The world's first "purpose-built" police cars will roll out in style in 2012, sporting BMW engines and transmissions, along with LED lighting, automatic license plate recognition, tire pressure monitoring and a multitude of other state-of-the-art technologies.
The alliance with BMW also serves as a boost for the law enforcement community, which is growing increasingly aware of — and anxious for — the highly publicized E7. The start-up company says it already has booked 12,000 reservations for vehicles, despite the fact that the first cars won't roll out for two more years.
"We asked 3,500 law enforcement professionals from all 50 states a simple question: "What do you want, need and desire in a vehicle?'" says William Santana Li, chairman and CEO of Carbon Motors. "And they helped us come up with just over 100 key requirements. This vehicle is designed from the ground up, bumper to bumper, by cops, for cops."
High-Tech Mission Engineered by a team of automotive veterans under the direction of former Texas police officer Stacy Dean Stephens, the E7 reportedly is the first vehicle to be designed from scratch as a police car. Up to now, police vehicles have typically been bought from dealerships as retail passenger cars, endowed with specialized "police packages" by manufacturers, then outfitted with lights, sirens, partitions, gun mounts and numerous other aftermarket devices.
When Carbon Motors launched its company seven years ago, however, its founders wanted to change that methodology. They planned for the E7 to be "purpose-built" with the latest in "presence awareness" LED technology and CAD-designed operator comforts. They also foresaw it being entirely engineered and designed using CAD technology. CAD design software will help create an ergonomically sound cockpit. The company's engineers are also working with Lear Corp. on specialized seats "designed for large people carrying lots of equipment."
By also employing the same L3 Communications intelligence and surveillance electronics currently found in modern military aircraft, the E7 will also boast a state-of-the-art modern human-machine interface. "All important readouts will be readily visible on the vehicle's HUD (heads up display) system so that the officer's eyes never have to leave the road," says Trevor J. Rudderham, vice president and chief development officer for the E7.
Making police vehicles more functional is a mission for the company, which is why it's working with Federal Signal Corp. on the development of an automatic license plate monitoring system. By employing such technology, Carbon Motors hopes to make the already harrowing job of a police professional more doable. "Imagine an officer talking and having to punch in a license plate number at the same time," Li says. "We're going to have cameras all around the vehicle, capable of automatically scanning 1,500 license plates per minute, so they don't have to worry about doing it themselves."
Safety has also been a major focus in the construction of the company's concept demonstration vehicle. All potential protocol scenarios have been deeply explored to prepare the car for any police-related task. Examples of overall improvements can be seen throughout the design, from the "hose-off-clean plastic" rear compartment, conveniently located shotgun holsters and seats that will comfortably enable officers to drive fully equipped with side arms.
The car's aluminum space frame is also responsible for a number of positive attributes from weight savings and durability to reduction of initial investment. Though traditionally a feature reserved by professional race teams, aluminum frames are increasingly being employed by high-volume automakers, including Ferrari, Jaguar and Lotus (who had a hand in the E7's design). "While these automakers use aluminum frames mostly for weight savings, we have gone so far as to use them to eliminate maintenance, production and environmental costs," Rudderham says. Moreover, the E7's frame does not require paint. Carbon Motors anodizes its aluminum so corrosion is not an issue. By not requiring paint there are tremendous reductions in CO2 emissions during the manufacturing phase.
The E7 has many other "green construction" features, including use of woven, thermoplastic composites, which provide rigidity for body paneling and lower replacement costs. In another effort to reduce department costs, Carbon Motors will stock replacement panels, which will be sold with individual department vehicle graphics already installed. "Our panels can easily be replaced by agencies due to our use of simple fasteners and safe automotive adhesives," Rudderham says.
TOMAR Electronics Inc. was responsible for the 600 high-intensity LED lights built into the body paneling of the E7, but Rudderham says that number will be significantly reduced in the production version with virtually no loss in lighting output. This multitude of LEDs was required to assure full vehicle visibility when activated. The 600 LED lights are divided into 24 flush-mounted groupings.
"All too often, officers become victims of inattentive drivers while undergoing routine traffic stops," Stephens says. "By providing lighting in all 360 degrees around the vehicle, we are hoping to drastically reduce these deadly accidents." The lighting is also effective in providing a more noticeable police presence, which research by FSU law professor Jonathan Klick, and several others, has proven to reduce criminal activity. Officers will also have use of a 130 to 350 Hz bass siren to alert the public of their arrival.
Long Overdue Carbon Motors says the BMW powertrain will have a significant effect on fuel efficiency. According to the company's estimates, the U.S. law enforcement fleet currently consumes about 1.5 billion gallons of gasoline and emits approximately 14 million tons of CO2 annually. The company claims it can reduce those figures by 40 percent.
Carbon Motors' ongoing Pure Justice Tour, which has already made stops in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Phoenix and numerous other cities, is enabling the company's engineers to evaluate and refine the E7. It's also given Carbon Motors a chance to showcase the vehicle for law enforcement officials, thus making its case for the concept.
"Detroit won't make a purpose-built police car," says Li, whose company is headquartered in Connersville, IN. "Hospitals, fire departments, military fleets and garbage men all have them. But eight years after 9/11, this country's first responders still don't have them. We want to change that."
Senior Technical Editor Charles J. Murray contributing to this story.
Carbon Motors, a boutique automobile firm, is aiming to become one of the country's leading suppliers of police cars. The company has been holding out for more than two years for a federal loan to make the vehicles it wants to make. One of the company's executives has just prepared an open letter to the White House cabinet. The business wants the federal loan it applied for two years ago to be approved, so it can start supplying the country's police with cars. Hopefully the <a title="Loving the highway, needing a cash loan" href="https://personalmoneynetwork.com/cash-advance/">cash advance</a> will help the company get all of the cars built.
By experimenting with the photovoltaic reaction in solar cells, researchers at MIT have made a breakthrough in energy efficiency that significantly pushes the boundaries of current commercial cells on the market.
In a world that's going green, industrial operations have a problem: Their processes involve materials that are potentially toxic, flammable, corrosive, or reactive. If improperly managed, this can precipitate dangerous health and environmental consequences.
With LEDs dropping in price virtually every year, automakers have begun employing them, not only on luxury vehicles, but on entry-level models, as well.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
To save this item to your list of favorite Design News content so you can find it later in your Profile page, click the "Save It" button next to the item.
If you found this interesting or useful, please use the links to the services below to share it with other readers. You will need a free account with each service to share an item via that service.
Tweet This
3 
