Yesterday it was four elderly pickups in a row; today it’s four aging Panthers in a row. Someone obviously is a Panther magnet. I’m more like a Panther repellent, so I’m going to let some of you Panther aficionados tell us something about them. I’m clueless, as the species has just never spoken to me. I’ve tried listening, but it must be speaking in a different language.
Here’s a view from the other side. I’m still listening…
The Ford Crown Victoria did yeoman service as a police cruiser and taxicab. The Mercury Grand Marquis was a favorite of older rwd-loving drivers. There’s nothing particularly noteworthy or appealing about them, to me, and I don’t mourn their passing. Neither car has a personality that draws people to it, unlike the Mercury Park Lane of old or the original 1965 Ford LTD. Both cars took advantage of their status as rwd holdouts, much as the last generation of the Lincoln Town Car did. I don’t personally know anyone who laments their disappearance from the U.S. automotive scene.
The Mercury Marauder would be a very desirable acquisition for me, but I haven’t seen any lately
Police fleet managers with rear seat barriers & equipment sized for the Panther platform?
Google “Requiem for the Last American Car”.
Perfect for starting a taxi company.
It’s easy to be dismissive of these cars. They were in production for an eternity, overly large for the time, and mostly sold to the non-enthusiast.
However, I appreciate Ford’s efforts to keep the car relevant. Over the years, they made many under the skin improvements, none of which made us go “WOW,” but most of which improved the overall vehicle.
As enthusiasts, we all wanted to see a big torquey motor dropped in, but as the Marauder proved, Ford didn’t really have the right power plant to build an Impala SS challenger (and really didn’t need to).
Therefore, I would argue Ford made the right choices. Given the buyer demographics, these cushiony, floaty, only adequately powered dinosaurs made the company money to the bitter end. But like the Toyota Camry, it’s not a car to inspire passion.
They had the S/C Mustang 4.6 and the Triton 5.4 Liter available back then. An article in Hot Rod Magazine before the Marauder launched for 2003 said that one if not both of these engines would have been available by model year 2005. Instead a woman related to the Ford family assumed control of Mercury during this time and turned it into a “Woman’s” Car Brand. She was also responsible for killing the Marauder. The Ford brand “No Boundaries” slogan was aimed at males and Lincoln aimed at wealthy buyers regardless of gender.
Ford and Mercury doomed the Marauder before it started because prospective customers were promised a better car if we waited just a little bit longer. Meanwhile the Ford family and their beancounters looked at low first year sales data and used it and the whole “woman’s brand” image as justification to kill it.
In all honesty the Marauder was the only new Ford product I ever considered purchasing it was reminiscent to me of what a Buick Grand National sedan could have been. But Buick and Mercury since 1988 seem to have embraced this dull for the sake of being dull as a form of “luxury” instead of providing a performance based justification for the price premium over the Chevy or Ford counter-parts.
This mis-managment has lead to Mercury’s death and Buick being placed on life-support in the form of Daewoo, Opel, PSA, and Holden badge engineering exercises. Buick, if you see this – The Vultures Are Circling! Meanwhile a 1987 Grand National with 67 miles on it just sold this week for $67,000. Wake up and build the Avista and Avenir (the car not the trim level) before its too late and make them available with turbocharged and RWD power.
GM (original GTO and GN) created the Harley-Davidson of cars by accident and managed to kill it in a few short years, twice. Both died at the altar of the Corvette even though both cars were never considered direct competition to the Vette.
On the Ford side, for model year 2019 the Marauder/Town Car concept has been reborn in the form of the 2019 Ford F-150 Limited. All the utility of the F-150, all the luxury of a Lincoln, and powered by the SVT-tuned Raptor Engine. Of course the price now starts at $63,000 which is somewhere around what a modern Marauder would have listed for today accounting for inflation.
The 5.4 wouldn’t have fit in the engine bay as is and allowed the completed body to drop onto a chassis with engine.
The original intention was a super charger but that was dropped early on in the development process. The things that really hamstrung the Marauder were the bean counters nixing the 4.10 gears the car was designed with, because of CAFE concerns and the fact that they also nixed a unique H pipe and the cars left the factory with the same 2″ pipe as used on the 2v cars. Putting the car back the way it was designed makes a big difference in the seat of the pants feel.
The watts linkage on the rear suspension is pretty cool
The under the skin improvements happened in order to keep them competent for Police duty, and ironically police demands in cars parallel enthusiast demands almost perfectly.
