| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Last Ford Crown Victoria rolls off the (Canadian) assembly line |
| 2011-09-18 |
| 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 |
| #11 And remember, lexan water bottles were very popular right up until they became unavailable. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2011-09-18 22:03 |
| #10 They sold a whole lot of explorers and a whole lot of the explorer model that was half pickup truck. Now the explorer they sell is on a car chassis and the half-truck model isn't available anymore. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2011-09-18 22:03 |
| #9 plus, their owners seem to be uncompromising assholes..errrr....wait. Nevermind. That's true |
| Posted by: Frank G 2011-09-18 21:00 |
| #8 The F-150 ain't going away. They sell to many of them. Besides, you could easily put a ton and a half of batteries in the back and turn it into an electric vehicle with enough range to actually drive someplace and back. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2011-09-18 19:44 |
| #7 Target the F-150 and you'll have a thousands up thousand of them descend on DC. That might actually be cool to see. |
| Posted by: Charles 2011-09-18 15:35 |
| #6 Next target, F-150 Blasphemer! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2011-09-18 11:46 |
| #5 In answer to your question. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2011-09-18 11:08 |
| #4 Modded Crown Vic has been a standard as a police cruiser. Wonder what will replace it? |
| Posted by: Cincinnatus Chili 2011-09-18 10:59 |
| #3 I have keep mine. It was my dad's company car he purchased. My son blew the engine hot rodding. So I found a 72 Delta 88. First thing he did was take it and buried the needle at 120. So I took the motor and transmission and put in my dad's Old's wagon.The car is older than my son who drives it now. Obama wasn't going to get that car. No problems with it and easy to work on. Problem now is automotive parts are defective and fail much sooner. |
| Posted by: Dale 2011-09-18 10:21 |
| #2 I wonder if the safety consideration was for other cars that might be unfortunate enough to collide with it. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2011-09-18 09:10 |
| #1 Crown Vic and Mercury Grand Marquis both excellent boomer cars. Reasonably priced, SAFE, comfortable, 20+ MPG. Neither are needed under Obamacare. Ford Motor Co. must die like the rest. Next target, F-150. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2011-09-18 01:49 |