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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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#1820 of 3244 Ask the driver of an 18 wheeler how he backs up. by kinley Mar 11, 2003 (8:40 am)
#1821 of 3244 by rea98d Mar 11, 2003 (9:04 am)
18 Wheelers use a primitive form of sonar when they back up. They keep coming back til they hear something crunch
#1822 of 3244 Grand Marquis vs Continental by randal5 Mar 11, 2003 (11:31 pm)
I totalled my Seville and I am shopping to replace it with either a GM or a Continental. 98 model year is in my price range. What are some key advantages of the GM over the Continental? I'm leaning toward the Continental but I'd like a reason to spend less money.
#1823 of 3244 Best Reason for the GM = Rear wheel drive by kinley Mar 12, 2003 (10:22 am)
It will keep you out of the ditch. Rather than a discontinued Conti, check out the 2000 Lincoln LS.
#1824 of 3244 Head rests on GM ..... by cfocfo Mar 13, 2003 (8:28 am)
At 6'7", I find the headrests just right ! : )
#1825 of 3244 In response to cfocfo(#1816) by dinu Mar 15, 2003 (8:40 am)
Sorry about not responding sooner. We haven't bought the GM LS Ultimate Edition yet as we're still looking at other brands & models. The sticker price on this particular model was about $27,000, which is not the invoice price. We liked its interior, general looks, and features but I gave it a limited test drive at that time. This Edmunds website has good advice on how to test drive a car and I'll follow what it says for my next time behind the wheel of the GM LS Ultimate Edition.   BTW, for what-it's-worth for anyone interested, read the Feburary 2003 Consumers Report issue "Cruising For Comfort" on the Toyota Avalon, Buick Park Avenue, Lincoln Town Car, and Mercury Grand Marquis. The Grand Marquis was rated by CR at the BOTTIM of thisgroup and CR's comments on the GM has given us some second thoughts on buying this car after our initial impressions of the car.   CR's comments and rating on the Lincoln Town Car has also influenced our thoughts on this car. The Executive model of the Town Car line was the one I drove, also in a limited course near the dealership.   The wife doesn't want us to buy the Toyota Avalon, which was rated at the top by CR, and sitting behind the wheel during a short test drive, I found its comfort level not up to par with the TC Executive nor the Mercury GM Ultimate Edition. Comfort is a major feature that both of us want , as well as reliability and some other major features.   Today we're looking-at / test-driving the Buick Park Avenue base model and Park Avenue Ultra. This would be something like a $10,000 step-up in price, but with mfg. incentives and the wife's Honeywell General Motors or Ford discount offered at her job, we might be able to live with the bottom line. The Park Avenue is longer than the GM LS Ultimate Edition, so we'll be measuring our standard-sized garage to see if it'll fit.   Will get back to the Town Hall soon. Would like to hear from others about the Grand Marquis and other big-'an-comfy easy-riding new cars they've driven or bought .
#1826 of 3244 Dinu: FWD Buick will drive you into a ditch sooner than by kinley Mar 15, 2003 (11:48 am)
the RWD GM or TC. Having driven both, the rack & pinion steering of the TC is preferred and the automatic leveling system makes it just right. Dealers in the NW are knocking 10 grand off MSRP on all TC's "in stock". Remember the Buick is with an old 80's V6 engine while the TC has the 90's OHC V8 coupled to a much better transmission.
