bucky Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 I don't know much about anything but it seems that the Ford Crown Vic/Marquis should be a money maker for Ford. Most law enforcement agencies in the U.S. use CVs and I imagine possibly Canada. Not to mention almost every single taxicab in New York City. I was also in Washington D.C. and every cab I saw at the airport was a Marquis. I've had two different Mercury dealers tell me that their top selling vehicle was a Marquis. Vics on the other hand are hard to find at a Ford dealer. The large Ford dealer down the street usually has one Vic on the lot at best. The engine, transmission, rearend and probably other components are probably the same ones put in some F150's so they're gonna make these parts no matter what. The tooling and startup costs have long since been paid for. A Marquis can usually be had for less than $20,000. Five star front, side, and rollover ratings. Man this car is a well kept secret! The Vic/Marquis sells a lot to the Senior market. The population has a greater percent of Seniors everyday and will grow even bigger very soon. What am I missing? Why would they think about discontinuing it? I think I can sum it up. The public has been brainwashed. Why else would someone pay $23,000 for a piece of junk Honda Accord when they could get a mid level Marquis for less than $20,000? Yes I have a piece of junk Honda. In 22 months of ownership it has had a ton of problems and issues. I'm gonna sell this piece of garbage soon. My mothers 2003 Vic and girlfriends 2005 Marquis? You guessed it! Not one problem. Who was it that said there' a sucker born every minute? One more thing... This garbage about rear wheel drive being old fashioned... Guess how many of the finest cars in the world use front wheel drive? Even the flagship of the Lexus (Toyota) line is rear wheel drive. A rear wheel drive car always seems to drive better to me also. The moral of this story? You can lead a horse to water...... End of lunatic RANT!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SysEng Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 I don't know much about anything but it seems that the Ford Crown Vic/Marquis should be a money maker for Ford. Most law enforcement agencies in the U.S. use CVs and I imagine possibly Canada. Not to mention almost every single taxicab in New York City. I was also in Washington D.C. and every cab I saw at the airport was a Marquis. I've had two different Mercury dealers tell me that their top selling vehicle was a Marquis. Vics on the other hand are hard to find at a Ford dealer. The large Ford dealer down the street usually has one Vic on the lot at best. The engine, transmission, rearend and probably other components are probably the same ones put in some F150's so they're gonna make these parts no matter what. The tooling and startup costs have long since been paid for. A Marquis can usually be had for less than $20,000. Five star front, side, and rollover ratings. Man this car is a well kept secret! The Vic/Marquis sells a lot to the Senior market. The population has a greater percent of Seniors everyday and will grow even bigger very soon. What am I missing? Why would they think about discontinuing it? I think I can sum it up. The public has been brainwashed. Why else would someone pay $23,000 for a piece of junk Honda Accord when they could get a mid level Marquis for less than $20,000? Yes I have a piece of junk Honda. In 22 months of ownership it has had a ton of problems and issues. I'm gonna sell this piece of garbage soon. My mothers 2003 Vic and girlfriends 2005 Marquis? You guessed it! Not one problem. Who was it that said there' a sucker born every minute? One more thing... This garbage about rear wheel drive being old fashioned... Guess how many of the finest cars in the world use front wheel drive? Even the flagship of the Lexus (Toyota) line is rear wheel drive. A rear wheel drive car always seems to drive better to me also. The moral of this story? You can lead a horse to water...... End of lunatic RANT!!! Well, on behalf of "welfare wagon" drivers everywhere ( like honda, toyota, etc... ) yes you are one raving lunatic. On behalf of the "panther mafia" ( and a leading light of same ) yes you are nuts to buy an Expedition over a "panther" ( CV, GM or TC ). Feel better now? Ford sadly is exhibiting all the signs of a company about to fall off a cliff. One simply does not dump a product that makes more profit than you reported for the previous year from the entire company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stap1520 Posted January 23, 2007 Share Posted January 23, 2007 (edited) No kidding great cars still selling fairly well with no advertising or re designs in 15 years or so, but I hear they are eliminating the grand marquis altogether just so they can put us on one shift and save a few bucks. Ford will lose more customers next year when they try to buy a marquis and are told go f**k yourself you cant have one go buy a chevy or dodge..... sad but true.... stap is supposed to be on one shift from april 07 to 2010 then who knows....probably closing it looks like , so no more panthers after 2010 or 2011... Edited January 