Move over “Kitt,” because the Atlanta-based company, Carbon Motors, has developed America’s first purpose-built law enforcement cruiser that would make David Hasselhoff himself soil his bathing suit.
Enter the Carbon Motors E-7, a vehicle that is specifically designed by law enforcement for law enforcement, and a faster, cheaper and safer vehicle then what the nation’s law enforcement now drives, according to the company.
In most cases, a police car is a former civilian car that has been souped up to include law enforcement needs. But the fire department, ambulances, military, trash collectors, and postal workers all have purpose-built vehicles designed to meet their needs, so why should cops be any different?
“There are over 450,000 law enforcement patrol vehicles across the country,” said Stacy Stephens, co-founder of Carbon Motors and former police officer in the Dallas, Forth Worth Metroplex in the City of Coppell. “And our over 800,000 women and men in uniform are securing our homeland in a vehicle designed in the 1970’s as a passenger car meant for Sunday drives and going to the grocery store. This is not acceptable.”
Funded by the Department of Homeland Security, this Robocar plows through all the stops with some of the most advanced systems available to law officials in the world. These include a license plate camera that can detect up to 1,500 license plates per minute and cross check the tag numbers with national databases and infrared cameras so police can see in the dark.
Additional features include optional armor plating, 360-degree exterior audio and visual surveillance capabilities and radioligcal, chemical and biological sensors.
Because it is built all together, all emergency lights are integrated into the vehicle, the police computer is built into the console, and controls for communications, the radio, and the siren are built into the steering wheel. And let’s not forget the heated and cooled cup holders for all those long patrols, and the purpose built seat that allows the officer to sit for 8-12 hours without having their holster tearing the seats or creating back problems.
“The seats in Carbon’s E7 are designed around the officer and his or her gear,” Stephens said. “And I’m sure we’d all agree that if one encounters an officer for ‘official business’ you don’t want that officer cranky from an uncomfortable seat.”
While the E-7 is not bulletproof like “Kitt,” it comes close. A special film manufactured by Soliant in Lancaster, South Carolina, which withstands dents, dings and is a lot easier to repair, covers the bumper, hood, roof, doors, and even the 911 sticker above the back tires. Combine all this and you have one hell of a ride Robocop himself wishes he could cruise around in, but we haven’t even mentioned performance.
The futuristic cop car cranks out 40 percent more miles per gallon than the Ford Crown Victoria – more bad news for Detroit - and can run its 300 horsepower engine from 0-60 in 6.5 seconds on vegetable oil (biodiesel) with a top speed of 155 mph (hint hint).
Current estimates place the nation’s fleet of law enforcement vehicles burning through 1.5 billion gallons of fuel and emitting 14 million tons of CO2 each year – a problem the ironically named Carbon Motors company wants to tackle.
“Carbon Motors has four goals,” continued Stephens. “To improve officer safety, save taxpayer dollars, be environmentally responsible, and manufacture the E7 in the United States.”
While Carbon Motors has kept the price on the down-low, they say it will be competitive with what the local police departments are now spending.
Currently, the company is considering states where a manufacturing facility could be placed, which could mean 10,000 new jobs by 2010 and a $3 billion positive economic impact on the region in which they choose to locate. Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Michigan and Indiana are all being considered.
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