Ford's New Bulletproof Luxury Car

In Post 9/11 Climate Of Fear, Armored Car Market Has Been Growing

(CBS)  Ford calls it "an elegant answer to a hostile world." It looks like an ordinary limousine. But it's not, reports CBS Correspondent Anthony Mason.

"This is called the Lincoln BPS - Ballistic Protection Series," said Rick Bondy who handles security for the Ford Motor Co.

That's right, an armored Lincoln Town Car.

The BPS is bullet resistant. The doors are reinforced with ceramic and steel. The windows are more than an inch and a half thick.

Handguns and hunting rifles can't penetrate the car. Neither can assault rifles.

This car was Bondy's idea.

A former Secret Service agent, Bondy serves as bodyguard to the company president.

"It boils down to do I wanna stop these. Or do I wanna stop these," he said, holding bullets in his hand.

The price for this kind of peace of mind? About $145,000 a car. And Ford figures it can sell 300 this year.

In the post 9/11 climate of fear, the armored car market has been growing twenty percent a year. GM has also designed an armored version of its Cadillac DeVille.

"You have celebrities, CEOs of companies, VIPS," said security consultant Charles Fredericksen. He says he'd recommend them to his clients.

"They could start firing shots at you. And you're gonna go home and get a new paint job. And everybody's gonna go to bed safe and sound that night," he said.

Even if the tires are shot out, the BPS has "run flat inserts" bolted to the wheel.

"You can drive on all four of them with no tires at all," said Bondy. "But it's just great when somebody's trying to kill you."

Ford likes to say its vehicles help you "escape" everyday hassles. But now it has made a real getaway car.