Ford Will Now Help You Get Pulled Over More Efficiently With The First Hybrid Police Car

We've known since early this year that Ford is committing to hybrid vehicles across the board, with hybrid F-150s and Mustangs in the works, as well as police vehicles. The first of their hybrid cop cars is now available, with the catchy name of Ford Police Responder Hybrid Sedan. That's just the cop-talk name for a hybrid Fusion with steelies and two-tone paint.

The new hybrid cop car will first be deployed in Los Angeles and New York. Since fuel for police cars is paid for via municipal taxes, the fuel economy benefits of a hybrid police car should benefit everybody, at least a little bit.

Hybrid cars in police service aren't new; Prius meter-tenders and parking-enforcement vehicles have been around for over a decade, but this is the first time a hybrid has been used as a 'pursuit-rated' police vehicle. That tough-sounding rating just means that this will be used as a conventional police cruiser, which could include pursuit-related tasks.

The hybrid cars are expected to get a combined 38 miles per gallon, significantly better than Ford's current V6 Fusion-based Interceptor Sedan, which makes 18 combined MPG.

Cop cars spend a lot of time idling, and Ford has addressed that need specifically:

While idling, the Police Responder Hybrid Sedan's lithium-ion battery helps power the high electrical loads of a police vehicle, reducing engine run time and saving an estimated 0.27 gallons of fuel per hour. Police Responder Hybrid Sedan customers could see nearly $3,900 a year in potential fuel savings per vehicle relative to the Police Interceptor, if a police vehicle is driven 20,000 miles per year, runs two shifts per day, 365 days per year, idles 4.9 hours per 8-hour shift, and is fueled at an average gas price of $2.50/gallon.

The Police Hybrid Interceptor can run in electric-only mode up to 60 mph, which should help with sneaking up on masked criminals tiptoeing around with big grey satchels of money, often stamped with a telltale $ sign.