Ford is rolling out new doors that protect against armor-piercing bullets. According to the Associated Press, the doors are designed to stop a .30-caliber bullet shot from a high-powered rifle. The doors will even offer some protection in the event that a shooter hits the same place twice.
Until now, Ford only had an optional door that, for $1,500 per door, protected against handguns and non-armor piercing bullets, although pricing for the upgraded protection hasn't been announced yet.
The panels have two layers. The outside is a ballistic-grade ceramic tile that disperses the energy and starts to break the bullet into pieces. The inner layer, made of the same stuff used for Kevlar, catches the bullet shrapnel.
The new doors are much heavier, so engineers also had to make sure that the hinges could hold them.
New technology is still needed for the windows as bulletproof glass is not only too heavy, but it also makes it difficult to get injured people out of the car in case of an emergency.
Unfortunately, the doors aren't available to the public. The authorities actually destroy them after police cars are retired so they can't get into criminals' hands.
For David Mantey, this is IEN Now.
