Last production day of the Crown Vic-TODAY!
09-15-11, 02:01 PM
#1
Last production day of the Crown Vic-TODAY!
http://jalopnik.com/5840709/the-deat...ay-for-america
Death of Ford Crown Victoria
By Justin Hyde Sep 15, 2011 3:45 PM
The death of the Ford Crown Victoria is a sad day for America
Today, the Ford Crown Victoria, a slope-nosed metal box with an unquenchable thirst for gas built with manufacturing methods Henry Ford would have recognized, died after 32 years of production. Here's why its passing marks the sad end of a great American era.
The vibrant white Crown Victoria that rolled off its Candian assembly line this afternoon marks the last of a V8-powered breed, an endangered species of vehicles that modern America was built by and for. It's not that the "Panther" platform underpinning the Vic, the Lincoln Town Car and other models was ever groundbreaking — it was derided as slow and small from the moment it launched in 1979.
Yet no other American car has ever proven as durable, which is why Ford built 9.6 million of them. Taxi and police fleets routinely put 200,000 miles on Crown Vics and Town Cars. Having its body built separate from its frame meant Crown Vics could survive collisions that would total lesser unit-body vehicles. And police departments grew to rely on them not just for their roominess and durability; hitting a curb at high speed in a Crown Vic wouldn't end a pursuit by bending a drive shaft the way it could in a front-wheel-drive car. It even does well off-road.
Full size
Even though most of the Panthers built became taxis or cop cars, the Panther cars were superior interstate cruisers. They came from the era when thousands of children were tortured by squirming next to their siblings on road trips, without infotainment cocoon and yacht-quality captain's chairs to save them from the inspirations of boredom.
By the 1990s, older Crown Vics became sought after by hot rodders; there's often still no cheaper way to get a V8 car turning its rear wheels, just like the 1932 Ford V8s that sparked hot-rodding culture in America. All engines make noise, and a modern turbocharged four-cylinder can surpass the Crown Vic's power, but a V8 makes a feeling, a tremor that transmits through steel and plastic and time.
The official cause of the Crown Vic's death is neglect. The Panther platform made a mint for Ford over the years, but the line was already a corporate stepchild by the late 1980s. The last major coin dropped by Ford on those models came in 2003 with the souped-up Mercury Marauder, which only exists because the executive in charge was a member of the Ford family. Today they're collectors items, a status rare among Ford sedans from the past two decades.
It wasn't a lack of money or know-how or popular demand that doomed the Crown Vic and the Town Car; making old tech new is how Ford has made the F-Series pickup America's most popular vehicle, and taxi companies have been hoarding the last Panthers they could buy. Rather, it was a lack of will by Ford, a bet on technology and global engineering rather than simplicity and affordability.
The Crown Vic isn't the last American rear-wheel-drive V8 sedan, but thanks to a combination of regulations and avarice, it may be the last one that's accessible — not just to everyday buyers, but to people who love it enough to make it their own. Just as Henry Ford imagined his cars should be.
Death of Ford Crown Victoria
By Justin Hyde Sep 15, 2011 3:45 PM
The death of the Ford Crown Victoria is a sad day for America
Today, the Ford Crown Victoria, a slope-nosed metal box with an unquenchable thirst for gas built with manufacturing methods Henry Ford would have recognized, died after 32 years of production. Here's why its passing marks the sad end of a great American era.
The vibrant white Crown Victoria that rolled off its Candian assembly line this afternoon marks the last of a V8-powered breed, an endangered species of vehicles that modern America was built by and for. It's not that the "Panther" platform underpinning the Vic, the Lincoln Town Car and other models was ever groundbreaking — it was derided as slow and small from the moment it launched in 1979.
Yet no other American car has ever proven as durable, which is why Ford built 9.6 million of them. Taxi and police fleets routinely put 200,000 miles on Crown Vics and Town Cars. Having its body built separate from its frame meant Crown Vics could survive collisions that would total lesser unit-body vehicles. And police departments grew to rely on them not just for their roominess and durability; hitting a curb at high speed in a Crown Vic wouldn't end a pursuit by bending a drive shaft the way it could in a front-wheel-drive car. It even does well off-road.
Full size
Even though most of the Panthers built became taxis or cop cars, the Panther cars were superior interstate cruisers. They came from the era when thousands of children were tortured by squirming next to their siblings on road trips, without infotainment cocoon and yacht-quality captain's chairs to save them from the inspirations of boredom.
