Ford plans to appeal an Illinois state judge’s decision to order a new crash test to determine how well a boot liner prevents fuel leaks during police car crashes, a spokeswoman told Reuters.
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The report said judge Lloyd Cueto, presiding over an Illinois class action involving Ford Crown Victoria cars used by police departments across the United States, also found that Ford’s mailing of a brochure touting the liner’s effectiveness and questioning tests conducted by the city of Dallas that found otherwise was deceptive.
“Ford’s actions were not inadvertent,” Cueto reportedly said in an order entered on March 11. “This was not a mistake, but rather a deliberate act by Ford Motor Company.”
Reuters said that Cueto ordered Ford to perform a 75-mile-per-hour crash test no later than May 15 and to pay $US62,217.10 in attorney fees.
Reuters noted that the ruling and Ford’s response was the latest in a dispute over Crown Victoria police cars, which have been involved in the deaths of at least 16 police officers.
Ford in June 2003 began selling a “trunk pack” – a reinforced plastic bin designed to keep police equipment from puncturing the fuel tanks of Crown Victorias in a crash, the report said, adding that, in July, Dallas officials said the pack actually caused significant leaks in two crash tests while Ford called the Dallas report irresponsible.
Reuters said Ford then mailed the brochure titled “Setting the record straight on Dallas” to more than 30,000 police customers. The brochure reportedly said the Dallas tests included packs loaded with objects not typically found in police car trunks and equipment that was altered and positioned to produce a failure.
The mailing to Illinois class members was unintentional and an honest mistake, Ford spokeswoman Kathleen Vokes told Reuters. She reportedly added that the carmaker also conducted a successful 75-mile-per-hour crash test of the liner in November with 200 pounds of police equipment.
