Ford Motor Co. dealers will no longer offer the troubled Crown Victoria to consumers but will continue to sell the huge car in bulk deals to fleet customers, business, governments, and police departments.
Less than eighty 2007 Crown Vics remain on Ford dealer lots across the country and the automaker has no plans to deliver 2008 versions of the vehicle to dealers.
Ford dealers will attempt to convince car buyers to consider the large Ford Taurus, midsize Fusion and compact Focus instead of the Crown Vic.
The Taurus sedan is slightly smaller than the Crown Victoria, but offers similar cabin and cargo space.
Crown Victoria deals on the showroom floor have declined dramatically in recent years and fleet purchases now account for 95 percent of Crown Victoria sales.
The Crown Victoria is widely used by police departments around the country and has also been a mainstay of many metropolitan taxi fleets.
Ford recalled 155,700 Crown Victoria sedans used as police cars or taxi cabs in may 2005 because of a fire risk under the dashboard in 2003-2005 models.
Some police departments have sued Ford, alleging that Crown Victoria police cars could explode into flames when hit from the rear. Ford fought those suits with mixed results.
At one point the automaker warned police departments that it would stop selling them the special police model of the car if the departments did not drop legal action against Ford.
