its over.

Me too!!!








.

 

I am absolutely furious and frustrated that Ford Motor Co is as short sighted and as "reactionary" as they are in so many of their corporate decisions.

I started selling Fords back in '79 and continued to do so until 3 years ago when I was a general sales manager of a metro NY dealership. When they discontinued the full size wagon in 92, I was vocal in my displeasure to any Ford rep who would give me a listen. They claimed there was no market for them anymore. Oh really? I guess noone told the tens of thousands Roadmaster, Caprice and Custom Cruiser wagon buyers that, as GM did quite well with those for what, 5 or 6 years after Ford gave up on it. I can't tell you the huge # of customers who came in looking for a full size Ford wagon that I had to begrudingly jam into the Taurus. (Don't get me wrong, I loved the Taurus wagon, but it wasn't a Crown Vic.)

It was my opinion back then that the reason there was LESS of a market for them was because Ford didn't update them. There wasn't a whole lot of difference between the '79's and the 91's and we Americans love our neighbors to see we got a new car in the driveway. How could we do that if the wagon we were buying looked the same as one 12 years old? Had they modernized the look of it more drastically than curving the corners of the front end, I know they would've sold like hotcakes.

And now, the geniuses in Dearborn have done it again. They claim there was no retail market for the Crown Vic a few years back and made them no longer to the public except through fleet sales. Guess what. If they don't make 'em, they won't sell them. They just gave up on one of their most durable, reliable, comfortable and roomy road cars that they ever produced. It wasn't even a gas hog; you could clearly expect highway mileage in the mid twenties and when you consider you could be transporting 6 adults that all had enough room, that's one heck of a people mover.

Well, as you can see, I have strong feelings on the demise of the illustrious Panther chassis and I could go on and on about it, but I won't. My tirade is long enough already!

RIP Crown Vic, Grand Marquis and Town Car. You served us well.


Oh, and one more thing. How could they not put the last Crown Vic in the Henry Ford Museum? What are they thinking?

 

Good post, snoot. And to add insult to injury...they really had to stick it to the loyal followers of the car by sending the last one to Saudi, Arabia!

 

Too bad, sad day.

 

Couldn't agree more. To be honest, I'm outright pissed off, STILL about this.

They do get good mileage, too. I could squeeze 28 on the highway out of my P71. That's damn close to a 3.8 liter LeSabre or other car of that style and you've got a hell of a vehicle with a Panther ANYTHING.

 

just tresure the awsome panther wagon you have tom...

 

You know I do, that car has become part of who I am!

 

can anyone add to this? i think this is a great start ...nice work tom!
but it needs to be longer and it needs posted somewhere where all car guys can see it!

 

This is cool. It's a take off of a poem I love by Mary Frye. I plan to use some take offs of it in my eulogy. Here's the poem......

OK....the damn thing won't post in stanza's ... it just posts as a paragraph. I hate it that you can't copy and post things as they are! Well....here's the poem but it sure loses a lot since there are no proper breaks in the wording....
Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there; I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow, I am the diamond glints on snow, I am the sun on ripened grain, I am the gentle autumn rain. When you awaken in the morning’s hush I am the swift uplifting rush Of quiet birds in circling flight. I am the soft starlight at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there; I did not die.

 

-Hope we don't have to read this soon! Mine will say- "MODEL T BORN-LIVED-DIED"

 

I cannot take credit. I got this off Jalopnik.

 

everyone is gonna die here...its a matter of when. but i like ya and i dont like hearing you talkabout having one foot in the grave! chin up ol'man!

 

Dito!

 

look what i found.

im gonna cry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpsuDRLjpGs

but i did just find out that a ford dealer in saudi arabia bought it, they have no plans to sell it. the owner of the dealer plans to leave it in the center of the showroom. i would still feel better with it on this side of the pond.

 

still...lets see what we can add. maybe a bit for the towncar and marauder?