MI Ford Dealers See Iconic Police Car Retire; Crown Victoria Steps Aside for Ford Taurus and Others

Sept. 6, 2011 - PRLog -- DETROIT, M.I. – MI Ford dealers may have seen the Crown Victoria proudly serve their cities for more than 30 years. Being the iconic police car for so many years, it may be surprising that the Crown Victoria will be retired as other Ford models are moving forward with new competition.
Although the Crown Victoria was introduced as a police vehicle in 1983, it didn’t hold the market until it became the top choice for law enforcement from 1996 to 2010. MI Ford dealers sold the vehicle to consumers even as the Victoria took on more of a role as a police car. In 2008, the Crown Victoria was no longer offered to customers searching for the family-friendly bench seating.
The market is now seeing more competition as vehicles such as the Chevrolet Caprice and Dodge Charger have joined the industry for police vehicles. Ford Motor Corp is not completely leaving the race, but rather bringing in two other vehicles to take the place of the Crown Victoria: the Ford Taurus and the Ford Explorer SUV.
As the Victoria is being discontinued, many police departments are buying as many Crown Victorias as they can such as Sgt. Larry Poleski of the Grand Rapid Police Department, according to The Detroit Free Press. Poleski’s division has already purchased 28 Crown Victorias this year alone.
Some are not happy about Ford’s plans to discontinue the Victoria as one North Charleston, S.C., police chief, Zumalt, says, “the Crown Vic is the best vehicle for line police officers in the United States.”
Zumalt’s department bought Crown Victorias earlier this year as well, totaling 40 for the department. Although, Zumalt prefers the Victorias, the department will not be staying loyal to the brand but changing over instead, saying, “The Taurus isn't going to work for us. It's too small. We're looking at the Caprice from Chevrolet and the Dodge Charger.”
MI Ford dealers may not see any shift in traffic as they do not carry the Crown Victorias, but there is no question more police departments will continue to stock up before the vehicle is officially gone.
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[Source(s): The Detroit Free Press]