One of the most well known names in autodom is poised to get its first major overhaul in nearly thirty years. Ford’s Crown Victoria, introduced in 1979, has had only insignificant changes since its introduction, but a new plan by Ford to overhaul the crown jewel of its fleet is reputedly in the offing. Thanks to state help – Australian to be specific – the new Crown Victoria will be a clean break from this model and will help to spawn additional models for siblings Mercury and Lincoln. Yes, you may not have considered a Crown Victoria up to this point, but the approaching new “Crown Vic” will change your mind about that.

You have to go back all the way to the late 1970s to when “downsizing” was a term employed by the auto industry to describe a shell game where giant automobiles were dropped down a nick in size to sit on a platform rather smaller than the previous model. Indeed, thru the 1970s Ford’s fullsize offerings the LTD/Galaxie 500 were enormous beasts of burden. By the point the then new Galaxie 500 Crown Victoria was released at the end of the decade, Ford was playing catch up to General Motors who had earlier mastered the entire downsizing strategy.

Initially, the Crown Victoria had a broad appeal for drivers wanting a huge automobile with all the accoutrements. As time went buy the car grew less and less desirable as client tastes modified, but the Crown Victoria’s style did not. As a pursuit, presidency, or fleet car the Crown Victoria has done very well, but Ford has only made modest enhancements to the automobile over the years. Indeed, America’s two automaker has invested heavily in trucks, vans, SUVS and select automobiles, but the Crown Victoria quickly started to show its age. Today’s model is extremely outmoded and it hasn’t had a comprehensive refreshing in more than a decade, so an overhaul is warranted.

Ford’s impetus for change is coming from an improbable source : a foreign govt. According to news sources, Ford’s Australian operation has received a $1.4 bn. grant from Australia to build a production and research facility which will be used to design and build several new models. One of the Australian automobiles slated to take advantage of this move will be the Ford Falcon, a full sized vehicle that will become the basis of the all-new Crown Victoria.

While some have theorized that the the new Crown Victoria will be built in Australia and imported to the U.S, this is doubtful to happen. Instead, Ford will expand the Falcon’s production to one U.S. Plant, make some technical refinements, and sell the car as a Crown Victoria. It’ll be targeted to police departments and fleet buyers primarily with some residual sales for private buyers. In addition, the Crown Victoria will spawn a new Mercury Gran Marquis while a marginally stretched and much more and plenty more sublime version of the car will become the replacement for the current Lincoln Town Car.

Yes, the Crown Victoria is well past its useful age. Thanks to some assistance from down under, the 2010 model should be a refreshing change. At least Ford hopes you will think so.

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