Crown Victoria & Grand Marquis : A favorite at Police Stations, Airports, Senior Centers, and more!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.พ. 2024
- Welcome to Auto Chatter! Todays episode is about the Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis. I will also discuss the Mercury Marauder! These body on frame cars were the last of their breed, and have a enduring legacy that is worth chatting about. I do hope you enjoy it. Considering giving me a like if so , and subscribing and checking out some of my other videos too! Thank You!
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They kept the fleet sales because Cops, and to a lesser degree Taxi drivers, are notorious for beating cars to death, and a 'BOF' car can take far more of this abuse than a unibody can. That's why so many LE departments now drive SUV's of which most are still 'BOF' even with their poor cornering and high-speed handling compared to a car. Worth mentioning is that for some years the Crown Vic was known as a 'Cop killer' due to the gas tank impacting the rear differential housing in a rear-end collision ripping the tank open. Sound familiar? Think "Pinto". For a couple years Ford offered an optional tank shield then made it standard. If you have one of these check for that, and get one from a junkyard if yours doesn't have it. Some of the smaller PD's ran the smaller engines and street racing types could outrun those, but the 5.8 Interceptor gained a reputation for having enough power to catch most cars.
There's a lot of Crown Vic car clubs still around but those are waning as these cars disappear due to time. There's still some interest in the Interceptor engines which can be retrofitted to many cars which never had a 5.8 engine from the factory and they can be tuned for some respectable horsepower figures. But like these big old cars, the big old engines are falling from favor as technology lets you go just as fast with smaller more efficient engines in the lighter cars we have now. I can't speak of civilian sales beyond noting that the longer the model went the fewer of those I saw on the road, and there were more Mercury's in that category than Fords. Never too many of either as most people finally realized that they don't need big cars and their lesser fuel mileage with so many other choices better meeting their needs. They were the last of the dinosaur cars and TBH I'm surprised they went as long as they did.
Excellent post as usual! Yeah...Its not surprising you saw more non fleet models as Grand Marquis... Crown Vics were mainly fleet cars saleswise by the 21st century. But yeah..The BOF RWD platform is a recipe for reliabilty and durability....
Not that a Camry can't go the distance too! Even the 300s and Chargers that don't have a 2.7 in them, can be seen with some miles on them...But I dont think they hold up like a Crown Vic or Caprice did.
@@autochatter Several local LE agencies tried the Caprice but ended up going all Crown Vic for it's better reliability and because the officers driving them liked them a lot better. The Highway Patrol here runs mostly Chargers now but they still have a Camaro or two around. Counties and cities are going to all SUV's as their old cars run out of life.
Funny thing was that even unmarked, it was easy to spot Cops when they exclusively ran Crown Vics because almost nobody else drove that style of car. Now with the variety and the very low profile light bars or hidden blues, it has become tough to spot Cop cars at a distance and you can rule out any Crown Vic types you see.
@P_RO_ I've talked with several Cops over the years (my Sister is one). There's some that preferred the Caprices (may have been faster?). The Chargers don't seem to hold up nearly as well. But yeah spotting a cop is harder now..Might be in a Tahoe or a Explorer now days.
BOF - brother of friend?
@@aldoparise1224 LOL..."Body On Frame"
I owned many '77-78 Grand Marquis and jumped to owning 4 Crown Vics with years between 2003-08. Loved those cars. So reliable and durable.
I had a car lot years back and had a 03 Grand Marquis on it for awhile. It wasn't my kind of car, but it rode smooth and felt solid. I definatley could understand their appeal.
I wouldn’t mind owning a 1998 Grand Marquis. Every time I see one on the road it always still looks ‘new’. I guess the 70 year old buyers really take care of them.
Great chatter!
Thanks Rob! Yeah...When you have a platform like that , known for handling abuse, and you put someone behind the wheel that may not drive far or hard, makes sense there was some fine used examples to be had. I see quite a few older Lexus LS models at work that are in phenomenal condition. Congrats again on your new subscriber milestone!
These Cars were super premium
Gotta love the mighty Ford Panther Platform brother
....and don't forget the Lincoln Town car! I really don't like Ford's but I must give credit where it is richly due. These are the best value for money you can currently get by leaps and bounds. The parts for these are unbelievably cheap, but you'll only need to buy suspension parts, the engines and transmissions go FOREVER. I really love the lincolns.
Yes...The Town Car only got a mention or two....But I plan on a future episode just for them. I'm not a Ford guy myself, but like you, credits got to be given for these Panther Platforms in my opinion.
Thx for the posting 😊 ! I owned a 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis for many trouble-free years and she kept on running and never left me stranded on the side of the road. I would certainly consider another Panther platform in a heartbeat. 😊
That's awesome! Glad you enjoyed this one too!
