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 minor changes since its introduction, but a new plan by Ford to overhaul the crown jewel of its fleet is allegedly in the offing. Thanks to state help - Australian basically - the new Crown Victoria will be a clean break from this model and will help to spawn additional models for siblings Mercury and Lincoln. Yes, you may not have considered a Crown Victoria up to this point, but the coming new “Crown Vic” may just change your decision about that.
You have to go back all the way to the late 1970s to when “downsizing” was a term employed by the auto industry to describe a shell game where enormous autos were dropped down a nick in size to sit on a platform rather smaller than the previous model. Indeed, thru the 1970s Ford’s full-size offerings the LTD/Galaxie 500 were large beasts of burden. By 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 huge automobile with all the accoutrements. As time went buy the vehicle grew less and less desirable as client tastes modified, but the Crown Victoria’s style did not. As a pursuit, central authority, or fleet automobile 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, vans, SUVS and select autos, but the Crown Victoria quickly started to show its age. Today’s model is extremely outmoded and it hasn’t had an in depth refreshing in more than ten years, so an overhaul is warranted.
Ford’s impetus for change is coming from an unlikely source: a foreign govt. According to reports sources, Ford’s Australian operation has received a $1.4 bln Grant from Australia to build a production and research facility that may be used to design and build many new models. One of the Australian cars slated to gain from this move will be the Ford Falcon, a full sized vehicle that may become the root of the all-new Crown Victoria.
While some have speculated the new Crown Victoria will be built in Australia and imported to the U.S., this is improbable to happen. 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 centered to police departments and fleet buyers essentially with some residual sales for personal buyers. In addition, the Crown Victoria will spawn a new Mercury Gran Marquis while a slightly stretched and masses more and plenty more sublime version of the automobile will become the replacement for the current Lincoln City Car.
Yes, the Crown Victoria is well past its useful age. Thanks to some assistance from down under, the 2010 model should be a refreshing change. At least Ford hopes you will think so.
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