It's never easy to create a new version of something that already exists in a given market. Take, for example, the police car. For decades, the Ford Crown Victoria has been the king of the cop cruiser hill.
Unfortunately, the Panther platform was retired, which means no new Crown Vics were on the way. Other automakers stepped to the plate to provide the next police vehicle, and quite a few options exist currently. From the Dodge Charger to the Ford Explorer, there are many vehicles to choose from. One that police departments around the country won't get to choose is from Carbon Motors.
The Carbon Motors story started in 2008, when the upstart company produced a prototype police car called the E7. It's a purpose-built machine designed to make the lives of patrol men and women easier. After showing the E7 off, the company began a hunt to find funding of all sorts. There were talks of a $310 million dollar federal loan as well as interest from investors, but it ultimately never came to pass. Now, with no money to back it up, Carbon Motors is done and the E7, the company's only asset of any value, is heading to a bankruptcy auction.
The original plan for the E7 was to provide police officers with a vehicle that truly fit their needs. The car would be more efficient thanks to the BMW turbodiesel engines planned to slot under the hood, and the rear-hinged doors would make getting perps in and out much easier. The cops themselves even seemed intrigued by the concept of the E7, but alas it's not to be.
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