Ford Motor Company Feud with the Police

Big hat tip to Ravenwood's Universe on this major piece of irony.

There's this little class action lawsuit against Ford by a bunch of police departments in Illinois. Seems that when someone crashes into the back of the Crown Vic at high speed, the gas tank gets punctured. Surprise surprise.

So Ford decides that since these people are suing them, they won't sell them cars. Shouldn't be a shocker there right? Oh no.

"The Crown Vic is the only game in town, but it's a very dangerous game," said Trish Murphy, a trial attorney involved in the state lawsuit filed almost two years ago in St. Clair County Circuit Court.

So now a bunch of them want out of the class action lawsuit so they can buy more Fords. Of course, they are whining about it.

"This whole thing has been confusing from the start," said Buffalo Grove police Cmdr. Steve Husak, whose department doesn't plan to continue to be a party to the suit. "Class-action suits come and go, and nobody pays attention or considers how it might impact them."

McHenry County officials have hired an attorney to represent nine municipalities that want out of the lawsuit, said county attorney Richard Flood.

"Ford has generated a lot of ill will among municipalities, but many feel they have no choice but to continue with the Crown Vic," Flood said.

Ill will? You use the car as a tank, and when there is an accident you sue them for it complaining that they didn't design it like a tank. Who's the idiot here?

But if more departments choose to leave the lawsuit, questions about the car's safety may never be addressed, said Murphy, who added that plaintiffs want Ford to install fire suppression systems in it.

Fire suppression system? Does any other stock vehicle for passenger use have a fire suppression system? What planet is this lady from? Oh, wait, She's a LAWYER.

Note also:

Though federal regulators and a jury in an earlier phase of the trial determined that the car was safe, the judge in the suit, filed by dozens of police agencies in the state, is still considering safety and consumer fraud allegations against Ford. Meanwhile, attorneys are appealing the jury decision.

Gotta have those legislative judges jumping in here also. Consumer fraud? Hmm. I don't recall ever seeing any advertisements stating the Crown Vic is safe for high speed rear end collisions.

Here's the final laugh:

The City of Northlake is slowly converting its fleet from Crown Vics to the smaller and less powerful Chevy Impalas, said Mayor Jeffrey Sherwin.

"Ford's response is just punitive," he said, "and we won't allow ourselves to be bullied."

Just being punitive. You moron. You use the car for something it's not built for and when it has problems you sue. Wouldn't you be surprised if they didn't pull their hand out of the fire rather than continue to be burnt? And, how smart can you be to continue buying a car you consider defective. Who set up this brain trust in any case?