New police car The Ford Interceptor

[kindachilin]

Press the electrically triggered chrome door handle and the door pops open. The sculpted one-piece leather seats are as stiff as the suspension, and you slide onto them as into a Barcelona chair. A 21st-century "shaker" looms in your view, and the rest of the hood is long and upright...you're overlooking a similar expanse of sheetmetal as in a Chrysler 300. Hit the electronic ignition button on the headliner just aft of the header, and the 5.4-liter V-8 fires up with a rumble.

Ford Interceptor Concept Front Seven Eighths View
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The clutch is a bit heavier than a Mustang GT's, but it releases smoothly and progressively. This big sedan is easy to drive-if you're into low-riders. It bounces along the smooth test road like a candy-colored 1964 Impala on the haunches of its hydraulics. It feels like one good bump could launch it into the air. You shift cleanly into second gear, but that's all she'll show today.

Interceptor. It's just another Ford concept car. A nice piece of eye candy designed to take your attention away from the real horror story playing out in Dearborn amid collapsing sales, massive losses, and a demoralized workforce. Don't you believe it: Even as you read this, Dearborn insiders are sweating the details on a secret plan to radically change the way FoMoCo develops new cars and trucks. And the Interceptor reveals a key part of that plan.

Two things make the Interceptor important: the way it looks and the way it drives. Especially the way it drives. Ignore the fact the Interceptor rolls on a cobbled-together Mustang platform with a nonexistent show-car suspension. It's the thinking behind the car that matters. And the thinking is this: Ford wants an all-new rear-drive sedan for North America by 2011 or 2012.

Ford Interceptor Concept Side View
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Not that long ago, rear drive was on life support at Ford. The company had axed the slow-selling Lincoln LS sedan and Ford Thunderbird, both built on the expensive DEW98 platform shared with the Jaguar S-Type, and announced the plants building the Lincoln Town Car, Mercury Grand, Marquis, and Ford Crown Victoria would be closed in 2010. Under this scenario (Motor Trend, August 2006), the Mustang would be the only rear-drive Ford car on sale in America by 2011.

Now, under new CEO Alan Mulally, Ford is rethinking rear drive for North America. Insiders say Mulally has looked at what GM has done to reinvent Cadillac, seen the buzz it's generated around new rear-drive cars like the Chevy Camaro, Pontiac G8, and the Chinese-market Buick Park Avenue (all based on the Australian-developed Zeta rear-drive architecture), and asked: "Why can't we do that?"

Ford Interceptor Concept Rear Plate
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It's more than just an obvious question. It also addresses a major dilemma for two key Ford products, the Mustang and Ford Australia's Falcon. The Mustang has been a runaway hit for Ford, but by 2011 the platform will have been in production for seven years, and its live rear axle is no match for the sophisticated independent rearends under the newer Camaro and Dodge Challenger. Down in Australia, the Falcon, Ford's rear-drive rival to GM's Holden Commodore, is getting a major overhaul for 2008, but its platform dates back to 1998.

Neither platform has the volume (2006 sales totaled 160,000 Mustangs and 50,000 Falcons and variants) to justify an all-new replacement each. So Mulally has asked for a plan to bring Ford's rear-drive cars together onto a single, global vehicle architecture. That means Mustang and Falcon. And it also means potential replacements for the Lincoln Town Car, Mercury Grand Marquis, and Ford Crown Victoria. Which is where Interceptor comes in.

[aniki]

badass

[88shpquest]

the reason why ford is broke

[kindachilin]

this car is at the show we set up, it is awsome ass car, along with some other conceptys that I saw, over 40 million bucks worth of car's there

the show starts today and ends sunday.
go and enjoy, me and my guys busted our ass opff to set it up, and it's worth going to check out

and the new skyline and supra concept is very appeling

[murderrsirenss]

wanna-be 300

[mitch]

yea this car was pretty bad ass

[Quick Shot xMLx]

They've been talking about this car for a while now and I think it's pretty cool. Funny how it has a better motor than the Mustang lolz.

The Big 3 are just retarded though, they can make good trucks, sporty and sports cars, big sedans, but holy shit if it can't take a V8 it's a steaming pile of shit.

If any one of them could come up with a true and viable competition on the entry/mid level sedan field(Corolla/Civic and Camry/Accord area) with a decent 4 banger and V6 that get good gas mileage, they can come back and recover after the economy gets the fuck out of the toilet. That is if people are willing to go out and buy the cars instead of running over to your local Toyota dealership.

[tehrick88]

ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

idk what to think...

[BIG RICH]

i think it is ugly as fuck

[boogerboy72]

i dont understand why were changing it. the crown vics have less issues, get better mpg and are a better car than then chargers.

[Quick Shot xMLx]

Originally Posted by boogerboy72

i dont understand why were changing it. the crown vics have less issues, get better mpg and are a better car than then chargers.

They just don't have the looks to compete with the Charger/300. Car hasn't seen a re-design in over a decade.

[boogerboy72]

Originally Posted by Quick Shot xMLx

They just don't have the looks to compete with the Charger/300. Car hasn't seen a re-design in over a decade.

why fix what isnt broken?

[Omega]

Looks like something from the Island!