Lincoln longer bullet-proof car：

From the outside it looks deceptively like other Town Cars, the ubiquitous vehicle of choice in the U.S. livery business. But with a price tag starting at $144,995, it's about $100,000 more expensive and features a reinforced body that can withstand rounds from high-powered or high-velocity assault rifles and submachine guns.

It's "an elegant answer to a hostile world," according to a brochure from Ford's luxury Lincoln division. "A barrier against bigger, faster bullets," adds the brochure.

Richard Bondy, a former Secret Service agent who works for Ford, described the rolling fortress to reporters as "a car that has a substantially higher ballistic level" than any other automaker has offered commercially in the United States.

Initially, Ford says it only plans to sell about 300 a year. But Bondy said worldwide sales of armored cars have grown about 20 percent annually over the past few years, to about 20,000 vehicles. And he and others at Ford clearly see potential beyond 300 sales a year.

At first the car will only be offered in the United States, according to its marketing manage, John Anderson. But he said it would soon be introduced in parts of the Middle East, followed by Mexico, Europe, Asia and elsewhere in Latin America.

Any country facing threats from guerrilla groups, kidnapping, and rampant crime would seem to be fertile ground for the car, and corporate and government clients are likely to give it close consideration alongside armored models from the likes BMW and the Mercedes division of DaimlerChrysler.

"Security consultants can have a major impact on the sale of this vehicle," Anderson said.

The Lincoln has higher levels of protection than an armored version of the Cadillac Deville that rival General Motors Corp. plans to roll out later this year, and that alone could attract potentially unsavory customers like mobsters and drug lords.