25, 2007 by stap1520 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucky Posted January 24, 2007 Author Share Posted January 24, 2007 SysEng... I loved the stirring the pot emoticon... I don't remember seeing that one before... Stap 1520... Well that will be the beginning of the end when they quit making the Marquis. I can buy a Marquis for cheap when they give out the big rebates but can't buy the Vic for anywhere near the price of the Marquis. I was sure that the Vic and the Marquis were all made on the same assembly line but wasn't quite sure how they did it. I was thinking it wouldn't be efficient making a Vic then the next car down the line a Marquis and so on switching back and forth. I thought maybe they do Crown Vics one day and Marquis the next. It sounds like you are saying they make one on one shift and the other on another shift. I was also under the impression that the Town Car was made in the same plant as the VIC/Marquis but maybe not. Correct me if I'm wrong. I've always been fascinated by the car manufacturing process but can't find out too much about it. Here locally (Dallas) they build Tahoes/Suburbans/Escalades and offer a tour of the plant. Several times I have tried to call and have gotten hold of evidently the lowest idiots there and they lie or give me misinformation. I went by there one day and ended up getting in a tiff with one of there security people. I also contacted GM headquarters about a tour and they never even responded back to my email. No wonder they're doing so poorly these days. Somebody wants to take a day off from work just to see how you make your product and they sick the dawgs on ya... I would love to pick your brain sometime about your job. It sounds really interesting. You're probably thinking it's not but I would disagree. Everyday you create something new that people enjoy... I guess the same could be said about an ice-cream cone Just kidding... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchdevil Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 No kidding great cars still selling fairly well with no advertising or re designs in a billion years, but I hear they are eliminating the grand marquis altogether just so they can put us on one shift and save a few bucks.Ford will lost more customers next year when they try to buy a marquis and are told go f**k yourself you cant have one go buy a chevy or dodge..... sad but true.... stap is supposed to be on one shift from april 07 to 2010 then who knows....probably closing it looks like , so no more panthers after 2010 or 2011... If that is true, that is a tell-tale indicator that Ford has every intention of eliminating the Mercury brand, unless it is a move to decease the average age of buyers and Mercury is reborn into someting more like a Saturn division using Fords from Europe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchdevil Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 SysEng... I was sure that the Vic and the Marquis were all made on the same assembly line but wasn't quite sure how they did it. I thought it was as simple as installing different grilles and badges! I was also under the impression that the Town Car was made in the same plant as the VIC/Marquis but maybe not. Correct me if I'm wrong. The Town Car is made in Wixom based on the same "Panther" platform. Production is being moved from Wixom to where the CV/GM is being made, but I read they have to adapt production of the Town Car to be assembled on that line because of some differences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucky Posted January 24, 2007 Author Share Posted January 24, 2007 Ford tried doing that years ago. Remember MERKUR. They were truly neat cars but didn't fare well I suspect because of lack of dealer support. Some of the overseas Fords are really nice. Go here for some of the photos: Ford UK Website Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taxman100 Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 How am I going to convince the wife to let me buy another Grand Marquis 3 years earlier than planned? If the Grand Marquis goes, there will be asolutely no reason to visit a Mercury dealership, so they may as well kill the brand. Killing their best car in an effort to attract women and homosexuals to your rebadged products - now that is true marketing genius! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchdevil Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Ford tried doing that years ago. Remember MERKUR. They were truly neat cars but didn't fare well I suspect because of lack of dealer support. Some of the overseas Fords are really nice. Go here for some of the photos: Ford UK Website To the average person they were a couple of odd cars with an odd brand name. They picked two models which really were not good choices in my opinion to attract customers. I think they were counting on a little Capri-like magic, but it didn't happen and the cars were not understood. On top of that they were put in dealerships that did not know how to sell them. They were also expensive to maintain. The Euro Fords they sell now are more mainstream and attractive in the same way VW's are... