What does this mean for the police and taxicabs that drive these cars. I know most of the public does not drive these cars now withe price of gas and big cars and big trucks like big SUV are not doing well withe the price of gas now.
But what does this mean for police and taxicabs.
In my hood the police are driving Ford Fusion Interceptors, so I’m guessing the discontinuing of the Crown Vic means bupkis.
It means our local PD bought Dodge Chargers instead. Other manufacturers offer models to fill that niche.
I’ve seen minivans becoming more popular for taxis.
The cops switched to dodge chargers here a couple of years ago as well. The k-9 unit is in some type of SUV now, and there’s a couple of ford rangers thrown in for areas the chargers aren’t suited for.
It doesn’t mean much of anything other than that they won’t be buying new Crown Victorias. Police departments across the country weren’t buying them in sufficient quantities already to support the model. However, that doesn’t mean that other large cars and SUV’s aren’t doing well. The Dodge Charger is the most direct replacement of the Crown Vic because it is the only common rear-wheel drive V-8 still produced but it gets the job done and lots of police departments use it already.
Once you get into the SUV and crossover class, the options are great and that market segment is still doing quite well with lots of popular of popular models to choose from. The main problem with the Crown Vic is that it became unpopular as a family vehicle as the popularity of SUV and crossover vehicles grew so mass production become less economical. People that want a larger vehicle now generally want an SUV or a crossover rather than a really large V-8 rear-wheel drive sedan. Police departments already use a number of models in that class as well.
There is nothing that makes the Crown Vic a gold standard for police work or taxis other than the fact that it was one of the better choices for those purposes when it was selected decades ago. There are many more options now that can beat it in any given category.
RWD is preferable to many departments out this way. They seem to be torn between the Dodge Charger and an SUV (ie: Ford Expedition). Charger is a bit small. The Expedition has the more desirable interior space, but gas mileage is a problem. Only time will tell.
wow, where have you been?
There was nothing particularly good about it even then. The reason the Crown Vic lasted so long as a police interceptor is that the other two of the Big Three stopped making body-on-frame automobiles*. An integrated chassis means some body panels aren’t replaceable, which increases repair costs for vehicles that are crashed a lot.
*As manufacturers in other developed countries had years ago. It’s absolutely mystifying that American automakers built such bad cars for so long with all their advantages and access to the best engineers in the world.
ETA: Top Gear (US) did an amusing comparison test of the vehicles which are mostly replacing the Crown Vic last year.
In my town, Chargers and Malibus are replacing Crown Vics for the most part. For patrol cars, mostly the Chargers. The county has purchased a few of both as well as some Jeep Grand Cherokees for some of the rougher terrain. From what I’ve seen, the state has begun using Chargers as well.
IME, taxis are mostly mini-vans now.
In Virginia I’ve been seeing Chevy Impala and Dodge Charger police cars.
Yes, it was something that police departments and transportation providers were aware was coming, so it did not catch them unprepared, and the various automakers had already been putting out police and taxicab package versions of their newer vehicles. As earlier mentioned the reason the Crown Vic was so popular for police and taxis at this point was that it was the Last Man Standing of the conventional body-on-frame RWD with heavy-duty option full-size sedan lines that were selected for that market in the late 80s.
But by now it was really becoming antiquated for many of its uses. This led the New York City Taxi Commission to draw inspiration from London and from the memory of the Checker years, and look fora specifically taxicab-by-design standard vehicle. The bid was tough, not the least because if something becomes “The” new iconic NY cab, that rig is going to sell a whole lot of units in every other city in the country. As it is thousands of NY cabs will remain various other type of vehicles even after its introduction, largely in order to provide wheelchair accommodations.
Can you elaborate on this.
The bad cars part, or the advantages part? It’s probably more of a GD than GQ thing.
If they had Crown Vic hybrid do you think they would done really well than .
The future is going the way of hybrid so it strange they did not bring out hybrid.
No. The problem with the Crown Victoria isn’t its fuel economy. Well, not the only one.
he thinks watching Top Gear makes him an automotive expert.
Yeah, I stand absolutely corrected. The Crown Victoria is a great product.
The Mercury Grand Marquis (which was a more upscale version of the Crown Vic) was actually a pretty nice car. I got to drive one. It doesn’t get the best mileage but then neither do gas guzzling Explorers, Escalades, or Tundras.
One of the big advantages of the Crown Vic was the “body on frame” construction that made many accident repairs cheaper. Police could bump around in them and get dents and run it by the shop for a quick fix.
Ford introduced the replacement for the Crown Victoria, the Five Hundred, in 2004. It was built on a global platform that underpinned various Volvos over the years. Modern suspension, modern engines, unibody construction, European tuning, and available all wheel drive.
Ford’s mistake was not pulling the Crown Vic from the market when they did it, so consumers had a choice between the two when they went down to their Ford dealer. Did they buy the modern option? Yes, but in smaller numbers than the venerable Crown Vic.
So either American consumers are dumb, or the Crown Vic has some merit that you’re not giving it credit for. I’d like to think it’s a little bit of both, but regardless, if you’re wondering why Ford kept making the darned thing, it’s because there was a demand for it.
[QUOTE=JRDelirious]
This led the New York City Taxi Commission to draw inspiration from London and from the memory of the Checker years, and look fora specifically taxicab-by-design standard vehicle.
[/QUOTE]
Eesh, that thing has “designed by committee” written all over it.