Detroit police intervention required

Ford

Australia will need help from Detroit to win a prestigious contract with police forces in Australia.

The Mustang was looking good for a pursuit car role with the cops until failing its first big test with the NSW highway patrol. But Ford insiders say the failure, down to the automatic transmission, could easily be reversed with some extra engineering input from the USA to beef up driveline components for the rigours of high-speed action.

The Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore have been the staple diet of highway patrol officers since the 1970s, when a wide range of cars – from the Mini Cooper S to Valiant Charger and Holden Torana GTR – were used for pursuit work.

More than 1000 are currently in use but they face an instant expiry once the Ford and Holden factories are both closed by the end of 2017.

Ford was predictably upset about the test results at the NSW police academy in Goulburn, where the car was fine on brakes but suffered from an overheating automatic transmission.

Company spokesman Wes Sherwood says Ford can overcome the problem if police are keen on the car. “We are confident the Mustang would help officers chase down bad guys if put into service,” he says.

w