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stapking Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Yes it is a mystery with how Ford thinks. Discontinue making a car such as a GM and probably the CV in the not to distant future 2 cars that have always made huge money for Ford. 2 car brands that are top in quality and yet Ford never advertises these cars. All Ford seems to care about is their trucks or Mustangs in terms of advertising and updating. Ford always talks about how they want qaulity and yet they never tell the public about the CV and GM! Maybe a litttle update on the cars in terms of appearence and hey what about a couple of commercials? As for the euro Ford models, very nice looking and performing cars. Ford is top in England due to the nice selection of cars, cars that would sell huge over here. But once again they fail to take advantage of that. Hopefully for Ford's sake they will one day have a guy in charge that will totally clean house and bring Ford back on the path. Maybe they should have one of us taking over it seems that auto workers know more and are more ambitious than the high brass. Hell I'll do it for half the money Mulally gets and I promise not to use the company jet like Field ld. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SysEng Posted January 24, 2007 Share Posted January 24, 2007 Yes it is a mystery with how Ford thinks. Discontinue making a car such as a GM and probably the CV in the not to distant future 2 cars that have always made huge money for Ford. 2 car brands that are top in quality ... All Ford seems to care about is their trucks.... If all Ford cares about is their trucks, they sure have a funny way of showing it. BTW, if they drop the GM, that means the Mercury brand is effectively toast. Wonder how the dealers are gonna like that??? It occurs to me, that maybe their going to take old SysEng's advice and make a Lincoln Continental out of the TC, by pulling the leather and aluminum wheels in favor of steel and cloth... no doubt with a few other mods and pricing it in the LSE price range. Dumb of course, because I assume the GM would be an upscale CV and the Conti would then be a downscale Lincoln. And you'd definitely not get by without 3 shifts my way... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stap1520 Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 Bucky yes the CV's and GM's are built at STAP on the same lines etc...they just rotate the mix so they can build so many of each unit and the jobs are so called ballanced. Some jobs are heavier on dso units etc...some on marquis'. anyway the town car has been rumoured to be coming here for 20 years and isnt yet but is supposed to be coming here in 07/08. I am now hearing for the time being at least that they are just eliminating grand marquis sales to fleets/rentals then not sure what happens when the town car comes. still I wish FORD would listen to people like syseng and redisgn the panthers properly and refresh them and maybe create a slightly smaller more fuel efficient rear wheel drive panther to add into the mix but all we here at work is not going to happen. Our union says one shift until 2010 but noone knows after that. Unless they change something at contract time with a new product it doesnt look good for our plant or the panthers future I cant see them moving this car now why bother? I still want a marauder but we cant even buy a crown vic in Canada! how stupid is that ? my nieghbors ask me all the time why cant we buy what is made down the road? Ford is determined to one shift us instead of selling more panthers that is all I can say but I dont understand why. SysEng... I loved the stirring the pot emoticon... I don't remember seeing that one before... Stap 1520... Well that will be the beginning of the end when they quit making the Marquis. I can buy a Marquis for cheap when they give out the big rebates but can't buy the Vic for anywhere near the price of the Marquis. I was sure that the Vic and the Marquis were all made on the same assembly line but wasn't quite sure how they did it. I was thinking it wouldn't be efficient making a Vic then the next car down the line a Marquis and so on switching back and forth. I thought maybe they do Crown Vics one day and Marquis the next. It sounds like you are saying they make one on one shift and the other on another shift. I was also under the impression that the Town Car was made in the same plant as the VIC/Marquis but maybe not. Correct me if I'm wrong. I've always been fascinated by the car manufacturing process but can't find out too much about it. Here locally (Dallas) they build Tahoes/Suburbans/Escalades and offer a tour of the plant. Several times I have tried to call and have gotten hold of evidently the lowest idiots there and they lie or give me misinformation. I went by there one day and ended up getting in a tiff with one of there security people. I also contacted GM headquarters about a tour and they never even responded back to my email. No wonder they're doing so poorly these days. Somebody wants to take a day off from work just to see how you make your product and they sick the dawgs on ya... I would love to pick your brain sometime about your job. It sounds really interesting. You're probably thinking it's not but I would disagree. Everyday you create something new that people enjoy... I guess the same could be said about an ice-cream cone Just kidding... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 The Vic/Marquis sells a lot to the Senior market. The population has a greater percent of Seniors everyday and will grow even bigger very soon. Depends on whether the Baby Boomer generation wants a car that makes them feel "old" -- they might be seniors, but they are a completely different generation to market to. Incidentally, though, it might be the Boomers that kill the Camry -- the baby boomer generation, repeatedly purchasing Camries, has caused the average ownership age to steadily increase. For the younger generations, who aren't yet coming in to 4-door sedans, the Camry represents "old person's car" to them and they won't buy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOBSMUSTANG Posted January 25, 2007 Share Posted January 25, 2007 MY COMMENT ABOUT FORD'S BOLD MOVE FORWARD... WHY WOULD THE BLUE OVAL RUMOR MAIL DISCUSS THE DISCONTINUATION OF A GRAND MARQUIS? IS THIS A SOLID, POSITIVE SALES MESSAGE FOR THE PAST FORD MANAGEMENT? HOPEFULLY, AS FORD MOVES FORWARD, THEY SHOULD CONSIDER THE POSITIVE SALES OF CROWN VICTORIAS AND GRAND MARQUIS AS A WAY TO KEEP AHEAD OF GM, BUICKS AND TOYOTA PRODUCTS. DON'T DISCONTINUE THESE MODELS UNLESS YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR SALES MARKET CONTINUE TO SLIDE AND GIVE TOYOTA A PERMANENT ADVANCE IN THEIR SALES. DON'T FORGET TO PASS THIS ON TO UPPER MANAGEMENT BEFORE THEY DECIDE TO ELIMINATE U.S. AND CANADIAN ASSEMBLY PLANTS. PAST FORD PRODUCTS - 2000 LS V8 - 2003 GRAND MARQUIS - 1998 GRAND MARQUIS - 1998 EXPLORER - 2004 F150 3 1966 MUSTANGS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIAMI-DADE Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Depends on whether the Baby Boomer generation wants a car that makes them feel "old" -- they might be seniors, but they are a completely different generation to market to. Incidentally, though, it might be the Boomers that kill the Camry -- the baby boomer generation, repeatedly purchasing Camries, has caused the average ownership age to steadily increase. For the younger generations, who aren't yet coming in to 4-door sedans, the Camry represents "old person's car" to them and they won't buy it. Living here in South Florida i can tell you first hand the Grand Marquis is the number1 car here.The Camry is number 2 car here..I have seen some senoirs change over to the Camry bit not many. I am in my 50's and have been driving Crown Vics since i was in my 20's.My stepdad is 92 years old and he has been driving Crown Vics since the 50's when it was Fairlane 500 and Galaxy.We both love our 05 Vics and to think they might not make them after 2011 is very scary.We generally put 200k miles on our cars before getting another one.BTW in 200k miles its just generally Ford recommended service. I don want a Camry or anything else. I can only pray that it dosen't come to an end in 2011. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Watchdevil Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Living here in South Florida i can tell you first hand the Grand Marquis is the number1 car here.The Camry is number 2 car here..I have seen some senoirs change over to the Camry bit not many. I am in my 50's and have been driving Crown Vics since i was in my 20's.My stepdad is 92 years old and he has been driving Crown Vics since the 50's when it was Fairlane 500 and Galaxy.We both love our 05 Vics and to think they might not make them after 2011 is very scary.We generally put 200k miles on our cars before getting another one.BTW in 200k miles its just generally Ford recommended service. I don want a Camry or anything else. I can only pray that it dosen't come to an end in 2011. Looks like Mercury is shifting focus towards the new Montego... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted January 26, 2007 Share Posted January 26, 2007 Maybe a Maurauder version of the 2011 Interceptor? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted January 28, 2007 Share Posted January 28, 2007 Why doesn't Ford want the public buying Crown Vics and Grand Marquises in large quantities? Probably because they last too dern long for their tastes. I think I read somewhere that the average Panther owner keeps their car twice as long as the typical car buyer. Ford wants you to build a car good enough to last you 3 years or so, but just long enough until you start getting tired of them. I think many Panther owners probably are rather content with their cars for longer periods of time. Many car buyers today do not want a big car and this simply creates the sentiment with Ford not to spend a lot of money at one time on the car. My .02 anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperDutySam Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Why doesn't Ford want the public buying Crown Vics and Grand Marquises in large quantities? Probably because they last too dern long for their tastes. I think I read somewhere that the average Panther owner keeps their car twice as long as the