The Marauder wasn’t any more torquey though, it feels basically the same as the regular SOHC 4.6 in that regard until 4000 RPM where it really wakes up, which is to say for most commutes it feels exactly like a plain old P71 with a nicer interior. All it proved was that the platform had unfulfilled potential, that even it didn’t fulfill, 4.10s should have been standard as intended, especially since the factory spec rear tires were taller.
The rear tires were much taller than the 16″ used on the other Panthers of the era so much so that the Marauder spins a few less revs per mile than the 3.23 cars. The quick fix is to put a square tire set up, 255/45 is preferred and that puts the tire OD about the same as the lesser Panthers.
As a current owner of an ’09 retired police Crown Victoria I can say that at least the police and taxi models are/were the ultimate car as appliance. Like a refrigerator, they aren’t exciting and it can be hard to tell a near new one from an example that is 15-20 years old. But like an appliance, they require little in the way of maintenance to look and perform in very good condition.
Downside? They guzzle gas, still, there are also energy inefficient refrigerators….so again, very appliance like.
Would I buy another one? Part of me says No way. Yet, aside from the gas issue, they are reasonably reliable, and cheap to maintain and insure, but the fuel mileage is a big stumbling block for potential owners.
And I absolutely love that this particular car is missing traction control (I think), doesn’t have one of those awful CVTs and still has hydraulically assisted steering.
If your car has TC it has a button on the panel to the left of the steering wheel, next to the power pedals if it has that.
I have only owned one panther, a 1990 Grand Marquis. Bought as a beater, as it had many miles but looked pretty good. Dark red, with turbine style rims and a dark red interior. I liked it’s comfort/ride, it’s quietness, and it’s adequate power. It was V8 and RWD, two of my favorite things. It was cheap, also a favorite (and a necessity). The only comparable type of car I’d had was an ’81 Delta 88. The Mercury was as good as the Olds in most ways and better in the rest. It was simple and reliable, and inexpensive to repair. Maybe it’s an income thing. Cars like these give comfort, and often power, of more expensive vehicles and let some people “into the club” who otherwise would be in Cavaliers and Escorts. The 5.0 sounded good at full throttle, even if you weren’t going very fast. You could even drift it easily if you wanted to. So it was the traditional American car made just modern enough. I assume those qualities continued on with the newer ones. The big RWD General Motors cars always had some things they did better, power being one (not my Olds though) but Ford’s were a better balance. Plus the GM ones went away and Chrysler had nothing comparable for awhile. So Ford owned that segment. Just my take on it.
Count me as a fan. With the right suspension (and tires) these were surprisingly good road cars. Like some others I always lamented the lack of a bigger V8 with more grunt. I also lamented Ford’s refusal to use the longer wheelbase version for retail Mercuries. My 93 Vic LX was a pleasant, relaxing drive that could be thrown around a corner pretty aggressively if there was a need.
The one other thing these did better than many others was old-school durability. These were not brittle cars. Other than with window regulators, at least. After three teen drivers (and at 20 years old) mine had all kinds of little things wrong with it but it started, drove and stopped every day in any weather.
Funny thing about that old-school durability. I’ve been very pleased with the durability of my 2006 Crown Vic — until this year. This was the year that everything started falling apart… and the car only has 76,000 mi. I’ve had oddball problems like a ruptured fuel line, big mechanical issues like needing to get the rear differential rebuilt, brake problems, and loads of electrical issues. Right now I’m struggling with a non-functional HVAC system due to some electronic problem.
Grrr. All good things must end, and this year may be the end of the road for my Crown Vic. Since we’ll be buying a new minivan anyway, I may take over our existing Odyssey and getting rid of the Vic. (since we still have our ’95 Thunderbird, I’m just not interested in having two needy, older cars). But still, I’ll miss it. I really do like these cars.
So generally I agree with you about that durability, as well as the pleasant, relaxing drive… but in my car’s case, I think it had a Best By date of 2017.
Everyone sings the praises of the later models but I have wondered if those carrying pieces designed during Ford’s deep cost-cutting era might not make them a clear win over the 90s “fat Ford” cars. My 93 had lots of little stuff break (odometer, fuel door release button, hvac flapper valve way down deep in the dash, multiple inoperable power windows) but the mechanical guts of the thing never quit. I lived every day with the expectation that the R-12 a/c system would one day puke but it never did. I sold the stupid car for $500 to a friend who drove it for 1.5 years and did nothing but replace the wiper blades. He sold it to CarMax for . . . $500. Still with ice-cold R-12 a/c.
