Back to photostream

Ford Crown Victoria - Fire Chief

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).

1,497 views
10 faves
0 comments
Uploaded on May 17, 2025