I want to also say that a Coupe would have really been nice
I've had my 02 MGM for almost a year and like it. It's been very reliable, practical and gets good MPGs especially for what it is. I pull a trailer with mine too
They are decent on gas for their size.Guess that's why Ford used alot of tall rear ends in them?
amazing how long they stuck around with so few changes!
Yeah...Certain vehicles over the years could get away with that.
I built the 1/24 Scale Revell 05 Crown Victoria Squad Car model kit last spring.. Came out quite nicely I think!!
I driver the Marauder. It is the perfect car. Very tactile
It's definitely my favorite Panther Platform car! I know a guy with one. Drove a Lincoln Mar VIII with that impressive engine for awhile.
I love my Lincoln Town Car 1997 I've had it since 2017 when I bought it from my aunt and she was the second owner
A Town Car episode will be coming down the road.
@@autochatter Looking forward to it. I've got an 06 and an 09, and LOVE the simplicity and comfortable ride of these cars. None of the new stuff can compete!!!
Great cars for entry level circle track racing, ive had like 10 of them since 2007 for that purpose.
I'm sure they made great bombers.
@@autochatter ha yep. Or factory stock as the tracks around here call them but basically the same thing.
Its amazing that they were carbureted as long as they were. Wow.
I think the last non commercial vehicle sold in the U.S. was a 95 Isuzu Pickup.
@autochatter As far as I know, you are correct. It's a dubious distinction, but something has to be the last. As someone who has owned many carbureted things, quads, trikes, mowers, etc, I'd hate to have that level of maintenance necessary on my daily vehicle. I'll certainly be that old guy whining about new features on cars, like lane keep assist, but fuel injection won't be one of them.
@arieljones4595 I don't miss fussing with my manual choke lever and tweaking the twin SU carbs on my Datsun Z cars I had. The aircooled VWs I had would be a little finicky at times too.
You did a great job. I watched it twice. I liked how you explained the name change in the 1980's from LTD to LTD Crown Victoria and then Crown Victoria. I liked the footage and the photos and how you explained everything. I did want to mention Mercury Grand Marquis LSE. That had bucket seats and a floor shifter. Ford had a version too with Crown Victoria LX Sport. They had to do something with the sport suspension. I recall the Touring Sedan from 1992 as well. There was a version in the Middle East with a Town Car interior called Grand Marquis GSE. The nice looking LTD Crown Victoria was the update in 1988. The 1992-1997 Grand Marquis was really nice looking especially loaded. By the end it looked cheap and dated like the Oldsmobile Ciera did. It had lost its glamour. I liked how you explained the transition from Fairmont to Granada to LTD to Taurus. Excellent. Ford did something right with the Panther platform where GM made a few mistakes long the way( diesels, downsizing in the 80's). I laughed when you mention the Parisienne. I liked the 1975-1978 Grand Marquis too. The LTD from that time was not bad looking either. They had that Lincoln type design. Yes, Ford did some of the same as you said with the clones. Thank you again.
I'm glad you enjoyed it Olds! It seems your extensive knowledge goes beyond GM vehicles! 😊 Yeah...I didn't get into some of the special trims, but the vid was over 22 minutes already! It took me over 20 hours from script to final edit to make this one. Kind of upsets me when I see the view count on some other vids with A.I. voices and obvious discrepancies with what's shown versus what's said.
@@autochatter That was a good 22 minutes to watch as well!
@OLDS98 Thanks! This one "felt" good when I was done, so I hope it does well..Plus gave me a excuse to use some clips from "Super Troopers".....💘 that movie.
@@autochatter I am glad you feel that way. I hope it does well. It takes time to put videos together and put all the footage together and use software and narrate the videos as well. It is appreciated. You should see the Mexican versions. Grand Marquis is a Ford there. It also used the LTD/Crown Victoria interior and has rear seat headrests.
@OLDS98 Thats cool. Mexico also got 2nd Gen Lincoln Mark LT we never did too.
I love your videos! Very informative! Love the nostalgia! Can’t wait for more!
Thank you! I love the nostalgia angle too, so thanks for noticing!
where I grew up in Massachusetts you never saw Grand Marquis as a cruiser /cop car here it was the Crown Victoria and the Chevrolet Impala/Caprice though with the later they also used the wagons as transport from Jail to court or as ambulances
The Merc had some Fleet sales, but the vast majority were Crowns.
@@autochatter my dad was a Boston Police patrol officer who sometimes when I was a child would bring the cruiser home and it was usually a Crown Victoria
@courtneypuzzo2502 Cool! My Sister is a Deputy.
