RIP Crown Victoria Police Cruiser
If you’re anything like the writers of Accel Times, you’ve learned to recognize a Crown Victoria’s headlights in your rear view mirror. Why? Well, if you’re speeding, those lights mean only one thing, a $180 traffic ticket. Ford has just announced that the Crown Vic, and the Crown Vic Police Cruiser, will no longer be produced after 2011.
The Crown Vic isn’t refined, it isn’t smooth, it doesn’t get good gas mileage, and it only sells 30,000 units a year to retail customers. So why do the cops love them so much? Well, the CV has a robust body-on-frame construction, not usually a good thing for a family sedan, but great for a car that takes an extreme beating day-in and day-out. Body-on-frame vehicles are usually cheaper and easier to repair than their unibody brethren. The CV also has rear-wheel drive to aid performance and handling, helpful for chasing OJ in high speed pursuits. They also have column mounted shift levers, making it possible to center mount a laptop, thus enabling police men and women to run your plates while following you on the road. The Crown Vic really is a great deal for police units, providing all they need at a bargain price.
Ford sells a substantial 75,000 CVs to police divisions each year, and since the CV is older than some Accel Times readers, the initial investment has long been paid off, making the CV a cheap option for police units and a profitable one for Ford. Unfortunately for this marriage, Ford is retiring the Panther platform in two years, which also includes the Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car. Ford President Mark Fields mentioned to The Detroit News that axing the CV wasn’t an easy decision, as “it gives Ford a presence is just about every municipality in America” through police units and taxis.
Ford isn’t going to let their police cruiser die without a fight, and has started pitching alternatives to the CV to police units. According to The Detroit News, Ford recently invited police personnel from several American cities to discuss future options for a police cruiser, and let them sample a Ford Taurus on site. The unibody Taurus isn’t quite as durable as the CV, but would be a more comfortable option with better gas mileage. A possible Taurus option for the police would be the new Taurus SHO with a 365 hp turbo V6, although it would cost substantially more than the trusty CV. Other options available for the men and women in blue are the Dodge Charger and the Chevrolet Impala, which are both smaller vehicles. Lastly is the Carbon Motors E7, which is built specifically for police use, but is also substantially more expensive.
