In 1987, after my wife was certified to drive again, we went shopping for a car. At the time we were just starting up a side business (now sadly defunct) of travelling to SF conventions & selling books, so we needed something roomy but cheap. We found a 78 or 79 (IIRC) Mercury Grand Marquis wagon which served us well for several years before finally seizing up on I65 just north of Lebanon (but that’s another story). The thing just barely fit in out garage, and I kept joking that I was going to have “USS Enterprise” painted on its side and have little planes glued to the roof, but that thing could move. We would be on the highway and even loaded back-to-front and floor-to-roof with books it would do 80mph (the LurkMistress had a bit of a lead foot and if traffic was light she tended to not notice when her speed crept up).
The funniest thing was when she would be a stop light and some yahoo would pull up into the right turn lane, expecting to whip past the old lady in the station wagon going through the intersection. When the light turned green he would race forward only to have this green streak whip past him, leaving him sitting there behind the parked cars waiting to get back into the traffic flow.
Even though I was only 18 at the time, I was looking for a new car last year and it came down to the Crown Vic or the Taurus. I got the Taurus, because I wanted a big, heavy front-wheel drive sedan that wasn’t terribly expensive.
I agree wholeheartedly about the cop car thing. I don’t speed on the highway, but I pass a cop while I am driving I don’t slow down. When people in front of me do, I pass 'em. And then I usually notice that it’s not a cop after all, it’s just an old guy in a hat rolling along in his powder blue Crown Vic in the left lane.
FTR, when I was walking home for lunch not fifteen minutes ago, I saw a riced-out late model Vic with a bigass rally stripe and glass packs. It looked pretty dumb.
My mother has a Crown Vic with interceptor package. I borrowed it for a road trip once. I had to monitor the speedodometer to make sure I hadn’t eased up to 90 mph without realizing it. She just bought a new one and I’m thinking of trading my old Accord to her for her old Crown Vic.
About six weeks ago, a Sherrif’s Deputy gave me a ticket for speeding. I was driving a Honda Civic and the Big, Bold, Deputy was driving a HUGE Crown Vic, which he used to chase me down, with the damned siren screaming and the damned red lights flashing. Like I was going to attempt to outrun a Crown Vic with my Honda Civic. Cost me 170 damn dollars. Damn Deputy. Damn Crown Vic. Damn. Damn. Damn. Take 'em off the damn road, I say. Make the damn deputies drive Honda Civics. That’ll teach 'em.
/rainman/
'course thats a 1999 powder-blue crown victoria intercepter package,only twenty-two thousand made,it used to have a grey interior,'course now its a terrible blue,course my dad used to let me drive it in the driveway on a sunday,'course I’m an excellent driver
/rainman/
The Oldsmobile of Slight Incapacitation. I like it!
Airman Doors, I thought it was funny. And I have to admit feeling the same way. But by all means, the rest of you are free to drive and like whatever you choose. No skin off my nose.
Nice pics. Maybe my wish of getting a digital camera is more menacing than it seems…
I was never a big fan of Crown Vics until I started driving a cab. The cab fleet consists of Vics and Chevy Caprices, all of which ARE retired cop cars.
The Vics get far better gas mileage than the Chevies (and not too bad mileage in general), hold up much better, have a shorter trun radius, handle better and are generally far superior cars.
I’ve decided that when I get back on my financial feet and can replace my current vehicle (which I hope is VERY soon), my next car will be a Crown Vic. Granted, I won’t be able to get the Interceptor package in it, but the sport model is pretty darn close.
BTW, I timed the Vic to which I have myself currently assigned: 0-60 in 7.0. Not bad for a car with 278000 miles on it.
Actually, I was quite underwhelmed by the Maurader. Under powered for its weight, and cursed with a typical Ford [4 speed] automatic transmission.
ObOPRef: Yeah, I hate Crown Vics on the highway, too. But I have to say that the bastards who race up the fast lane are worse than the dawdlers, because then you’re damn sure that you’ve just been nabbed at 100 MPH.
Actually it’s stunning, considering that’s nearly two seconds faster than a new '97 Police Interceptor. Not sure the extra 20 hp on the '03 is going to explain your numbers. Are you using NO[sub]2[/sub]?
I had a similar experience a few years back on my way to work. I was on the graveyard shift, driving my beat-up Dodge Shadow through a residential area, when I got pulled over. I hadn’t been speeding, but apparently there had been a rash of Shadows taken, since they were easy to break into and steal.
The officer explained why he’d stopped my, and said since I’d stopped, he didn’t think I’d stolen the car, so I could go. He didn’t check any papers, or even my liscence! Did he really think I’d try to out run him, even if the car was stolen? You had to measure going 0 - 60 in minutes, not seconds with that car.
BTW, just so this isn’t a total hijack, I usually check out the wheels of any Crown Vics I see. Cop cars rarely have hub-caps on them (at least the ones I’ve seen). “Civilian” cars do.
