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The Future Police
Car: E7 Carbon Motors
Copyright © 2009 ShootDontShoot
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The E7 by Carbon
Motors promises to be the Police Car of the future.
We look at some of the options this new vehicle has to
offer. |
As a
police officer, I've driven at least 10 different model police
cars since I began. Just like writing tickets now with the
eCitation, technology for cars is also growing. Each
car, or truck, brings different aspects to the field, and as a
police officer I had to adjust to those new changes (i.e. truck
as opposed to a car, front wheel drive as opposed to rear,
6-cylender instead
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of
8-cylender, etc.). But now the E7 by Carbon Motors is
promising to be the police car of the future. Some believe
this new car will replace and take over all police car lineups
around the world. Why? From gas mileage, to
performance, to officer satisfaction is what we've found.
Police Cars in use today were not made to be Police Cars
The
vehicles that law enforcement agencies use today are retail
passenger cars that were never designed for law enforcement
usage. All the extra needed law enforcement equipment such
as lights, gun racks, sirens, radios, cameras, etc.) is
purchased |
later
and installed to 'equip" the police car. These extra items
cost departments several thousands of dollars more and cost
money for labor just to have them installed. With the E7,
police departments can but the whole package and not worry about
adding anything, as these police cars are ready to go.
Police Officer Safety
According to Carbon Motors, about 50% of
all officer injuries occur while in the police car. The
argument by Carbon Motors is that yes, these police cars when
they were sold as regular passenger cars (before being outfitted
with police equipment) were tested for safety and met federal
mandates and requirements. However, once the vehicle was
outfitted with sirens, lights, shotgun holders, police cages,
etc., the vehicle is never required to test again. Carbon
Motors believes that with all this extra gear, the police car
would not pass some of the required tests.
To counter this, the E7 claims to: meet or
exceed all federally mandated safety and operational regulations
right off the manufacturer's line, with all law enforcement
equipment installed. The result will be a vehicle that offers
the highest level of protection, performance, and safety for the
men and women charged with ensuring the safety of the American
public.
Fuel Economy
Carbon Motors estimates that the average police car gets between
8-14 miles per gallon and can sometimes drive up to 90,000 miles
a year. The E7 however uses superior technologies to
improve the performance and durability of the law enforcement
vehicle, while also providing up to a 40 percent improvement in
fuel economy. This alone will save taxpayer dollars and
allow those dollars to be better spent.
Emergency Equipment
The
E7 says there should be no reason why any agency would need to
add or modify the vehicle since it will offer all equipment as
factory installed equipment. A major benefit of the E7 is
that this equipment will be engineered to be seamlessly
integrated into the vehicle and be compliant with federal safety
and operational standards. They go on to say that the addition
of after-market items may compromise standard equipment
functionality, may not comply with federal safety standards, and
may invalidate the vehicle warranty. The bottom line is
the E7 has taken all the equipment needs into consideration when
building it, making it completely ready for law enforcement.
Price
Carbon Motors hasn't officially set a price yet. They
claim that their target is to ensure that the initial purchase
price of Carbon’s purpose-built vehicle will be comparable to
what law enforcement agencies are currently paying for a retail
vehicle and after-market equipment combined. The total cost of
ownership is where agencies stand to save a generous sum of
money due to the E7’s superior engineering, durability and
efficiency.
Specifications
OEM Carbon Motors Corporation
Vehicle Platform Codename E7
Brand Carbon Motors™
Nameplate To Be Determined
Assembly Location Under Negotiations
Price Comparable to Retail Passenger Car Outfitted with Law
Enforcement Equipment. Detailed pricing will be announced in a
few months.
Powertrain / Chassis
Engine Forced Induction Diesel
Recommended Fuel Ultra-low sulfur (ULS) Diesel or BioDiesel
Driveline Rear-Wheel-Drive
Horsepower 300 bhp
Torque 420 lb-ft
Transmission 6-Speed Automatic
Front Brakes 14" Vented Discs, ABS
Rear Brakes 13" Vented Discs, ABS
Wheels 18 x 8" Steel
Tires 245/50R18
Front Suspension Struts, coil springs, anti-roll bar
Rear Suspension Multi-link, coil springs, self-leveling shocks,
anti-roll bar
Dimensions
Wheelbase 122.0"
Front Track 66.9"
Rear Track 66.9"
Overall Length 200.0"
Overall Width 78.0"
Overall Height 64.2"
Ground Clearance 7.0"
Curb Weight 4000 lbs
Weight Distribution (front/rear) 50% / 50%
Front Headroom 40.0"
Rear Headroom 38.5"
Front Legroom 45.0"
Cargo Volume 20.0 cu ft
Fuel Capacity 18.0 gallons
Performance
0 - 60 mph 6.5 seconds
Quarter Mile 14.5 seconds @ 98.0 mph
Top Speed 155 mph
Braking 60 - 0 mph 125 feet
Lateral Acceleration 0.85 g
Combined City/Hwy Fuel Economy 28 - 30 mpg
Selected Features and Options
All-new purpose-built vehicle platform exclusively for law
enforcement
•Meets or exceeds all regulatory requirements
•Designed to 250,000 mile durability specification
•Turn-key built-to-direct-order - 24/7/365 call center support
•Turn-key end-of-vehicle-life process
•Comprehensive warranty
•Aluminum spaceframe body structure
•75 mph rear impact crash capability
•Cockpit with fully-integrated factory fitted law enforcement
equipment
•Integrated emergency lights, spot lights, take down lights, and
directional stick
•Segment exclusive coach rear doors for safer suspect ingress
and egress
•Vehicle dynamic control
•Anti-lock brakes
•Optimized approach / departure angles and ground clearance
•NIJ Level III-A (or better) ballistic protection (front doors
and dash panel)
•Purpose-designed seat for use with on-body equipment - Heated
and ventilated seats
•Heads up display
•Reverse backup camera
•Remote start capability
•Driver specific intelligent key
•360 degree exterior surveillance capability
•Automatic license plate recognition system
•Video and audio surveillance of rear passenger compartment
•130hz - 350hz bass siren
•Nightvision compliant interior illumination
•Integrated forward looking infrared system (FLIR)
•Integrated shotgun mounts
•Optimized storage capability (compartment and cargo)
•Integrated front and rear passenger compartment partition
•Hoseable rear passenger compartment
•Integrated push bumpers and PIT capability
What's your opinion?
Other
related articles from ShootDontShoot:
Becoming a Police Officer |
Police Oral Boards |
Police Interview: Tough Questions |
Police Pursuits |
Police
Video Training Course
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permission of ShootDontShoot.com. |
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