by: Jay Stevens
The Ford Motor Company is yet again behind one of the superb vehicles – the Ford Crown Victoria. This vehicle is a full-size car that had its history of production dating back to the 1950s, and relived again in the 1970s. It had quite a mediocre sale in the general public’s market, however, it gained much popularity among the ranks of those in uniform. This is a full-sized sedan, and is more often known as “Crown Vic”. It is more known to be a top-of-the-line sedan among the Ford’s creations. Its predecessor was the Ford LTD. And just like the Ford LTD, the Ford Crown Victoria is also usually used as a taxi cab, fleet vehicle, and police car.
The very first of the Crown Victorias had its humble makings starting in the year 1955. It made its way down the streets as a two-door six-seater hardtop coupe. It differed from the regular Victoria model through its having a stainless steel band that ‘crowned’ the roofline, passing right over the car, as an extension of the B-pillar line.
People talking about a traditional American are more often than not talking about vehicles like the Ford Crown Victoria, or its twin the Mercury Grand Marquis. The Ford Crown Victoria is a large car with a V8 engine under the long hood and a body separate from its steel frame. Furthermore, it has wide bench seats, soft suspension, a relatively large trunk, and poor fuel economy. The police have liked the Ford Crown Victoria because the engine makes it fairly quick, along with its rear-wheel drive that provides predictable handling, the interior can handle and take in the officer and all the police gear, plus the simple mechanicals are durable. Overall, the vehicle is not expensive.
This vehicle has been made available in three trim levels which comprises of the Standard, the LX, and the LX Sport. The Standard is plain, which is what most fleets like. The mid-line LX has alloy wheels, making it exude the look of more like a civilian machine. The LX Sport has slightly larger alloy wheels. Ordering it in dark red, gray, black, or silver birch means that it comes with a color-matched monochrome trim. The black LX Sport looks a lot like an unmarked police car.
As for the Ford Crown Victoria’s interior, it is currently one of the few remaining cars that are sold in the U.S. that still offer a bench front seat. The seats are soft, however for longer drives, it could get uncomfortable for passengers since it lacks support. The controls found inside this vehicle are fairly simple and straightforward.
Ford Crown Victoria owners can shop for discount car parts and accessories from http://www.carpartsmax.com auto parts catalog. In stock are thousands of Ford Crown Victoria parts for all enthusiasts. From engine and radiator parts to lights and hoods and wheels, customers can find everything to repair and maintain their Ford Crown Victoria.
Although the Ford Crown Victoria has squishy seats, a mushy handling, and modest V8 engines, these are overpowered by the vehicle’s huge trunk. Also, one plus for this is that because it is often mistaken for a cop car, the Ford Crown Victoria receives respect when on the road. And, this vehicle is certainly a full-size, rear-drive Americana.
In 1994, the Mustang underwent its first major redesign in 15 years. The design, code named "SN-95" by Ford, was based on an updated version of the rear-wheel drive Fox platform known as "Fox-4". It featured dramatic new styling by Patrick Schiavone that incorporated some stylistic elements similar to those on earlier Mustangs. However, unlike all earlier Mustangs, a notchback coupé model was unavailable.
In 1979, the new Mustang was based on the larger Fox platform (initially developed for the 1978 Ford Fairmont and Mercury Zephyr). The Mustang's interior was re-styled to comfortably accommodate four people, despite a smaller rear seat. The 1979 Mustang had a larger trunk (boot) and a larger motor bay, for better service access. The body styles included a coupé (Notchback) and a hatchback; a convertible Mustang was offered in 1983. The offered car-trim levels included: "LX", "GT", the 1993 "Cobra", the 1984-86 turbocharged "SVO", and the 1993 "Cobra R". The available motors were: 105 hp (78 kW) 2.3 L four-cylinder, 109 hp (81 kW) 2.8 L Cologne V6 (made by Ford of Europe), and the 140 hp (104 kW) 302 CID (4.9 L) (commonly identified as a 5.0 L by its Ford moniker), all from the Mustang II cars line. Supplies of the 2.8 L proved inadequate, leading to its mid-1979 replacement, Ford's 85 hp (63 kW). 3.3 L inline-six cylinder motor, and a new 132 hp (98 kW) 2.3 L turbo-charged, four-cylinder motor, with V8-like horsepower, was introduced. Also, between 1982 and 1984, the 3.8 L Essex V6 was used
Pony cars were in disfavor by 1970, buyers preferred cheaper, fuel-efficient compact cars. The new-for-1974 "Mustang II" model was drastically smaller than the 1973 cars. On assuming the Ford Motor Company presidency, in December of 1970, Lee Iacocca ordered a smaller Mustang for 1974, initial plans required basing the 1974 Mustang on the Ford Maverick, a compact car of like size and power akin to the Falcon's, the Mustang's original base car. Those plans went undone in favor of a yet smaller 1974 Mustang based on the Ford Pinto, a sub-compact car. Such a Mustang could better compete with smaller, imported, sports coupés, such as the Japanese Toyota Celica and the European Ford Capri (then Ford-built in Germany and Britain, sold in U.S. by Mercury as a captive import car). The introduction of the smaller Mustang II was well-timed — two months shy of the first "Energy Crisis", in October of 1973. The first-year sales were 385,993 cars, almost that of the original Mustang's twelve-month sales record of 418,812 cars
First conceived by Ford product manager Donald N. Frey and championed by Ford Division general manager Lee Iacocca, the Mustang prototype was a two-seat, mid-engine roadster. This would later be remodeled as a four-seat car penned by David Ash and John Oros in Ford's Lincoln–Mercury Division design studios, which produced the winning design in an intramural design contest called by Iacocca. To cut down the development cost and achieve a suggested retail price of US$2,368, the Mustang was based heavily on familiar, yet simple components. Much of the chassis, suspension, and drivetrain components were derived from the Ford Falcon and Fairlane. The car had a unitized platform-type frame, which was taken from the 1964 Falcon, and welded box-section side rails, including welded crossmembers. The Mustang grew larger and heavier with each passing year, culminating with the 1971 to 1973 models that were far different compared to the original 1964 model. The automaker was deluged with mail from fans of the original car who demanded that the Mustang be returned to its original size and concept
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