Ford retires Crown Victoria

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DEARBORN, Mich., Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Ford Motor Co. said it has produced its last Crown Victoria, a middle-class icon that was prominent in fleets of corporations and police departments.

Ford said over the past year it only produced 80,000 of the Crown Vic cars, which were made with a body-on-frame design as opposed to a unibody structure. That made the car, with its V-8 engine, a durable workhorse for companies, CNNMoney reported Friday.

For decades, it was the most popular model among U.S. police departments. What it lacked in fuel efficiency -- rated at 24 miles per gallon -- it made up for with plenty of leg room and a powerful engine.

In the end, the factory in Ontario, Canada, that made the car could be put to better use, Ford's manager for government fleet sales, Tony Gratson, said.

The facility where the Crown Vic was produced is capable of making 250,000 cars a year, more than three times the number of Crown Vics sold in the last year.

USA Today said the Crown Vic, which was launched in the 1950s, is not the only heavy Ford sedan to be phased out this year. The Lincoln Town Car is also slated for retirement this year.