The Ford Crown Victoria ("Crown Vic") is a full-size sedan that was marketed and manufactured by Ford. The successor to the Ford LTD Crown Victoria, two generations of the model line were produced from the 1992 until the 2012 model years. The Ford counterpart of the Mercury Grand Marquis, the Crown Victoria was the largest sedan marketed by Ford in North America, slotted above the Ford Taurus. The Crown Victoria Police Interceptor (1992–2011) was marketed specifically for law-enforcement use; a long-wheelbase Crown Victoria sedan (2002–2011) was marketed primarily for taxi cab fleets.
The Crown Victoria was produced on the rear-wheel drive, body-on-frame Ford Panther platform, sharing its chassis with the Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car. From 1997 until their 2011 discontinuation, the three model lines were the sole four-door sedans produced in North America with a full-length frame, rear-wheel drive, and a standard V8 engine. While the front and rear crumple zones were engineered into the vehicle, it was one of Ford's products that were not of unibody construction for the entire generation. The Crown Victoria was the last car made using the Ford Panther platform.
For its entire production, the Crown Victoria was produced by Ford Canada alongside the Grand Marquis at St. Thomas Assembly in Southwold, Ontario. From 1991 until 2011, over 1.5 million cars (including Police Interceptors) were produced by St. Thomas Assembly prior to its closure. A 2012 Crown Victoria (intended for Middle East export) was the final vehicle produced by the facility. Following the discontinuation of the model line, the Crown Victoria was not directly replaced, with the full-size Ford Taurus serving as the next basis for Ford police cars.
Origin of name Prior to the 1992 model year, Ford used the Crown Victoria nameplate on two vehicles; both were flagship models of their full-size model range. From 1955 until 1956, the nameplate was used for premium two-door Ford Fairlanes. For 1980, the nameplate returned as the top trim of Ford LTD sedans, denoting all Ford full-size sedans in North America from 1983 through 1991.
A styling feature used for both versions is a stainless-steel band trimming the B-pillars ("crowning" the roof).
1955–1956
For 1955, the Ford Fairlane was introduced as the premium Ford model range. Slotted above the Victoria two-door hardtop, the Crown Victoria debuted as the flagship trim of the Fairlane. In place of the popular hardtop roofline, the Crown Victoria was fitted with a B-pillared roofline. Similar to the Mercury XM-800 concept car (though changed in angle), the B-pillar was fitted with a wide stainless-steel band ("crowning" the roof), giving a sleeker appearance to the roofline.
Alongside the standard two-tone roof, the Crown Victoria Skyliner was fitted with a fixed sunroof; a tinted acrylic glass panel formed the entire roof ahead of the B-pillar.
For 1956, the Lifeguard option package was introduced as an option for the Fairlane Crown Victoria (as with all Ford cars).
For the 1957 redesign of the Ford model line, the Crown Victoria was retired from the Fairlane series with no replacement. The Skyliner name made its return in a different form, denoting the Ford Fairlane 500 Skyliner retractable hardtop convertible.
1980–1991
For the 1980 model year, the Crown Victoria nameplate was revived after a 23-year hiatus, becoming part of the Ford LTD model range. Again, a premium trim of the full-size range (replacing the LTD Landau), the LTD Crown Victoria became two-door and four-door sedans. To distinguish the model line from its Mercury (Grand) Marquis counterpart, Ford revived the stainless-steel band to trim the B-pillars (in heavily revised form); the design was used on examples with the standard vinyl half roof.
For 1983, as part of an extensive revision of the midsize and full-size model lines of all three Ford divisions, the LTD Crown Victoria became a stand-alone model line (alongside its Mercury Grand Marquis counterpart). The Ford LTD nameplate was shifted to the midsize segment, replacing the Ford Granada. While having a separate roofline (separate doors and B-pillar trim) from its sedan counterparts, the LTD Country Squire station wagon shared its interior trim with the Crown Victoria sedan (a non-woodgrain Crown Victoria wagon was also introduced).
Discontinued after the 1991 model year, the LTD Crown Victoria (and LTD Country Squire station wagon) marked the final usage of the Ford LTD nameplate in North America. Ford of Australia produced its own Ford LTD as its flagship model line (derived from its own Fairlane) from 1973 until 2007; as neither Mercury nor Lincoln were officially marketed in Australia, the LTD was developed as a luxury vehicle.
First generation (EN53; 1992–1997)
In the first quarter of 1987, development began on a redesign codenamed "EN53". The Ford Crown Victoria was unveiled on November 28, 1990, and began production in January 1991 as a 1992 model, launching on March 21, 1991. Fleet sales of the vehicle were postponed for 14 months to maximize availability for buyers at launch. In line with the redesign of the 1991 Chevrolet Caprice (its chief competitor), the 1992 Crown Victoria featured a major exterior redesign, while retaining the previous-generation chassis. Ford reduced the coefficient of drag of the exterior from 0.42 to 0.34 (nearly matching the 0.32 of the Ford Taurus) to enhance aerodynamics and fuel efficiency, giving the first generation Crown Victoria its sleek, wedge-shaped design that came to be known as the "aero" look.
