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Last Ford Crown Victoria rolls off the (Canadian) assembly line
The last Ford Crown Victoria rolled off the assembly line on Thursday in St. Thomas, Ontario, bringing an end to what USA Today called the "reigning king of the American road."While a gas guzzler, especially compared to current standards, the Crown Vic was revered for being a V8-powered, body-on-frame, rear-wheel-drive sedan that could take a beating. It has been a staple for both police departments and taxi fleets for decades. Auto blog Jalopnik said Ford had produced the Crown Victoria for 32 years, bypassing all other North American vehicles including the Model T. It was built on the same Panther platform that the Times said was used for the Lincoln Town Car, a popular choice of limousine companies and another Ford car that is coming to an end. The car's durability made it a natural police car as well as a classic choice for taxi fleets, both which would put hundreds of thousands of miles on them in the line of duty. It was so well-liked, Jalopnik reported, that the police department in Austin, Texas, asked the city government to buy 174 of them before they were discontinued. Jalopnik said Ford decided in 2009 that the cost of bringing the Panther platform to current standards was "not worth the trouble." "current standards" means Obama-mandated "GREEN" economy requirements. Another death-blow for a time-honored American success story. As the Crown Vic comes to an end so does the St. Thomas assembly plant, which the Toronto Sun reported opened in 1967 and had manufactured eight million cars during its time. Its cars had been shipped overseas since Aug. 31 because they didn't comply with new North America crash standards for the 2012 model year. My mistake, not mileage, it ran afoul of crash standards. Doubt it would have passed mileage standards either, if it were ever given the chance. Thanks, government regulators! Thanks, auto company executives! Well done all around. Posted by: gromky 2011-09-18 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=330013 |