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Sort of... Ford's last dinosaur gasp! The RWD V8 full perimeter frame CROWN Victoria sedan has been listed for sale to government departments and taxi fleets only. General public will be offered a Ford Taurus (FWD tat) instead. Its not 100% the end for the Panther platform - Mercury's almost identical Grand Marquis is still for sale to the public, although Mercury is prety much "dead brand walking" at the moment. Maybe a flood of disappointed CROWN Vic buyers who don;t want a Taurus will save the brand. Or maybe not. A close relative of the Panther twins is the Lincoln Town Car which is trundling on regardless. In other news Chrysler has had the knife out to its model range. A mercy killing sees the end of production for the PT Cruiser Convertible after rather predictable sales of only 3, all in Essex. The Dodge Magnum is for the chop, which means little to us but Chrysler whack a 300C front end on it and sell it as the 300C estate in Europe so I presume the 300C is "saloon only" now. The unlamented end for the Chrysler Crossfire is also announced. Thats the car that should have had a V8 in it but never did. Not even the aftermarket bothered. Shame, it had potential.
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1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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You could buy a second hand one tho,especialy with the police interceptor badge on the back .As for the PT cruiser Convertible i saw one today for the first time and burped some sick up.
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I drove 1000 miles in a hired one last October in America when I went to visit my sister who lives in Philadelphia. Well, OK, it was Mercury Grand Marquis, same thing Stupidly easy to drive, mega comfy at 55-65 with the cruise control on and the aircon wheezing away. Did better burnouts than I was expecting in an empty car park too ;D
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Last Edit: Apr 4, 2008 19:57:27 GMT by DarrenW
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Shame about the CROWN Victoria, I have good memories of rolling round New York in the taxis, listening to US celebrity recorded messages about "buckling up in the back" whilst marvelling at how little legroom there is for such a massive barge!
Still, if they're keeping them for Five-O and Cabby use then I suppose we'll be seeing them for a good few years yet. I would like one!
The Crossfire's the re-bodied Mercedes SL isn't it? Like a Mercedes, but looks ass. Saw one today actually. Not a pleasant experience.
And a convertible PT Crusier?! Why?!
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i have done many a mile in the newer shape town car,the most memorable thing about them was the dire cabin quality,still shame to see another rear driver go.
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PT Cruiser Convertible, who thinks this stuff up
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Club Retro Rides Member
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wakster
Part of things
retro rookie
Posts: 287
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A mercy killing sees the end of production for the PT Cruiser Convertible after rather predictable sales of only 3, all in Essex. I resent that comment
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now everyones all keybord worrior like ive just posted a mk3 escort on oldskoolford and I'm all meh?
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bbq
Part of things
(. )( .)
Posts: 485
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A PT Cruiser convertible, yesterday.
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2003 Suzuki Wagon R+. Feel the POWAAARRRR!!! 1968 Volvo 142. My street/strip car. Currently fubarred, it will run one day. 1971 Volvo 142. Parts car. Stripped and gone. 1993 Nissan Sunny diesel. Runs on cooking oil! [/UR
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mercmad
Posted a lot
Flush Hard,it's a long way to McDonalds.
Posts: 1,740
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A mate of mine has an ex police CROWN vic. Quite a lot different to the normal civvy version with a hotter etc . Second hand ex cop cars in the USA fetch good money including the SS Impala Police cars .
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Many years ago I changed my driving style to cope with rising fuel prices; I have now reached the stage where I am contemplating keeping my eyes shut in order to lower wind resistance.
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A mate of mine has an ex police CROWN vic. Quite a lot different to the normal civvy version with a hotter etc . Second hand ex cop cars in the USA fetch good money including the SS Impala Police cars . i thought the police only got the caprice and not the impala, ok its just a different badge but i wasnt sure there was an SS caprice??
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This is the Impala SS: Not heard of a Caprice SS, but like you say, it`s only a badge. Police ones likely to be Impalas as they are a more basic trim level. Glad the CROWN Vic is still being made for public service use, come to think of it what would do the same job if they did finish it off altogether?
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IIRC the CROWN Vic was the last production car with a carburettor as well, something along those lines, to like the early 90's!
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i thought lada's had up to mid 90s?
