Police say Crown Victoria Has a Rust Secret

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. December 3, 2002; The AP reports that Police departments in Connecticut and other states are taking some of their Ford Crown Victoria Interceptors off the streets because the police cars' frames are rusting.

The Crown Victoria also was recently investigated by the government for gas tank fires linked to the deaths of 12 officers.

Some 350,000 Crown Victorias are used by police departments across the country, accounting for about 80 percent of police cars on the road in the United States.

East Hartford pulled eight cruisers off the road in November, the Journal Inquirer of Manchester reported last week. The South Bend, Ind., police department removed 70 of its 111 Crown Victorias from the streets earlier this year because of rust. Departments in Elyria and Lorain, Ohio, have also pulled some of the cars.

Ford spokesman Todd Nissen said the rusted frames do not necessarily mean the cars are unsafe.

"We haven't received any reports of injuries related to this," he said. "We looked into it, and we did not feel it was a widespread problem."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in October closed its investigation of the fires, saying that the car exceeds federal standards for fuel system safety and that the rate of fires was no greater than that of Chevrolet Caprice police cars.

Ford has agreed to pay for the installation of shields around the gas tanks on Crown Victoria police cars to reduce the chances that the vehicles will burst into flames after a crash.