Due to a market shift in family-oriented vehicles, the Crown Victoria was offered exclusively as a four-door sedan, with the wood-trimmed LTD Country Squire station wagon discontinued. While the Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable continued in production with optional three-row seating, the Country Squire was essentially replaced by the Ford Aerostar, Ford Econoline/Club Wagon, and Ford Explorer.
Ford benefitted from a unique loophole in CAFE standards when the 1992 Crown Victoria and its Grand Marquis twin were launched. To avoid paying gas-guzzler taxes, Ford modified its supplier network so that the two vehicles could be classified as imports from Canada, effectively removing the full-size sedans from the Ford domestic CAFE fleet (alongside the Ford Mustang V8) and placing them in its imported fleet (alongside the Ford Festiva).
Chassis In lieu of developing an all-new platform architecture, the Crown Victoria retained the Panther platform of its LTD Crown Victoria predecessor. Although launched in 1978, the Panther chassis underwent extensive upgrades to improve its road manners and handling; major updates were made to the steering and suspension tuning. To improve braking performance, the Crown Victoria gained four-wheel disc brakes, which were only seen on the Lincoln Mark VII, Ford Taurus SHO, and Ford Escort GT (1991–1996). Available as options, anti-lock brakes and low-speed traction control became popular features. For 1997, several updates were made to improve handling response and steering control.
Showcased in the redesign was the new Modular V8 engine. First introduced in the 1991 Lincoln Town Car, the 4.6 L SOHC V8 replaced the overhead-valve small block V8 and was the first of a family of overhead-cam engines that would eventually appear in several Ford and Lincoln-Mercury cars and trucks. Lighter than its predecessor, the 4.6 engine produced nearly identical torque output while producing 40 additional horsepower in its standard single-exhaust configuration. As with its predecessor and the Lincoln Town Car, the 4.6 was paired with a four-speed overdrive automatic transmission. In 1993, the Ford AOD transmission was replaced by the electronically controlled AOD-E version. For 1995, the AOD-E was replaced by the 4R70W, a heavier-duty version introduced in the Lincoln Mark VIII.
Body
Ford based much of the Crown Victoria's appearance on the first-generation Ford Taurus, a look pioneered by Ford VP of Design Jack Telnack. Though the Taurus became wildly popular in its market segment, Telnack's "aero" look proved to be either a love or hate proposition with potential buyers of the Crown Victoria. Along with its distinctive no-grille front fascia, the Crown Victoria shared a similar roofline with the Taurus, similar body and bumper moldings, similar door handles, aircraft-style doors, and similarly shaped headlamp and taillamp clusters. To reduce aesthetic commonality with the Mercury Grand Marquis, only the front doors, windshield, and alloy wheels were shared between them.
For the interior, the two vehicles also were given different seats, door trim, and dashboards; the Crown Victoria featured an instrument panel with round dials that included voltage and oil-pressure gauges, while the Grand Marquis featured a horizontal speedometer without the full instrumentation. An electronic instrument panel was introduced as an option, featuring a trip computer with two trip odometers, instantaneous and average fuel economy, distance remaining to an empty fuel tank, and outside temperature readout. Though better received than the 1991 redesign of the Chevrolet Caprice, the 1992 Crown Victoria was met with disapproval from some critics and buyers, leading Ford to revise the exterior. For the 1993 model year, a grille was added to the front fascia (though it retained its "bottom-breather" cooling system configuration) and a red reflector strip was added to the trunk lid to visually connect the taillamps. For the 1995 model year, a midcycle redesign had more extensive changes to the Crown Victoria; a 6-six-slot grille replaced the egg-crate design, and wider taillamps were added to the rear with the license plate positioned between them on the trunk lid. Inside, the 1995 Crown Victoria had redesigned seats and a new dashboard, which was now shared with the Grand Marquis. The new design featured larger controls and switches, with the radio enlarged and positioned higher. The gauge cluster retained its previous layout. In late 1995, the first-generation "brick" airbag steering wheel was replaced by one with a smaller hub that returned the horn button to the center of the wheel. For the 1996 model year, the "Crown Victoria" fender script badging was removed.
Features
As with its LTD Crown Victoria predecessor, the Crown Victoria was a six-passenger automobile; the front seat was a 50/50 split bench seat. The Crown Victoria was sold in two trim levels: base and LX, with the latter forming the majority of non-fleet sales. In addition, the Crown Victoria P71 replaced the fleet-market "S" designation in 1993; the P71 was marketed exclusively for law-enforcement sales.
As with the Mercury Grand Marquis, a driver airbag was standard equipment and a passenger airbag was added as an option during later 1991 production. It later became standard in 1993 for the 1994 model year. Popular features were the antilock brakes and low-speed traction control. For 1996, a single-key entry system became standard, along with a hidden radio antenna, rear window defroster, and tinted glass. Automatic digital climate control and a JBL audio system became available on the LX.
For the 1993 model year, cupholders were added to the pull-out dashboard ashtray drawer, and the date feature was removed from the digital clock. A one-touch down feature was added for the driver's door power window as standard equipment, while Ford's proprietary door-mounted keypad system, marketed as Securicode, as well as an auto-dimming electrochromic rearview mirror, became optional equipment. Audio systems were also updated with an optional JBL sound system with a subwoofer and an optional 10-disc CD changer.
Touring Sedan