By the 1990s, older Crown Vics became sought after by hot rodders; there's often still no cheaper way to get a V8 car turning its rear wheels, just like the 1932 Ford V8s that sparked hot-rodding culture in America. All engines make noise, and a modern turbocharged four-cylinder can surpass the Crown Vic's power, but a V8 makes a feeling, a tremor that transmits through steel and plastic and time.
The official cause of the Crown Vic's death is neglect. The Panther platform made a mint for Ford over the years, but the line was already a corporate stepchild by the late 1980s. The last major coin dropped by Ford on those models came in 2003 with the souped-up Mercury Marauder, which only exists because the executive in charge was a member of the Ford family. Today they're collectors items, a status rare among Ford sedans from the past two decades.
It wasn't a lack of money or know-how or popular demand that doomed the Crown Vic and the Town Car; making old tech new is how Ford has made the F-Series pickup America's most popular vehicle, and taxi companies have been hoarding the last Panthers they could buy. Rather, it was a lack of will by Ford, a bet on technology and global engineering rather than simplicity and affordability.
The Crown Vic isn't the last American rear-wheel-drive V8 sedan, but thanks to a combination of regulations and avarice, it may be the last one that's accessible — not just to everyday buyers, but to people who love it enough to make it their own. Just as Henry Ford imagined his cars should be.
09-15-11, 04:44 PM
#3
Lexus Test Driver
Kind of sad to hear. We all have a connection to the Crown Vic in some shape or form- whether it was intentional or unintentional. ; )
As PhilipMSPT said, will have to memorize the look of other headlights in the rearview mirror. If it ends up being the Taurus, that's going to suck. It's modern, thin headlights could look like a hundred other current cars. What made the Vic easy to spot at night was the tall, spreadout light pattern of each headlight, and the inner orange running light. Easy to spot in the mirror.
As PhilipMSPT said, will have to memorize the look of other headlights in the rearview mirror. If it ends up being the Taurus, that's going to suck. It's modern, thin headlights could look like a hundred other current cars. What made the Vic easy to spot at night was the tall, spreadout light pattern of each headlight, and the inner orange running light. Easy to spot in the mirror.
Last edited by Fizzboy7; 09-15-11 at 04:49 PM.
09-15-11, 05:04 PM
#6
given that many PDs and HPs picked up TONS of the last crown vics, i think it'll be a fair few years before we see other models make a real dent in the fleets.
which is great if you want to buy a used cop car, shove a great big CB antenna on it, and cruise the highways without ever getting passed by another car
which is great if you want to buy a used cop car, shove a great big CB antenna on it, and cruise the highways without ever getting passed by another car
09-15-11, 10:52 PM
#7
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09-15-11, 11:57 PM
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09-16-11, 03:07 AM
#11
Lexus Champion
I dont care if its cramped, its better than a Impala. You heard right, power of a I4, thirst like a V8. I tried to pull over a pos S13 and the guy took off and I couldn't keep up to save my life and thats when the 5.7L would come in handy.
09-16-11, 06:36 AM
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09-16-11, 08:13 AM
#13
Super Moderator
Fast forward to the end of the week, and Irene is heading our way, so we have to drive home from DC to Chicago. It turned out to be about $500 cheaper to turn in our Impala and do a new rental from another agency, and we wound up with a Grand Marquis "Ultimate Edition" <sic>. In hindsight, we should have sucked-up the half-G-note.
In order to give my wife enough legroom in the back seat to be only moderately uncomfortable instead of in need of emergency care, I had to move the seat forward so far my knees were literally pressing into the dashboard on both sides of the wheel, even if I sat a little bowlegged. Then there was the added bonus that there are no headrests in the backseat (which I had no idea was even legal in a 2011 MY vehicle) and the seats are so soft and unsupportive that they make your back ache after just 20 minutes--luckily we only had TWELVE HOURS to enjoy this "old-fashioned luxury". All of us exept the 4-year-old (who benefited greatly from having his own, incredibly comfortable and supportive seat) were damn near paralyzed for the next 24 hours, and sore for the better part of a week following our ordeal.
Despite being well over 3 feet longer than my E46 3-series, the Panther cars actually have significantly less total legroom (front + rear combined). Though it's admittedly a bit tight, my wife can sit behind me if I move the seat up a bit to a slightly odd, but not uncomfortable driving position. That the same cannot be said for Ford's 18-foot beast is PATHETIC. The brand-new car (6k miles) also lets significantly more wind and road noise into the cabin than my little 12-year-old compact, despite its deteriorated door seals.
Driving the highest-trim-line Grand Marquis for one day reminded all of us just how TERRIBLE cars used to be "back in the day". Good riddance, I say.
