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The market for Crown Vics and Grand Marquis did not disappear. They were selling well to the very end. They were cheap to produce, cheap to buy and still got 25mpg on the highway. They could move 6 people in comfort and speed all day long. I thought the Marauder could have been a great hit but Ford botched it. All the space and comfort plus understated performance. If you travel abroad you'll realize that when people speak of "American" cars they are not thinking Darts or Focus. Everybody makes them. They think Suburban, big Caddy, Ford and Chevy. There is no question in my mind that Detroit dropped them under PC pressure. There is just something "wrong" with driving big cars. Hummer met the same fate even though the H3 was no worse than any truck on the road today.
The real problem with the demise of the Town Cars and even the Cad DTS was the lack of effort from Ford and GM to really make those cars stand out in style, and be truly luxurious inside like how an S-Class and 7 Series are.
Lincoln just didn't do a damn thing to update and make the Town Car more luxurious, they figured "well they're mostly selling to livery business, so who cares". This was the biggest problem they had, so nobody bought em as time went on. They got ugly after 97.
It's not true that Americans don't like big cars, just look at the Chrysler 300. I see so many on the road everyday driven mostly by young and middle age drivers, not the elderly. One important factor that makes the 300's so desirable among all age groups, is it's styling is cool and unique, it's V8 powered, and it has a long wheelbase for a smooth soft comfortable ride.
Believe me, if there were more full size cars that had similar looks as the 300 if not better, you would still have droves of people buying large sedans.
It really comes down to styling from what I can tell. The current Avalon, Town Car, and DTS even Buicks, are all boring bland looking cars which in a sense can be attributed to conservative minds, and a majority of old people are conservative..
Ford Taurus, 300/Charger, Impala, STS. Or they'll keep driving non-American full-sized automobiles like Avalons. I don't care. There's no shortage of full-sized cars, American or otherwise.
Avalons are far from being "full-sized." They are about the same size as a 1966 Dodge Dart, which was a compact. Yes, I know they go by EPA interior dimensions, but that doesn't tell the whole story.
There is a shortage of full-sized American cars because they are no longer being built. Probably the closest would be the Chrysler 300 at about 202"... the original 300 was about 220" long.
Charger, 300C, Ford Taurus, Lincoln MKS, Cadillac XTS, upcoming SS. American full-sized sedans are still being made. There's no more full-sized Buicks, but like the Lincoln Town Car, not enough people cared for those to matter. By the time Ford announced they weren't going to continue bother to make it since no one was buying them, Lincoln Town Car sales were already down to less than 10% of what they were in the late '90s. Most of that probably fleet sales which aren't real profitable. Same with the DTS. Prior to running the company into bankruptcy, they planned on redesigning. But the DTS never would have gotten DOE loans, so it didn't fit in their business model of holding out their hat to the taxpayer.
never owed or driven a full size american made car never will I STICK WITH INFINITY the american car industry went broke the govt should have left it so
I know we have some enthusiasts of full-sized American automobiles on this forum and was curious what you thought all the older folks who enjoy full-sized automobiles are going to drive with the discontinuation of the Lincoln Town Car, Cadillac DTS, and Buick Lucerne after this year. I know quite a few older folks down here who love these big American automobiles and after this year, they won't be able to buy them new.
What vehicles are going to cater to this (ever growing) segment of American society? I'd say these three vehicles, as a whole, are the vehicles which the older generation seems to drive the most.
Toyota Camry. I have been seeing a surge in the senior/Camry sector over the last 5 years or so. My grandmas 96 Grand Marquis is a beast! Such a soft comfortable ride, and fast!!!
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