Ford touts its 2021 F-150 Police Responder as “America’s only purpose-built pursuit pickup truck.
Ford
The next time you are stopped, it could be by an officer in a Ford pickup truck instead of a traditional ‘police car’.
Ford Motor unveiled its new F-150 Police Responder for 2021 on Tuesday, ahead of the state and local government bidding cycles in the spring. Commercial vehicles, such as police vehicles, have been a focus of the company under Ford CEO Jim Farley, who took over from Jim Hackett in October.
According to a Ford Motor spokeswoman, demand for a police version of Ford’s F-150 has grown steadily since its introduction in 2017. She declined to disclose specific sales of the pursuit-rated pickup or Ford’s range of police vehicles.
The change from police cars to commercial vehicles such as pickups and SUVs represents a bigger trend with auto manufacturers away from passenger cars. Ford retired its last police car, a Ford Taurus, a few years ago. According to the company, a police version of its Ford Explorer is now the best-selling model.
2021 F-150 police responder
Ford
The police pickup is based on the consumer version of the truck, but includes special options and tuning to “meet strict law enforcement use” at speeds of up to 200 km / h. The pickup also features a new “police engine idle”, which allows officers to remove the keys from the ignition and safely exit the truck with the engine running at the touch of a button.
The new police pickup truck, like the consumer truck, offers remote or over-the-air connectivity and data and telematics analytics to improve uptime, operating costs and vehicle handling. Customers can also choose to order a vehicle without the front console between the driver and front passenger, making it easier for agencies to install their own department-specific consoles.