Ford fixed that fuel door release problem pretty well. My ’06 doesn’t have a fuel door release, so it’s never broken. The upside of decontenting.
If you have the automatic climate control the most likely culprit is dried out O-rings in the control head that allow vacuum leaks. Hit up YouTube, I’m sure there is a how to video about it, if not it is documented on the various forums.
Yes — I had that problem once already. Got that fixed, but now I have a new problem. The HVAC system operates only on blast-furnace heat mode. After the unit’s been unplugged and reset, it works fine for a week or two, then starts blasting heat again. At first I thought it was the blend door problem that JPC mentioned above, but I don’t think that’s it if it actually works after the unit’s been unplugged and reset. My mechanic thinks the unit itself is generating an error code, but it’s unclear why.
Unfortunately, that’s not the car’s only issue right now, so my patience is wearing just a little bit thin.
The facelifted Grand Marquis is a 03+ model with the modernized suspension, rack and pinion steering, stronger frame and strong brakes, so that’s the best one there from a modern driving perspective. I can’t tell what year the CV is though, the real giveaways on the cookie cutter 98+ bodystyle are the deeper wheels on the 98-02s(which look better) and analog instrument clusters which somewhere around 06 switched to a more modern design (by 2000s era Ford standards) with symmetrical speedo/tach and a fuel/coolant and a digital readout for the odometer in the center. They got very rugged too, the 4.6 SOHC from inception had decorative fins molded into the plastic valve covers, but as that engine went from state of the Art in the early 90s to workhorse approaching the 2010s the fins were deleted and they sprouted very combersome lumps for the PCV system/baffles – these engines do tend to consume a lot of oil vapor from the PCV system.
Personally, I liked the 92 Aero revamp and in general the 92-97s of either division with the wider looking and thinner headlamps and taillamps. And of course the Marauder. Otherwise they seemed like a model Ford kept making out of inertia, I get the impression that the 92s came to be simply to test the waters to see if Taurus buyers would be willing to move up and lead to a full size revival, and when they didn’t they just kept them going for police/taxi fleet markets. It’s a shame too, by the mid aughts Ford had quite the Parts bin to rifle through to create a very good Panther line, with more efficient V6s that could replace the modular SOHC, and newer tech Modular V8s in both 4.6 and 5.4 displacements for performance models. The 03 chassis was excellent, and had potential with some tuning, but it needed a new bodyshell and a modern interior to make any revamped mechanical improvements like that work, and Ford likely chose wisely in not going that route. I think for Panther lovers that untapped parts bin potential was the appeal, the Marauder was proof of concept, but not enough and too late to make an impact. Owners know the parts bin potential of the cars, and is exactly what makes them endearing. They’re like non-Mustang Fox bodies, but much bigger.
The 2005 models can be picked out at a glance. 2005 was the only year of the 98-11 that Ford had an external radio antenna on the Vic and Grand Marquis. It was placed on the passanger rear fender.
I am not sure why ford only had an external antenna on the 2005 models.
Yeah I never understood the turn around on the antenna. Fact is the one in the rear window is not as effective as the good old fashioned whip, isn’t directional and is unaffected by the defroster. It is one of the reasons I hang on to my 05. And it wasn’t a case of a running change, it followed the model year. I guess the separate antenna is a little more expensive.
I own 2 of these, a loaded ’93 Marquis LS, that’s as quiet and luxurious as a Lincoln Town Car, (and actually shares many components), I recently bought a ’98 Marquis LS that’s rare because it has all possible options, including leather, the rare 3:55 posi rear end, Touring Suspension and dual exhaust. The original owner was a police officer – no surprise – he essentially bought a luxury police car because he knew all the good performance stuff to order.
These cars have strong and solid virtues. They are really cheap to buy used because in these SUV-sodden days, no one wants a big old sedan. There are many pristine examples available because these cars were often bought by old people who didn’t drive them much and kept them in great shape.
They are nice to drive, quiet, stable, comfortable and really chew through the miles effortlessly on long trips. When set up properly with decent tires and shocks the handling is very good compared with other big old RWD cars. But you cannot throw them around like a little BMW, one still feels the weight and heft.
