Ford

Ford

Ford

Scofflaw drivers beware: spotting police vehicles is about to get more challenging. Ford has designed a new lightbar for its Police Interceptor Utility, the big SUV many police departments now drive. Unless its red and blue lights are flashing, the Interceptor is basically invisible.

Life used to be simple. We knew where we stood with the Ford Crown Victoria—unless painted bright yellow it was always a cop car. But the Crown Vic was pretty ancient tech even in the early 1990s, and by 2011 Ford had called time on this rear-wheel drive dinosaur. Based on the Ford Explorer SUV, the Police Interceptor Utility is fast becoming a favorite of law enforcement. With this new lightbar it's going to be even harder to tell whether the big Ford is simply a soccer mom with a penchant for black or John Q. Law.

“Today, agencies typically use aftermarket interior visor light bars that are somewhat bulky and can obstruct the field of vision–especially for taller officers,” said Stephen Tyler, Ford police marketing manager for North American fleet, lease, and remarketing operations. “This extremely low-profile unit is fully integrated where the headliner and top of the windshield meet, for tremendously improved driver visibility versus aftermarket alternatives.”

Here at Ars we can't help feeling sad that the Carbon Motors E7—a purpose-designed patrol car that wasn't based on an existing passenger vehicle—came to naught. We always thought it was cool. Sadly, the company failed back in 2013.