29th Nov 2009, 22:55

Drive it till it dies and when that happens, buy a new one. The Crown Vic and its twin the Grand Marquis are truly the very last of a dying breed, and the newer models 2000-and up are just as good as the older ones (same old-school design). There's a reason the police and taxi fleets use these cars, they are almost indestructible.

A Lincoln Town Car or Crown Vic/Grand Marquis are now your only choices for buying a new vehicle with a tried-and-true (decades-old) design that will probably be phased out before long, I'm afraid. I am also a fan of the late Chevrolet Caprice and Buick Roadmaster (production ended 1996). All the other new cars out there with their flimsy sheet metal, stupid computerized gimmicks that inevitably fail, and plastic components are all junk in my opinion. Surround yourself in a couple tons of solid American steel, that's the best safety feature you'll ever get.

29th Nov 2009, 23:10

I'm gonna suffer too! But I'm only twenty and own two perfect Panthers: a 98' CV LX and a 95' MGM LS. I will never drive unibody, wrong-wheel-drive junk with underpowered sideways engines!

30th Nov 2009, 12:18

Keep the faith, brother! I'm 41, and I grew being able to buy all the wonderful huge Olds Deltas & 98s, Cadi Devilles, Ford LTDs, T-birds, Buick Rivieras, and so forth from the late 60s/early 70s for $500-2,000. We were so spoiled - we had no idea how good we had it. I don't live in the US anymore, but I still have at least a rear-wheel drive car (an '82 Corolla).

30th Nov 2009, 15:11

Yeah! What's with those highly fuel-efficient, environmentally friendly cars that have technology far beyond anything that could even be put in these outdated V8 monsters?! It gets tiring seeing those underpowered, wrong wheel drive cars pass you while your trying to stay on the road with a 1/2 inch of snow on the ground too!

1st Dec 2009, 04:16

Thanks for the kind words Panther brother! (I am the 20 year old with the above comment). Yeah I also love the Delta 88 Royale's and 98 Regency's (Pre-86'), as my grandma had two and I would love to have one, namely a 82' Royale, but they are so hard to come by. The Caprice's were also one godly series of cars! Below is a list of my former and current cars:

1987 Chrysler Fifth Avenue M-body RWD

1985 Chevy Suburban 3/4 ton

Current:

1998 Ford Crown Victoria LX

1995 Mercury Grand Marquis LS

1991 Mercedes 300E 4-Matic (yeah I know it's unibody but its actually a pretty nice car, although it can't compare to my fleet of Detroit steel!)

Well have a great day everybody!

1st Dec 2009, 18:39

Environmentally friendly? Yeah, my Crown Vic might have an old fashioned 4.6 liter V8, but I consistently get 25+ miles per gallon in it. Want to know how? Because I don't have to floor it like a lunatic to get all the power out!! Can't say the same about the Civic coupe I have now. Honestly, MPG-wise, they're about the same.

1st Dec 2009, 19:58

Yeah, and when I hit one of those plastic uni-body pieces of crap toy boxes, it will be amusing to know I'll be the one to drive away. And you know what? I think after wards I'll smoke a fine Ritz Square cigar to celebrate! Yours sincerely: proud twenty-year-old 95' Grand Mar, and 98' crown Vic owner.

2nd Dec 2009, 03:51

I have driven many cars and trucks in Syracuse, NY winters over the years and I'll tell you what - not once have I ever had a car with technology to help me through the 120 inches of show we get every single year unless you count ABS.

I had a RWD 1977 Oldsmobile with a big 403 cid (6.6L) V8 when I was about 19. It was not too bad in the snow the 2 winters I had it... though I got stuck on a steep icy hill once because I had to stop half way up and no positraction (1 wheel drive).

I also drove a company van through a winter. It was a big Dodge B 1500 cargo van with a 318 V8. With snow tires and cautious driving - guess what - 800 to 1,000 miles a week of perfectly safe deliveries!