Power? The pushrod engines were reliable but slow. Fortunately mods are easy to so and as close as your Summit catalogue. The 92 and later 4.6, (even the old single exhaust version) feels strong. Later models were downright speedy, yet got decent fuel economy. The engines were definitely one of Ford’s better ideas as they last a long, long time. Some years had the terrible plastic intake manifold, but an updated replacement is available and pretty easy to install. Chances are most of the affected cars have already received the updated manifold by now.
The trunks are big and hold a lot, and they can tow 5000 lbs when equipped. Parts are widely available, and DIY service is easy and straightforward. Ford spent money and effort updating and improving the design year after year, long after GM left the market. Major updates like a Watts-linkage, rack-and-pinion steering, a thoroughly updated frame and suspension and other improvements updated the cars over the years.
So I don’t see any downside to these cars at all. For all round low- cost luxury and utility, they are unbeatable. But don’t tell anyone. I don’t want everyone to know how great these cars are. Please continue to be repelled by them, so the prices stay low for the rest of us to enjoy.
Most modern BMWs are about the same weight as a panther. Modern cars are heavy.
Yes, modern BMW’s are heavy but far better engineered to control the heft. Sadly the Panther is rolling around on 1970’s chassis technology so, as I suggest, one cannot expect modern car handling from one.
I like ‘em. Never driven one, and the only ones I have ridden in had meters on the dash and grumpy drivers who expected cash at the end of the ride. But the proportions are nice, the reputation for reliability seems refreshing for a domestic product of its time, and the cop heritage appeals to the dormant 8 year old in me.
I’m certainly not a big car guy, the biggest I’ve ever owned is an ’87 Sable. But I’ve always had a vague affinity for these Panthers, can’t quite say why. Maybe because by the end it was the ultimate form of the big RWD V8 sedans that cruised American streets for two generations. Maybe because Dad was a Ford guy for a long time and I’ve had several Fords too. Riding in Crown Vic taxicabs they certainly gave me that solid old time feeling.
In my CC article about drag area, I noted the ’92 Crown Vic had a quite respectable drag coefficient of 0.33. EPA says it got 20 mpg combined, 24 highway. Not bad considering the times. I wonder how it would do with a new EcoBoost V6.
Makes you wonder about an EcoBoost V6. First, would they still make the car? Well, I know I am not the only fan of RWD and not the only fan of a large sedan for the highway. Second, how would the reliability of the V6 compared to the 4.6 modular? What’s the profit point for this car after all these years. Could they make money on 50,000 or 100,000 units with a V6 and better mpg?
tbm3fan: If only Ford was actually interested in cars!
Actually I was just wondering about a shade-tree engine swap, like the EcoBoost Edsel that graced these pages some years back.
Maybe a nice Panther with a blown engine is just too uncommon to give anyone a platform to try it on. But the 3.5 liter EcoBoost V6s have 320 to 380 hp, so it could be a hot rod job.
A nice Panther with a blown engine is a rare bird for certain but the people who do swaps on them have done the Coyote, Lightning or Navigator 5.4 or V10 and I’ve yet to see an EcoBoost.
I have an 03 Crown Vic Sport.
It is a quiet confident cruiser that hauls ass like nobody’s business. The Sport has twin black leather electric bucket seats that let you man-spread like you’ve just eaten a turkey dinner and smoked a Rocky Patel with a single malt. It is a wide view from that seat. The IP sets back from you and is wide and low. It is a rolling man cave. My wife feels lost in it and the kids think they’re on a road trip. I get the car to myself every day.
The V8 shoves you down an onramp faster than you thought it did, and in passing gear it is a beast. The Sport suspension is the Police Interceptor’s domesticated sibling, so it isn’t a floater like the Marquis or the TC. You reach 80 in a flash and 90 is way too much fun.
It has needed maintenance, but then it is almost a 16 year old car. It is cheap to fix.
I don’t want any other car.
Your car is in exceptional condition and looks great. I don’t think I realized it was an ’03 when I saw it recently. It for some reason reminds me a lot of my old Buick LeSabre T-Type – probably due to the color as well as the somewhat sleeper quality of the car. I hope you keep enjoying it!
I have always had a bit of a Jones on for the Sport. It had all the best of my early 90s LX in terms of suspension but added a better interior. Don’t these also have the 3:55 axle?
