4 ms·

I remember these being ubiquitous especially in movies. Do we know why Ford stopped making what seemed to be a universally loved vehicle that was in high deman

by atonse 3y ago

I remember these being ubiquitous especially in movies. Do we know why Ford stopped making what seemed to be a universally loved vehicle that was in high demand?

thmsths 3y ago
Shift to selling more SUVs maybe? After all the linked article mentions that the crown vic replacement is an SUV.
RecycledEle 3y ago
See my comment in this thread. Basically, The Management Class that runs Ford and GM could not stand being made fun if for making vehicles (that got 24 MPG in the highway) that were appropriate to the task. Therefore The Management Class killed off a profitable national security asset.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- tehwebguy 3y ago
  You think it was that? And not the higher margins on SUVs, or the fact that the SUV version is based on a consumer vehicle that actually sells?
  - linksnapzz 3y ago
    A little of both. The GM B-bodies & Ford Panther cars were probably making $10-15K profit per unit, as someone has said, most of the tooling was paid off. However, in addition to being even more profitable, pickups can also be built on the same assembly lines as a perimeter-frame RWD sedan; so it made sense...if all you care about is maximum profit in the SUV/pickup vertical, and not breadth of market offering for the brand.
  - RecycledEle 3y ago
    The higher margins on SUVs are eaten up by CAFE fines.
brk 3y ago
American buyers shifted towards SUVs in the 90s, and that trend just accelerated. These large body-on-frame sedans simply weren't popular enough for the automakers to keep investing in the platform. The Crown Vic in particular had some engineering safety issues and lawsuits that most likely also encouraged Ford to scrap it.
GenerWork 3y ago
Probably safety, changing customer trends, and emissions. Crown Vic was based on a platform that had been used since the early 70s if I recall correctly, and the engine (4.6L V8) was being phased out in favor of the new 5.0 V8. That being said, it definitely wasn't profitability. Tooling for the platform had been paid off for literally a decade at least (probably more) by the time production stopped.
8b16380d 3y ago
CAFE
snakeyjake 3y ago
>Do we know why Ford stopped making what seemed to be a universally loved vehicle that was in high demand? The Crown Victoria was not in high demand except by state and local law enforcement agencies and taxi companies. That is not a large enough market to support an assembly line. The Crown Victoria sold less in a year (20,000-30,000) than the Explorer sold in a quarter (50,000-60,000). Most of the Crown Victorias sales were low-margin fleet models. The Caprice Classic was killed off by GM for the same reason, and the Dodge Charger (~80,000/yr) is not long for this world.
iancmceachern 3y ago
It was certainly not in high demand

by atonse 3y ago

I remember these being ubiquitous especially in movies. Do we know why Ford stopped making what seemed to be a universally loved vehicle that was in high demand?

thmsths 3y ago

Shift to selling more SUVs maybe? After all the linked article mentions that the crown vic replacement is an SUV.

RecycledEle 3y ago

See my comment in this thread. Basically, The Management Class that runs Ford and GM could not stand being made fun if for making vehicles (that got 24 MPG in the highway) that were appropriate to the task. Therefore The Management Class killed off a profitable national security asset.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
tehwebguy 3y ago
You think it was that? And not the higher margins on SUVs, or the fact that the SUV version is based on a consumer vehicle that actually sells?
- linksnapzz 3y ago
  A little of both. The GM B-bodies & Ford Panther cars were probably making $10-15K profit per unit, as someone has said, most of the tooling was paid off. However, in addition to being even more profitable, pickups can also be built on the same assembly lines as a perimeter-frame RWD sedan; so it made sense...if all you care about is maximum profit in the SUV/pickup vertical, and not breadth of market offering for the brand.
- RecycledEle 3y ago
  The higher margins on SUVs are eaten up by CAFE fines.

brk 3y ago

American buyers shifted towards SUVs in the 90s, and that trend just accelerated. These large body-on-frame sedans simply weren't popular enough for the automakers to keep investing in the platform. The Crown Vic in particular had some engineering safety issues and lawsuits that most likely also encouraged Ford to scrap it.

GenerWork 3y ago

Probably safety, changing customer trends, and emissions. Crown Vic was based on a platform that had been used since the early 70s if I recall correctly, and the engine (4.6L V8) was being phased out in favor of the new 5.0 V8. That being said, it definitely wasn't profitability. Tooling for the platform had been paid off for literally a decade at least (probably more) by the time production stopped.

8b16380d 3y ago

CAFE

snakeyjake 3y ago

>Do we know why Ford stopped making what seemed to be a universally loved vehicle that was in high demand? The Crown Victoria was not in high demand except by state and local law enforcement agencies and taxi companies. That is not a large enough market to support an assembly line. The Crown Victoria sold less in a year (20,000-30,000) than the Explorer sold in a quarter (50,000-60,000). Most of the Crown Victorias sales were low-margin fleet models. The Caprice Classic was killed off by GM for the same reason, and the Dodge Charger (~80,000/yr) is not long for this world.

iancmceachern 3y ago

It was certainly not in high demand