Illinois police who joined a class action lawsuit against Ford claiming the Crown Victoria Interceptors were unsafe are dropping out of the suit.
Ford told the police it would stop selling them the special police model of the Crown Vic if they didn't drop the legal action, which claims the cars tend to burst into flames when hit from behind.
Switching to another make of vehicle would cost police departments millions of dollars. And besides, most police officers prefer the Crown Victoria Interceptor to other patrol cars.
Lawyers representing police departments suing the automaker suggest that Ford is using strong-arm tactics. The automaker responds that it is not trying to force anyone to do anything.
A Ford spokesman says that the bottom line is that either they are serious about the lawsuit and the claims in the lawsuit or they're not. He said that if police consider the vehicle to be unsafe they ought not to expect Ford Motor Co. to continue to supply the vehicles.
While Ford implemented its no-sale policy in 2003 when the lawsuit was certified as a class action, it appears that departments are now scrambling to be dropped from the lawsuit because this is the first time since then they have tried to buy cars.
In all, Ford says about 120 police agencies across the state have dropped out of the lawsuit and dozens more have filed motions to do the same.
