One of the most well known names in autodom is stood to get its first major overhaul in virtually 30 years. Ford's Crown Victoria, introduced in 1979, has had only small changes since its introduction, but a new plan by Ford to overhaul the crown jewel of its fleet is reputedly in the offing. Thanks to state help - Australian basically - the new Crown Victoria will be a clean break from the current model and will help to spawn further models for siblings Mercury and Lincoln. Yes, you may not have considered a Crown Victoria up to this point, but the approaching new "Crown Vic" may just change your mind about that.
You have to go back all the way to the late 1970s to when "downsizing" was a term used by the vehicle industry to explain a shell game where giant automobiles were dropped down a nick in size to sit on a platform smaller than the previous model. Indeed, throughout the 1970s Ford's full-size offerings the LTD/Galaxie 500 were enormous beasts of burden. When the time 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 large vehicle with all the accoutrements. As time went buy the vehicle grew less and less desirable as buyer tastes modified, but the Crown Victoria's style did not. As a pursuit, government, or fleet car the Crown Victoria has done very well, but Ford has only made modest improvements to the vehicle over the years. Indeed, America's #2 automaker has made significant investments in trucks, SUVS SUVS and select autos, but the Crown Victoria quickly began to show its age. Today's model is terribly outdated and it hasn't had an in depth refreshing in more than 10 years, so an overhaul is warranted.
Ford's impetus for change is coming from an unlikely source: a foreign govt. According to stories sources, Ford's Australian operation has received a $1.4 billion grant from Australia to build a production and research facility which will be used to design and build many new models. One of the Australian automobiles slated to take advantage of this move will be the Ford Falcon, a full sized car that will become the foundation of the all-new Crown Victoria.
While some have theorized that the the new Crown Victoria will be built in Australia and imported to the U.S, this is unlikely to happen. Instead, Ford will expand the Falcon's production to at least one U.S. Plant, make some technical refinements, and sell the car as a Crown Victoria. It will be focused to police departments and fleet buyers basically with some residual sales for private buyers. In addition, the Crown Victoria will spawn a new Mercury Gran Marquis while a little stretched and much more and plenty more sublime version of the auto will become the replacement for the present 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 may think so.
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