KevH Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 (edited) I've been driving Ford Crown Vics since I started as a police cadet back in 2000 (first one was a 1996). My department bought 25 or so extras when Ford announced production would cease and put them in storage so there are still plenty floating around in the pool. I've been assigned to drive an Explorer...sorry Police Interceptor Utility...since January. Not bad, the AWD is nice, but not great. I miss the Crown Vic. The Taurus-based car is just too damn small, both for the driver and for prisoners in the backseat. So please, please, please, bring back the Crown Victoria in some form. An updated body-on-frame RWD or AWD vehicle with a 2.7 Ecoboost would be awesome. It could even share components with the F-150. Lots of cops in America would thank you! Edited June 6, 2017 by KevH 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rosadini Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Careful Kevin-or you will end up with a POS Charger-frameless as it is -or a Tahoe. Hmnn-how about an Everest Police Interceptor- BOF, good visibility (I would imagine), plenty of room for all the stuff you guys have to carry, and modern power train. TT- chill-this too will pass. You have to appreciate someones appreciation for the old girl when they spent alltheir working hours in one. I have LEO friends who feel the same way.. Love my SHO but miss my CV Sport-in particular the Flowmaster exhaust that I had installed like two days after it was delivered And while I like the SHO, I have to say I don't like the Explorer driving position. To me, feels like you are sitting in an old fashioned iron claw bath tub. One of my daughter in laws has one and when it came time to replace my wife's third Explorer, after driving the new one she said "no way". Biggest complaint-visibility in particular rearward vs old Explorer. My solution-I found a certified 2010 Explorer limited with 27,000 miles- home run! But what's next for her? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailhiker Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 This has me wondering if there would be any advantage for ' body-on-frame' over a unibody for an electric vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rperez817 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 I've been driving Ford Crown Vics since I started as a police cadet back in 2000 (first one was a 1996). My department bought 25 or so extras when Ford announced production would cease and put them in storage so there are still plenty floating around in the pool. I've been assigned to drive an Explorer...sorry Police Interceptor Utility...since January. Not bad, the AWD is nice, but not great. I miss the Crown Vic. The Taurus-based car is just too damn small, both for the driver and for prisoners in the backseat. So please, please, please, bring back the Crown Victoria in some form. An updated body-on-frame RWD or AWD vehicle with a 2.7 Ecoboost would be awesome. It could even share components with the F-150. Lots of cops in America would thank you! Thank you sir for your service as a police officer. I do contract work for the federal government. Many people I've worked with would appreciate a modern version of the Crown Vic Police Interceptor too. There are lots of complaints about the Explorer and Taurus Police Interceptors from my fed coworkers and friends. They said poor durability and visibility are the main problems with the new PI cars. Crown Vic was much better in those areas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 ....The Crown Vic was much better in those areas. . ...and if Ford still made it, you'd be dinging on Ford for producing it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 . ...and if Ford still made it, you'd be dinging on Ford for producing it. Fleet Dumping!!!!! OMG!!!!! It's incredibly ironic that he views fleet sales as bad yet expounds the virtues of a model that was fleet only. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rperez817 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 It's incredibly ironic that he views fleet sales as bad yet expounds the virtues of a model that was fleet only. No irony sir. It's not me "expounding the virtues" of Crown Vic PI, as my experience with that car is limited. The feedback in post 5 comes from people I met and worked with in the federal government who drove Ford Police Interceptors old and new regularly for their jobs. Most of them liked the old Crown Vic PI better than the new Explorer and Taurus PI. Like KevH, many of those coworkers and friends said they wish Ford made a new version of Crown Vic PI rather than or maybe in addition to Explorer and Taurus PI. I've seen GSA price concessions on Ford PI cars and other non PI Ford vehicles like Fusion Hybrid. The discounts are huge. Ford is probably making low/no profit or maybe even losses selling cars to GSA and other federal government fleets. These sales are "bad" for Ford's profitability. Ultimately it's up to the executives at Ford to figure out how many cars including the PIs are worth giving away to governments and other fleets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 You're still stuck on this notion that fleet/government sales equates to "giving away" cars. That's simply not the case anymore and ATPs prove it. It's not 1999 anymore, get over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Ford is probably making low/no profit or maybe even losses selling cars to GSA and other federal government fleets. These sales are "bad" for Ford's profitability. Ford is not losing money or breaking even on fleet sales. If they were they'd stop doing it. Mulally changed that mindset years ago. Fleet sales ADD to Ford's bottom line profit - quite handsomely from what Ford has said repeatedly. You do not know what you're talking about. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Fleet Dumping!!!!! OMG!!!!! It's incredibly ironic that he views fleet sales as bad yet expounds the virtues of a model that was fleet only. Well, there were 16 or 17 AARP retail customers up until it went fleet only 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Blah blah blah blah blah Ford sucks blah blah blah blah blah.... . FTFY... