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Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis

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What is this discussion about? Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, Exterior, Sedan

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#1718 of 3244 GM ride by jerrym3 Jan 14, 2003 (7:03 am)
Interesting that Consumer Reports would write that. Wonder if they tested the model with the handling package.   I test drove a Marauder and did find the ride to be somewhat stiff, but, in the Marauder, that's to be expected. However, even with a suspension that is stiffer than the regular GM, I never noticed any jitters. But, after driving the Marauder, my 94 TBird ride felt extremely soft.   Maybe Mercury is after the buyers that have either had enough of the SUV craze, or gotten tired of their sports sedans, and want to get back to a full size car. In that case, they may find the standard GM ride "less stiff" than the SUV or sports sedan ride.   After test driving the Marauder, I couldn't help but wonder if that level of stiffness would become more annoying than enjoyable after the car had aged.   But, the Marauder also seemed to accelerate with ease, as compared to the 4.6 TBird, which I had thought was a pretty quick car.
#1719 of 3244 Jerrym GM ride by cfocfo Jan 14, 2003 (7:55 am)
"Maybe Mercury is after the buyers that have either had enough of the SUV craze ... they may find the standard GM ride "less stiff" than the SUV or sports sedan ride."   That was my case, I almost joined the SUV craze, but due to saftey reasons and my preference for more comfort vs more perfomance, I bought a GM.   I have heard that past GM owners feel the 03 is "stiffer". I can completely understand that. But my comparison of ride comfort was relative to other 03 cars, and I can tell you that driving the 03 GM, (I do have the handling package), that with all the roominess and seat comfort, I feel like I'm riding in a limo. Speaking of limos, I haven't seen many Buick or Toyota limosines, or SUVs for that matter. Why do you think that is ?   "nervous and unsettled" in a GM ? Hardly !   You want to know what "nervous and unsettled" is ?   Drive a "perfomance" car around those 6000 lb + SUV and trucks while they are on their cell phones and wonder if they are going to stop when they should. That, my friendly reviewer, will make you "nervous and unsettled" !   Buick has a very smooth riding SUV, but most others ? That highway bounce in an SUV is not my idea of comfort driving. But obviously, I'm in the minority.
#1720 of 3244 Consumer Reports? by rea98d Jan 14, 2003 (7:55 am)
I wouldn't be taking car advice from the same people who test light bulbs and low fat margarine. CR has been known to change rating and reccomendations on car models where the car has not changed at all from the year before. When the say a '99 model is more reliable than a '00 model when the only difference is the addition of neon green paint in '00, one has to wonder.
#1721 of 3244 SUVs: off topic by jerrym3 Jan 14, 2003 (8:58 am)
Read something recently where the majority of cars involved in recent snow related accidents were SUVs.   About a week ago, we got hit with a rush hour, sudden freezing drizzle in the North Jersey area. Caught everybody by surprize (wasn't supposed to drizzle until the early morning hours).   Saw an SUV do an upside down flip on a bridge where the light rain had frozen immediately. Landed on it's roof.   Can't figure out why the SUV flipped over; after all, every SUV commercial shows that SUVs can go up/down mountains, cross streams, and go through snow with absolutely no problems!!!Truth in advertising.   Let's see; should the SUV driver sue the manufacturer, the TV stations for playing the ad, or the Department of Transportation for not having a sander on every bridge in town as soon as it snows? Better yet; sue them all and let the one with the deepest pockets pay.   All three of my brothers-in-law have at least one SUV, and I know I'm in the minority, but I just don't see it.
#1722 of 3244 SUV handling - '03 GM stiff ride - by harmar Jan 14, 2003 (10:05 am)
Even rental companies are aware of SUV handling differences. I arranged for a car from Enterprise while mine, at the time (Sable), was in for a day's service. When I arrived at the office, the manager asked if I would accept an Explorer at the same price as the econobox I'd opted for. He had just two vehicles left and wanted to give the SUV to me, rather than an "older lady" he felt might not be able to handle it as well. The Explorer was the first SUV I'd driven (but I do own a '79 F250 3/4 ton SuperCab). The Explorer rode and handled like my truck, which, in essence, it IS. On bad back roads, it was bounce, pitch and roll all over the place. On good roads, it handled decently, but required my attention. Many SUV buyers apparently expect to be able to drive them like the pros in the commercials do - up the sides of mountains through three feet of snow. (Well, the fine print at the bottom of the TV screens telling them NOT to is hard to read, I guess.) In MI, many SUV drivers think they can elude any terrible road condition. And it isn't just a "guy thing," because women seem to drive them the same as men.   If Ford finds it has alienated a good percentage of its CV/GM buyers by altering the suspension, it will change back. Ford still makes a decent profit on these models. I doubt it will ignore a segment of the market no other Big Three manufacturer covers at that price range.
#1723 of 3244 If I had followed CR's advice by kinley Jan 14, 2003 (10:33 am)
I would have purchased a Ramber 6, 4 door instead of the Mustang GT.
#1724 of 3244 10 days of the year, I need an AWD vehicle by cfocfo Jan 14, 2003 (3:22 pm)
Due to the mild winters the last 4 or 5 years, it's been more like 5 days. The 3 days a year the snow or freezing rain catches me on my commute, my car goes 15 MPH along with the Sports Utility Vehicles that are also stuck in traffic just fine.   There are plenty of places in the country where the terrain and weather are different and I can understand "needing" an SUV. But in flat suburbia, it's all about image .... spoon fed from the auto manufacturors.   Now they seem to be telling people that they need a SUV that has more of a "car-like" ride, so rather than sitting on a tall truck chassie, or even a Minivan chassie, we will build the new SUV on a car chassie. That will really produce a smooth "car-like" ride. Well, here is a novel idea to get a "car-like" ride. How about buying a car ? You have extra groceries ? Then buy a car with a big f'ing trunk ! You want to bring a 4'x8' piece of plywood home every Saturday ? Come on, who really does that ?
#1725 of 3244 I'd be interested in a 2003 Crown Vic Country Squire by kinley Jan 14, 2003 (3:52 pm)
with the engine that's in the Aviator.
#1726 of 3244 99 Grand Marquis Cruis Control by 99_gm_owner Jan 15, 2003 (9:53 am)
Just bought '99 GM. The steering wheel contols for the "cruise control" do not light up. Should they eluminate when the headlights are on? All other interior lighting seams to work as expected. When I inspected the car I did not notice a bad fuse, but I guess it is possible a fuse blew after I inspected the car. I did the inspection in daylight so I could not tell if the controls lit up or not at the time.
#1727 of 3244 Cruise controls have the "Braile" option, not lights. by kinley Jan 15, 2003 (11:16 am)

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