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Wait.. You can actually lift the body off the frame on the CROWN Victoria? That's hysterical.
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rtlkyuubi
Posted a lot
Low and Slow
Posts: 2,922
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IIRC the CROWN Vic was the last production car with a carburettor as well, something along those lines, to like the early 90's! micra's used carbs upto late 92
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Wait.. You can actually lift the body off the frame on the CROWN Victoria? That's hysterical. Not sure why its hysterical, its the way all cars were built, OK a long long time ago, but... In fact police used to REQUIRE separate chassis cars. Good ramming strength! When Chevy dropped the RWD Caprice/Impala line they practically gave a lucrative market to Ford as many forces won't buy FWD cars. Mopar is actively chasing public service contracts with the police spec version of its Charger sedan now though and giving Ford uncomfortable competition. Much is made of the "Police Interceptor" package on the CROWN Vic but its only 260 BHP, same as the engine they used in the MG X-Power and the Mustang GT (regular CROWN Vic and all Grand Marquis are like 221 BHP) The one to have was the 9C1 option code Caprice which is the real deal with "cop motor, cop transmission, cop tires" ala Blues Brothers.... Noticably more power than the regular Caprice it's based on, and lighter than the Impala SS which has all the luxury goodies in it. 9C1 Caprices also get heavy duty cooling, oil coolers, HD trans coolers, etc. for day long pursuits etc.! Beware when buying Caprice cop cars - they are not all 9C1 spec. In fact some are V6 powered.... Check out www.9c1.com/ if these babies are your bag.... In fact many police forces are still using the 9C1 because there was nothing good enough out there to replace it for years, they refurbished them like Routmaster busses used to be. The Chrager is forcing a lot of them to retire now though... SRT 6.1 Hemi and stripped light weight spec. They are good for something like 180 MPH and 13 sec 1/4 miles. (only a smidge faster than the regular SRT8 in fact) Which make my local plod's Fiesta diesel look a little sad. It also pee's on the CROWN Victoria Interceptor... Back in the day, the standard police spec was that a prospective "cruiser" had to be able to do a 14.0 quarter mile and hit 140mph within 1/2 a mile from standing. I've seen contemporary police testing reports reprinted from when they tested stuff like the Fury sedans and Biscayne big blocks back in the 1960s. They had to drop that standard in the late 1970s though...
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Last Edit: Apr 5, 2008 19:50:09 GMT by akku
1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1994 Ford Fiesta
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Holy mother and father... that would clear the middle lane of doddery old farts and even give 'Mr B*W' a scare. Why can't we get some of these? Oh yes, .......too 'aggresive' I suppose.......
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Rover Metro - The TARDIS - brake problems.....Stored Rover 75 - Barge MGZTT Cdti 160+ - Winter Hack and Audi botherer... MGF - The Golden Shot...Stored Project Minion........ Can you see the theme?
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Glad the CROWN Vic is still being made for public service use, come to think of it what would do the same job if they did finish it off altogether? Pontiac G8 (Holden Commodore)? Rwd, fair whack of interior space, tend to make pretty good taxis down here (not as common as taxis as the ford falcons, but...) maybe its time we started exporting our Falcons to america as a CROWN Taxi replacement?
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Remade In Australia thereimaginarium.com.au
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bbq
Part of things
(. )( .)
Posts: 485
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Glad the CROWN Vic is still being made for public service use, come to think of it what would do the same job if they did finish it off altogether? Pontiac G8 (Holden Commodore)? Rwd, fair whack of interior space, tend to make pretty good taxis down here (not as common as taxis as the ford falcons, but...) maybe its time we started exporting our Falcons to america as a CROWN Taxi replacement? No, v8 Commodores and Falcons should be exported here, as they're RHD!
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2003 Suzuki Wagon R+. Feel the POWAAARRRR!!! 1968 Volvo 142. My street/strip car. Currently fubarred, it will run one day. 1971 Volvo 142. Parts car. Stripped and gone. 1993 Nissan Sunny diesel. Runs on cooking oil! [/UR
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edited,cause i typed it when i was pi**ed!
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Last Edit: Apr 6, 2008 9:47:47 GMT by Fiat Daft
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