Ford Agrees to Police Car Safety Probe

• Crown Vic Disappears from Ford Dealer Lots • Ford Recalls Police Cruiser for Faulty Wheels • New York Taxi Fire Puts Heat on Ford • Ford Offers Retrofit to Prevent Fire in Lincoln Limos • Jury Awards $43 Million in Flaming Lincoln Case • Jury Finds Ford Not Liable in Crown Vic Fire • Ford Recalls Police Cars, Taxis to Fix Different Fire Problem • Chrysler Rolls Out New Dodge Charger Police Car • Arkansas Refuses to Back Down • Illinois Cops Drop Out of Crown Vic Class Action • Dallas to Add Fire Suppressant to Fords • Philadelphia Joins Ford Suits • Police Car Flunks Ford's Own Test, Dallas DA Charges • Ford Will Shield Police Fuel Tanks • Cleveland Files Flaming Ford Suit • Ford Agrees to Police Car Safety Probe • New Jersey City Sues Ford

June 26, 2002
Facing legal action in at least two states, Ford has agreed to examine the cause of gas tank fires in its Crown Victoria police cruisers. At least 11 police officers have died in fires resulting from high-speed collisions involving their Crown Victories over the past 10 years.

Arizona Attorney General Janet Napolitano said Ford agreed to work with her in forming a blue-ribbon commission to study the problem. Napolitano had been pressing for a recall of the popular cruisers, also known as Police Interceptors. New Brunswick, NJ, filed suit against Ford in May, charging that the company has known for decades that the fuel-tank placement in the cars could lead to fires.

Federal safety regulators have already opened an investigation of all Crown Victories, Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Cars built between 1992 and 2001. The rear-wheel-drive sedans share the same frame.

Napolitano had earlier called for the cars to be recalled and fitted with fortified fuel tanks. Like the notorious Ford Pintos implicated in numerous fiery deaths in the 1970s, the police sedans' fuel tanks are situated between the bumper and rear axle.

Critics say the design is unsafe but a Ford spokeswoman said there's nothing unusual about the design. Instead, she it is the high-speed, high-risk police environment that has led to the series of fires.

Napolitano said that the task force will be made up of Ford engineers and outside experts, including active-duty police officers. Their task will be to study the design of the Police Interceptors and recommend improvements.

Clarence Ditlow of the Center for Auto Safety said he expects Ford will eventually have to recall more than 2 million of the sedans.

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