Ford Crown Victoria
The Ford Crown Victoria is a variety of automobile made by the Ford Motor Company and sold mainly in the North American market.
1955
The first "Crown Victoria" appeared in 1955; it was a 2-door 6-seater hardtop coupe, part of the Ford Fairlane range, that differed from the regular Victoria model (named after a type of carriage) by having a lower, sleeker roofline and much more stainless steel trim, including a stainless steel band that 'crowned' the roofline, passing right over the car, as an extension of the B-pillar line. That model did not outlast the 1950s.
1979
In 1979, Ford brought back the name on a deluxe version of the LTD full-size car line on the Ford Panther platform. It was recognizeable by its four headlights with amber turn signals beneath them (base LTDs had two headlights, and clear turn signals in the grille). There was a 2-door coupe (all steel top this time), 4 door sedan and a wagon- the wagon became a "Country Squire" if fake-wood trim was ordered. Most had 5.0 L Windsor V8s, all had automatics.
By 1982 the LTD designation was dropped along with the base model; the LTD name moved to a mid-size car based on the Fairmont, which was dropped in 1986 after the huge success of the Taurus. The coupe did not last past 1985.
1992
In 1992 the sedan body (production of the station wagon having ceased in 1991) was completely redesigned to the round, six-window shape (which shared many details with its contemporary, the newly refreshed 1992 Taurus), and there was a new 4.6 L modular engine. There was a further facelift in 1998 and chassis modifications for 2002.
This car, its slightly more luxurious twin the Mercury Grand Marquis, and the more expensive Lincoln Town Car are just about the only mass-produced passenger cars left in the world with a fully separate chassis, as opposed to the more modern "unibody" contruction style where the body panels are load bearing members. Mercury introduced a performance version called the Mercury Marauder but sales were slow.
Some 90% of police cars in the US and Canada are Crown Victorias, since Ford was the only automaker still making sedans for police after the Chevrolet Caprice was cancelled. Current and former police versions (the latter are often used as taxis) handily outnumber civilian models.
While the car has a been highly rated for safety, there was some controversy and lawsuits in the 1990s over the car's gas tank leaking after certain types of high energy crashes. Factors included the retention of the gas tank in the once-industry-standard position of behind the rear axle, rather than the now more common location of in front of the rear axle, the nature of the gas tank, and the unique circumstances of the car crashes. The condition may have been exacerbated by the positioning of a sharp bolt on the rear axle, which would puncture the tank in certain types of accidents. Ford has offered an upgrade kit to owners of Crown Victoria, Town Car and Grand Marquis cars to reduce the chance of the problem occurring. (See also Automotive Recall)
Future
Ford was rumored to be considering replacing the aging Panther platform with a derivative of the Australian Ford Falcon for 2008, but the company has denied this. It says it is likely to either continue the Panther chassis or replace it with a front- or all-wheel drive design based on the Ford Five Hundred's D3 architecture.
See also