Discontinued years ago, the Ford Crown Victoria still holds a special place in the hearts of many Blue Oval fans, not to mention law enforcement agencies and taxi drivers that have racked up many miles behind the wheel of the big sedan. While there are a few Crown Vics still on duty at various police agencies in the U.S., most have long since switched over to more modern offerings like the Police Interceptor Utility, though at least two New York City cab drivers would seemingly rather retire than do such a thing. However, as The Drive recently discovered, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) still has a whopping 429 Ford Crown Victoria sedans in its fleet, amazingly enough.
LASD loves the Ford Crown Victoria so much, in fact, that it placed an order for 600 units back in 2011 – the model’s final year of production – and even today, more than a decade later, most of that fleet remains intact. The idea was to simply save some money, and it’s clear now that LASD was quite wise in their decision to drop the funds necessary to beef up their Crown Vic fleet years ago, rather than opting for the latest in terms of police-spec models. On top of that, it seems as if most LASD officers simply love the car, too.
“The Crown Victoria is a rugged and durable platform that has held up great over the years,” said Sergeant David M. Davis of the LASD Fleet Management Unit. “Tenured deputies who have driven them for the majority of their patrol careers still prefer them to the Ford Police Interceptor Utility, which is also in use by the Department, while newer deputies seem to prefer the Police Interceptor Utility. The biggest maintenance challenge we have encountered is the growing obsolescence of some mechanical parts that are needed for repairs. The cars vary in mileage which makes it hard to predict exactly how long they will remain in service. Parts availability will also be a factor in how much longer they remain in service.”
As one might imagine, this once-massive fleet is thinning out a bit over the years for these very reasons, meaning that even at LASD, the Ford Crown Victoria is facing the proverbial end of the road. However, it’s unclear just when the very last Crown Vic will be retired from duty, and given how long this group has lasted thus far, they seemingly have a few more years left in them, at least.
We’ll have more on the Ford Crown Victoria soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Crown Victoria news and around-the-clock Ford news coverage.
Comment
Those old Crown Vics weren’t perfect but they did have some quality and durability built in. Plus unlike todays offerings simple to service.