New police cruiser unveiled to chiefs

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- A new technologically advanced police cruiser was unveiled to hundreds of U.S. police chiefs at a recent San Diego convention, experts say.

Carbon Motors Chief Executive Officer William Li said his company's Carbon E7 police cruiser was designed to enhance law enforcement efforts with automatic license-plate scanners and other advanced equipment, The Christian Science Monitor said Wednesday.

"It's really a homeland security machine, not a cop car," Li said of the Atlanta company's creation.

The vehicle is equipped with sensors that can detect weaponry, a biodiesel engine and a drive-train that improves the cruiser's mileage. While its per unit cost wasn't reported, the company has touted the vehicle's available 300-horsepower.

In order to justify a full run of the advanced cruisers in 2012, Carbon Motors must sell nearly 20,000 of the vehicles to police officials nationwide.

But Brett Smith, a Center for Automotive Research senior policy analyst, said the time is right for a new updated vehicle to be introduced by a smaller start-up company.

"Unlike any time since the beginning of the auto industry," Smith told the Monitor. "There are market segments that larger car companies, especially in difficult economic times, don't have the resources to go after."