Informative video, but why not include the Lincoln Towncar? It was on the panther platform too.
I had a 1988 TC almost 25 years ago. I miss it.
Good question and I have two reasons....Or excuses for that LOL. One is time constraints as the video went a bit long as is. The other is I want to do a future Town Car vid on its own.
@@autochatter ok, fair enough. I'll look forward to your TC video. I loved mine!
@jlang8213 Thats great!
FYI - TH-cam unsubscribed me for some unknown reason. Not cool TH-cam…🤨
That's weird! I've had that happen with other channels I subscribe to in the past too.
Ford definitely milked this platform for over 30 years, can’t see that happening today.
Nissan is trying with the F Alpha platform trucks the Frontier and Titan use..They have been here since 05.
The younger generations who constantly ridicule the large luxo-vehicles of the 1970s/80s ARE THE SAME generation buying ridiculously large luxury SUVs! A 2024 GMC Suburban is bigger than my 1978 Buick Electra, and gets worse gas mileage. The irony of their hypocrisy is astounding
Can't really argue with that! The full size SUVs just kind of replaced the previous big car market. The Govt is partially to blaim because big cars started to get peanalized....But these rules didn't always apply to trucks. The irony that the Govt meddling to get cars smaller, actually caused larger vehicles to roam the roads.
I have a 2011 TC the first year for the Coyote motor what a missed opportunity not pairing the two!! They've been gone 13yrs now and are really missed by many I don't know why ford was so hell bent on killing this platform, if brought back today they'd sell well now that nobody wants to build a sedan!! How much money did ford make from the Panther Platform??
I didn't omit the Town Car on purpose. I feel it deserves its own episode! Thought about including it, but the vid was getting a bit long without it, and with Town Car, there will be alot to chat about! Regular ones, special editions,limos,and even hearses! I'm sure Ford made alot of $$$ off the Panther Platform.
It's beyond grotesque that the panther platform lasted through 2011. I think the 2003 updates made these cars age like milk.
They had a market and the fleet sales definatley kept them going for a long time.
I wouldn't even known there were any updates until I did my research. Same with the Ranger.
Have you driven one ....honestly?
They kept selling. The R+D was long since paid off. That's it. As long as they kept moving and would pass government mandates, then why not?
@GeeEm1313 Yeah..The Ranger had that big change too but the sheet metal didn't look much different.
Cars which were designed before bean counters ruined most of passenger cars, new econobox plastic toy cars have carbage longevity
They were reliable brutes I agree.
They had small rear seats. Ask anybody who's been in the back of a cop car!
LOL
The partitions take up the space-crooks don't need to be comfortable going to jail-duh!
🤦🏼♂️ It’s not a Para-seen. It’s a Pahr-ee-zhee-en. Wow
I'm Southern LOL..But I didn't feel good pronouncing that one
I had a 1990 Grand Marquise. I bought it used in 1994. It was the biggest piece of junk I ever owned. This car was a fight right from the start. From the sale. To the end of it's many repairs. Long story short. The previous user was a salesman and the car was rarely serviced. Thus the engine was shot. And ended having to be replaced. That took 3 weeks. Then the car was deemed unsafe to drive. Why?? Seems the weight of the engine was holding the steering together. It disintegrated when the engine was pulled. Then there was the fight getting the car back. I traded it in about a week later on a 1993 Escort. I never made payment one on this car.
Sounds like the car had a rough life before you. Shame it was falling apart at only 4 years old.
One of the funny parts was all the receipts from the previous owner were in the glovebox. It only got serviced when it wasn't running right. And all the oil changes were at like 15-2000 miles.
@@autochatter
@theprinceofsnj A more modern engine would have been less tolerant with their smaller oil passages, as the amount of sludge in that thing had to be epic. I'm assuming you meant oil changes every 15k to 20k miles.
Yes. 15k 20k. This car was nothing but constant fighting with the dealer. From buying to getting it fixed. I learned a couple of lessons. 1 There is no such thing as a Christion dealer. 2 Don't buy a Ford product from a Chrysler product Dealer. Oh it had 84000 miles when I bought it.@@autochatter
I feel like these cars are only loved because they were the last of the breed. They were low tech and had awful interiors. 🤷♂️
Maybe..But they were really solid vehicles. The Caprice had its share of fans too. That being said, the Panther Platforms are about a far removed from my ride as you can get!
Once you've experienced one your opinion may change they just did everything well and did it ForFcknEver. I've drive a lexus but miss the 2 towncars I owned.
@@averyparticularsetofskills LOL..I work at a Lexus Dealer, but don't tell anyone!