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevH Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 Not sure what nerve I hit, but I genuinely loved the Crown Victoria as a patrol car and wish their was a legitimate replacement or updated version. The Taurus is just too damn small inside for a driver with a full duty belt (I'm 6'3" and 230 lbs) and with a partitiion it's too small for putting a handcuffed suspect in the back. We have them unmarked for our detectives and they're great for that, but they don't work well as a Crown Vic replacement. The Explorer sits high and the lack of a locking trunk means we have to put a big aluminum box in the back to hold emergency equipment. It's not an ideal solution, but its working for the moment. I don't consider the Charger or Tahoe to be a decent replacement either. Body on frame means that when someone crashes or crashes into the car it's not necessarily totalled. My department has about 60 Crown Victorias in-service still. Cars on their way to auction often get cannibalized to replace parts on newer damaged ones. A great feature. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevH Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 Ford is probably making low/no profit or maybe even losses selling cars to GSA and other federal government fleets. These sales are "bad" for Ford's profitability. For city and county governments, while the vehicles certainly probably don't make the profit a loaded vehicle does, I think they are still making a profit, especially with the quantity of sales. The city I work for has around 600 employees and probably 350 to 400 vehicles in its fleet, all Ford. The county I work in (I do not work for them) has even more employees and vehicles and also has an all Ford fleet. You figure that these Ford fleets (and all the others like them) even if they only make a $1000 profit per vehicle they still will purchase Ford parts and use Ford dealership services when its too much for a corp yard mechanic to deal with. So I think there is a profit to be made. I just wish they'd bring back a full size rear wheel or all wheel drive sedan with a decent size interior compartment to serve as a Crown Victoria replacement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 (edited) Yeah, and and before you became a LEO, a whole generation complained that Crown Vics were replacing their beloved Caprice. Before that, they complained about Caprices replacing their Dodges and Plymouths. Edited June 6, 2017 by J-150 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevH Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 Yeah, and and before you became a LEO, a whole generation complained that Crown Vics were replacing their beloved Caprice. Before that, they complained about Caprices replacing their Dodges and Plymouths. True, but the current replacements are pretty lackluster. Look at the California Highway Patrol and how many times they have switched vehicles since the passing of the CV. They're on Dodge Chargers with Penstar V6's at the moment after dumping the Explorer and from what I've heard they aren't happy with those either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Kev, for what it's worth I have a friend who is Border Patrol here in Detroit, and they all fight for the remaining Crown Vics they have in the local fleet. Most hate the Charger because it's only fast until you need to turn and they have completely ignored the Taurus PI and Explorer PI. Their particular unit doesn't really use the Tahoe because it's size isn't conducive to their needs in downtown Detroit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevH Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 The amount of blind spots in the Chargers are nuts and they just don't feel right. They also don't have a whole lot of room in them either. There really isn't anything ideal out there right now. The new Continental is based on the CD4 platform, same as the new Taurus, Explorer and Fusion, but with a bigger body. I wish they would come up with a Crown Victoria based on that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 (edited) The amount of blind spots in the Chargers are nuts and they just don't feel right. They also don't have a whole lot of room in them either. There really isn't anything ideal out there right now. The new Continental is based on the CD4 platform, same as the new Taurus, Explorer and Fusion, but with a bigger body. I wish they would come up with a Crown Victoria based on that! . A Crown Victoria on a CD4 platform? They make 'em in China, it is called.......Taurus. Edited June 7, 2017 by twintornados 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 True, but the current replacements are pretty lackluster. Look at the California Highway Patrol and how many times they have switched vehicles since the passing of the CV. They're on Dodge Chargers with Penstar V6's at the moment after dumping the Explorer and from what I've heard they aren't happy with those either. People don't like change, I'm sure that they wheren't happy with the CV either when it first went into service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 True, but the current replacements are pretty lackluster. Look at the California Highway Patrol and how many times they have switched vehicles since the passing of the CV. They're on Dodge Chargers with Penstar V6's at the moment after dumping the Explorer and from what I've heard they aren't happy with those either. People don't like change, I'm sure that they wheren't happy with the CV either when it first went into service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twintornados Posted June 7, 2017 Share Posted June 7, 2017 (edited) People don't like change, I'm sure that they wheren't happy with the CV either when it first went into service. . The Panther chassis Crown Victoria was developed in 1979-ish to replace the previous LTD / Galaxie / Police Interceptor.....detractors back then bitched about the "downsizing" of the vehicle and that there was no room compared to the previous generation. Of course, Caprice was likewise "downsized" a few years earlier and detractors bitched about that too....Dodges have always been uni-body so I never understood the whole "must be body-on-frame" to be a cop car argument... Edited June 7, 2017 by twintornados Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted June 8, 2017 Share Posted June 8, 2017 (edited) When GM dumped the 1996 Caprice, there were howls of protest and that the Ford was "just not as good". A Chevy dealer tried to make a business of selling refurbished Caprice cop cars. But, they ended up being patch jobs that didn't last 1/2 as long. Why don't you write your Congressman and demand Gov't subsidies to build a new "Panther"? Ford cant afford to. And yes, it is funny how some think that old RWD Mopars were BOF. Edited June 8, 2017 by 630land 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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