Ford to pay for shield gas tanks on police cars

<br>(Scottsdale, Arizona-AP) -- The Ford Motor Company will pay to modify Crown Victoria police cars to protect their gas tanks, which have been prone to rupture and catch fire after high-speed, rear-end

Friday, September 27th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Scottsdale, Arizona-AP) -- The Ford Motor Company will pay to modify Crown Victoria police cars to protect their gas tanks, which have been prone to rupture and catch fire after high-speed, rear-end collisions.

Company and government officials made that announcement today at a news conference in Scottsdale.

Ford's agreement to pay for the modifications and to study ways to make the cars safer come after a dozen police officers -- including three in Arizona -- were killed in fiery crashes.

The vice president of engineering for Ford says the company is responding to concerns raised by police nationwide though she maintains the Crown Victoria is a safe car.

Shields made of plastic polymers and rubber will be installed on the rear axle, the differential and underneath the tank of the cars.

Those components have either been faulted in accidents or showed the potential to puncture the gas tank in crash tests.

Ford officials decline to say how much the modifications will cost.

But a source familiar with the situation says it would cost about 50 (m) million dollars to retrofit 350-thousand Crown Victorias.

Approximately 80 percent of police cars on the road in the United States are Ford Crown Victorias.