Crown Vic Demise?

radioman2002 · 03-01-2006, 03:15 PM

A dealer friend of mine was telling me at lunch the the Crown Vic is no more. He didn't have a date, but apparently Ford is pulling the plug since they have seen their orders for CVPI decline with the intro of the 150 MPH Dodge Charger PD Interceptor. Anybody else hear anyhing?

fezzz · 03-01-2006, 05:45 PM

its the new millenium....a fullsize body on frame rear drive car would be outdated in the mid 90s. the mustang will be the only rear drive ford car.

way2old · 03-01-2006, 05:50 PM

Not yet. Crown Vic is still the bread and butter for most Police agencies. The Charger may run 150, but Chrysler will not sell it to run that speed. They have it limited to just under 140. it might be a good vehicle for open roads, but not so good foe driving in town. I drove one the dealer was trying to sell our Police department and I would rather drive the Vic in town.

fleettech · 03-01-2006, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fezzz

its the new millenium....a fullsize body on frame rear drive car would be outdated in the mid 90s. the mustang will be the only rear drive ford car.

BS if a fullsize RWD is out dated then why did chrysler go back to it? Ford may be loosing some sales to chrysler but there is no way they will cut their own throat and ditch it completly. I know our department is sticking with them it would cost too much to swap to chrysler no gear will directly sawp from CVPI to a Charger.

radioman2002 · 03-02-2006, 02:18 PM

As fas as the Charger being limited to 140, thats nonsense, check out Michican State Police's test site. There is no mention of any limiting on speed. If fact they report that the 2006 Charger broke an all time high speed record made in 1969 by another Chyrsler product the 440cid Dodge Polara that tested out at 149 MPH. Ford in about 1994-5 cancelled the Crown Vic untill they learned that Chevy cancelled the Caprice, so it's not that far a stretch that they would do it again. I suspect Ford doesn't want to put a lot of RD into what they consider a limited production car. The Ford Five Hundred is now availble with a PD package so I see that as their new PD car. Personnaly I prefer a body on frame car, it may be a littlle more expensive to make but are a lot better than unibody. BTW NYPD has ordered 50 Chargers for their Highway Patrol, and when the Chryslers were no more in the late 80's New York State changed out their entire fleet with Ford and Chevy's in one year.

way2old · 03-02-2006, 05:22 PM

I was at the Michigan State Police test this year. I talked to the Chrysler rep and he is the one that told me they were limited for legal reasons. So I really don't think I need to go to that site. Thereason they ran it as they did, is to blow all the others away on top end. The Impala ran 142, v6 verses the Hemi v8,the CVPI with 3:55 ran 120 and the CVPI with 3:73 ran 130. Believe it or not, on the test track(road course) after the top end, the Tahoe Special Edition was out performing the charger on the curvy section of track.

radioman2002 · 03-02-2006, 05:42 PM

Being an old Cryco fan, I hope they don't limit it, also the other cars you mention were top end limited, as spec'd in the MSP test results. As far as handling, you may be right. The whole theme of this post is Ford getting out of the PD market with the CVPI. I think it is resonable to believe they will. After some more research, I have found other sites claiming that the old CVPI is history after the 08 MY. Also I don't think Ford is going to go public with that info too soon, as it will affect even more so their market share. If you have some inside info, I and others would be interested. BTW in what capacity did you attend the MSP tests?

fezzz · 03-02-2006, 06:15 PM

i wasnt talking about the rear drive part being outdated. name me a body on frame CAR currently being produced

way2old · 03-03-2006, 06:41 AM

Went as Fleet SUpervisor for the City of Lexington along with the Police Laision Officer. We are the ones that decide which vehicle to purchase.

radioman2002 · 03-03-2006, 01:33 PM

Ok, I have 30 or more years as a communication repairman and consultant, most of my dealings with the factory and service reps has been with electrical problems 2-way radios create. Including some doosies in the late 70's and 80's with the cars computer shutting down, when the hi-power 2-ways were being used. It was most prevelant with 120watt low band radios. Ford came out very quickly with a fix, but it deffinitly didn't make any friends for Fords those years.

way2old · 03-03-2006, 06:00 PM

The problem i saw with the Charger and the Magnum is lack of visibility. It seems you are in a little cockpit and can't see anything behind the front doors. I like the handling on the open road and the power, but it is gonna be quite an ordeal to re-do all the equipment to fit the Charger. We are considering the Magnum for the K9 units to give dogs a good place to be. Will not have to dismantle to install dog unit. Will see in future. I do not doubt the CV will be gone sometime in the future, but they may also re-tool it and give it another name.

reekor · 03-04-2006, 07:24 AM

I know the they are cutting hours at the plant, but they are also going to sink $200 million in to it.

Here is a link

http://www.lfpress.com/cgi-bin/publi...icles&s=wheels

http://autonet.ca/News/story.cfm?sto...407510-ap.html

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