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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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#2382 of 3244 by a_l_hubcaps Jan 03, 2005 (5:41 pm)
johncline-   I'd like to think you're right -- I would certainly be more interested in a RWD CV/GM than a D3 vehicle -- but the Panther sales are slipping. I think the Chrysler 300 might have something to do with that. For the record, I like the 300, but I'm not sure I would want one. Incredible durability is very important to me, and the CV/GM has that while the 300 is unproven.   The D3 rumor seems to be gaining traction lately. I've seen that one around in several places including Blue Oval News. The Falcon rumor is older, but it was bolstered by a supplier document dated 10/04 that leaked recently...actually, I found it inadvertantly while running a Google search, and posted it on BON (it has since been removed) So who knows what we're going to see. Ford seems to be obsessed with optimizing platform sharing right now -- not a bad strategy, in general -- so the D3 possibility would not surprise me. It leaves me wondering, though, how a D3 CV/GM would be differentiated from the Five Hundred and Montego. I mean, which direction would they stretch it? The two platforms already have about the same trunk and interior space. It almost seems like the best option, if Ford wants to go the D3 route, would be to put a vinyl interior and black steel wheels on a Five Hundred and just sell that to the commercial/govt fleets. Not that D3 would necessarily be a good idea. I'm just sayin'.   -Andrew L
#2383 of 3244 And another thing... by a_l_hubcaps Jan 03, 2005 (5:59 pm)
...right now, D3 is running the old 3.0 Taurus engine, which is not exactly a powerhouse. The 3.0 has a 21-horse deficit against the CV/GM V8 (203 vs. 224) and is down in torque by 65 lb-ft (207 vs. 272). I believe the Duratec 3.5 V6 is expected to be ready for MY2008, which would coincide with the rumored debut of a CV/GM replacement, if you believe the D3 rumor. So the upshot is, it's highly unlikely that the Panther will be replaced before MY2008, because if Ford tried to offer a police vehicle with a 3.0 V6 and an unproven CVT, they would never hear the end of it.   And then there's the issue of the St. Thomas assembly plant, which currently builds the CV/GM. I don't think Ford has any substantial spare capacity at the current D3 plant (that's Chicago, I think). So most likely STAP would have to be completely gutted and retooled for D3. If that's going to happen in time for MY2008, I would think we'd have to hear about it by the start of CY2007.   By the way, I'm not any kind of insider, I'm just putting pieces together. So who knows if any of this is actually correct.   -Andrew L
#2384 of 3244 by johnclineii Jan 03, 2005 (6:15 pm)
Atlanta will not be building the Taurus after next year. And...the 3.5 is supposed to be available for the Five Hundred/Montego sometime in 2007. Probably before the 2008 MY, but who knows?
#2385 of 3244 dhski04 by jrc346 Jan 04, 2005 (7:06 am)
If you really want one, then get one. Only suggestion I would make is snow tires and some weight in the trunk. I have a friend with a 94 CV which runs wonderfully at 126,000mi I might add, and he puts on snows and loads about 300-400lbs of sand in the trunk, although he has the rear air suspension so there is no rear end sag. I think I remember him telling me that gas mileage teeters anywhere between 20 and 22MPG with the extra weight. About a 2MPG loss on average. Anyway, the car lives in Michigan and gets just about anywhere my Expedition can. My son also has snow tires on his RWD T-bird and I can't stress how nice they are to drive on in bad weather. They track straight through snow and stick like glue when you take off from a stop light or sign.   My point is, don't let worries of snow stop you from buying the car of your choice. If you equip your car for the winter, in most cases you will be doing much better in the snow than most FWD vehicles.
#2386 of 3244 by ehaase Jan 04, 2005 (4:51 pm)
The rumors I have read is that the D3 replacements for the Town Car, LS, and possibly CV/GM will be built in Atlanta. I get most of my information from Automotive News and from people at other message boards who have consistently proven to be accurate insiders.   Sales of the Crown Vic were down 37 percent 12/04 from 12/03 and sales were down 9.8 percent for 2004 from 2003. Sales of the Grand Marquis were down 32.1 percent in 12/40 from 12/03, and sales were down 8.8 percent for the year. Ford has ridden the Panther gravy train about as far as it can. The cars need either a restyling or the 5.4L or probably both.