#1827 of 3244 Consumer Reports Diatribe by bigunit67 Mar 15, 2003 (12:38 pm)
Hey dinu,   Not owning or having driven a 2003 CV or GM, I can't objectively state whether CR is accurate in their description of the car or if CR is missing a cylinder or two, but consider this: I've been a subscriber to their mag since the late 80's and have read all of the reviews of the CV/GM since their redesign for 1992. CR generally liked the car, especially with the handling and performance package, to "help control the wallow" - from one of their 90's issues.   CR generally praised cars for having taut European ride and slammed anything that required you to actually slow down in a turn. Now, that Ford has stiffened the CV/GM frame and generally followed the blueprint that mags like CR keep preaching, guess what...IT'S TOO STIFF AND JIGGLY.   I have a friend who is in the highway patrol, and they recently replaced his 2001 CV with a 2003 model. I asked him if he liked his car or thought it was worse, considering all the maneuvers he has to undertake that you and I wouldn't dream of (doing a 180-degree turn in the median and getting up to 140 mph to chase someone). He said that except for the tires that came with it being bad - and having to be replaced - he liked it better as it didn't seem to flex and groan as much as the old one did. Nor did he complain about the highway ride. Considering he puts about 40,000 miles a year on his cruiser I put that up against CR and their 150 mile test drives!   Not going off on you buddy, but I get tired of CR and their Japanese bias. I certainly can't say Japan makes a bad car, all things being equal. However, CR does seem hell-bent on making sure that whenever they have the opportunity to preach to us, once again, as to why we should all buy Hondas, Toyotas, etc., that they will take that chance gladly.   It would seem that on the subject of cars, they're as biased towards models from Japan as the French are towards Saddam these days.   Happy hunting and I hope you find the right one for you. For the record, I own a 1998 Regal GS - a car CR has called everything except a car you'd want to own. I do have to buy premium fuel, but manage to get about 30 on the highway and have few repair expenses except those which you would call "normal and customary" for a car pushing 65,000 miles. I'm a lover of RWD cars and hope Ford doesn't do anything to close them out anytime soon.
#1828 of 3244 Thanks, to "kinley" & "biguint67" by dinu Mar 16, 2003 (9:59 am)
Thanks to you both for your input. The wife and I went to a Buick dealership in the NW part of Phoenix, AZ , living next to Sun City as we do, and drove the Park Avenue Ultra on the 101 Loop and some city driving. It's a nice comfortable car, nice interior, lots more leg room for back seat passengers than some we've seen, and it has a classic exterior look. On the down-side, it's priced above what we think it's worth although it's likely that we could get the price down further below the incentives offered and the wife's Honeywell discount, if we were doing some serious horse-trading in the future.   We'll check out the purchase plan at Costco which some or many dealerships participate. Cars can be bought at the invoice price plus a few hundred dollars, according to what we've heard.   As for the Grand Marquis and other cars, we'll have to take some more drives in them....with the danger of getting to the point of being dizzily slap-happy, befuddled and confused! The wife suggested that we rent one or more of the cars we're interested in on a one-day use, to get an extended feel for each car. We may do that.   BYW, yesterday we also took a second drive in a Toyota Avalon XLS with bucket seats at a dealership near the Buick one and had a more favorable impression of it this time around: very quiet, very comfortable bucket seats, nice ride, responsive handling, and lots of leg room in the rear passenger's seat behind the drive, even with the driver's seat all the way back for a guy like me with long legs. The wife likes it a lot now. (Seems though we like at the time we drive them and then later the next week can't remember enough of last weeks' impressions to use in comparing this week's test drives in other cars! Shopping for new cars 'taint essy for sure.) Price-wise the Avalon is on the high side and with no incentives, due I suppose in part to the high demand for this car.   As I said we'll be going to the Grand Marquis dealership and giving it another, but this time longer spin. Thanks again for your input guys!
#1829 of 3244 Dinu: The GM comes in various levels & options. by kinley Mar 16, 2003 (12:22 pm)
I am told all levels include Traction Control & a CD player. The most models have a 2.73:1 axle ratio.   LS Premium:    Garage Door opener    Auto dim mirror    Overhead Console    Power passenger seat    Leather seats   LSE:    3.27:1 axle ratio    Floor Console    Handling Package    239 engine    5 passenger leather   LS Ultimate:    Single exhaust    Digitale dash    Rear Air    White side wall tires   As rear leg room seems to be an important factor to you, I suggest the Executive Towncar for $29 and change.   Have fun shopping.

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