***note*** new tech in the cars is good. Safety, MPG, options and over all durability of the drive-train is all better than it was in the late 90s. It's just some of us prefer to actually drive the car our selves instead of a computer doing it for us. Driving in 120 inches of snow a year is fun to me. It keeps me sharp too :-)

2nd Dec 2009, 04:02

My favorite car, environment-wise, was a 1969 Buick Riviera I had with a 430 cubic inch V8, and dual exhausts. When I left it idling (with a soul-stirring rumble) on a gravel road, those two exhausts would literally dig holes in the gravel, and those holes would be BLACK. Now that was a beautiful car.

2nd Dec 2009, 17:27

You're funny thinking that gas mileage is the only thing. What about emissions? Used parts? Any of those ever cross your mind? Keep driving your Crown Vic. It won't go for much longer anyways with oil running out, and fast.

3rd Dec 2009, 23:24

Emissions? Parts? No problem, I have a mechanic! He doesn't rip me off and charge me for stuff I don't need like the Honda people, and unlike the Honda people, in the rare event that the car has problem, he takes my money AND fixes it. The only thing that will be "going fast" is my Civic, if I can find a buyer...

5th Dec 2009, 05:39

If the oil runs out, the last thing that will make a difference is whether you drive a Honda or a Crown Vic - society will collapse and many of us will die. The difference between 25 and 35 MPG isn't going to be the big problem on your mind.

6th Dec 2009, 20:21

Some great comments here! There should be even more parts available for the Panthers because of the "Cash For Clunkers" program that was in the USA. Engines were destroyed, but the remainder of the cars will be sitting in junkyards for awhile.

16th May 2011, 22:34

Full sized American made cars like the Crown Vic are a lot more amazing than people think. Mine is going on 200k miles, and it drives like it has no more than 75k miles.

My Subaru gets 22 to 25mpg; never more, never less, and my Crown Vic gets 19 to 27; never more, never less. Thinking a small 4cyl saves gas is simply not true. And thinking the world will end when oil runs out is also simply not true. Diesel made his engine to originally run on PEANUT OIL; just read his social theories. He did it to give farmers a way to make a living and to create a new middle class farmer economy. All original gasoline cars were made with the idea that ethanol from beets or corn or cane would be the inevitable fuel. NO ONE ever had any idea there was as much oil in the ground as turned out to be true. The end of oil from the ground is NOT the disaster people are being led to believe.

And as far as the world's farms not being able to make enough veg-oil or ethanol, it is again not true. The ethanol process makes liquid fuel AND cattle feed, it is NOT food vs fuel, never was. Finally there is a reason and a way to justify the idea to limit population, the world can handle 9-10 billion even if we get our fuel from farms. Eventually we will need to limit population, and what the heck, 9-10 billion is plenty.

The Crown Vic is safe, reliable, and with catalytic converters, it is unbelievable clean burning. Thinking that small is better is simply not true. The small block V-8 can get almost 30mpg if babied, and the Crown Vic's reliability cannot be beat by any Honda or Toyota. And I've owned them all.

Can't believe Ford decided to phase out the last Canadian plant that makes them. Brings a tear to my eye even thinking about it.

Last point: you eastern Americans that think how a Crown Vic handles in 50 inches of snow per year make me laugh: we in the California mountains see at least 350 inches a year, and this year it was over 600 inches, and it's snowing RIGHT NOW! And it's May 16th. And yes the Crown Vic handles it well. Front wheel drive is all well and good, but just drive a Crown Vic for a week in all weather conditions, and you will never want to drive anything else. Parts and repairs are cheap, a lot cheaper than the Japanese cars. And yes they are fine cars too, but don't make fun of big American cars for their fuel use or repair costs. They are no higher than Honda or Toyota overall. And they last 30 years easy instead of 20. Figure in mfg costs, and the big Yank-Tank is actually better for the environment; strange but true.