#2387 of 3244 Winter Driving; Restyle by jsylvester Jan 04, 2005 (5:23 pm)
All Grand Marquis come with traction control; it is an option on the base Crown Vic. Ditto with the cd player, I believe.   The problem with the Panther is it interior has been unchanged since the 1995 model year, and the exterior since 1998. Actually, on the Grand Marquis, other than a mildly restyled nose and tail, the exterior has been the exact same since the 1992 model year.   I have a 94 Grand Marquis, which I love, but there is really not enough differences between it and a 2005 to make it worth it to me to spend the money. That being said, it is also nowhere near to being worn out, with only 114,000 miles. It runs perfectly, uses no oil, shifts great, and has been very cheap to own. the leather is starting to wear, and the frame has some surface rust, but at least it has a real frame.   Ford has let the car lapse; I'd be happy with the same interior if they could restyle the exterior, put the Mustang 3 valve engine in it, and a 5 speed auto.   Either way, I'm getting another one before the go away, regardless of when that may be. Ford sells no other automobile that is near the durability and longevity of the Panther. I'm saving my pennies for a 2007 (worst case scenario), though I'm sure my 94 will still be alive and kicking then as well.
#2388 of 3244 by a_l_hubcaps Jan 04, 2005 (6:49 pm)
ehaase-   I thought Atlanta would be getting the CD3 crossovers...Lincoln Aviator replacement and something else for Ford. I could've sworn I read that somewhere. Taurus production is scheduled to end 3/31/06 (see http://www.donlen.com/buildstart_ford.asp). Will the D3 Lincolns be ready for production that soon?   -Andrew L
#2389 of 3244 by ehaase Jan 05, 2005 (5:10 pm)
From what I read in Automotive News, the first D3 Lincoln would be out in the summer of 2007 and the second one would be out in early 2008. I believe I read that Ford would make a final decision sometime later this year.
#2390 of 3244 ehaase and others by marsha7 Jan 05, 2005 (7:36 pm)
I have had my 2004 Crown Vic LX Sport (gotta have that floor shifter) since Aug 1, 2004 (car built Aug 2003 and sat on dealer lot for a full year)...it rides so smooth on the highway, could get better mpg (I am not hard on it), but would be nice with more HP...doesn't the Mustang have the same 4.6L but put out 300 HP???...is the 5.4L really necessary, or are we just splitting hairs between the 2 engines...300 HP and the CV would fly, never need more power than that...they could update some of the interior, since the car's engineering was paid for back in the 1980s...I would like to see some firmer sport seats (but keep the 8-way power and adj lumbar supports on driver and passenger), 5 speed auto OD trans, some simple amenities like Homelink (available in the GM but not CV), "door ajar" and "trunk open" dash lights (how can it not have those?), maybe a more modern 250-300 watt CD/Audio system, mine looks like it is from the 80s...separate headlights for upper and lower beams, side by side for a low profile hood, maybe offer HID Xenon, side marker lights like on the GM (when those marker lights come on at nights, it illuminate the countryside so you can play night baseball), bring back the taillights from last year which had amber signal lights at the bottom of the red taillight...headlight switch on a steering column stalk like on imports, just to name a few...if they added some or all of these ideas, especially the 300HP engine (they did it in the Marauder), I would buy another one in a few years, and, if I knew they were going to terminate the CV/GM, I would certainly buy one and store it so I would have another one when this one wears out...many folks call it a "old person's car" but what is wrong with great safety, large car, great ride, good road car, maybe it is just the old folks who figured it out and Ford is smart enough to provide it...
#2391 of 3244 by nvbanker Jan 05, 2005 (7:57 pm)
Ford is definitely smart enough to figure out they should keep making it after GM & Chrysler quit making them because some pointed head MBA from Michigan State U said 'Nobody wants big RWD cars anymore, let's drop them and force our customers into Luminas, and call them Impalas, they won't know the difference!'

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