motorists” who cannot see the folly in sending a Mustang GT to market that’s down 100 horsepower to its competitors.
They’re the ones who have no understanding of the aftermarket.
They’re the ones who are willfully ignorant about how underpowered Fords are perceived in the marketplace.
They’re the ones who don’t understand the powerful psychology behind V8 power and traditional RWD automobiles.
Ford doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel here. No uni-body cop car will ever match the reliability, durability, and easy maintenance of the strapping, full-frame Panther. Merely pumping up the optional propellant to SVT Cobra levels would go a long way to fending off the charge of the Chargers and the coming invasion of the U.S. Government-backed Australians.
The bureaucrats and bean-counters, however, have too much invested in the death of the Panther to listen to common sense or customer desire.
Deep down, they don’t really care about beating Dodge or GM. They don’t care about building milestone vehicles. They don’t care about Ford’s bulletproof reputation in the fleet markets. All they worry about is being proven “correct” on page 500 of some cost report. All they dream of is forcing fleet customers into some too-small, too-weak, too-slow, lackluster FWD civilian sedan that most of the cops on the beat do not want as a means to slash parts inventories and assembly complexity.
In short, Ford is poised to lose a huge share of the police market because it has chosen to neglect the legendary Panther, instead of building on its herculean strengths.
As for the introductory story, historians recognize that it is about Ford’s Model T. The T once commanded half of the U.S. new car market. Yet Henry Ford’s stubbornness kept FoMoCo from keeping up with the competition. Ex-Ford executive William S. Knudsen used the opportunity to build Chevrolet from an also ran into a juggernaut which outsold Ford.
Ford never really recovered from the time Henry wasted in the mid-20s.
Ford is on the brink of the same disaster today in its police and taxi fleet market. Ford is blowing yet another lead.
[Get the latest “Truth With Speedzzter here]
Once there was a market dominated by Ford Motor Company. Ford’s product had anvil-like reliability. Parts were cheap. Tooling was amortized. Ford made minimal revisions as its competitors introduced newer, more powerful and stylish vehicles. Ford rationalized its stubborn hubris, claiming that it produced what its customers really needed. And as the model years rolled by, Ford lost its once-dominant place in the market.
The title of this blog entry suggests that the story above is a summary of Ford’s recent performance in the police and taxi fleet markets.
The storied Police Interceptor/Crown Victoria (PI/CV) is an icon of the fleet markets. Its rugged full-frame construction, rear wheel drive, and study beam axle are unmatched for resistance to damage, low maintenance costs, ease of repair, and dependable service.
But Ford’s Glass House Gang have been trying its best to starve the Panther platform upon which the PI/CV is based to death for nearly a decade. No restyling since 1998. No improvements to the suspension or brakes in since the days of the sadly underpowered and conservative Mercury Marauder. Minimal improvements to address concerns about fuel tank fires. No promotion to speak of. No love.
But most importantly, no increases in power to match or beat the newer unibody Dodge Charger or the upcoming unibody GM/Holden Zeta-based RWD police vehicle (formally announced this week as the Chevrolet Caprice PPV).
Both the Hemi Dodge and the 6.0 LS Chevrolet handily outpower and out-torque the weak two-valve SOHC PI. In fact, Dodge even touts that its standard six beats FoMoCo’s neglected and underdeveloped V8! Despite having a modestly deep shelf of better V8s to offer in the Panther, the stubborn hubris of the Panther-haters in the Glass House has kept the PI standing pat with less power and torque than even a 1996 “Shamu” 9C1 Caprice!
Gravely myopic sorts approved the Volvo-derived D3 platform, despite its inability to accept the FWD-compromised Modular V8. It flopped, of course. These same folks now seem to believe that the company who brought Americans the low-cost V8 can survive without them – blinded by a haze of EcoBoost promises and rationalizations.
They’ve undoubtedly deluded themselves to believe that some sort of cheap, unitized AWD six-cylinder “Police Interceptor” will fill in for the legendary Panther when the expensive Canadians who assemble Town Cars, Mercury Grand Marquises, and “the last of the [real] Interceptors” are canned as “centrally-planned” in the next couple of years.
These are the sorts of “steady Eddie” bureaucrats and bean-counters who, armed with charts and reams of “market research,” convinced everyone that the lack-luster Edsel would succeed. They are the know-it-all “no” brigade. They perennially seem to think that “just good enough” to snag some “market share” (thereby justifying their continued employment)is the only goal.
They're the “appliance motorists” who cannot see the folly in sending a Mustang GT to market that’s down 100 horsepower to its competitors.
They’re the ones who have no understanding of the aftermarket.
They’re the ones who are willfully ignorant about how underpowered Fords are perceived in the marketplace.
They’re the ones who don’t understand the powerful psychology behind V8 power and traditional RWD automobiles.
Ford doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel here. No uni-body cop car will ever match the reliability, durability, and easy maintenance of the strapping, full-frame Panther. Merely pumping up the optional propellant to SVT Cobra levels would go a long way to fending off the charge of the Chargers and the coming invasion of the U.S. Government-backed Australians.
The bureaucrats and bean-counters, however, have too much invested in the death of the Panther to listen to common sense or customer desire.
Deep down, they don’t really care about beating Dodge or GM. They don’t care about building milestone vehicles. They don’t care about Ford’s bulletproof reputation in the fleet markets. All they worry about is being proven “correct” on page 500 of some cost report. All they dream of is forcing fleet customers into some too-small, too-weak, too-slow, lackluster FWD civilian sedan that most of the cops on the beat do not want as a means to slash parts inventories and assembly complexity.
In short, Ford is poised to lose a huge share of the police market because it has chosen to neglect the legendary Panther, instead of building on its herculean strengths.
As for the introductory story, historians recognize that it is about Ford’s Model T. The T once commanded half of the U.S. new car market. Yet Henry Ford’s stubbornness kept FoMoCo from keeping up with the competition. Ex-Ford executive William S. Knudsen used the opportunity to build Chevrolet from an also ran into a juggernaut which outsold Ford.
Ford never really recovered from the time Henry wasted in the mid-20s.
Ford is on the brink of the same disaster today in its police and taxi fleet market. Ford is blowing yet another lead.
Labels: Dodge Charger, Henry Ford, Marauder, Model T, Modular V8, Police Interceptor
posted by Editor at 15:01
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