Crown Vic prepares to give up its scepter
click above image to view more pics of the Ford Crown Victoria
According to Ford sources who gossiped to Ward's Auto, the Ford Crown Victoria won't be available on retail lots after 2008. From 2009, the only folks who can buy one are police and taxi drivers. Even that frontier is being threatened, with police departments snapping up Dodge Chargers and Chevy Impalas. New York's taxi fleet has to go hybrid by 2012, and Ford is pushing the Escape Hybrid to replace 2,500 Vics on Big Apple streets.
If you've got to have a full-sized rear-driver from the Blue Oval, the Mercury Grand Marquis will still be available. The Marquis is apparently much more popular with the public than the Vic, with nearly 38,280 Marquis' sold by dealers in the first nine months of this year. Compare that to the Crown Victoria, which moved 3,000 Vics to retail buyers in all of 2006. I guess this means we'll have to start looking out for Charger headlights in our rearview mirrors at night...
[Source: Wards Auto]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
ionosphere 4:59PM (1/24/2008)
I have on order a new 2008 Grand Marquis. I think nothing compares to the comfort and roominess of this "last of the land yachts". Just look at all the great big American cars from the seventies and eighties. I'll take those anyday over the crap they peddle on us now like Honda Accords.
Long live the land yachts! May your big trucks forever grace the highway.
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Pkempson 12:37PM (3/05/2008)
I own a crown vic and love it to death, but it saddens me to see the new accord with 260 hp out of a v6. Unfortunately for all of us almost no one except for chevy wtih the ls7 is really putting any new engineering into v8s
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compy386 8:24AM (11/01/2007)
I was under the impression this already happened.
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The Other Bob 8:49AM (11/02/2007)
"...police departments snapping up Dodge Chargers and Chevy Impalas."
This isn't true.
The Charger is considered too cramped for cops with utiltiy belts on, has too small of a trunk and too small of a rear seat for police duty uses. Plus it is much more expensive for the government to buy than the Crown Vic. The Impalas, while fine for light duty use, are not the battering ram that the police prefer.
If the Crown Vic goes away completely, maybe they will get stuck with the Charger, or will go to the RWD Impala when it comes out in a few years.
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tanooki2003 9:03AM (11/01/2007)
Yaaay Finally Ford NA is stepping in the right direction.
Death to the god awful panther platform has finally started. Maybe now they will come up with something at least modern within the 2 year span that will replace this ugly fat pig-mobile. This car, along with the Grand Marquis do not have a place in this universe anymore and should have been dead in 1999.
...Next on Autoblog News a mob, mostly consisting of senior citizens, of pro RWD, boat sized, turtle slow American sedan lynch group holding flaming torches flood the outside of Ford Motor Headquarters.
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LloydChiro 12:12PM (11/01/2007)
Turtle slow? Well, compared to the Charger it is. But compared to most of the econo-boxes out there, it's fast.
Besides, it's a sleeper. After buying my MGM Panther, I find that I can get away with multiform huliganisms like driving sideways on slick roads and passing other cars and I still don't stand out from the crowd.
Here's what Ford should do. They need to develop the platform, and not let it stagnate. Put in a modern engine and transmission. Tighten up the chassis and suspension. Refine it. I think it's a great package; it's body on frame just like the legendary Mercedes G-wagon. The G-Wagon is centuries old, but Benz has made it luxury, and it is a cult car.
Will 9:08AM (11/01/2007)
Glad the Grand Marquis is staying around because in my opinion it is still the best full-size sedan on the market today. Thats to bad for the Crown Vic it a pretty nice car to but can't say that I will miss it..
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Igor Holas 9:15AM (11/01/2007)
welcome to 5 months ago ..
the 08 Crown Vic is fleet only and was removed from the fordvehicles.com at the beginning of the summer.
GM and TC will continue to be offered through retail for a couple more years. CV and TC will definitely continue to be produced at least for fleets until the new RWD sedans come online between 2010 and 2012.
Igor
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Jerk Face 9:17AM (11/01/2007)
I had to drive a Grand Marquis as a rental when my car was in the shop and I hated every second of it. I can't believe people still buy these things!
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geo.stewart 9:51AM (11/01/2007)
its all about what you want.
its not my cup of tea either, but neither is the camry, accord, corolla,...
