15th Oct 2009, 03:05
It's a sad thing indeed. I am only twenty, yet I wish all cars were still built body-on-frame rear-wheel-drive with a north south engine layout. I have a beautiful Crown Vic: a 98'LX with the cloth top and many other extras, and I worship this car. It is swept once a week, waxed every two, and every so often I coat the entire under body in heavy oil. As far as reliability goes this car beats anything domestic and especially ANYTHING Japanese!
15th Oct 2009, 05:53
Sadly, the Holden Caprice is a unibody vehicle. Also, the North American captive import will be sold to police services only.
As a very satisfied owner of a 2002 Grand Marquis, I'm disgusted that Ford would turn their back on us loyal customers. I've driven the 2008 Taurus, it's just another FWD V6 econobox with lousy engine response and poor ergonomics.
The Chrysler 300 is in my opinion not competitive in terms of interior space and comfort when compared to the Panther platform cars. The visibility, especially from the rear blind spot is very poor.
While I loved my previous 1993 Buick LeSabre, Buick's newest offerings no longer offer the rock-solid 3800 engine nor the interior comfort of the older generation cars.
It's a shame more people don't buy the Panther platform Fords, but I guess we have oil prices and automotive columnists to thank for that.
15th Oct 2009, 18:06
I agree with the above comment. Crown Vics are nice cars, but dreadful in New England winters. I've seen plenty of them stuck on hills just spinning their rear wheels. I would like to help them, but couldn't really do much with the car I have. So I just cruise effortlessly by them in my FWD Civic.
16th Oct 2009, 17:25
I've never gotten stuck in my Grand Marquis, and I live in Canada where half a foot of snow on the roads is not uncommon. For the most part, the cars I see stuck on the side of the road here are small FWD cars like your Civic. I think it's mostly up to driver experience and habits, but you can't beat AWD in the winter.
Keeping a full tank of gas helps with traction in the winter with a RWD car, also snow tires and traction control are a big plus too. I haven't really noticed that big of a difference between the Grand Marquis and my previous FWD Buick LeSabre in the winter.
17th Oct 2009, 11:38
I don't recall our large, rear-wheel drive cars getting stuck in Wisconsin winters. It's like people think everything came to a standstill before the invention of precious front-wheel drive when it snowed a lousy six inches. I doubt the original review has much to worry about getting stuck in snow, where he lives.
24th Oct 2009, 13:54
The Ford Crown Victoria is STILL Ford's Flagship, regardless of what anyone says. The new 2010 Taurus is a nice looking car, but it's front wheel drive, and it's overpriced, too.
Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Car are ALL WINNERS IN THEIR CLASS. My family has owned these cars before, and we love them for their safety record, excellent fuel economy (up to 31 on the open road for the Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis, up to 25 for the Town Car), and their reliability. These cars are hardly ever in the shop except for routine service and maintenance, and that's a sign of a great car.
The factory in St. Thomas, Ontario has been building this car for the last 25 years, and the factory, tooling, and everything's paid for. These cars are nothing but pure profit for Ford. I doubt Ford will quit building this car, for Ford has 90% of the Police market; Ford doesn't want to lose that market. Once you've lost a market, it's very difficult to regain it. Besides, all 3 of these are the highest owner loyalty cars for their divisions (Ford, Lincoln, Mercury).
13th Mar 2010, 02:40
Crown Vics and Tahoes are ALL the NYS troopers use, mostly CVs though. If they were so bad, then why would the snowiest pace in the US (100 - 200 in per year) use them? The Police Interceptor has a trac-loc rear diff, so both rear tires grip... only once have I been stuck in a RWD car, it had an open diff (one tire spins) and I stopped on an icy hill... I will say FWD is easier to drive for some people.
27th Apr 2010, 03:52
The Crown Victorias are just incredible tough and long lasting. I bought one second hand 1994 with 220' KM on it and it really did not seem very worn. The engine had some valve noise, but as far as I understand, this is not a problem and quite common. I drove mine for many years basically without any problems and the valve noise did not become any worse. The only issue that finally led me to sell it was the fuel economy since I started to commute a long distance. It was replaced with a Ford Mondeo diesel, sad to say. Here in Europe petrol is a lot more expensive than elsewhere. The Mondeo has almost 3 times the MPG compared to the Crown Victoria, and that became the selling point. Besides that, the Crown Victoria is the better car in almost any respect.
30th Aug 2010, 09:50
We have had two CVs; a 2003, and now a 2008, and both have been great cars with no problems. We travel a lot, and they are great on the road in all weather conditions. We both love the room a large car gives, and the feel on the road, We also hope they keep making them.
28th May 2011, 12:38
The Crown Vic has pretty good gas mileage -- 26mpg highway & 18mpg city. Better than many smaller cars. Oil price should not be the concern.
25th Apr 2013, 11:34
The Ford Panther platform cars are made so well, they use 90% American made parts. They have rock sold reliability and not to mention the world class luxury of the Town Car.
I just purchased a 2010. Great, great car. Also I am proud to get my 18 MPG. I do only country driving. When I do highway, I get up to 26, which is fantastic. I really don't care about gas mileage.
14th Oct 2009, 20:54
To the previous comment, slow down, that is not confirmed yet. Ford still doesn't know if they are going to use the Taurus as a possible police car replacement.