Ford Crown Victoria

The Crown Victoria- A car, And An Icon

A dated car today, the Crown Victoria was once a symbol of an era in American culture. The smooth, strong lines of a well-designed car denote power and authority, in a commanding way few other cars can. The Crown Victoria is just another work horse car in most ways. But it is memorable, and commonplace, and recognizable. Owning a Crown Victoria is like owning a piece of American History.

What makes this car unique?

The Crown Victoria is a tough car. It doesn't crumple on impact, doesn't fall apart or stutter to a halt. The uniqueness, how widespread the car is, comes from how tough it is. Though it was never pretty, or the fastest car, it was still popular among police and taxi forces in the U.S. The frame and body of this car are tough and can survive a lot. It is also the last car of its kind to be produced inside of the U.S.

What sort of cars are offered under this name?

There is a surprisingly wide variety of cars that are sold under this name. The oldest, from the late fifties, has the classic wings and lines of cars from that time. A two-door, six-seated beast of a car, the oldest Crown Victorias were big, and beefy. After a time, the Crown Victoria was changed a little bit, modernized with smoother lines and a stronger front and rear end, and with the new run it was marked as a first generation Crown Vic.

The modular V8 that started to see use with the first generation crown vic was seen as quite the improvement over the last model. In 1998 the second generation of the car was introduced, with stronger and more stable lines, and it started to see widespread use in business fleets in this generation. The lines were considered somewhat less revolutionary,  a bit more safe, moving away from other failed designs.

What were the sale options?

On the first generation Crown Victorias, in the first few years of production, you started to see a few options crop up. Anti-lock brakes, with attached 4 wheel disc brakes, were one of the main options. The other is city-speed traction control, which remained an option throughout the car's production.  In the later years, different trims with moderate changes to the exhaust began to be offered, and a higher-quality handling and performance package began to be offered towards the end of the first generation's run.

The Victoria began to offer trunk storage systems as an option on certain Victoria's during its second generation, an several of the other previous 'options' became standard. More comprehensive driver-side airbags began to be offered, and a bit later they began to offer  a power moonroof, and a 6-cd changer. They also brought back a modernized Premium sport package, a new version of the performance and handling package updated for the more modern models.

What's going on under the hood?

The earliest Crown Vics- the models in the fifties- ran a 5 liter windsor V8, and was considered a fair step up from the cars that preceded it. The first generation Crown Victorias ran a new engine, the 4.6 liter modular V8, and operated off a 4-speed automatic transmission. The second generation ran on the same engine, with a different body kit. The engine generally produced around 210 horsepower, with fairly strong performance across the board on moving the two-ton sedan.

The engine produced around 270 foot pounds of torque. Both of these numbers- horsepower and torque- are for normal, standard engines, before the augmented exhaust and changed performance.

How's the fuel economy?

The Crown Victoria's mileage per gallon is fairly good, rating at 18 miles per gallon in the city, and 24 miles per gallon on the highway. Holding 19-20 gallons of gas, her trip distance is fairly long, and for a V8 engine those numbers are fairly impressive, higher than many other numbers sometimes seen on cars of this size.

What about Creature Comforts?

The Crown Victoria offers options to include CD players of varying sizes and qualities, along with the standard radio and cassette players.  Standard floor mats, air conditioning, and seat belts, all began to be added to the car over the years from its production in the fifties. In later years it began to offer a trip computer and perimeter alarm, and the dash design began to get updated and modernized, leaving behind the analog speedometer in favor of a more modern design.

What about safety?

The early Crown Victorias only offered dealer-optional seatbelts. Airbags were basic and low-tech at this point. Later models began to get better, adding front and side airbags and option comprehensive airbag packages for the driver's side, and standard passenger airbags began to be widely offered. The security systems and locks began to get updated through the models and the years, eventually leading to the safe, secure models that were produced for civil use up through 2007.

Thoughts on the Crown Victoria

It's a car that is much more than just another V8 on wheels. The design, the layout, the way that the car drives with the modern packages- it is part of history, in and of itself, it is a car that has left its mark both on cinema and on popular culture more generally. This car is well worth any price you could find on it- because more than having a vehicle to get you from point A to point B, you have a small piece of history.

It's not the prettiest or the fastest car even from its own time. But it is tough, dependable, and has a dignity and a history to it. The best word for this car is respectable- it is not pretty, or that high performance- but it will keep you and itself in one piece in case of an accident- it's a car that you can trust.