DALLAS City sues Ford for data on cruisers

Ford said it would take six months to provide information on the cars' fuel system, so the city sued.
DALLAS (AP) -- The city sued Ford Motor Co. to obtain internal documentation on Crown Victoria police cars that officers' groups say are prone to erupt in flames when hit from behind at high speeds, though the automaker insists it hasn't withheld information.
"We're disappointed," Ford spokeswoman Kristen Kinley said Thursday. "We've been cooperating with them."
The city is asking a state court to force Ford to provide information on the vehicles' fuel system integrity.
The petition is part of the city's investigation into whether the October death of a Dallas police officer resulted from a defect in the police-issued Crown Victoria's design. Officers' groups have said the vehicles are prone to burn when hit from behind at high speeds.
After two weeks of talks, the city was forced to file the lawsuit when Ford said it would take six months to provide the requested information, City Attorney Madeleine Johnson said.
Crash-testing information
The city wants information on crash testing on Crown Victorias equipped with gas tank shields. Detroit-based Ford announced in September it would pay to retrofit police-issued Crown Victorias with the shields, but the city is investigating whether such shields are effective, the petition stated.
Dallas officials also want information from Ford about "bladders," or sacks that protect fuel from igniting.
Although Kinley said the company had offered the city depositions on gas shield testing, she said Ford's research on bladder technology was just beginning.
"The answers that they're looking for don't even exist yet," Kinley said.
The company continues to maintain the Crown Victoria is one of the safest vehicles on the road, arguing that the problem is not with the car but from the way it is used.
"[Police officers] are using their vehicles as shields and these vehicles are not designed to be shields; they're designed to be cars," Ford spokeswoman Carolyn Brown said. "It's a scenario that spells disaster."