typical car buyer. Ford wants you to build a car good enough to last you 3 years or so, but just long enough until you start getting tired of them. I think many Panther owners probably are rather content with their cars for longer periods of time. Many car buyers today do not want a big car and this simply creates the sentiment with Ford not to spend a lot of money at one time on the car. My .02 anyway. Traveler, I think you are spot on. My dad bought and still owns 2 panthers, a 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis and a 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis, both still running strong and neither drips or burns any oil. Absolutely bulletproof vehicles. As far as other older CV's/GM's in my part of the country, the Fort Worth Police Dept. still to this very day are using a few '96-'97 models of CVPI's. I don't see any comparable Chevy police cruisers of this age still on the road, so that tells me plenty of what a "real" police car is. IMHO, you can't get more car "dollar-for-dollar" than these two vehicles. As many say that they need a total refresh, and that maybe true, I love these two cars and can only hope that Ford doesn't completely cease production anytime soon. We'll see what happens I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gocash Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 Traveler, I think you are spot on. My dad bought and still owns 2 panthers, a 1987 Mercury Grand Marquis and a 1996 Mercury Grand Marquis, both still running strong and neither drips or burns any oil. Absolutely bulletproof vehicles. As far as other older CV's/GM's in my part of the country, the Fort Worth Police Dept. still to this very day are using a few '96-'97 models of CVPI's. I don't see any comparable Chevy police cruisers of this age still on the road, so that tells me plenty of what a "real" police car is. IMHO, you can't get more car "dollar-for-dollar" than these two vehicles. As many say that they need a total refresh, and that maybe true, I love these two cars and can only hope that Ford doesn't completely cease production anytime soon. We'll see what happens I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gocash Posted January 29, 2007 Share Posted January 29, 2007 i think that gocash guy is a real idiot,did you read his post to ford management?what a moron.anyway i hope that hollywood mark has a good life when mullaly fires his stupid ass,it'll make us a stronger company when retards like him and my supervisor are gone .anyway all i have to say now is GO LEAFS GO....gocash out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bucky Posted January 29, 2007 Author Share Posted January 29, 2007 Rear wheel drive, full frame American V8 Sedan? CV/Marquis has no competition except their cousin the towncar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
96towncarcartier Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 As a deputy sheriff, I drive my 2000 CVPI and it has 154,000 miles. THe highest mileage CVPI, still in service, was last seen as having 186,000 miles. My sister has a 1988 CVPI, it has somewhere in the neighborhood of 450,000 miles. Original everything. She also has a 1993 CV, with 150,000 miles. Can't beat these cars, no way no how. They are the BEST. For whatever reason CV's are not available in Canada, only police can get them. Mercury isn't sold there either. The new Taurus and Sable debut in 2008. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthewq4b Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 For whatever reason CV's are not available in Canada, only police can get them. Mercury isn't sold there either. Not True, The CV is Fleet only in Canada. Meaning any Fleet Buyer can get a CV not only the Police. True, Mercury is dead in Canada, Except for the GM it can be bought at the local Ford or Ford Linc Dealer. Matthew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIAMI-DADE Posted February 24, 2007 Share Posted February 24, 2007 As a deputy sheriff, I drive my 2000 CVPI and it has 154,000 miles. THe highest mileage CVPI, still in service, was last seen as having 186,000 miles. My sister has a 1988 CVPI, it has somewhere in the neighborhood of 450,000 miles. Original everything. She also has a 1993 CV, with 150,000 miles. Can't beat these cars, no way no how. They are the BEST. For whatever reason CV's are not available in Canada, only police can get them. Mercury isn't sold there either. The new Taurus and Sable debut in 2008. My 88 Town Car had 200k when i sold it and the next owner put on another 200k on it without any major work. My 99 Crown Vic had 150k on it before Hurricane Wilma killed it.Did nothing to that car but change the fluids every 30k and changed oil every 3 to 5k. Now have a 05 Crown Vic with 41k and plan on going to 200k at least. Mind you all of these miles were put on in Miami heat with the A/C always on as i have to keep the windows closed all the time due to allergys YES THEY ARE THE BEST. BTW i have talked several people i know into buying a Vic and they all came back and thanked me for giving them such good advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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