The 3:55 axle was only available as an option for about a year or so of the LX-Sport’s run.
That was an ’03? Holy cats, it looked great.
As the former owner of an ’01 Police Interceptor, I can highly relate to what you say about how it drives. These cars are truly hidden gems.
It’s not a question of good or bad, just different. These cars were probably the best of a certain type, traditional large sedans. I drive an ’07 Town Car and it’s comfortable, quiet, roomy, nicely put together, has all the basic last generation luxuries, is economical (23-24 MPG highway) and reliable. It costs very little to maintain (except for several well known weaknesses that Ford never bothered to fix) and has been a paragon of transportation for the past 9 years and some 160,000 miles. All told, the Panther platform did its job very well.
I thought about looking for one of these last time I wanted to replace a car. They seem to be comfortable tanks that run forever.
Other than as an appliance to go from Here to There, they don’t say a lot to me, either.
The one on the right looks a lot like my Son’s car though I’m not certain whether that is black or dark blue. His is the Dark Wedgewood Blue with the same wheels which means it is either a HPP car or one of the very rare LS Limited models like my son’s though it now wears HPP sway bars.
I have often thought about how my ultimate CV would look. It would be an 03 up P71 frame
with a 92-97 body with full goodies, and a 92 front clip.
I dailyed an 01 grand marquis for 7 years. What made it great was the comfort reliability and utility. Great ride as reliable as a toyota and the TRUNK it was so deep and long and wide it could swallow anything! It made the car a 4 door el camino with a bed lid.
Its just a great day to day workhorse that you learn to love over time.
I should note that I’ve done one better with 5 aging Panthers lined up, my 92 CV (in dormant mode), my Son’s 01 GM, my 03 MM, my Daughter’s 03 CVPI and my 05 CVPI.
The other thing is after over 20 years of using a Panther as my main vehicle that has come to an end recently and have gone as long as a couple of weeks w/o driving one.
I daily an ‘02 p71. I bought it on a whim 6 years ago to flip and the darn thing ran so well and was so comfy I kept it. It had 128k when I bought it and now has 170k. Other than normal maintenance items and replacing a crank position sensor it’s been dead nuts reliable. My son earns his license in a year and I’ll probably hand it down to him. Trouble is I will probably then need to find another for me!
Yes, Panther is another language, but not one much different from the other ones spoken by car enthusiasts. English and German have similar roots, and French, Spanish, and Italian are all considered to come from a common base. Similar, yet different, it all comes down to taking the time to try to understand the commonality rather than the differences to become fluent.
If you are thinking that Panther is a foreign language, just compare it to the more commonly used SBC as a point of reference.
I look at it this way, the SBC is heralded by many as the engine of choice for use in any and all applications, if one is agreeable to a GM engine. While not an engine but rather a platform, the Panther platform is that same item of choice for those who prefer a blue oval over a bowtie. Pretty much all the “go-fast” items produced for FoMoCo products fit into this platform, and it serves as the base of many projects.
Was it the best? No, but then neither was the SBC. The reason both are ubiquitous is that they are plentiful and easily understood. Tons of SBCs can be found in junkyards, in beaters, and the same can be said of Panthers. One can cheaply and easily find a Panther to thrash on, modify, and make your own, as they were sold to fleets en masse, and cop fleets came with many hi-po items standard. I assume that as it becomes more scarce, it will become less popular, but it seems to be peak about now.
I left the twins out on the street…
But I had to take them off the street, these old Mk2 cougar Jetta’s were attracting a Mk5 and a Mk6 looking for experience.
I’ve owned a couple. The first was a 2003 CVPI from the Colorado Highway Patrol. It was an excellent car, quite possibly my all time favorite. It wasn’t the fastest car, but it was quick enough, it handled well enough, made all the right noises, and was just fun to drive, especially hard. My wife and I enjoyed several great road trips in it. Several cars later, after we had kids, I tried to repeat the experience with a very mint low mileage 1995. While it was much nicer inside (velour…oooh, ahhh) and out, it wasn’t nearly as fun to drive, and had many more issues I had to sort through. That’s also when I found out they go from the man cave VanillaDude described above, to intolerable with a couple of car seats in the back, so I sold it off, and replaced it with an even nicer 93 Park Avenue. Anyway, they have a good attributes, especially in durability, ease of maintenance, and amazing parts availability. The 4.6 and 4r70 really make for a winning combo.