9th Feb 2006, 16:49
I owned both a brand new 1998 Crown Victoria company car and my wife bought a 1999 Mercury Marquis to drive a bigger car with our 2 small children. So I am familiar with both your import and domestic remarks regarding the Crown Vics. The Crown Vic was a great salesmans car as I drove every week on the interstate from Delaware to New York. The plus was the large trunk and the ride. They are large 4 door sedans. The performance(power) was better than with the Marquis. Both however cannot compare to the Honda Vtec however even with the small block V8s. If you have never ridden in an Acura (Honda) TL with the VTEC engine you are missing a lot. I drive a 2002 Acura TL type S. The 0-60 time is 6 seconds and it will press you into the seat if you dare to attempt to start filling the 160 mph speedometer. It is very comfortable, quiet better performance and handling. IT has has a higher level of refinement. I also owned an Acura Legend also a much better car than the Crown Victoria. As an interstate car, for a family, as a salesman it was fine, but it is not even comparable as far as quality (I saw all the repair receipts} and certainly not as much power or capable handling characteristics as Hondas V6's..especially Acura Tl or Rl's. You should ride in both first before randomly commenting your viewpoints.
9th Feb 2006, 20:12
I would say the V-Tech V-6 is the "proper" engine. V-8s nowadays do get better mileage than before and the Ford and Mercury V-8 has a pretty good track record. That said, most modern V-6s have the upper hand in mileage and in most cases, power. People who slam foreign cars probably have never driven one and the Crown Vic and Grand Marquis are examples of typical Detroit iron: outdated and unrefined.
10th Feb 2006, 17:40
The "puny" V6 in the TL produces 270 hp from the factory (actually the same hp as in the NSX). The V-TEC sold me as soon as I test drove it. Any passenger that has ridden with me in my 4 door sedan has been shocked. The power curve is amazing. Yet the car idles so quiet when you are stopped that you do not know its running. At 65 mph you are running only 2000 rpm.
The seating and comfort is outstanding. The safety is there with front and side air bags. I found an excellent compromise on sportiness as well as a family vehicle.
The appointments in the Crown Vic are very basic where the TL has more options than you will ever need. The Crown Vic a comfortable interstate car with a large trunk. But it ends there. The only fun I had with my Crown Vic was watching oncoming speeders nosedive their front end when they thought I was an unmarked police car. My wife and I use to laugh when they realized we were just regular individuals.
20th Feb 2006, 01:17
Strangely enough, I've had a Cougar (same engine and tranny as the Crown Vic), had a Legend, and had an Accord..
Just bought an 02 Accord for reliability, and now I'm scared and mad. No problems so far, but I'm considering dumping the car because it rattles in various places. Why can't I just find a car and settle in to it? Nothing is reliable now days.
23rd Feb 2006, 15:19
Don't dump the car... just hope it isn't a lemon. Most Hondas are good cars. Just when someone does have a problem the mfg isn't the easiest to deal with. Then again I don't know how easy the other mfg are either about lemon buy backs.
17th Oct 2007, 08:50
I have owned several Hondas and have had few prolems. The air compressor went out and exhaust manifold leaked--that's about it. I was actually thinking about getting an interceptor crown vic until I found out about fuel tank exploding on rear impact. Several police officers have died because of this and now Ford offers a fix, but consumer crown vic owners can only get the extra protection out-of-pocket.
18th Jun 2008, 22:23
I have a 2002 Honda Accord EX. I had noise coming from the back seats and the moon roof from the day I bought it new. Two sets of complete brakes, a new transmission one week after the the three year warranty expired, a $150 cruise control repair, and, the topper was last week I paid $800 for a new air compressor. I will never buy Honda again. I will go back to Toyota for reliablity.
9th Feb 2006, 09:25
You should have bought a proper car for the same or less money, such as the Ford Crown Victoria or its Mercury twin, the Grand Marquis.
Accords are cramped, overpriced, over-rated and expensive to repair.
And they only have a puny little V6 instead of a proper engine like a V8.
The fuel consumption penalty for driving the V8 isn't as great as you might expect - there's little in it.
And you'll be much better protected in the event of a crash.
Front-wheel-drive is better for snowy conditions, I'll grant you, but here in the South, Accords are shunned and the alternatives I mentioned are very popular because of their comfort, reliability, simplicity and great value.
Taxi companies and police agencies use them for a reason - they're better in almost every respect.