March 28, 2005
The state of Arkansas is brushing off Ford Motor Company's hardball tactics and is pushing ahead with its action against the carmaker.
Attorney General Mike Beebe says investigators from his Consumer Protection Division believe that they have finally received most of the documents requested from Ford in the state's investigation of pricing and marketing practices for the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, the vehicle of choice for most law enforcement agencies in the U.S.
Ford has told police departments around the nation that it will stop selling them the special police model of the Crown Vic if they don't drop the legal action, which claims the cars tend to burst into flames when hit from behind. Several Illinois departments dropped out last week.
"While I sympathize with the position Ford has put these police agencies in by withholding or delaying delivery of police cars, my office must continue to be thorough with our investigation," Beebe said. "I intend to take all the investigative steps necessary to ensure confidence in our findings."
Ford has begun to deliver Crown Victoria Police Interceptors to some Arkansas city and county police agencies that signed waivers regarding Ford's liability for the 2005 Crown Victoria models.
Other agencies have been denied delivery of their cars despite the fact that the state's investigation only involves police cars sold to State Police and State Capitol Police. Arkansas officials point out such steps have never been taken in any state by Ford during an investigation where no legal action has been pursued, until now.
"The federal government has announced this week that it will investigate safety concerns regarding other Ford vehicles," Beebe added. "I am interested to see whether that investigation will also prompt Ford to respond by cutting off deliveries of those vehicles to consumers nationwide, or if such tactics are being reserved solely for use against Arkansas police agencies."
Beebe said the documents submitted by Ford are voluminous and many are scientifically complex. He said it will take months for the expert he's hired to fully interpret and analyze them.