I can see where it would be appealing though. full size, bulletproof, cheap to maintain, and there are enough baby boomers on up who want that feel.
put into perspective. 40K cars a year is 8x the no of challengers being put out next yr.
that's 2x jaguar sales
thats 1/2 of audi sales
= Mini sales
= saab sales
=porsche sales
Jared 9:50AM (11/01/2007)
I drove a Grand Marquis rental car last year. I can't believe they get people to actually buy this piece of junk. The interior sucked. Quality control was poor (rubber sealing was pulling away from one of the doors). Interior room is relatively poor for so large a car. Performance and handling were a joke.
Put a fork in the Panther platform. It's done.
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Sam 10:01AM (11/01/2007)
damn, i always liked Ford having a car from the 1970s in the showroom.
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Gavin 10:22AM (11/01/2007)
All this means is that more oldies will be buying more Camrys...I swear, every time I'm out on the road I'm stuck behind a Q-tip doing 25 mph in a Camry. Never truer a slogan was uttered when the ad said: 'The Car in Front is a Toyota'!
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Yggdrasilly 10:31AM (11/01/2007)
I took my driving tests in a Ford LTD, back in the 70's. It was a little scary: looking out over the vast, windswept expanse of the hood, I expected to see a brace of F-14s poised on smoking catapults: gentlemen, there are MiGs in the area...
I flunked the first time--parallell-parking did me in. To this day I can't imagine how anyone managed to back one of those things into a parking space.
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TriShield 10:57AM (11/01/2007)
This car should have been killed or redesigned 15 years ago. It is easily one of the worst new cars on the market in every respect.
We would be better served if the Australian Ford Falcon and Fairlane were sold here instead, and if that had happened years ago when the BA came out.
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Dan Roth 12:16PM (11/01/2007)
It _WAS_ redesigned 15 years ago. And then again in '98-99 (I think).
The '92 Vicky was a huge improvement over the earlier Panther cars. The Crown Victoria is NOT a performance car, but it's relatively bulletproof, relatively expensive to maintain, has a huge trunk and is roomy. Of course, the Taurus/Sable are actually better cars, with slightly more interior volume, but they're also more expensive to build and buy. The Panther is a bargain if it's what you're looking for.
Justin 11:12AM (11/01/2007)
Damn, I was hoping/wishing ford would be able to update the interior and drivetrain and tweak the styling. I saw one (on streetfire I believe) with the 5.4 S/C with a slightly cowled hood and better wheels, and I've been in lov ever since!
The ultimate sleeper, yet big, comfortable, rwd, and v8.
And no, I'm 20.
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Daniel Cowan 9:53PM (11/02/2007)
Justin,
You've proven that I am not crazy. I am 21, and since the 300 came out in 2005, I have been rooting for the underdog. Aging platforms don't mean better cars, but the low key idea of all 3 cars is what I like about them. If they do get rid of all of the cars, the names should live on somewhere down the road. The Town Car is still of course the standard in american luxury. Justin, if it did have a 300 horsepower engine, like with the Matauder with 302, it would be able to have a fighting chance. I know someone that has 2004 Marauder, the last year. The family hasn't mentioned any problems. I will say that the back seat does not have as much room as the new Taurus and Sable. However, the gangsters get a hold of these cars like they did with the 80s buicks and 90s Caprices and Impalas, and the age group may not have such an old fanbase. We'll see if they can be like the movie with Queen Latifah and soup them up. We shall wait and see.
That One Person 5:18PM (11/03/2007)
I know what car you are talking about. Sweet ride.
The problem with the 5.4L is that it isn't an easy fit. But I think if Ford spent some money on the Panther platform, a 350hp 5.4L would be great and maybe have the 300hp 4.6L as a base engine.
There was an article in C/D (I believe) that featured a propane powered V-10 CV. Pretty wicked.
Bob-omb 11:13AM (11/01/2007)
The only reason the Crown Victoria is relatively reliable is because they've made tiny improvements over 20 years instead of introducing new technology. Also, the car's not exactly safe in crash tests. A Honda Fit does better in a side crash.
Gee. A Big Three automaker took one of their best selling cars and never updated it for a decade. They've never done THAT before, have they?
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