Ford Special Service Plug-in Hybrid Sedan: America’s Government Agencies Are About to Get Leaner and Greener [News]

Special Service Plug-in Hybrid
Ford is aiming the Special Service Plug-in Hybrid at police and government customers. [Photo: Ford]

America’s government and law enforcement agencies are about to get leaner and greener with the Special Service Plug-in Hybrid Sedan.

As Bob Dylan immortalized in his 1964 song, the times they are a-changing. Not so many years ago, government and law enforcement agencies relied on the LTD-based Crown Victoria to handle their affairs. That sedan was the last of its kind. Body-on-frame construction, a huge V8 engine, its condition aligned squarely with the old school. The Crown Vic was put to pasture in 2011, having dutifully served its country for over 30 years. Now, Ford has just revealed a new service sedan for police and government agencies.

Today’s vehicles are ditching old-school V8s in favor of more fuel-efficient platforms. The Special Service Plug-in Hybrid Sedan can travel 21 miles on pure electric power, up to 85 miles per hour. Catchy name aside, this car and its pursuit-rated hybrid cousin revealed earlier this year symbolize a shift in America’s government fleet vehicles toward more efficient options.

“This is the first Ford police vehicle that can potentially get through an entire shift using no gasoline whatsoever.”

It’s important to note that, obviously, Ford isn’t touting this vehicle as an interceptor. Rather, they’re selling this car to police and fire chiefs, detectives, and other government figures whose jobs don’t require speed. To that end, Ford is pushing this car’s efficiency hard. Once the battery runs down, the Special Service Plug-in Hybrid can run on its gasoline-electric powerplant for more than 500 miles. If you want to run it in electric-only mode, the 3.3-kilowatt charger can charge up the 7.6-kilowatt-hour battery in 2 1/2 hours. Per Ford’s police brand marketing manager, “This is the first Ford police vehicle that can potentially get through an entire shift using no gasoline whatsoever.”

As with the interceptors, the Special Service Plug-in Hybrid features a custom interior. There’s hard-wearing, heavy-duty cloth seats and vinyl rear seats. There’s also a top tray for mounting equipment, a police engine-idle feature, and a “power distribution box” in the trunk.

Government customers will be able to order the Special Service Plug-in Hybrid Sedan this December. When it goes into service, this car will join the Ford Police Responder Hybrid and the F-150 Police Responder.

What do you think of the new Special Service Plug-in Hybrid? Let us know in the comments below.

Special Service Plug-in Hybrid
[Photo: Ford]