One of the most well known names in autodom is poised to get its first major overhaul in nearly thirty years. Ford’s Crown Victoria, introduced in 1979, has had only small changes since its introduction, but a new plan by Ford to overhaul the crown jewel of its fleet is apparently in the offing. Thanks to government assistance – Australian to be exact – the new Crown Victoria will be a clean break from the current model and will help to spawn additional models for brothers Mercury and Lincoln. Yes, you may not have considered a Crown Victoria up to this point, but the approaching new “Crown Vic” may just change your mind about that.
You have to go back all the way to the late 1970s to when “downsizing” was a term used by the auto industry to explain a shell game where huge vehicles were dropped down a notch in size to sit on a platform rather smaller than the prior model. Indeed, across the 1970s Ford’s fullsize offerings the LTD/Galaxie 500 were huge beasts of burden. When the point the then new Galaxie 500 Crown Victoria was released at the end of the decade, Ford was playing catch up to General Motors who had earlier mastered the whole downsizing strategy.
Initially, the Crown Victoria had a broad appeal for drivers wanting a big car with all of the trappings. As time went buy the car grew less and less desirable as client tastes modified, but the Crown Victoria’s style failed to. As a pursuit, presidency, or fleet vehicle the Crown Victoria has done very well, but Ford has only made modest enhancements to the vehicle over time. Indeed, America’s 2 automaker has made significant investments in trucks, SUVS SUVS and select automobiles, but the Crown Victoria quickly began to show its age. Today’s model is extremely outmoded and it hasn’t had a thorough refreshing in more than ten years, so an overhaul is warranted.
Ford’s impetus for change is coming from an unlikely source: a foreign government. According to reports sources, Ford’s Australian operation has received a $1.4 billion Grant from Australia to build a production and research facility that may be used to design and build several new models. One of the Australian autos slated to gain from this move will be the Ford Falcon, a full sized vehicle which will become the root of the all-new Crown Victoria.
While some have theorized that the new Crown Victoria will be built in Australia and imported to the U.S., this is doubtful to occur. Instead, Ford will expand the Falcon’s production to one U.S. plant, make some technical refinements, and sell the auto as a Crown Victoria. It will be focused to police departments and fleet buyers basically with some residual sales for personal buyers. In addition, the Crown Victoria will spawn a new Mercury Gran Marquis while a slightly stretched and much more and plenty more chic version of the auto will become the replacement for the present Lincoln Town Car.
Yes, the Crown Victoria is well past its helpful age. Thanks to some assistance from down under, the 2010 model should be a refreshing change. At least Ford hopes you will think so.
Ever wonder how fast your car travel compare to the fastest and most expensive cars in the world? Visit thesupercars.org to get the latest info about the most powerful car and also take a look at old Ford Model A.
