It wasn’t just that. While most civilian CV’s didn’t catch fire in rear end collisions, a statistically significant amount of them did.
Specifically, one of my older friends had its corporate twin, the Mercury Grand Marquis. It got rear ended by a drunk driver while parked and the fuel tank ruptured. It was only luck that it didn’t get sparked; and there was nothing in the trunk.
Also, if the problem is police accessory screws being too long, why would a special shield help prevent fire? And why would they also install the shields on Town Cars?
Someone has faulty info here, and it’s not me.
figures please
Specifically, one of my older friends had its corporate twin, the Mercury Grand Marquis. It got rear ended by a drunk driver while parked and the fuel tank ruptured. It was only luck that it didn’t get sparked; and there was nothing in the trunk.
Anecdotal. Here's my anecdote: When I was a child, I had to evacuate my apartment building because a drunk driver rear ended a car parked on the side of the road in which my building was located. The car was not a Crown Vic, yet the fuel tank ruptured and there was a huge fire. The road happened to be a service road for a limited access highway, and the drunk driver was likely doing 60+ mph. Crown Vics are not the only cars which have fuel tanks, and those fuel tanks in any car are susceptible to rupture at highway speeds.
Also, if the problem is police accessory screws being too long, why would a special shield help prevent fire?
You do realize there are multiple ways to get the same results? The shield is between the fuel tank and the rear axle. In the event of a high speed rear end crash, the fuel tank can be pushed into the rear axle, causing it to burst.
However, the majority of the fires in Crown Vics were due to police equipment in the trunk puncturing the tank. (For this, there is also a package called the trunk pack which is a trunk liner.)
If you bothered to read articles at the link you gave me, one of the latest Crown Vic fires was in Texas in 2003. It was determined that the "videotape mounting bracket punctured the tank."
And why would they also install the shields on Town Cars?
They didn't. (Although they did offer it on Town Car based limos.)
Someone has faulty info here, and it’s not me.
I guess the NHTSA has faulty info. They rate the Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis, and Town Car a perfect 5 stars in every crash rating. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration studied Crown Victoria crashes in 2002 and determined the car met safety standards. Many of the police crashes resulted from high-speed incidents that few cars would withstand, the agency ruled.