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Then it would be a completely different car than it is, and wouldn't have all the cost, reliability, and toughness benefits that the CV had. In other words, it would be many of the options that are available now but that the police departments don't like.
Bingo!
many of the options that are available now but that the police departments don't like AND that lots of individual buyers like me don't like.
Little do the kids who call these cars "dinosaurs" understand that they are complimenting and not condemning them. Cars that have been "modernized"....like the Taurus? A pathetic and laughable piece of crap measured against almost any full-size Ford or GM car of 30 years ago, 40 years ago, 50 years ago and more.
Outside of detailed technical advances (electronics and such), American cars have been going backward - not forward - for decades. As sad as is is to lose the Crown Vic, I count my blessings that my coming of age coincided with the peak of the American automotive industry. I have priceless memories of the greatest of American cars when they were brand new....and thus the luxury of understanding what we have lost.
Kids today have been programmed to oooh and aaaahh over these bubbled riding lawn mowers that are called cars today and I'll just continue to shake my head and grin.
End of an era, but they won't be going anywhere fast. Chances are you will still see them around regularly for at least the next 10 years. Reading the article and the comments though, people really have the wrong idea about that car. For instance, the article and many people were lampooning its weight. Well, it did weigh a shade under 4k pounds, but that doesn't exactly make it a porker in terms of fullsize cars these days.
What killed the Panther cars was Ford's lack of innovation and improvement to the platform. The Panthers were cash cows for Ford and they sucked the platform dry in a lot of failed acquisitions like Volvo, Jaguar, Aston Martin and Land Rover. The Panther cars were left to wallow instead of being refined and developed. The 24 MPG rating the car gets isn't that bad for what it is, but is more a symptom of the engine/trans combo used than it is anything about how the car was built. Throw a modern 3.7L V6 and 6 speed auto in there and you would get a noticable bump in MPG and make significantly more power, while not changing anything.
The car died because it was a dinosaur, because Ford let it become a dinosaur. It wouldn't have taken much investment on their part to refine the platform and keep it alive. There was nothing inherently wrong with the Panther cars, Ford just ignored them for too long and doesn't have the cash to update them while simultaneously saving Lincoln.
The Ranger died a similar death. It hasn't been updated in what, 20 years?
Little do the kids who call these cars "dinosaurs" understand that they are complimenting and not condemning them. Cars that have been "modernized"....like the Taurus? A pathetic and laughable piece of crap measured against almost any full-size Ford or GM car of 30 years ago, 40 years ago, 50 years ago and more.
I hope you're joking. Nobody can seriously claim a 30 year old American sedan compares to ANY modern sedan. A lot has changed in that time, most people call that progress.
Quote:
Originally Posted by doc1
When I needed an a family type car back in '09 I picked up an '03 Grand marquis with only 48,000 miles on it...It's roomy, burns regular and I've gotten anywhere from 25.1-26.1 mpg highway and cranked out a 16.74 at Island Dragway in NJ.
That performance is not very impressive today. The full size 4 cylinder Japanese and Korean sedans are just as quick, or quicker, and will do 4-5mpg better fuel economy in mixed driving. They're just as spacious, or more so, and have competitively sized trunks.
I hope you're joking. Nobody can seriously claim a 30 year old American sedan compares to ANY modern sedan. A lot has changed in that time, most people call that progress.
That performance is not very impressive today. The full size 4 cylinder Japanese and Korean sedans are just as quick, or quicker, and will do 4-5mpg better fuel economy in mixed driving. They're just as spacious, or more so, and have competitively sized trunks.
The performance isn't very good, maybe in 1990, but now it's outclassed in just about everything. And considering it's size it could be more spacious inside.
People lament the passing but it was time to move on. Technology has come a long way in the past 20-30 years.
They work fine for the training we do but it's a significance difference to me getting into a modern sedan vs. the crown vic.
Location: Democratic Peoples Republic of Redneckistan
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dunbar42
I hope you're joking. Nobody can seriously claim a 30 year old American sedan compares to ANY modern sedan. A lot has changed in that time, most people call that progress.
That performance is not very impressive today. The full size 4 cylinder Japanese and Korean sedans are just as quick, or quicker, and will do 4-5mpg better fuel economy in mixed driving. They're just as spacious, or more so, and have competitively sized trunks.
I can maybe agree with all but the last statement...I've yet to see that import.
Funny, I was just looking up the used market for Mercury Marauders and the prices are shockingly high! I can appreciate the Crown Vic, but like 95% of the people who appreciate them, I would never actually BUY one. And that's probably what killed it off. Just like the Ranger, the Crown Vic had a lot of admirable traits like reliability, simplicity, and value. However, its performance just really was not very good.
Funny, I was just looking up the used market for Mercury Marauders and the prices are shockingly high! I can appreciate the Crown Vic, but like 95% of the people who appreciate them, I would never actually BUY one. And that's probably what killed it off. Just like the Ranger, the Crown Vic had a lot of admirable traits like reliability, simplicity, and value. However, its performance just really was not very good.
But it was good enough. How often do you need more than what it offered in real-world driving? 210 hp is more than enough unless you're towing.
Location: Democratic Peoples Republic of Redneckistan
11,078 posts, read 15,094,501 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bomgd3
Funny, I was just looking up the used market for Mercury Marauders and the prices are shockingly high! I can appreciate the Crown Vic, but like 95% of the people who appreciate them, I would never actually BUY one. And that's probably what killed it off. Just like the Ranger, the Crown Vic had a lot of admirable traits like reliability, simplicity, and value. However, its performance just really was not very good.
Yes...the market price on those Marauders will cross your eyes....iirc as far as performance upgrades all they have going for them is the P.I. pkg and flash on the computer...I just like the way they look.
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....iirc as far as performance upgrades all they have going for them is the P.I. pkg and flash on the computer...I just like the way they look.
